Good morning; on the Beacon today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement that Democrats were abandoning comprehensive energy reform legislation tackling climate change left just about everyone close to the issue dismayed. Yet concern is also growing on the part of organizations, businesses and trade groups that, in the absence of Congress taking action to deal with climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency could move to regulate greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act. The O-Mok-See horse races, held last week in Kalispell, are more than mere competition; they are a way of celebrating family itself, and of passing on the Western tradition of horsemanship within those families. Christie Burns is back on the Police Blotter, reporting on two warring brothers in Hungry Horse. And Dave Skinner weighs in on the concern over the federal government declaring a national monument in eastern Montana.
More people are visiting Yellowstone National Park than ever before. Two former Montana State University basketball players who were arrested last week after a scuffle in front of a Bozeman bar have pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The Missoulian reports on deadly tornadoes in Montana’s history that have occurred in mountains, not just the plains. Medical marijuana applicants will have to prove they are Montana residents before they can be added to the patient registry after health officials turned up several applications from people who live out of state. For four days beginning today, Billings will play host to the United States Armwrestling Federation, National Armwrestling Championship. A leading political blogger for the Washington Post recently selected the Pat and Carol Williams family of Missoula as the first family of Montana politics. Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said it’s time for Montana to rethink how it selects judges. Lester Brothers of Libby has been placed on probation for two years for possessing the hide of a gray wolf that was shot while wolves were still classified as an endangered species.