Good morning; on the Beacon today, Flathead County commissioners decided to hire an independent private investigator to look into allegations of illegal activities within the county’s planning and zoning department. Timothy W. Withrow of Somers pleaded not guilty to the June 30 shooting of his son, Timothy W. Withrow Jr. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says the Department of Veterans Affairs has approved a new veterans outreach clinic for Libby. Today the Skydive Lost Prairie Boogie is one of the five largest skydiving meets in the nation. And brothers Damon and Eric Ristau have finished a film they shot entirely in Montana, “The Best Bar in America.”
In state news, hunters are unhappy that Art Noonan, the new second-in-command at Fish, Wildlife and Parks, doesn’t hunt or fish. Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf warned that Democrats’ health care bills won’t stem the rise in medical costs. David Risley, a wildlife biologist from Ohio, has been hired to oversee most fish and wildlife duties at the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. A new study examines the cost and amount of “tax expenditure” bills introduced in the Legislature in 2009. The sale of the Yellowstone Club for $115 million is expected to be finalized today. And Montanan Levi Leipheimer has pulled out of the Tour de France after a crash left him with a broken wrist.