TUITION FREEZE

Governor lauds regents for tuition freeze

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The governor is lauding the Montana Board of Regents for implementing a college tuition freeze.

The regents voted Friday in Great Falls on a plan to freeze college tuition over the next two years at college campuses for Montana residents.

Gov. Steve Bullock says it was important for him early in the budget process to negotiate the tuition freeze with the university system.

There is one exception. The plan does allow for a small tuition increase of about 2 percent each year at Miles City Community College that was requested locally.

Nonresident tuition will increase up to 3 percent each year at the colleges and universities.

The regents also approved fee increases of up to 3 percent at the universities and as much as 9 percent at the two-year colleges.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA-RAIDS

9th Circuit panel rules 2011 raids constitutional

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A panel of appellate judges has upheld the 2011 federal raids on Montana medical marijuana providers as constitutional.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on May 15 affirmed U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy's dismissal of a lawsuit claiming the raids violated the providers' constitutional rights.

Fourteen providers and associations sued after federal authorities raided 26 businesses, warehouses and homes in as part of a drug-trafficking investigation.

The plaintiffs claim they were operating under a voter-approved Montana law and the government interfered with the rights and powers given to the states by the Constitution's 10th Amendment.

Molloy ruled the providers are bound by federal law making marijuana an illegal drug. The 9th Circuit panel agreed the federal government did not overstep its authority.

FOREST LOGGING

Judge blocks logging project in southwestern Mont.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a logging project in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen wrote in his ruling Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service used a procedural shortcut to conclude lynx habitat would not be harmed by the project.

Christensen ordered the agencies to conduct a new analysis using the proper standard under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Forest Service also must conduct a new biological assessment on the project's effect on threatened grizzly bears and study whether temporary roads would harm elk.

The Fleecer Mountains Project would clear cut and thin more than 3,000 acres within 102,000 acres of the forest.

The Forest Service says many of the trees are dying because of pine beetles or drought.

OIL LEASES-LAWSUIT

Judge to settle oil leasing dispute in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge will decide if almost 80,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Montana should be canceled after environmentalists sued over climate change worries.

U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon took the case under advisement Friday after attorneys for the government and industry moved to have it dismissed.

Plaintiffs led by the Montana Environmental Information Center say the Bureau of Land Management should have forced companies to address greenhouse gas emissions as a condition of sale for 120 leases at sites scattered across the state.

BLM and industry representatives contend the amount of methane and other greenhouse gases released from oil and gas fields is minuscule on a global scale. That includes emissions from leaks in pipelines and other equipment, venting of excess gas and the operation of machinery.

METH-LACED COFFEE

Billings man pleads no-contest in meth coffee case

(Information in the following story is from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 35-year-old Billings man has entered a no-contest plea after being charged with putting methamphetamine in the coffee maker at his mother's business in February 2012.

The Billings Gazette reports Craig Charles Benedict entered his plea to felony criminal endangerment during a District Court hearing on Friday.

Benedict worked at the business and prosecutors say he spiked the coffee out of anger after another employee asked him to take a drug test.

Toxicology tests found that one employee and three customers had ingested the meth-laced coffee.

Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend that Benedict be sentenced to five years in state custody with placement in a state drug treatment program. Sentencing is set for July 23 before District Judge Russell Fagg.

CHILD-$500K BAIL

St. Ignatius boy released after psych evaluation

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — A 10-year-old St. Ignatius boy once held on $500,000 bail for a probation violation has been released to his grandmother's care after the completion of a psychological evaluation.

The boy's case made news when District Judge Kim Christopher ordered him held in a juvenile detention center until he completed an evaluation that had been scheduled and missed three times. He was later released to a residential treatment center.

On Thursday, Christopher released the boy to his grandmother on several conditions, including attending a May 29 mental health appointment in Polson.

The boy was on probation after a deferred prosecution agreement for a 2012 break-in at a Polson business. He was cited for disorderly conduct for an outburst at school, leading to the latest court case.

WORDEN SHOOTING

Deputy fatally shoots man outside Worden bar

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Yellowstone County sheriff says a man shot by a deputy during a confrontation near a Worden bar has died, and investigators found a woman's body in the area after the shooting.

Sheriff Mike Linder tells The Billings Gazette deputies responded to a report at about 2:30 a.m. Friday of suspicious activity near the 406 Bar. Deputies located a man in a car. They were talking with him at about 4 a.m., when the man allegedly pulled a gun. At least one deputy shot the man.

Linder did not know how many shots were fired. He says the man later died at a hospital.

The woman's death was being investigated as a homicide.

Autopsies on the man are woman are planned for today.

POLICE CAR SIDESWIPED

Woman charged with DUI after police car sideswiped

(Information in the following story is from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com)

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 29-year-old woman faces a felony DUI charge after the vehicle she was driving reportedly sideswiped a Missoula police car.

