Thursday: HD 4 Race, Art Destroyed, Bee Collapse Breakthrough?

Good morning; on the Beacon today, construction crews in charge of renovating First Street and Central Avenue in Whitefish have uncovered about 20 logs, roughly nine to 12 inches in diameter and 15 to 20 feet long: what may be the foundation for the town. The legislative race to represent House District 4 is one of the biggest in Montana as Republican Derek Skees goes up against Democrat Will Hammerquist. The mayor of Loveland, Colo. is calling for calm following the destruction of a controversial piece of artwork in the city’s museum carried out allegedly by 56-year-old Kathleen Folden of Kalispell. At the age of 80, the Glacier Park’s Lodge mailroom is Ian Tippett’s latest job, and he’s hard pressed to think of a job in the hotel business that he hasn’t had. And Wild Bill Schneider believes pro-wolf groups blew their chance.

The state Board of Regents on Wednesday approved the first steps of an expansion of Montana State University’s Bobcat Stadium. Gov. Brian Schweitzer is traveling as part of a delegation to Israel to meet with government and business leaders. Brent Musburger, the play-by-play man for some of college football’s biggest games, told a group of college journalism students that professional athletes under a doctor’s supervision could potentially use steroids to improve performance. A research team, including University of Montana honeybee experts, may have uncovered the one-two punch that has been killing bees through colony collapse disorder. The state’s general fund budget outlook has improved somewhat over the past six months, but Montana still faces a potential $368 million budget shortfall by mid-2013, the Legislative Fiscal Division estimates in a new report. Can anyone recall a more vicious, hard-fought and eye-popping local political campaign than the three-man race being waged for Lake County sheriff and coroner? A Pablo man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy.