Good morning; on the Beacon today, we run down skier visits and season pass sales at Whitefish Mountain Resort in recent winters. After considering, rejecting, and then reconsidering a proposal to change zoning regulations along U.S. Highway 93, the Whitefish City Council has tabled the issue until January. With the legislative session two months away, Montana lawmakers are wasting no time filing bill requests with the Legislative Services Division. Lawmakers from the Northern Rockies say pending bills aimed at getting gray wolves off the endangered species list have little chance of passage this year.
A former Park County sheriff has been sentenced to five years with the state Department of Corrections in an intimidation case that initially involved allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl. Real estate mogul Tim Blixseth is acting as his own attorney as he seeks to disqualify a bankruptcy judge who slapped the former billionaire with a $40 million fraud judgment. A conservative group, Western Tradition Partnership, has filed a lawsuit in its fight against charges that it illegally hid work to influence elections. Boeing Co. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Summit Aeronautics Group, a Montana manufacturer of titanium and other hard metal structures for commercial and military aircraft. Attorneys for the Montana Legislature have asked a district judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer against the 2009 Legislature and members of two of its key committees. The Montana Highway Patrol says the wintry weather that has buried much of the state resulted in nearly 600 crashes over the weekend. With a 42-inch base on the ground and more snow in the forecast, Bridger Bowl will fire up its lifts on Friday, two weeks ahead of the ski area’s scheduled Dec. 10 opening day. Increased early-season snowfall over Rumsey Mountain has ensured Discovery Ski Area will open most of its front side terrain on Thanksgiving Day.