HELENA - Students from Butte, Deer Lodge, Anaconda, and Helena convened at the Capitol for National TRiO Day, which aims to help at-risk students achieve a college education.

The United Stated Congress deemed the last Saturday in February as National Trio Day, a day that would put focus on disadvantaged students that are trying to improve their lives by graduating and obtaining higher education.

TRiO programs in Montana are in place at many colleges across the state. They provide support students from sixth grade, all the way through doctoral degrees.

"For the students that don't have that opportunity, because TRiO in general only serves 6-percent of the population, so there's a huge percent of the population that don't get TRiO services, and they don't have those support systems in place,"said Ruth Anne Shope, the assistant director of the Institute for Educational Opportunities at Montana Tech in Butte, which hosts the school's TRiO program.

The National TRiO program has two stipulations for eligibility: Students must be first generation college students, meaning their parents don't have a bachelors degree or higher. Also, a student must be at 150-percent of poverty level.

To learn more about TRiO, click here. 

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MISSOULA - A 28-year-old Missoula woman was arrested Friday night after allegedly driving under the influence with her two children in the car.

Missoula police say the woman, Melanie Ray Ingraham, was arrested just after 6 p.m after hitting a car on the corner of Briggs and Gharrett streets and then driving away from the scene.

When police found Ingraham's car, they found two children who were not restrained in car seats.

She faces charges of driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, and felony criminal endangerment.

 

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The annual Park Riders Roundup is underway on the Terrain Park at the Great Divide Ski Area.

J.P. Stanek, Great Divide manager, explained, "Each rider gets two runs through the course, judged on five features on the course so they have to hit a least five features on their way through the park - it can be any five features they can string together and then they will be judged on the best of those two runs."

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Breezy southwesterly winds will continue to be gusty through the evening and into tomorrow.

The ridge that hung around today brining sunshine and dry conditions will move out and a trough moves in bringing moisture and chances of snow showers for tomorrow.

Tomorrow winds will continue to blow in Great Falls from the SSW at 17-23 mph with gusts up 32 mph, but towards the Helena area winds will begin to calm.

There is a slight chance of snow showers throughout Monday, mostly into the afternoon and accumulation is looking to be scarce in the lower elevations with possibility of several inches in the mountain passes.

With the wind and light snow showers, there is a possibility blowing snow mostly along the Rocky Mountain front and adjacent plains.

Temperatures will cool for Tuesday with highs reaching the mid 30's as a cold air mass moves through.

A warming trend starts on Wednesday and continues through next weekend.

By the end of the week highs will be in the low 50's with mostly sunny skies.

There is a chance of rain/snow showers for next Sunday as a deep trough with pacific moisture moves in Saturday night.

 

 

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GREAT FALLS - The sport of curling takes skill, precision, and poise; it's a favorite of our neighbors in Canada, but the sport's popularity is growing here in America, too - with a few changes.

Andi Hedges, Great Falls curling coordinator, explained,  "We use eight stones, which are actually frozen milk jugs, and we curl back and forth to the houses, which are what the ends are called and we have teams of four."

Those four players are the lead, second, vice and skip; typically you'll see players "sweeping" the ice.

Hedges said, "What they're doing is they're heating it up. It affects the way the stone travels on the ice."

But, since we're using milk jugs, sweeping won't help much because of the uneven surface on the bottom of the jug, so getting the jug to slide in a straight line is a difficult task.

Hedges noted that one of the reasons that amateurs and people just playing for fun use milk jugs instead of a stone is the
cost - a stone can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000.

The professionals use different footwear and a hack - similar to starting blocks for sprinters - to begin the process of a "throw."

But when that equipment isn't available, it's a personal style.

You can catch some curling action right here in Montana in a couple weeks, as the Great Falls women's hockey team hosts the third annual "Stone Curling Bospiel." Click here for more information (PDF).

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A Pacific cold front approaching from the west will bring increasing clouds and gusty winds to much of the state today.

Temperatures will be on the mild side with most places in the lower and middle 40s.

Scattered snow showers will develop across parts of the area tonight into Tuesday as the cold front crosses through.

Most places will only see brief snow showers with little accumulation but some mountain locations could pick up a couple inches.

A strong ridge of high pressure will then start to build over the Pacific Northwest for the second half of the week bringing dry conditions and a significant warming trend.

In fact, by Friday into Saturday, high temperatures will soar 10 to 15 degrees above average with many places climbing into the lower 50s!

