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22 percent and 34 percent. For the pop- ular Silver plan, the increase will range from $80 to $88 a month for a 40-year- old person.
Lindeen said last week the rates affect about 41,000 people. They don’t include people who receive federal tax credits or those who have insurance through their employers.
The increases are in line with what the three insurers who offer policies through the online marketplace were requesting. Those companies said in June that the claims they paid out last year were higher than the premiums they took in.
HELENA
6. State Livestock Department Leaders Resign
Two leaders in the Montana Depart- ment of Livestock have resigned.
Montana Department of Livestock executive officer Christian Mackay resigned last week after the Board of Livestock met in a closed session to eval- uate him.
Brands Enforcement Division Admin- istrator John Grainger also resigned. Board chairman John Lehfeldt said that Grainger felt compelled to follow Mackay.
Lehfeldt says Mackay’s resignation came after a long-term discussion on changing the direction of the depart- ment. He says Mackay decided he would be more comfortable elsewhere.
Mackay confirmed the decision to resign was his, but he declined to answer additional questions. He had been the department’s executive officer for more than eight years.
Over the past year, the department has cut jobs and furloughed other workers in the face of a large budget shortfall.
HELENA
7. Brad Johnson Announces Candidacy for Governor
Montana Public Service Commission Chairman Brad Johnson says he will at- tempt to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2016.
The East Helena Republican told The Associated Press of his candidacy ahead of a Sept. 23 news conference where he planned to kick off his campaign.
Johnson, 64, said he wants to focus the state’s attention and resources back on agricultural research and the cultiva- tion of crops and raw materials. Montana cannot acquiesce to the decline of timber, mineral and coal development, then rely on technology and tourism to prop up its economy, he said.
“We’ve seen tremendous, benign neglect of our rural communities in eastern Montana,” Johnson said. “I think that’s one indicator that we’re on the wrong track.”
He didn’t specify a plan to address that region’s underfunded infrastruc- ture needs but said he is against funnel- ing more federal dollars there. He said he would like to lure entrepreneurs from western Montana to the east.
Johnson leads the state utilities com- mission, served as Montana Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009, and has a
master’s degree in agriculture with a background in business management. He began an exploratory gubernatorial cam- paign June 23, but until Wednesday has spent little time on the campaign trail.
He said he began considering chal- lenging Bullock when he watched in dismay as budget amendments passed quickly and without discussion during legislative hearings this year. He said the executive branch should be more trans- parent during budget negotiations.
After losing his 2008 re-election to Democratic Secretary of State Linda Mc- Culloch, Johnson worked as an energy development consultant. He ran for the Public Service Commission in 2010, but suspended his campaign after pleading guilty to driving with a blood alcohol con- tent of 0.24 — three times the legal limit.
The day before he voluntarily entered an alcohol treatment program, Johnson lost the Republican primary by 134 votes.
Johnson failed to unseat McCulloch in her 2012 re-election, but returned in 2014 by winning the PSC seat.
GREAT FALLS
8. Montana to Increase Speed Limits on Some Highways to 80 MPH
Montana residents are preparing for quicker commutes as speed limits on some interstate highways will increase from 75 mph to 80 mph.
The Great Falls Tribune reports that on Oct. 1 Montana Department of Trans- portation crew members will either replace or install 370 80 mph traffic signs along Interstates 15, 90 and 94. The speed will still be 75 mph in urban areas.
According to a legislative fiscal report, the cost for making the change is esti- mated at $264,758.
Though the new law allows for drivers to go a little faster, it also makes speed- ing more costly. Fines for exceeding the speed limit will be raised from a maxi- mum of $100 to $200.
BOZEMAN
9. Montana State Fraternity Suspended Over Members’ Parties
Montana State University has placed a fraternity on interim suspension and warned students against attending par- ties in an area southwest of campus while school officials investigate reports that party-goers were assaulted and drinks may have been drugged.
MSU Dean of Students Matt Caires said the Hawks’ Ridge condominium development, which is known as “The Block” to students, has been the site of numerous parties since the start of the semester.
The university is investigating allega- tions that some drinks were drugged, two men were struck in the head and needed medical attention and underage drinking was allowed.
The school suspended the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity during the investiga- tion. The SAE fraternity house is not in the Hawks Ridge complex, but several fraternity members are believed to have hosted some of the parties
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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