Court records say Kristy Lee Augare was supposed to have an interlock device on her car that prevents it from moving if she's intoxicated, but there was no such device on the minivan she was driving early Friday.

Charging documents say officers were responding to a noise complaint at about 2:30 a.m. when they heard a crash coming from the area where their cars were parked.

Court records say police stopped the vehicle and found Augare was driving with a suspended license. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.117 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The Missoulian reports Augare was scheduled to appear in Justice Court Friday.

VEHICLE THEFTS-CHASE

Man surrenders after day-long chase

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A man suspected of breaking into a house and stealing three vehicles in the Belgrade area during his effort to outrun law enforcement officers finally surrendered in the mountains west of Pony.

Madison County sheriff's spokesman Steve DiGiovanna says about 25 deputies and state troopers were about to call of the search Thursday evening when the man walked out of the woods with his arms in the air. Deputies arrested him.

KTVM-TV reports Matthew Brandemihl was expected to appear in court Friday morning on three counts of theft, one count of burglary and one count of criminal endangerment. All the charges are felonies.

BUTTE FIRE DEATH

Man dies after house fire west of Butte

(Information in the following story is from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com)

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Butte-Silver Bow fire officials say an 82-year-old man has died after escaping a burning trailer house west of Butte.

The Montana Standard reports a motorist on Interstate 90 called 911 after noticing the fire at about 2:40 a.m. Friday. The house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

Butte Director of Fire Services Jeff Miller says it appears the man escaped out a back window. Firefighters found him unconscious and with a faint pulse. He was pronounced dead at a Butte hospital.

The victim's name hasn't been released.

Investigators suspect the fire started because some combustible material was too close to a wood burning stove. Miller says the fire has been ruled accidental.

COYOTES KILLS DOG

Coyotes kill dog near Bozeman

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — State wildlife officials say a dog was killed by two coyotes on the south end of the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials released a statement Friday saying a Bozeman woman saw her dogs being attacked by animals Thursday evening. Wildlife officials determined coyotes were responsible.

FWP says there may be a coyote den with pups near the "M'' on the mountain and urged residents to be cautious and keep their animals close and under control when in rural settings.

MOOSE ATTACK

Missoula woman injured by moose

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A woman walking several dogs on a forest trail southwest of Missoula was injured when she was kicked by a female moose with a calf.

The attack happened between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Blue Mountain. Officials say the dogs started barking at the moose and the woman was trying to get the dogs away when the moose knocked her down and kicked her.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say the moose was protecting her calf. FWP Sgt. Joe Jaquith says the agency is not taking any action against the moose.

The woman was taken out of the area on a stretcher, but Jaquith says she is going to be OK

He says the moose and her calf appeared unharmed when FWP workers checked on them after the attack.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Authorities identify men in in fatal shooting

(Information in the following story is from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Authorities have identified two men involved in a fatal shooting during an apparent break-in at a home outside Helena.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff identified the homeowner as 66-year-old James Stiffler.

Stiffler told authorities he arrived at his home Wednesday and found an intruder inside. Police say Stiffler confronted the intruder and shot him in the chest.

Police say the intruder died after attempting to flee.

The Independent Record reports coroner Mickey Nelson identified the deceased man as 37-year-old Henry Thomas Johnson III of Helena.

Nelson says Johnson died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Sheriff Leo Dutton says the evidence found so far matches Stiffler's account of the events.

Deputies are checking into burglaries in the area in which they believe Johnson may have been involved.

LOCKWOOD SHOOTING-METH CHARGE

Man shot in January denies meth possession

(Information in the following story is from: KULR-TV, http://www.kulr8.com)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 53-year-old Lockwood man who police say was shot by his son over a drug debt has denied federal drug and weapons charges.

KULR-TV reports Walter Jack White pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Billings on Wednesday to conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm.

White's son, Brandon, previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a weapon in the Jan. 29 shooting that injured his father. Brandon White told authorities he was angry with his father over a disputed $10,000 drug debt.

In March, federal agents searched Walter White's house and found four ounces of meth, two firearms and more than $15,000 in cash.

BLACK BEAR SHOT

Black bear spotted in Forsyth shot by rancher

(Information in the following story is from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — State wildlife officials say no charges will be filed against a Forsyth-area rancher who shot a black bear he believed was threatening his livestock.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials in Miles City say the bear was shot Tuesday morning just northeast of Forsyth. It had been spotted in the area since Sunday and had even wandered into the city limits.

FWP spokeswoman Cathy Stewart tells The Billings Gazette that a game warden was on his way to tranquilize the 190-pound bear when it was shot. She says after discussions with the Rosebud County attorney, officials decided not to file charges against the landowner.

