Tester tours the Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center (Image from facebook.com)

Sen. Jon Tester says he is confident his record will stand in his re-election challenge from Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg.

Tester formally filed with state officials Tuesday to appear on the ballot. The Democrat who came from behind to topple former Sen. Conrad Burns in 2006 is seeking a second term.

The race between Tester and Rehberg is already a multimillion-dollar slugfest expected to only receive more attention as November draws near.

Tester is being attacked as an ally of President Barack Obama. Tester says he does not regret votes in favor of health care reform because he argues it will help fix a broken system.

Tester counters that he thinks Rehberg has been guilty of “irresponsible decisions” while serving in Congress for more than a decade.

95th Forester's Ball (Image from facebook.com)

University of Montana President Royce Engstrom says changes must be made to the Foresters’ Ball if the nearly century-old tradition is to continue.

About 140 students were kicked out of the dance this month for being intoxicated and unruly.

In a Tuesday letter to College of Forestry and Conservation Dean James Burchfield, Engstrom laid out the changes he wants. They include making the event earlier, eliminating venues that encourage inappropriate behavior, having a more manageable attendance size and planning to keep drunk people from entering.

Engstrom also says the dance must be family friendly for at least part of the time and it must be designed to be educational as opposed to a party.

Engstrom set an April 15 deadline to submit a plan for a redesigned ball.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Nicole Lynn Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to felony charges of custodial interference, distribution of drugs and tampering. She also denied misdemeanor charges of obstruction and possessing drug paraphernalia during a hearing via video before District Judge Gregory Todd on Tuesday.

Todd maintained Hutchinson’s bail at $100,000.

Hutchison was arrested Feb. 8. Prosecutors allege she hid the boy at her house between Oct. 17 and Nov. 8 until school officials received a tip about his location.

The boy told police he that he smoked marijuana and Hutchinson gave him pills that made him feel “loopy” and sleepy.

Image from youtube.com

Here’s Peter Christian with the latest Montana sports: MT Griz hosting Lumberjacks tomorrow, high school sports update, Grizzly Scholarship Association holding Fan Appreciation Tailgate Saturday.

Before I get too far into this article, I must admit that I am by no means living a completely dependent free life. Off of the top of my head I can list college aid, food stamps, energy assistance, and health assistance in the form of medicaid as programs that I have taken advantage of. As a result, I have an intimate knowledge of the usefulness and the harm of these programs. The usefulness is obvious, there were months where my family and I would have had to beg to get by without assistance. We are not particularly unable either, I assume that there are many more families in much worse conditions that were saved from tragedy by these programs.

The harms, however, are great indeed. First, the growth of dependance in a democracy is especially harmful because there is always a risk that programs become supported not out of the good they can do for the community, but out of the good they can do for a particular voting block. This act of self-interested voting is the unseen hand I alluded to earlier and the main cause, in my mind, for the growth of dependency in the U.S. The second major harm of these programs is that there is no connection between the giver and the receiver. When a recipient of food stamps recharges their EBT card, there is no direct emotional connection that inspires duty or shame on the behalf of the receiver. I feel more shame when I need to ask for money from my family, for example, than I do from using a food card. I don’t think I am alone and although it may be hard to see, shame is good.  For those that are able, shame and duty are great motivators and without them it is easy to see aid as less of a gift and more of a right.

The combination of viewing aid as a right and the power of the vote lead to an overgrowing table of dependency that will continue to spread until nearly everyone is sharing in the deserts while only a few are actually making them. Hopefully, we will have the moral will to vote against our own self-interest when the time comes.

Missoula Maulers (Image from missoulamaulers.com)

From Michael Burks, President of the Missoula Maulers:

Yes Maulers fans… can you believe it?? Only 4 more home games left in the 2011-2012 regular season! This Friday is one of those 4! The Bozeman Icedogs are coming back to town and I guarantee they are frothing at the mouth after the Mauler’s exciting 1-0 victory this past Friday night. The Maulers still have first place bragging rights, but have to win every game to keep Helena off their heels so we need as many fans as possible to make some noise!!!

The Maulers also are on a 15 game winning streak and are undefeated in the year 2012! In addition, the Maulers have broken their all-time regular season win record with 35 victories. But, the season is not over and we have 4 more weeks of hockey before the playoff run begins!

Photo courtesy of @dino/Flickr

Like most Americans, I start my day with a cup of coffee. I have a cup or two while I’m at work and then maybe a cup when I get home. Sometimes I wonder if it’s good for me to be drinking so much coffee. I’ve done a little research lately, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/coffee-healthbenefits_n_1064577.html#s440649&title=Coffee_Or_At, and found that it’s not so bad to drink so much coffee, in fact it can actually be good for you.

1-3 cups per day

Women have a 15 percent lower risk of depression. Men have a 30 percent less chance of getting prostate cancer. Coffee also helps lower the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease by as much as 25 percent.