Unfortunately for those looking for snow, extended range forecast models indicate no significant storm systems in the next seven days.

Have a great day!

Meteorologist Matt Jones

 

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Another group of malamutes are leaving Montana after former owner Mike Chilinski was convicted on 91 counts of animal cruelty and sentenced to jail.

Malamute Village will be closing up after the last of the dogs go to the Humane Society shelter.

The Lewis & Clark Humane Society has been leasing the location for around $5,000 per month.

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NEAR BELT - The Montana Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that happened early Monday morning near the Armington Junction.

Three people are confirmed dead after a head-on collision involving two vehicles.

The call came in around 3:45 Monday morning, and MHP was dispatched to mile marker 72 near highway 89.

A portion of highway 89 is closed off between Belt and the weigh station.

Traffic is being diverted through Belt.

Troopers are still on scene, as well as a reporter; we will keep you updated as we learn more.

 

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BOZEMAN - The Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy is causing many communities to focus on school security. MTN News reporter Jamie Leary talked with Kristofor Hans, who carried out a school shooting in Lewistown in 1986, and asked him why, and what could be done differently today.

It happened on December 4th, 1986, when then-14 year old Hans shot and killed substitute teacher Henrietta Smith.

Hans recalled, "I remember there was a point where I was walking home and I truly questioned, did any of that happen."

Now, 27 years later, Hans knows many factors contributed to that moment.

Hans said, "I had read a book called 'The Rage' by Stephen King and I thought the same thing would happen to me that happened to the character in the book, which was that he gained respect from his peers."

Mike Smith is the husband of the teacher killed by Hans. While he did not want to be on camera, Smith said that he forgives Hans and says "it's an unfortunate thing that had to happen but the big issue is what can we learn from it."

Hans said, "I think the only way to have stopped me was something in the prevention phase. All the positive role models had failed me. Violence was the only answer."

Hans is serving two 100-year sentences; he is currently a resident at the work and re-entry center at Montana State Prison.

 

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HELENA - Native American lawmakers in the Montana Legislature are opposed to several attempts to manage bison in the state. MTN's political reporter Marnee Banks spoke with lawmakers on both sides to get a sense of this very sensitive issue. 

Republican lawmakers are proposing 10 bills which address the state's management of bison. They include everything from creating a statewide bison hunting season to a bill which allows landowners to kill bison if they trespass onto private property. 

MT State Senator John Brenden (R-Scobey) said, "There has been complete mismanagement by the state of Montana, number one, and even bigger than the mismanagement and bison by Montana, is the federal government's inability to manage the buffalo in Yellowstone Park.

Brenden chairs the Fish & Game Committee and he says farmers and ranchers are asking for relief; they are concerned about bison trampling their fence, eating their hay, and risking the spread of brucellosis to livestock.

However, the American Indian Caucus sees the bills differently.

MT State Senator Sharon Stewart-Peregoy (D-Crow Agency) said, "Unfortunately the American Indian Caucus sees these as direct attacks against the indigenous people of Montana."

They say while the bills violate treaties and private property rights, the bigger concern is cultural and spiritual.

Stewart-Peregoy said, "The reason why it's so upsetting to American Indians, particularly the Plains tribes, is that it was just 300 - 400 years ago, that isn't that isn't too far back in history, that it was our livelihood."

Brenden said, "I can understand where they come from, but just remember one thing, the buffalo created all kinds of things for a living for tribes years and years ago. I mean, it was their food, it was their clothing, it was their housing. It was all kinds of things. But we're in modern America today. Free-roaming buffalo absolutely will not work, no different than if we had dinosaurs."

The American Indian Caucus would like to see the state abide by the current management plans that are in place, while Republicans who are carrying the bills say the current plan just isn't working.

On March 7th the American Indian Caucus is hosting a roundtable discussion about bison management; they are inviting all stakeholders to participate.

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A Helena High School computer programming class has won a state-wide competition for designing an app that helps fire departments monitor their response time.

The competition, sponsored by the Verizon Foundation, is called the Innovative App Challenge.

The challenge was to use STEM - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - to solve a problem in their school or community.

Buffy Smith and her students worked closely with acting Helena Fire Chief Sean Logan to develop the technology.

Logan said they were looking for an app "...that we could mark when we were en route to a call, when we got on scene of a call, and then when we clear from it, and it seems like an easy thing, but to find something that'll actually accurately do that is really not all that easy."