FWP has increased the fall black bear harvest quota in the area due to increased activity.

The hide and the head of the bear were saved for educational purposes.

LEASE FRAUD INVESTIGATION

Calif. couple face contempt charges for jail call

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A California couple convicted in a Bakken oil investment scam has been arraigned on contempt of court charges in Montana.

Suzette Gal and her husband, Mike Campa appeared separately Thursday before Magistrate Judge Keith Strong in Great Falls.

Federal prosecutors say Gal had a telephone conversation with her jailed husband and discussed evidence in her case four days into a trial that led to her conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Campa already had pleaded guilty, and he and Gal were under a court order not to discuss the case. Court documents indicate their call was recorded.

They face up to six months in prison on one count each of contempt of court.

Attorneys for the couple said they are not guilty but declined further comment on the case.

SHIELD LAW

Montana delegation backs federal media shield law

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is joining the call for a federal media shield law in the wake of the Justice Department's seizure of journalists' records.

The Obama administration has in recent weeks acknowledged seizing portions of two months of phone records from The Associated Press. The Justice Department also read the emails of a Fox News reporter in separate investigations about the publication of government secrets.

Baucus said Thursday that he is co-sponsoring a proposed federal media shield law. It seeks to let journalists protect confidential sources and gather information free from government intrusion.

The Democrat the new law would "combat the chilling impact the DOJ's actions have had on the press."

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and U.S. Rep. Steve Daines have previously called for a new media shield law.

STATE SERVICES-LAWSUIT

State asks judge to dismiss referendum challenge

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana officials are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a voter-approved law that requires those seeking state services to prove they are eligible to receive them.

District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock heard arguments Thursday.

Solicitor General Lawrence VanDyke says the lawsuit is speculative and the plaintiffs have no standing to make their claims because nobody has been injured or threatened by the law.

An immigration-rights group, a labor union and an immigrant filed the lawsuit after voters approved the initiative in November.

The law requires proof of citizenship or legal standing from applicants for services from unemployment and disability benefits to crime-victim assistance.

The plaintiffs say the law unconstitutionally requires state agencies to determine who is not in the country legally and turn them over to federal authorities.

LOTTERY PRIZES CLAIMED

Lottery winners claim top prizes

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Hamilton woman has claimed a $50,000 top prize from the "Super Monopoly" scratch game.

Montana Lottery officials say Julia Wall bought her winning ticket at People's Market in Darby. She plans to use the windfall to buy a sport utility vehicle.

Three other people have recently claimed $10,000 prizes.

Donald Duncan of Red Lodge claimed a top prize for the "Betty Boop" game with a ticket sold at Rockin' J in Red Lodge, while Michaela Orton of Bigfork claimed a top prize from the "$10,000 Taxes Paid" scratch game. She bought her ticket at Ferndale Market.

And late last week, David Poole of Helena claimed a $10,000 Powerball prize from a ticket purchased at a Town Pump for the May 15 drawing. A ticket sold in Belfry also won $10,000, but the winner hasn't come forward.

WESTERN-ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Western football coach named athletic director

DILLON, Mont. (AP) — Montana Western football coach Ryan Nourse is leaving the team after two years to become the university's athletic director.

School officials say Nourse begins his new duties on July 1.

He says it was a difficult decision to leave the team, but he felt he could make a positive impact on the athletic department and the university.

Nourse came to Western from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, recruiting coordinator and camp coordinator during 2010 and the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 2003 to 2008.

Nourse played football at Western and was a member of its 1994 Frontier Conference championship team. He graduated in 1997.

Nourse takes over for interim athletic director Janelle Handlos, who will return to her position as head athletic trainer.

MSU BILLINGS-BALOG

MSU Billings removes interim tag for soccer coach

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana State Billings athletics director Krista Montague has removed the interim tag for men's soccer coach Alex Balog.

Balog has served as interim coach since Feb. 18, but has been part of the soccer program as an assistant since 2011. He succeeds Dan McNally, who recently accepted a position with the University of Cincinnati.

Balog's hiring was announced Thursday.

Prior to MSU Billings, Balog was an assistant coach at Auburn University Montgomery, an NAIA school. He has also coached for the Olympic Development Program and was the director of goalkeeping for a club team in Montgomery, Ala.

Last summer, he was an assistant for the Colorado Rapids women's team of the United Soccer League.

Shooting at home near Helena leaves 1 dead

(Information in the following story is from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Lewis and Clark County authorities say a person has died in a shooting at a home outside of Helena.

Capt. Jason Grimmis of the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office says a homeowner reported an intruder on Canyon Ferry Road Wednesday.

Grimmis tells the Independent Record the homeowner confronted the intruder. Shots were fired and the intruder was wounded.

