Tuesday: Whitefish 3-Peat, Bigfork Bank Robbery, Selle Season Over

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Reed Platke, a junior golfer at Whitefish High School, won his third straight Northwestern A divisional title on Sept. 25 in Ronan, with Kiley McConnell leading the girls with a tournament-best 78. Construction crews broke ground last week on a new, 14,000-square-foot building that will house a Goodwill second-hand store in Evergreen. State wildlife officials say they have relocated two bears and euthanized a third in the Flathead valley. Flathead County officials are investigating a robbery at a Bigfork bank. A Kalispell man, Kyle Kingren, has died from injuries he suffered after being struck by a vehicle on U.S. Highway 2 in Evergreen Saturday night. The Montana Highway Patrol says a one-vehicle crash near Hot Springs has claimed the lives of two Montana men.

Lawmakers and Gov. Brian Schweitzer signaled Monday that they would prefer to settle a lawsuit in which the governor alleges a companion bill to the 2009 Legislature’s big spending measure unconstitutionally dealt with multiple subject matters. Barely into the new school year, President Barack Obama issued a tough-love message to students and teachers on Monday: Their year in the classroom should be longer, and poorly performing teachers should get out. Documents released Monday show that Montana is seeking federal approval to kill 186 endangered gray wolves in a special “conservation hunt” and neighboring Idaho wants permission to remove up to 50 of the predators that officials say are eating too many elk. Montana quarterback Andrew Selle is lost for the season, coach Robin Pflugrad said Monday. Montana’s budget future is brighter than legislative analysts are forecasting, Gov. Brian Schweitzer told county commissioners gathered in Billings on Monday. The Bozeman City Commission got a standing ovation Monday night after unanimously approving a resolution backing seven same-sex couples suing the state of Montana for the same rights as married couples.