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The proposed bill calls for the Secre- tary of Interior to transfer funds, prop- erty, equipment and other resources to help with costs for two years.
The refuge was established in 1908, when bison were in threat of extinction.
HELENA
4. Montana VA Director Resigns
Amid Investigation of Leadership
the extreme nature and futility of it all,” Reid said, referring to the high tempera- ture and acidic nature of the spring.
The death occurred in one of the hot- test and most volatile areas of Yellow- stone. It follows high-pro le incidents at the rugged park in which tourists got too close to wildlife or went o designated pathways onto unique landmarks, some- times leading to injuries.
BILLINGS
7. Montana Coal Production
Continues to Drop
Coal production in Montana contin- ues to drop, with mines yielding about a third less this spring than in 2015.
The Billings Gazette reports that between January and May, Montana produced 9.6 million tons of coal, down 4 million tons compared to the same four months a year earlier.
Bud Clinch of the Montana Coal Coun- cil says Montana mines are on pace to dig about 28 million tons of coal in 2016; 42 million less than in 2015. Clinch says the sluggish mines will likely hurt state tax revenue.
The Montana Department of Revenue estimates coal tax collections through May are down $7 million when compared to the previous year.
BILLINGS
8. Bus Passenger Busted with 112
Pounds of Marijuana
A 33-year-old man was arrested at the Billings bus station after o cers found 112 pounds of marijuana in his luggage.
The Billings Gazette reports Duy Nguyen was charged June 8 with crim- inal possession with intent to distribute. He did not enter a plea in Justice Court.
Prosecutors say police responded to Je erson Lines on Tuesday after a bag- gage handler noticed suspicious luggage.
The bust was the third on a Je erson Lines bus in a week.
A 19-year-old man was arrested in Bill- ings on June 5 with 33 packages of mari- juana in his luggage. And three men were arrested on May 31 after arriving in Gil- lette, Wyoming on a Je erson Lines bus. Based on a tip from Montana o cials, o cers found 93 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about $600,000.
BAKER
9. Several Injuries Reported After Tornado Hits Eastern Montana
Several people were injured and one person had to be rescued after a tornado destroyed several homes and damaged a dozen others June 12 in Baker in eastern Montana.
National Weather Service meteorol- ogist Wright Dobbs says it happened about 7 p.m. Authorities say everyone in the town of about 1,900 people near the North Dakota border has been located.
Electricity was out and phone service was limited after the storm hit.
Dobbs says severe weather, includ- ing hail up to 2 inches in diameter, was reported near Miles City, 80 miles west of Baker.
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The director of the U.S. Veterans A airs’ Montana Health Care system is resigning as the agency conducts an internal investigation into allegations of senior leadership misconduct.
John Ginnity wrote in a letter to VA sta last week that his last day will be July 8. His letter did not specify a rea- son for his resignation, though he said his family and his health are his main priorities.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ o ce released a letter from VA Under Secretary for Health David Shulkin that said the agency is investigating allegations of senior leadership misconduct at the Fort Harrison medical center.
The letter does not say that Ginnity was a subject of the investigation, and VA Montana spokesman Mike Garcia says Ginnity’s resignation is not related to it.
WEST YELLOWSTONE
5. Earthquake Shakes Lightly
Populated Area in Montana, Idaho
O cials say no damage has been reported following 4.3-magnitude earth- quake June 13 in a lightly populated area in western Montana just north of the Idaho border.
The West Yellowstone Police Depart- ment in Montana and the Fremont County Sheri ’s O ce in Idaho say no calls have come in following the tem- blor that the U.S. Geological Survey says occurred at 5:15 a.m. near Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
A refuge employee reports no damage.
An employee at nearby Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho says no damage has been reported there either but one worker awoke thinking a bear was shak- ing his cabin.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
6. Nothing to Recover After Man
Goes in Hot Spring
Rangers suspended their attempts last week to recover the body of a man who wandered from a designated board- walk and fell into an acidic hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, another in a string of incidents raising concerns over visitor behavior.
“They were able to recover a few per- sonal e ects,” park spokeswoman Cha- rissa Reid said. “There were no remains left to recover.”
Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, Oregon, was with his sister and had trav- eled about 225 yards o the boardwalk on June 7 when he slipped and fell into the hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin, park o cials said.
After Scott’s sister reported the fall, rangers navigated over the highly-fragile crust of the geyser basin to try to recover his body. They halted the e ort “due to
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