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Weekend: Christmas Murder Plea, Bison Relocation, Doggfather Cans

By Beacon Staff

Good morning; on the Beacon today, in front of a packed courtroom Thursday, the Kalispell man accused of killing a woman and her daughter on Christmas day pleaded not guilty to two charges of deliberate homicide. What was once Montana’s first Catholic monastery is now a sanctuary for those stricken by dementia. Flathead County officials say a Kalispell man was detained and later released after accidentally shooting a sleeping neighbor while cleaning a gun in his apartment. Glass artist Barry Hood’s work is featured in the Hockaday Museum of Art’s newest round of exhibits. His show, “Flow,” as well as local metal smith Wayne Hammer’s intricate jewelry, will take over the museum’s main level from Jan. 6 to March 17.

Montana’s wildlife commission endorsed a plan Thursday to study whether bison should be relocated to parts of the state where they once roamed free, a move advocates called a first step to rectifying “a national disgrace.” Montana lawmakers are considering bills to regulate the growth and sale of medical marijuana. The president of the Utah Senate on Thursday debunked a story by Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, about six gun-wielding Utah senators stopping an armed intruder there. While Republican state lawmakers are working to block federal health reform, many of them are signing up for coverage on the state employee health plan or equivalent subsidies of their personal health insurance costs. Tiered or “inverted block” utility rates meant to promote energy conservation should be allowed only if they reflect the utility’s actual costs — and not for the purposes of social engineering, said the sponsor of a bill to restrict such rates. Snoop Dogg fans who are hoping to get a little closer to the Doggfather during his show Jan. 23 in Great Falls just have to dip into their cupboards to ensure a good spot.