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<title>Montana Policy Institute -  Roundup</title>
<description>Because Liberty Makes all the Difference</description>
<link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/</link>
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<title>Shall Trains Be Silenced in Helena?</title><description><![CDATA[The majority of people who responded to a Helena Citizens Council survey this summer supported the idea of using taxpayer money to implement a quiet zone in the city, saying the sounds of train horns pose quality of life issues for area residents, especially at night.
&ldquo;It irritates me so much, I wonder if the train engineer is simply antagonizing the neighborhood,&rdquo; wrote one respondent.
The HCC posted the voluntary survey online in early July and is still adding a few stray entries to its final tallies. Of the 481 people who&rsquo;d responded by Aug. 18, about 53 percent said the train horns are a problem at night and 15 percent said they&rsquo;re a problem all day long, submitting an assortment of anecdotal evidence about spouses, children and babies who are frequently awoken by the sound.
More than 60 percent of respondents said they would describe train horns as a &ldquo;quality of life issue&rdquo; and about 25 percent called it a &ldquo;health issue.&rdquo; Of the 444 people who responded to one particular question, close to 43 percent said the noise from the horns is a &ldquo;significant problem&rdquo; and 18 percent deemed it the &ldquo;No. 1 problem in Helena.&rdquo;
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here]]></description><pubDate>September 8, 2010, 9:17 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=804</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Controversial and Expensive Border Construction Still on Moratorium</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;A construction moratorium on a little-used border post between Montana and Saskatchewan will continue through next week and possibly longer.


The $8.5 million stimulus-funded renovation was halted in early August after the Canadians announced they were planning to close their side of the crossing that sees just five travelers per day.
Sen. Jon Tester's office says the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is maintaining the Whitetail construction moratorium until after he holds a town hall Tuesday in Scobey to discuss the border post.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said last week in Havre that options include sharing the renovated border outpost with Canadian officials.
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>September 3, 2010, 11:59 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=803</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Helena Sheriff Turns Teens in... To Their Parents</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;General rule of thumb: When looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff.


Authorities say a Helena teen sent out a text message last week in search of pot, but instead of contacting the drug dealer, he hit a wrong number and inadvertently sent the message to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.
The text read, &quot;Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now?&quot;
Dutton told the Helena Independent Record he initially thought it was a joke, but he quickly realized it was a real request for drugs. He responded to the text, and a detective pretending to be the dealer organized a meeting with the boy last Wednesday.
The detective spotted two teenage boys and a man at the arranged meeting spot and called the number three times to make sure he had the right person. Dutton said when the detective showed the teens his badge, their faces turned white and their knees began to wobble. One of the boys even fainted.
The man in the group turned out to be the father of one of the teens, and no citations were issued after the parents of both boys got involved.
&quot;Trying to buy drugs is a crime, but it's probably worse that they had to face their parents,&quot; Dutton said.
For More of this Missoulian Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>September 3, 2010, 11:30 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=802</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>"Stimulus" Fails to Curb Montana Unemployment, Again</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;The state Labor Department says Montana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 7.3 percent.


The national unemployment rate also held steady, at 9.5 percent.
Labor Director Keith Kelly says the unchanged unemployment rate compared to June figures suggests employers are hesitant to add more workers until they see indications of a stronger economic recovery.
For More of this BIllings Gazette Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 23, 2010, 3:17 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=801</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>State Lawmakers Meet to Discuss Medical Marijuana</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;Lawmakers are meeting to make final recommendations on a slate of proposals aimed at cracking down on medical marijuana.


An interim legislative committee meeting Monday will be sending the draft laws to the full Legislature for consideration in early 2011.
Through the end of July, about 23,500 Montanans had medical marijuana cards. The big increase has prompted concern in many communities around the state.
The proposals would make it more difficult to get a medical marijuana card, clarify the list of eligible diseases, and in some cases require approval from at least two doctors.
For More of this Missoulian Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 23, 2010, 2:58 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=800</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Obama Health Secretary to Be Hosted by Baucus in Missoula</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is bringing President Barack Obama&rsquo;s health secretary to Missoula to discuss rural health care issues.


