Photo courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The citizens of Montana passed a referendum several years ago allowing the manufacture and sale of medical marijuana. Initially, the Obama administration indicated that the federal government placed medical marijuana at a low law enforcement priority. All that changed in 2011, as federal agents raided medical marijuana clinics and businesses in Montana, and many were arrested. Missoula attorney Milt Datsopoulus is representing one of those suspects, and expresses
his outrage over how his client and others are being treated by both state and federal authorities. That interview is attached.

Datsopoulus was able to convince a federal judge to delay the trial of his client and others, including former University of Montana quarterback Jason Washington. The trials won’t begin until October.

Photo courtesy of Davegriffiths/Flickr

Today, the U.S. Supreme court overturned a Montana Supreme court decision that would have forced the Hydroelectric Dam operator PPL to pay lease fees totaling around 41 million dollars. KGVO News spoke with the Director of External Affairs for PPL, David Hoffman about the case.

The fight isn’t over yet, but with the U.S. Supreme courts ruling, it is unlikely that the Montana Supreme Court will find a way to charge PPL or other riparian land owners similar lease fees in the near future.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

39 year-old Bruce James Murphy made an appearance Tuesday in Missoula Justice Court to hear charges that he sexually abused two children, one 11 year-old girl and one 5 year-old boy. The children’s mother reported the incident last Friday. I spoke with Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jason Marks about the charges. That interview is attached.Mr. Murphy could receive a sentence of life in prison if convicted on all charges.

Photo courtesy of Mario Tama/Getty Images

On February 28th nearly 60 teams from schools all over the state will gather in Missoula and compete at the 8th annual Academic WorldQuest competition organized by the Montana World Affairs Council. I spoke with Executive Director Aubrie Lyons about the upcoming competition on Wednesday afternoon. That interview is attached. Missoula Mayor Jon Engen will be the Master of ceremonies, and Lt. Governor John Bolinger will be one of the questioners.

Photo courtesy of Bitterroot@flickr.com

At 10 o’clock Wednesday morning a group of 20 to 30 people gathered inside the Missoula County Courthouse to bid on the Lolo Peak property owned by the MacClay family. There were two bids presented, and one was accepted. I spoke with Missoula County Sheriff’s Department clerk Kelly Job about the sale. That interview is attached. MacClay has one year to redeem the property that he once planned to turn into a world-class ski resort.

Photo courtesy of Tim Cummins/Flickr

A woman was hit and severely injured by a train in Billings this morning in what appears to be an attempted suicide. The woman, whose name has not yet been released, is one of many people injured each year by freight and passenger trains in the United States. According to the Federal Railroad Administration there have been over train 10,000 accidents nationwide  since January 2011 resulting in 644 deaths. The deaths and injuries are tragic, but what often goes unnoticed are the effects of these accidents on the railroad engineers. KGVO News spoke with railroad engineer David King to get a view from the other side of a railroad accident.

If the incident in Billings was a suicide, it certainly wouldn’t be the first case. Suicide attempts involving trains result in a ninety percent death rate. Although it’s difficult to know how many, The Federal Railroad Administration estimates that there are around 300 to 500 suicide-by-train deaths each year,

Photo courtesy of ms.Tea/Flickr

People have argued back and forth over the benefits and hazards of drinking alcohol, but a new drink may be stepping into the limelight of debate. The FDA recently released a warning about the dangers of grapefruit juice. Yes, grapefruit juice. But don’t put your glass of pink liquid down too fast, the warning is only for those on certain medications.

The reason grapefruit can become harmful is that it shuts down a particular enzyme in our digestive system known as CYP3A4. Cyp3a4 works in our small intestine and helps us metabolize our food. When certain drugs aren’t metabolized, they go directly into our bloodstream at sometimes dangerous levels. This can happen even if you drink grapefruit juice hours before or after using medication.

You may be at risk while drinking grapefruit juice if you take any of the following medications.

• some statin drugs to lower cholesterol, such as Zocor (simvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Pravachol (pravastatin)
• some blood pressure-lowering drugs, such as Nifediac and Afeditab (both nifedipine)
• some organ transplant rejection drugs, such as Sandimmune and Neoral (both cyclosporine)
• some anti-anxiety drugs, such as BuSpar (buspirone)
• some anti-arrhythmia drugs, such as Cordarone and Nexterone (both amiodarone)
• some antihistamines, such as Allegra (fexofenadine)

Ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider if grapefruit juice interferes with your medication, and be aware that tangelos and Seville oranges have the same effect.

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.