Good morning; on the Beacon today, father-daughter softball coaching duo Alan and Bri Compton are a powerhouse. County green box sites, especially those located on the valley floor, see a heavy increase in the amount of garbage received now that summer is here. A rising Columbia Falls senior, Kayla DeWit, plans to play for the Montana State women’s basketball team after she graduates next year. Wild Bill Schneider sees the best solution to losing access to hunting as building up hunter-funded public access programs such as Montana’s Block Management Program. And Mick Holien muses on the the legacy of Tim Bush.
Land managers along the Rocky Mountain Front spent an estimated $1.1 million last year to fight noxious weeds, and most believe that more is needed to control the spread, according survey released Wednesday. Postage rates will increase in 2011, with first-class stamps rising from 44 cents to 46 cents starting in January, pending approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the US Postal Service announced Tuesday. An Obama cabinet member and the top executives from GE, Microsoft and The Walt Disney Co. are the featured speakers at this year’s Montana Economic Development Summit in Butte. Contrary to Democrats’ assertions that Republicans are the party of “no,” U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., told a packed crowd in Polson Wednesday that “in some cases, I say, ‘Hell, no!‘ ” Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, who believes global warming is not human caused, said he supports the state’s proposed new energy policy. Travelers coming to Montana to ski pumped more than $80 million into the Montana economy last winter, according to a study by the University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. The Montana Outfitters & Guides Association has asked the Silver Bow County attorney to investigate what it believes are illegal signature-gathering efforts by backers of proposed Initiative 161. Law enforcement on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was a hot topic during a meeting between the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee and Blackfeet leaders, officials and tribal members Wednesday.