The Montana Democrat says Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will be at St. Patrick Hospital on Monday.
Baucus played a key role last summer in advancing the health care bill that the president signed into law earlier this year.
Most of the new law takes effect over the next several years.
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 20, 2010, 10:55 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=799</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Community Stands Against State Funding; Raising Hundreds of Thousands for Community Rink and Park</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;More than just a seasonal sheet of ice, Winninghoff Park in Philipsburg is expected to host about 2,000
people for its inaugural concert under the summer sun.
The rink, dressed down appropriately in green grass, will fill Sunday with lawn chairs instead of skates for the show headlined by the Mission Mountain Wood Band and coordinated by the Philipsburg Rotary Club.
Rotarians carefully terraced the adjacent, north-facing hillside to create a natural amphitheater for 2,500 people as part of their seven-year park enhancement project.
For More of this Montana Standard Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 20, 2010, 10:33 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=798</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>State May Require New Homes to Obtain Water Permits, Regardless of Well Status</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;Montana officials said Wednesday they will rewrite a rule that allowed tens of thousands of rural homes to be built without water permits, but it was unclear what impact the proposal would have on development.


Rural homes can be built in Montana without a water permit if they have their own well. But ranchers and conservation groups say aquifers can be strained beyond capacity by such exemptions.
There&rsquo;s no limit on how many exemptions can be issued, and more than 70,000 have been granted for new homes in the last four decades.
The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation ruled Wednesday to repeal the exemption in coming months. A tentative replacement would limit the number of well exemptions allowed for a single project or subdivision to 12.
DNRC water resources division administrator Tom Schultz said that would encourage builders to construct projects of 12 homes or fewer in rural areas.
&ldquo;Over time, you could expect development patterns to shift,&rdquo; he said.
Yet critics said developers could build 12 homes one year, then come back the next year to build 12 more, and so on into the future.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a change on paper and not a change in practice,&rdquo; said Laura Ziemer with Trout Unlimited&rsquo;s Montana Water Project.
Dustin Stewart, with the Montana Building Industry Association, said Wednesday&rsquo;s ruling was a &ldquo;small victory&rdquo; because it preserved the idea of water-permit exemptions for rural subdivisions.
Without the exemptions, Stewart&rsquo;s group said, the cost of attaining water permits could limit development.
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 19, 2010, 2:06 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=797</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Full Work Comp Overhaul to Appear During Legislative Session</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;A proposed workers' compensation overhaul hammered out by business and labor is going to the full Legislature despite stiff opposition from the equally powerful trial lawyers and doctors groups.


A legislative committee tasked with fixing an expensive system unanimously approved the plan Thursday. It goes to the full Legislature in January.
The proposal promises to lower costs for businesses and increase worker benefits by a little. But it would do so at the expense of doctors who treat the workers and lawyers who represent them in disputes.
For More of this Missoulian Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 19, 2010, 1:50 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=796</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Oversize Loads Halted by Judge in Idaho</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;A state judge has brought a temporary halt to a ConocoPhillips plan to truck oversized loads of massive oil refinery equipment along curvy, scenic U.S. Highway 12 in northcentral Idaho.


The temporary restraining order, issued Tuesday by 2nd District Judge John Bradbury, is an initial victory for residents and business owners who oppose plans to transport the heavy machinery along a roadway that traces the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.
Three Idaho residents filed a lawsuit Monday asking Bradbury to step in and block the first of what could be more than 200 oversized truckloads through the corridor. ConocoPhillips had hoped to begin as early as Wednesday hauling coke drums &mdash; each exceeding the state limit for length, weight and height &mdash; from the port in Lewiston, along the corridor to Lolo Pass, then to its refinery plant in Billings.
Later this year, Exxon Mobil Corp. is targeting the same roadway for up to 200 shipments of Korean-made equipment destined for the Kearl Oil Sands project in Alberta. Officials estimate each load will weigh more than 300 tons, reach 27 feet high and stretch 29 feet wide, taking up both lanes of the roadway and slowing nighttime traffic along the winding, two-lane highway.
In his ruling, Bradbury sided with the plaintiffs, finding on his initial reading of their case that the Idaho Department of Transportation may be violating its own regulations in issuing permits to ConocoPhillips.
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here

&nbsp;]]></description><pubDate>August 18, 2010, 1:47 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=795</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>BLM Director to Visit Treasure State</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;The director of the Bureau of Land Management, Robert Abbey, has agreed to a public meeting to address concerns about the possible creation of a national monument in Valley and Phillips counties.