3-5 cups per day

Women have a 20 percent lower risk of depression. Coffee helps to fight Alzheimer’s disease. It also lowers the chances of getting basal cell carcinoma (the most common cancer in the world) in women by 20%, and it lowers the chances of men getting carcinoma by 9 percent.

6 cups per day

Men have a 60 percent less chance of getting a dangerous form of prostate cancer.

It is important to note that decaf coffee does not have the same health benefits as caffeinated coffee does. Also, with all things, it is important to consume coffee in moderation.

If all these health benefits aren’t enough, it might be helpful to learn that for every extra cup of coffee you drink a day, it lowers your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 7 percent.

Joy Larson is a mother of four, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

Photo courtesy of put that down/Flickr

If you watch ESPN on a semi-regular basis, you’ve probably seen the NCAA public service announcement that features several former Division I athletes rattling off statistics about student-athlete graduation rates.

At the end of the spot, a women’s basketball player peers into the camera and says, confidently and matter-of-factly, “Still think we’re just a bunch of dumb jocks?”

The facts and figures don’t lie. Despite the “dumb jock” stigma often associated with college athletes, they are ahead of the general student population in many areas.

At The University of Montana, the academic performance of student athletes is probably much more impressive than you would guess. For the past 13 consecutive semesters, Grizzly athletes have maintained an average cumulative GPA above 3.0, with UM’s 272 student-athletes turning in an average GPA of 3.06 for the fall 2011 semester.

That’s a full .15 points higher than the average GPA of 2.9 that was earned by the 10,000-plus undergraduates in UM’s general student population.

On top of that, athletes averaged more credits (13.29 versus 11.84) and earned more perfect 4.0 GPAs (7.7 percent versus 5.4 percent) than the general student population, despite time-consuming commitments like practice, travel and competitions.

Granted, the sports that often get the worst rap for academic performance — football and men’s basketball — didn’t make the list of UM teams with the top five GPAs. That group included women’s cross country (3.69), women’s track and field (3.45), volleyball (3.42), soccer (3.32) and men’s tennis (3.31).  But that just goes to show, you can’t judge a group of almost 300 athletes based on vague stereotypes.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of Marcmoss/Flickr

Many developers in Missoula have complained about the long waits for approvals, permits and project applications. Increased waiting times make projects cost more and delays the time that they can be profitable.  Last January, a study commonly called the Taylor Report was published. The report made many suggestions to the city of Missoula as to how it could speed up the application process and create a “one-stop” customer service model for licensing and processing.

Unlike most of the major cities in the Northwest, the Missoula City Office of Planning and grants is intimately tied to the Missoula County Office of Planning and Grants. The Taylor report’s first suggested step towards the “one-stop” model was to break-up the inter-local agreement that tied the city and county offices together. The plan originally met with some objections from the city council which wanted a “working group” to discuss the process. The Missoula Planning board will meet tonight to discuss these issues.

Photo courtesy of Bitterroot@flickr.com

The Sheriff’s sale for the MacClay property that includes land on Lolo Peak that was once proposed as a major ski area is scheduled for tomorrow, February 22nd, on the Missoula County Courthouse steps. I spoke with Friends of Lolo Peak board member Daphne Herling on Tuesday afternoon about what the group wants to happen to the public land surrounding MacClay’s property. That interview is attached.

Court records say MacClay’s outstanding debt on the land is over $23 million dollars.

Photo courtesy of Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

A Washington State man died yesterday afternoon when his snowmobile was buried in an avalanche in the Lost Johnny drainage near the Flathead River. I spoke with Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry about the incident this afternoon. That interview is attached.

The victim’s name was released today. It is Charles John Dundan III. His body was recovered from the avalanche site late last night.

Photo courtesy of Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The Montana Health Co-operative has received a loan for over $58 million dollars to add primary care capacity to the government run health insurance option. The loan must be repaid by the co-operative which will begin providing coverage in 2014. I spoke with Medicare Regional Representative Mike Fierberg about the loan program on Tuesday afternoon. That interview is attached.

Montana Health Cooperative
Service Area: Montana
Award Amount:  $58,138,300
Award Date: February 21, 2012

Montana Health Cooperative is sponsored by a coalition of small businesses and community leaders and plans to add a strong primary care capacity to Montana’s rural and medically underserved communities.  Montana Health Cooperative will provide health insurance coverage statewide. 

Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Butte-Silver Bow County officials say George Fode was driving from Butte to Anaconda Friday evening when he and his wife began arguing. She reported he began swerving and driving up to 90 mph.

The Montana Standard reports Fode exited the highway and headed back toward Butte on the frontage road. At one point, his wife and two children were able to get out of the SUV. Officers say the woman could not get their youngest child out of a car seat before he drove off.

