Good morning; on the Beacon today, since Glacier High School opened three years ago, it has been selected to host the Northwestern A divisional basketball tournament each year – precisely the kind of event that hoteliers and the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce hope to encourage through a proposed Tourism Business Improvement District. Despite the recession, health care jobs in Montana have remained steady, though any chance of robust growth within the industry has been tempered by the economic realities of the state’s residents. Chris Brooks, a managing partner for Western Home Journal magazine, traveled from Whitefish to Washington D.C. in early February for meetings with Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus to urge them to take action on legislation that would limit carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuel and lay the groundwork for growth in so-called “green” jobs. A plane contracted by the U.S. Postal Service may have lost up to two bags of priority mail on a flight from Billings to Kalispell, totaling up to roughly 25 pounds of cargo. A 25-year-old Polson man has pleaded not guilty to violently shaking his 3-month-old daughter. Whitefish Sen. Ryan Zinke questions the courts martial of Navy SEALs. Wild Bil Schneider argues something must be done to stop the increase in user fees for U.S. Forest Service land.
A Washington, D.C., environmental group asked the Interior Department on Wednesday to investigate the operation of the National Bison Range near Missoula, saying it is plagued by a number of deficiencies. The Missoulian’s Jamie Kelly has a great story on Betty Wetzel of Bigfork traveling to Missoula to view a portrait of her done by artist Megan Moore. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana is set to refund about $2.35 million to the state after an internal audit of the state’s Health Care and Benefits Division found that Montana has overpaid the insurer to administer parts of its health insurance plan since 2002.