The Helena Fire Department is figuring out just how to incorporate the new technology.

Smith and her students will now go on to compete at the national level and compete for a $10,000 grant that will go to fund the schools STEM program.

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MISSOULA - The rape trial of suspended University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson resumed in a Missoula courtroom on Monday morning.

The accuser's family testified how their daughter and sister changed since the alleged rape.

Judge Karen Townsend is only allowing audio recording of the alleged victim and her family.

The woman's brother said his sister cries more, has become more guarded, and they're not as close.

Johnson's attorney pointed out a message on Twitter that the brother sent shortly after an interview with the defense. The mother was also questioned about her meeting with University of Montana officials.

She said in a meeting with Charles Couture, the former dean of students, she mentioned that she didn't like a statement made by former head Griz football coach Robin Pflugrad, but never said what that statement was.

Prosecutor: "Just generally, what were you upset at?"

Alleged victim's mother: "Just the comments that came from Coach Pflugrad. He's a university official and I just didn't think he needed to be talking like that when there's another student involved."

The defense said that Pflugrad made the statement because he knew Johnson since he was a youth.

Throughout the trial the defense has suggested that Pflugrad and former UM athletic director Jim O'Day were fired after the alleged victim's parents met with university officials.

 

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Friday's deadline for Congress to act on automatic spending cuts (sequestration) has both federal and state agencies wondering about the potential impacts. MTN's Melissa Anderson reports on some of the impacts that could be felt in Montana, especially at the Helena airport.

According to a White House report, Montana could see widespread funding cuts, expected to impact everything from schools, health, jobs, and even the environment.

The report says that Montana will lose approximately $1.5 million in primary and secondary education, putting around 20 teacher and aide jobs at risk.

Nearly $2 million will also be cut from educational programs that help children with disabilities.

About 200 children would be eliminated from the Head Start program.

Montana would also lose about $26,000 in funds that provide meals for senior citizens.

While critical programs like Social Security, welfare, and food stamps would be unaffected, cuts could be made to Medicaid.

Mandatory programs like unemployment and Medicare would not likely be impacted.

One cut that is scheduled to hit two Montana airports is the closing down of air traffic control towers in Kalispell and Helena.

Helena Regional Airport director Ron Mercer said, "There's probably around 10 jobs at the control tower. There's 100 control towers that are on the list. Helena and Kalispell, we're not exactly sure how they picked those two. Ours is an FAA tower, Kalispell is a contract tower." 

Mercer says while other airports operate without a tower, it would be difficult for Helena: "We have military, we have fire retardant. So there's a number of things here that are important to have the control tower as well as the general safety of the airport."

If the sequestration cuts go through as planned, the air traffic control tower in Helena could be shut down 30 days from March 1st.

Unless Congress acts by March 1st, the series of automatic cuts will take effect.

A spokesman for the Department of Defense said that as many as 800,000 civilian employees may be furloughed without pay for up to 22 days through the end of the fiscal year.

Pay and monetary benefits for military service members, however, are exempt from sequestration.

Several state agencies told us, like the airport, it's still up in the air. They probably won't know the true impacts of the cuts, until and unless they are implemented.

Click here to see a list of possible effects of sequestration on Montana, according to the White House (PDF, 7 pages).

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Top stories on KXLH for the evening of Monday, February 25, 2013.

- Budget Cuts: Friday's deadline for Congress to act on automatic spending cuts (sequestration) has both federal and state agencies wondering about the potential impacts. MTN's Melissa Anderson reports on some of the impacts that could be felt in Montana, especially at the Helena airport. Click here to read more.

- Bison: Republican lawmakers are proposing 10 bills which address the state's management of bison. They include everything from creating a statewide bison hunting season to a bill which allows landowners to kill bison if they trespass onto private property. Brenden chairs the Fish & Game Committee and he says farmers and ranchers are asking for relief; they are concerned about bison trampling their fence, eating their hay, and risking the spread of brucellosis to livestock. However, the American Indian Caucus sees the bills differently. MT State Senator Sharon Stewart-Peregoy (D-Crow Agency) said, "Unfortunately the American Indian Caucus sees these as direct attacks against the indigenous people of Montana." They say while the bills violate treaties and private property rights, the bigger concern is cultural and spiritual.