Grimmis says the intruder left the home, got into his vehicle and drove into a chain link fence.

The person died at the scene.

Police are investigating. Coroner Mickey Nelson was at the scene.

A person is allowed to use deadly force against an intruder under the state's "Castle Doctrine" if the person believes he may be harmed.

It is unclear whether that self-defense law is applicable in this case.

WYOMING TRIPLE SLAYING

Defendants plead not guilty in Clark slayings

(Information in the following story is from: Powell (Wyo.) Tribune, http://www.powelltribune.com)

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Two teenagers charged in the shooting deaths of a woman and her parents near the Wyoming-Montana border earlier this year have pleaded not guilty.

Nineteen-year-olds Stephen Hammer and Tanner Vanpelt appeared before District Judge Steven Cranfill in Cody on Wednesday.

The Powell Tribune reports that defense lawyers entered the pleas for each defendant.

Prosecutors charge the teens shot and killed Ildiko Freitas and her parents, Janos and Hildegard Volgyesi, at a residence in the small community of Clark on March 2.

The teens face 11 felony counts each, including murder charges that could carry the death penalty.

Prosecutors haven't decided whether to seek the death penalty.

AIRPORT GUNS-SENTENCING

Mont. man gets 3 years for guns in Calif. airport

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a Montana man to three years in prison for trying to board a flight in Sacramento, Calif., with four loaded guns.

Harold E. Waller of Circle, Mont., was arrested in March 2012 as he attempted to pass through security screening with a loaded 9 mm handgun in a shoulder holster. Screeners also found guns and ammunition in his three carry-on bags.

The judge issued a stiffer sentence Wednesday than federal guidelines called for, saying Waller downplayed his actions and characterized them as a mistake.

The 46-year-old's mother, Helen Waller, previously told The Associated Press her son was being treated for depression at a Sacramento clinic before he bought a one-way ticket to Alaska.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to board an aircraft with a concealed weapon.

BOZEMAN CHURCH VANDALISM-REWARD

FBI offering reward in church vandalism cases

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for vandalizing two Bozeman churches.

The federal agency said Wednesday it became involved because of the possibility that one or both incidents may be a violation of civil rights.

The first break-in happened on March 9 at the Kirkwood Baptist Church. Holy Rosary Catholic Church was vandalized on April 7. Bozeman Police say the churches were broken into overnight, anti-religious messages were spray-painted inside the buildings, several fires were set, and there was significant damage done to property inside.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI's Bozeman office at 406-994-0927 or the Bozeman Police Department at 406-582-2010.

Tips can also be emailed to SaltLakeCity(at)ic.fbi.gov.

TRIBAL WATER-MISSING CASH

Feds lift hold on reservation pipeline project

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Federal officials have lifted their temporary hold on funding for a $361 million water pipeline for a Native American reservation in northern Montana.

Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Tyler Johnson said Wednesday the agency is satisfied Chippewa Cree tribal officials are addressing the problems identified in March.

The agency temporarily halted funding the 50-mile pipeline project after discovering money had gone missing, a tribal leader had steered federal dollars to a company he owns. The agency also found accounting problems.

Since then, a federal corruption investigation into the project has resulted in six indictments. That includes Chippewa Cree Construction Corp. CEO Tony Belcourt, whom the BOR identified as having a conflict of interest.

Belcourt pleaded not guilty to fraud, theft and money laundering charges.

He has been suspended from the company.

REGENTS-TUITION FREEZE

Regents meeting in Great Falls

(Information in the following story is from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com)

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — The state Board of Regents is scheduled to set tuition and fees for state-funded schools for the next two years when it meets in Great Falls on Thursday and Friday.

The board also is scheduled to vote a "performance-based" funding system for campuses that bases a portion of their state funding on their graduation and student retention rates.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the $7.5 million in performance funding was part of the College Affordability Plan negotiated between Gov. Steve Bullock and key legislators. Under CAP, the university system received an additional $28 million in state funding to cover inflation and pay raises in exchange for a tuition freeze.

Regents gave initial approval to CAP last month.

OBIT-HALVERSON

Executive director of MT Coaches Association dies

(Information in the following story is from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com)

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Ralph Halverson, the longtime executive director of the Montana Coaches Association, has died a few days after suffering a stroke.

He was 93.

Halverson's daughter, Vicky Nelson, tells the Great Falls Tribune her father died Monday in San Diego.

Halverson has been director of the MCA Coaches Clinic, held each summer in Great Falls, since 1981. Hundreds of high school coaches attend the clinics, hearing from high-profile coaches in numerous sports.

Halverson competed in track and basketball at Northern State College in South Dakota. He was a teacher and coach in Belt and Cascade before become track and field coach at Great Falls High in 1967 — a job he held for 17 years.

A memorial service is planned June 7 in Great Falls.