The Billings Gazette back issues from January 2008:
Visitors to Yellowstone break record
Jan 04, 2008; ... More people came to Yellowstone National Park in 2007 than ever before. Park officials said 3,151,342 people visited the park last year, breaking a record set in 1992, according to figures released Thursday. The 2007 numbers were a 9.8 increase over 2006, with the biggestgains ...
3 cities in hunt for state server site
Jan 04, 2008; ... With only one or two jobs in the mix, this project won't make an employment dent in Billings, Miles City or Forsyth. Yet landing the $2 million to $3 building to house the computerized intellectual property of the state of Montana has become a hot contest. Public hearings will be ...
MDU's new wind farm spins out power
Jan 04, 2008; ... BAKER - A wind farm southeast of here started generating power Saturday and could be fully operational by the end of the month MDU Resources Group is building the Diamond Willow wind farm, which at completion will include 13 wind turbines with a total capacity of 19'/z megawatts. That's enough ...
Not all sweetness and light
Jan 05, 2008; ... Lockwood resident Nancy Walker first noticed the bright strobe light from her home on Ford Road about two weeks ago. She mentioned the oddity to her children but didn't think much more about it at the time. Then the light continued its nonstop blinking into the next evening, and the ...
Clinic starts taking patients under 50
Jan 05, 2008; ... A year after opening its doors, a West End clinic billed as a medical home for aging baby boomers and their parents is broadening its scope. The Center for Healthy Living will no longer turn away patients who are younger than 50, said its manager, Angela Slade. "What we found is ...
Staying sharp--and flat
Jan 07, 2008; ... Sy Zabrocki was introduced to a tuning fork through one of those correspondence courses found in the back of Popular Science magazine. But the course was lacking. "It was a sham," he said. "It did not teach me nothing. I spent my $400 Korean (War) bonus." It was 1958, and ...
BUILDING with passion
Jan 07, 2008; ... When a call came telling Angela Leon that she wouldn't get the next Habitat for Humanity home, it didn't bother her. The single mother thought that another family probably needed it more. But six months later, on her birthday, she got a fateful call telling her the next house built would ...
Man behind steel hoax apologizes
Jan 08, 2008; ... CODY, Wyo. - For six months starting in August 2005, self-described entrepreneur Dan Madson had community leaders in Greybull excited about a 20-acre steel plant he was going to build on the banks of the Bighorn River. But he announced in February 2006 that he was scuttling plans for the ...
Lab electrician contends firing was retaliatory
Jan 08, 2008; ... HELENA - A former electrician at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton is alleging that he was fired last spring after lodging complaints about safety breaches at the research facility, which is building a lab to study dangerous diseases such as Ebola. The matter goes before a federal ...
Helping others find their path drives businessman
Jan 08, 2008; ... Bill Simmons is the founder of MasterLube, but he says his business is about much more than changing oil in cars. "A fundamental role of business is to elevate the level of mankind on the planet," Simmons said. Simmons' piece of the planet is Billings, where his business has four ...
Double-teaming homelessness in Billings
Jan 08, 2008; ... Forty-four years ago in Seattle, a disbarred lawyer named Jack Dalton opened Pioneer Fellowship House, a residence for recovering alcoholics. Today, that program has ballooned into Pioneer Human Services, a nonprofit organization that is run like a business and annually helps about ...
Interior recognizes new N. Cheyenne president
Jan 09, 2008; ... A tangled dispute over leadership of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe came closer to resolution Tuesday. The Department of Interior announced that it recognizes Rick Wolfname as tribal president. Meanwhile the former president, Eugene Little Coyote, who had won a stay of his ouster, was ...
Big Sky scuttles more routes, awaits its fate
Jan 11, 2008; ... Continuing its downsizing, Big Sky Airlines will stop flying to three cities - Bozeman; Boise, Idaho; and Portland, Ore. - after Tuesday. "We'll continue flying to Helena, Billings, Missoula and the seven Eastern Montana cities," said Fred deLeeuw, president of Big Sky Transportation ...
Complaint filed against civic group
Jan 12, 2008; ... Celebrate Billings, a community booster organization founded by The Billings Gazette, may have violated campaign expenditure reporting requirements, according to a complaint filed this week with the state commissioner of political practices. The complaint alleges that the organization ...
Board rejects regulating new plant's emissions
Jan 12, 2008; ... HELENA - Despite some impassioned words about the need to address global warming, a state board Friday declined to impose new carbon dioxide regulations on a coal-fired power plant proposed near Great Falls. On a 5-1 vote, the state Board of Environmental Review said state regulators ...
Home theaters finding solid foothold in Billings
Jan 13, 2008; ... Imagine watching your favorite football team or cooking show in a movie theater, complete with reclining chain and strategically placed lighting. You would be able to hear every tackle, every crack of an egg. You would see with startling clarity the pulsing vein on the irate coach's ...