- Rape Trial: The rape trial of suspended University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson resumed in a Missoula courtroom on Monday. The accuser's family testified how their daughter and sister changed since the alleged rape. Judge Karen Townsend is only allowing audio recording of the alleged victim and her family. The woman's brother said his sister cries more, has become more guarded, and they're not as close.

- Fatal Collision: The Montana Highway Patrol reports that three people were killed in an overnight collision east of Belt. Authorities say that the two 25-year old men in a Toyota pickup died, and the 27-year old man driving a Honda Accord died. The MHP says that none of them were wearing seatbelts, and they were the only people in the two vehicles. Right now, MHP says speed does not appear to be a factor and it is still not known if alcohol played a role. Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims.

- Students Score: A Helena High School computer programming class has won a state-wide competition for designing an app that helps fire departments monitor their response time. Buffy Smith and her students worked closely with acting Helena Fire Chief Sean Logan to develop the technology. Smith and her students will now go on to compete at the national level and compete for a $10,000 grant that will go to fund the schools STEM program.

 

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The Montana Highway Patrol reports that three people were killed in an overnight collision east of Belt.

Authorities say that the two 25-year old men in a Toyota pickup died, and the 27-year old man driving a Honda Accord died.

The MHP says that none of them were wearing seatbelts, and they were the only people in the two vehicles.

MHP Trooper Shellie Babinecz said, "This morning we had a Toyota pickup truck coming westbound and a Honda Accord going eastbound and the Toyota pickup drifted off the right edge of the roadway, struck the guardrail, and crossed the center line and hit the Honda Accord head-on."

Right now, MHP says speed does not appear to be a factor and it is still not known if alcohol played a role.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims.

 

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A weak disturbance moving through today will bring scattered snow showers to some areas along with cool temperatures.

For the lower elevations, only light accumulations can be expected with most places only seeing a dusting.

Some mountain areas could pick up a couple inches of new snow.

Highs will climb into the middle and upper 30s.

For the rest of the week, a strong ridge of high pressure will start to build northward into Montana bringing a signficant warming trend.

High temperatures will climb from the 40s midweek into the 50s by Friday and Saturday. 

Longer range forecast models this morning are indicating the potential of a stronger storm system impacting Big Sky Country by early next week.

While still a long ways out, this storm does have the potential to bring more widespread rain and snow and colder temperatures to much of the state.

Have a great day!
Meteorologist Matt Jones

 

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MISSOULA -  The trial of suspended University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson on a charge of rape resumed in a Missoula courtroom on Monday morning.

During Monday's court session, the prosecution rested, and Johnson took the witness stand in his own defense.

Johnson told the jury he wanted them to hear his side of the story because he's waited a long time to tell it: "Because that's what happened and people deserve to know," he testified.

One of Johnson's defense attorney's, Kirsten Pabst, questioned Johnson for nearly an hour, to establish who he is for the jury.

Johnson talked about his childhood, his love of sports, his friends, his roommates and his relationship with his father.

Johnson said, "It's special. Because....(long pause). I was lucky enough to have him as my coach in high school football, so I think we are a lot closer than most father and sons."

He also talked about his volunteer efforts in the community, such as reading to children and coaching Little Grizzly football.

Johnson: "[It's] Just a football camp for kids that are in elementary school and middle school."

Pabst: "Did you enjoy that?"

Johnson: "Yes."

Pabst: "Do you like working with the little guys?"

Johnson: "Yeah."

Once the questions turned to the alleged victim, Johnson said the two met during the spring semester of his freshman year and became friends.

Johnson will testify about what happened the night of the alleged rape when the trial resumes on Wednesday.

 

 

(August 7, 2012) Suspended University of Montana Quarterback Jordan Johnson, who has been charged with sexual intercourse without consent, is appearing in Missoula District Court this morning.

Johnson, accompanied by his attorneys, is accused in connection with a February incident where a woman claims she was raped, according to the charging documents.

The affidavit also says the victim told Johnson "no" multiple times, and she said she was afraid he would hit her if she resisted.

Court papers further state that the victim said she changed clothes and drove Johnson home after the alleged assault.

She tells police the two didn't speak to each other afterward.

Johnson told police that the encounter was consensual, and he didn't speak to the woman afterward because "he liked another girl."

Johnson told investigators the sex was consensual.