&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty good to get a national director to visit,&rdquo; said Richard Dunbar, one of three Phillips County commissioners who invited Abbey.
Abbey will speak in the Malta High School gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16.
&ldquo;From my perspective, this is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate the commissioners taking the step to in-vite him,&rdquo; said Rich Adams, Malta Field Office manager for the BLM.
For More of this Billings Gazette Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 18, 2010, 1:32 pm</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=794</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>$1,000,000 To Be Spent on Montana Healthcare "Fairness" Evaluation</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;As part of the federal health care reform law, Montana is getting $1 million in federal funds to help it review whether health insurance premiums are fairly priced in the state.

One problem, however: Montana has little or no authority in state law to review or approve these rates.
Monica Lindeen, the state auditor and insurance commissioner, will be asking the 2011 Legislature to grant her office that authority.
In the meantime, however, Lindeen&rsquo;s office will start using the money to gather information on health insurance rates in Montana, design Web-based material to help consumers shop for health insurance and beef up existing enforcement.
&ldquo;What we need to do, before we move forward, is just to see where we&rsquo;re at,&rdquo; said Jackie Boyle, spokeswoman for Lindeen. &ldquo;We really need a sense of what&rsquo;s going on (in the market), and that takes a lot of work by an actuary.&rdquo;
For More of this Billings Gazette Story, Click Here]]></description><pubDate>August 17, 2010, 11:18 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=793</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Butte-Silverbow May End Dispensaries Until Legislature Meets</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;Butte-Silver Bow commissioners are set to meet Wednesday to consider a moratorium on new medical marijuana businesses in the county.


In May, officials with the consolidated city and county government spoke informally about how to manage the sale of medical marijuana in Butte, but did not take action. Commissioner Mike Sheehy said then he saw no need for local leaders to intervene, and he hoped the free market would weed out the bad businesses from the good.
But commission chairman Dave Palmer says he will ask Wednesday for a stop to the issuance of business licenses to such operations, saying &quot;we need to take a step and say no more shops until the Legislature decides what to do with it.&quot;
For More of this Missoulian Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 17, 2010, 11:12 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=792</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>MT FWP Proposes $1.5 Million in Conservation Easements</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;Montana fish and wildlife officials are proposing to conserve more than 1,600 acres of private ranch and farm land along the Missouri River, saying the wildlife habitat is in danger of becoming another housing subdivision.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks estimates it would spend about $1.5 million on two properties, each 800 acres or more and includes 10 miles of Missouri River between Cascade and Ulm that is teeming with wildlife from white-tailed deer to sandhill cranes.
&quot;It's very, very critical habitat,&quot; said Cory Loecker, a FWP wildlife biologist based in Great Falls.
Riparian zones, which support a disproportionate share of the state's wildlife, are being threatened by housing development along the Missouri River. Residential, commercial and recreational development of the properties could displace native plants, prime soils and wetlands, according to FWP.
For More of this Bozeman Daily Chronicle Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 16, 2010, 8:31 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=791</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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<title>Court Battles Rage Following State Seizure of 500 Miles of Riverbed</title><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;PPL Montana is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the state of Montana from seizing ownership of riverbeds and forcing rent payments, arguing other states may copy the move.


PPL Montana is fighting for relief from a state Supreme Court decision forcing it to pay $40 million in current rent, as well as damages for not paying rent for land its dams sit on from 2000 through 2007, plus even more in future rent.
The court decision means the land under the dams is like other public land that is rented out, such as to those who graze cattle or drill for oil.
PPL Montana said the state overstepped its authority and asked the nation&rsquo;s high court Thursday to intervene in the case. PPL said the state&rsquo;s high court was wrong in claiming Montana ownership over 500 miles of riverbeds under multiple hydropower facilities.
&ldquo;This came as quite a shock, because for more than a century the riverbeds beneath those facilities have been treated as owned by private parties or the federal government,&rdquo; the company wrote in its brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.
For More of this Helena Independent Record Story, Click Here
]]></description><pubDate>August 16, 2010, 8:28 am</pubDate><link>http://www.montanapolicy.org/main/news.php?news_id=790</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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