Good morning; on the Beacon today, we interview the 17 candidates for contested legislative primaries – check out their answers to help decide how you vote. A Montana physician, Dr. Patricia Cole, of Whitefish, who saw about 150 patients over 14½ hours during a medical marijuana clinic last year will be fined $2,000 for providing substandard care, the first time a doctor in the state has been disciplined in a marijuana case. A Box Elder woman whose son, Staff Sgt. Shane Barnard of De Smet, S.D., was killed in Afghanistan described him as a loving family man, a true friend, an outdoorsman and a hero.
Yellowstone National Park officials say two Montana men have died while trying to climb a frozen waterfall below the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. President Barack Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, according to an administration official and an Arizona congresswoman. Senior managers complained oil giant BP was “taking shortcuts” by replacing heavy drilling fluid with saltwater in the well that blew out, triggering the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to witness statements obtained by The Associated Press. Ravalli County authorities have extensive surveillance video of thieves who stole several thieves in Darby. Two days after he was acquitted of a shooting that prosecutors said was racially motivated, Allen Goff showed up at a public exhibit in Billings to confront the executive director of a statewide human rights group. A prominent Ravalli County Republican wants to overturn Montana’s 2004 voter-passed law that legalized medical marijuana, saying the current setup controlling prescription pot is flawed.