Johnson's attorney, David Paoli, issued a statement, saying in part, "Jordan and his family are surprised and saddened by the county's decision to levy a criminal charge now, given that the encounter between Jordan and the complainant occurred in early February and the police have been aware of the allegation since she filed a report six weeks later."

Johnson was supposed to lead the charge of the Montana Grizzlies football team this season as starting quarterback, but since Johnson has been charged with rape, everything changes.

Under the University of Montana's Student Athlete Conduct Code, this calls for an automatic suspension from all things related to Grizzly football.

 

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FORT SHAW - Cattle ranching is more than just a job - it's a way of life for Orville Skogen, who's worked tirelessly for many years to make his ranch what it is today.

"We had an opportunity to buy this ranch, and it wasn't very big at that time, and we have just built it up since then. And now we run cattle in five to six counties in Montana, and feed cattle in several different states," Skogen said.

Despite his success over the years, Orville has had to deal with hardships along the way, many of them stemming from Montana's unpredictable weather. Just three years ago, Montana endured one of its worst winters on record and Orville's ranch was dealt a heavy blow from Mother Nature.

"We had 25 below and some extreme winds, and the calves would die within minutes after being born if we weren't there to take care of them. We had some tremendous death loss. A lot of calves froze their ears, their tales, their feet, they just couldn't survive in an environment like that," Skogen recalled.

Since losing hundreds of calves during that winter, some changes were made around the ranch, including adding warming rooms that blow hot air across the floor to quickly dry out any calves that have become wet and cold.

Skogen added that the calving process as a whole was also changed in recent years.

"One of the reasons we stage these cattle like we do now is because of that year, and during that time frame and tough weather, we were getting as many as a hundred calves a day, and in that tough weather we just couldn't keep up with it."

Fast forward a few years, and Orville says he's seeing some of the best ranching weather this year than he's ever had, which is not only helping the cattle but also his hard-working crew on the ranch.

"The health on the calves is better and it's just a lot easier on my guys here. We have five to six full-time employees, and this is a 40 hour a day, eight-day a week job, and so when we get weather like this it lightens the load on these guys," Skogen concluded.

 

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Mid-day top stories on KXLH for Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

- Abortion: The Montana House of Representatives voted 59 to 41 in favor of House Bill 391, which would require minors to get parental permission before getting an abortion. This comes just months after voters passed LR-120, which requires parental notification before a child under 16 can get an abortion. HB 391 takes it a step further requiring permission, not just notification, and changes the age from 16 to 18. The bill still needs to pass a third reading in the House.

- Trial: The trial of suspended UM quarterback Jordan Johnson on a charge of rape resumed in a Missoula courtroom on Monday. During Monday's court session, the prosecution rested, and Johnson took the witness stand in his own defense. Johnson talked about his childhood, his love of sports, his friends, his roommates and his relationship with his father.

- Arrests: Several Kalispell Middle School students have been arrested for bringing illegal prescription drugs to school, and most recently, police say students have been caught with synthetic heroin. Officials say that recent interventions netted three girls between the ages of 13 and 14 who were using and distributing prescription drugs. The drug found on these students was Suboxone, a synthetic type of heroin.

- Schweitzer: Former MT governor Brian Schweitzer has teamed up with investor Clinton Group Incorporated to take on the Stillwater Mining Company board of directors. Clinton Group Inc. is an activist investor of the Stillwater Mining Company that has been pushing for change within Stillwater's board of directors since December.

- App: A Helena High School computer programming class has won a state-wide competition for designing an app that helps fire departments monitor their response time. The competition, sponsored by the Verizon Foundation, is called the Innovative App Challenge. Buffy Smith and her students worked closely with acting Helena Fire Chief Sean Logan to develop the technology.

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MISSOULA - Melanie Ray Ingraham of Missoula, who was arrested on Friday night for allegedly driving drunk with her two children in the car, appeared in Missoula Justice Court on Monday.

Ingraham, 28, was arrested after police say she hit another car with her vehicle on the corner of Briggs and Gharrett streets and then fled the scene.

Once police pulled the car over, they found two children in the car, ages two and four; both were unrestrained in car seats.

Police also said the two children were not properly dressed for the cold weather, with one of the children's diapers completely full.

Ingraham was charged with felony child endangerment, misdemeanor driving while under the influence, failure to stop, failure to carry proof of liability insurance, and driving with expired driver's license.

Judge John Odlin ordered Ingraham to have no unsupervised contact with her children, and she can not consume alcohol or drive.

 

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