Officers arrested Fode at his house. He also faces four counts of felony criminal endangerment.

Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images

Beginning in 2010, United has offered one nonstop daily flight from Missoula to San Francisco during the summer months. The once daily direct seasonal service resumes in June, 2012, and will increase to twice daily direct service in July and August, 2012.

Flights can be booked now at www.united.com.

Four airlines, Alaska, Allegiant, Delta, and United, have operations at Missoula International Airport. Nonstop flights are offered to eleven major markets (Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Oakland, Phoenix-Mesa, Portland,

Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle) and thousands of destinations worldwide. For more information on flights into and out of Missoula, visit the Airport website at www.flymissoula.com.

Photo courtesy of futureatlas.com/flickr

Gas prices in Montana have been increasing over the past week, but AAA Montana says they’re still well behind the national average.

AAA’s fuel gauge report says the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Montana was $3.13 on Monday, which is 44 cents below the national average of $3.57.

AAA spokeswoman Tara Hanely says Montana is generally slow to follow the national trend.

Surrounding states also have lower prices than the rest of the country, including Wyoming at $3.05, Colorado at $3.08 and Utah at $3.11.

AAA says escalating tensions with Iran, economic instability in Europe and a disruption in crude oil distribution are factors in the increased price of gasoline, along with the fact that lagging demand has refineries planning to cut back production.

Missoula Maulers (Image from missoulamaulers.com)

Here’s the latest sports news from Montana’s news station KPAX: MT Griz Basketball, this week’s Big Sky Player of the Week, Lady Griz and Missoula Maulers still number one.

Thinkstock

Love to eat curry? It may do more than tingle your tastebuds.

According to a new study, curry spice components may help slow the growth of tumors in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center found that curcumin, the active ingredient of Indian curry spice, supresses two nuclear receptor activators, p300 and CPB, which have been shown to work against androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a prostate cancer treatment.

ADT inhibits the androgen receptor, which is a vital male hormone in the development and growth of prostate cancer. But sophisticated tumor cells, with the help of p300 and CPB, sometimes bypass the therapy.

In their study findings, researchers learned that curcumin increased the results of ADT, and lowered cell number compared to ADT alone. In addition, curcumin was found to be a strong fighter of both cell cycle and survival in prostate cancer cells. These results were confirmed in lab mice — as tumor growth shrank in substantial levels when the mice were given the spice.

“This study sets the stage for further development of curcumin as a novel agent to target androgen receptor signaling,” said Karen Knudsen, Ph.D., a Professor of Cancer Biology, Urology and Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. “It also has implications beyond prostate cancer since p300 and CPB are important in other malignancies, like breast cancer. In tumors were these play an important function, curcumin may prove to be a promising therapeutic agent.”

Findings were published in the journal Cancer Research.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Over the last few months, there has been some data that suggests the sluggish economy could be improving. Mainly, the unemployment rate, which has dropped to 8.3 percent after reaching a 26-year high of 10 percent in late 2009. However, according to a new survey from Poll Postion, the public is split on whether America is entering into a period of economic recovery.

Thirty-eight percent of the 1,242 registered voters polled said the economy is improving while another 38 percent said it was still deteriorating. Twenty-two percent believe the economy is staying the same.

What political party the respondent belongs to seemed to have a big influence on their economic views. Sixty-eight percent of democrats believe the economy is getting better, whereas 53 percent of republicans think it continues to get worse. Political independents surveyed tended to agree with the republicans.

[Poll Position]

DavidMartynHunt, Flickr

Freelancing allows you to make money on your own terms without permanent employment, but it also means you don’t have access to certain perks like group insurance, administrative support and job growth assistance. Though, since a reported 30 percent of the US workforce is now freelance, that has changed.

A group called Freelancers Union is just one of many organizations whose mission is to help freelancers have access to the same perks that full-time employees receive. For example, a member of the Freelancers Union can pay a standard employee premium and receive the same kind of insurance coverage he would have in a full-time position. The union also has a job board members can use to connect with possible employers.

Other sites like Elance.com, freelancer.com and odesk.com also give freelancers a place to post profiles, find opportunities for work and even download paperwork and contracts to use. Now, even local chambers of commerce and job assistance programs can help freelancers access opportunities, benefits and administrative support.

No longer does freelancing mean you are navigating the business world on your own. Small businesses are what will keep our economy growing, and supporting the smallest of small businesses benefits everyone.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Photo courtesy of Flickr

If you are a skier or a snowboarder interested in helping the hungry you might want to check out Lookout Pass this Friday. Here’s Marketing Director for the Lookout Pass Ski Resort, Bill Jennings to tell you how to hit the slopes for a good cause.

Second Harvest is especially in need of high-protein items such as peanut butter and canned stews. Other items of need are whole grains and healthy breakfast cereals.