Domestic oil production increases for the first time since 1991. Meanwhile, conservation groups are taking aim at media mogul Ted Turner.
HIGH
DOMESTIC OIL – U.S. crude oil production saw its first increase since 1991 due to drilling in North Dakota and the Gulf of Mexico.
DUSTIN FROST – The former state director for Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., who was seriously injured in a boat crash on Flathead Lake last summer, is opening his own political consulting firm.
YOUNG SKIERS – Anna Jobe, Erin Tabish and Nevada Kramer of the Whitefish Mountain Resort Ski Team rocked it at the Junior Olympics in Mt. Bachelor, Ore.
BETWEEN
DUI LAWS – Montana’s drunken driving problem is not going away, and the ongoing toll in lives it takes is prompting various lawmakers to introduce bills in the 2011 Legislature to tighten enforcement. It’s high time for lawmakers to take this problem seriously.
BARACK OBAMA – Coming off the health care victory, the president looks poised to secure an arms reduction deal with Russia, tackle financial reform and visited troops in a surprise visit to Afghanistan. The political pendulum appears to be swinging hard in his direction, but his approval numbers, around 50 percent, have remained largely unchanged.
LOW
TED TURNER – Conservation groups are asking a Montana judge to overturn an agreement that would transfer dozens of Yellowstone bison to his private ranch.
JOBLESS RATE – Unemployment in Flathead County inched up to a new high of 13.3 percent in February, from 13.2 percent in January.
FRANK DRYMAN – This fugitive of 38 years, convicted of killing a Montana man in 1951, was found running a wedding chapel in Arizona.
SCHOOL HEALTH INSURANCE – Montana school districts face steep increases in health insurance premiums.