Lunch Rush
Jan 14, 2008; ... Robert Shinn likes to keep things simple, and that goes for everything in his life. For the past 32 years he has made sandwiches - nothing fancy, just turkey, ham, pastrami, BLTs and a few other standards. He owns Sweetgrass Sandwich Co., where he is the only one who makes ...
MODERN GOLD RUSH
Jan 16, 2008; ... There's gold in them thar ... teeth? Yep, and gold fillings along with necklaces, watches, clasps, rings and anything else containing that precious metal has been a hot commodity, especially in the past few weeks. On Saturday, more than 150 people poured into Ardie's Coins on ...
Wells Fargo strikes deal for banks
Jan 16, 2008; ... CODY, Wyo. - Banks in Cody, Powell and elsewhere in Wyoming are being bought by Wells Fargo & Co. in a deal announced Monday with United Bancorporation of Wyoming, the largest financial institution based in the state. United Bancorporation, based in Jackson, has $1.7 billion in ...
Diverse group urges reform of 1872 mining law
Jan 16, 2008; ... HELENA - Hard-rock mining has been getting a free ride for 136 years, a group of ranchers, environmentalists and others said at a press conference Tuesday. The group, which included former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., and Julia Doney, president of the Fort Belknap Tribal Council, ...
Big Sky transfer difficult
Jan 16, 2008; ... Rural Eastern Montanans served by Big Sky Airlines shouldn't expect a fast transition to Great Lakes Airlines service because the deal is tied up in events affecting the aviation industry. That's what Douglas Voss, board chairman and a founder of Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Great Lakes, said ...
Nurses offer alternative to daily use of makeup
Jan 21, 2008; ... For a lot of women, putting on makeup every day is a pain, sometimes literally. Some are allergic to makeup, while others are limited is movement by age or other physical ailment. And active women tire of reapplying makeup after a swim or a workout. The solution for more and more women ...
Bright ideas
Jan 21, 2008; ... Stuck in a rocky relationship? Toni Tease could direct you to an invention aimed at resolving your troubles. Tease is no marriage counselor. Rather, she's a patent attorney who has 'helped hundreds of innovative individuals protect the rights to their creations. Among them is a device, ...
Mr. Mercantile
Jan 21, 2008; ... BIG TIMBER - It would probably not be hard to add up the days 86-year-old Virgil Gust has had off since he went to work at J.C. Penney as a teenager in Chamberlain; S.D.,-at the tail end of the Great Depression. Even now, he works eight hours a day, six days a week at his own mercantile, ...
Northern's money mess: Many of developer's efforts fall short of his dreams
Jan 22, 2008; ... In his 2006 deposition to immigration officials, Hassan Kangarloo outlined his business partnership with his uncle, Nasser Sardad, and listed the properties owned by their San Francisco-based company, North California Real Estate Investments Inc. The company had between $12 million and ...
Northern's money mess: Business ups, downs follow flight from Iran
Jan 22, 2008; ... In his hometown of Mashad, Iran, real estate developer Hassan Kangarloo grew up in a family he describes as "very wealthy and famous," thanks to his late father's success in business and politics. But the Iranian Revolution of 1979 toppled Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran's shah, or monarch ....
Northern's money mess: Mounting debt, liens put project in limbo
Jan 22, 2008; ... Since Hassan Kangarloo swept into Billings last May to buy the bankrupt Northern Hotel, he has managed to tangle the relatively simple sale into a complex web of debts. The San Francisco developer, who claims an impressive list of multimillion-dollar real estate projects on his Web site, ...
Wildlife groups, energy firms debate development
Jan 18, 2008; ... HELENA - This weekend in Great Falls, hunting groups, wildlife managers and others will raise the alarm about how runaway oil-and-gas development in Montana could have a huge effect on wildlife. "As we looked at this issue more and more, and what's occurred in Wyoming and Colorado, we ...
Investment by state misses its maturation
Jan 18, 2008; ... HELENA - Standard & Poor's has downgraded Orion Finance Corp., a structured investment vehicle held by the state's Short Term Investment Pool, to its lowest rating after it failed to make payments owed to Montana and others this week, Bloomberg has reported. Montana's Short Term ...
Harvesting diesel
Jan 13, 2008; ... Biofuel is becoming more than a buzzword. Even in Eastern Montana, where conservative ranchers and farmers might be expected to look askance at anything "green," biodiesel is a hot topic. Organizers were stunned last week when 150 people, most of them farmers and ranchers, turned ...
Tester: Bill will aid Montana farmers
Jan 13, 2008; ... Sen. Jon Tester touted the 2007 Farm Bill to sugar beet farmers and listened to the concerns of small-business owners at two gatherings Saturday in Billings. The Billings meetings were part of Tester's listening tour in several Montana cities. Starting Thursday, he made stops in Butte, ...
AG's report examines hospitals' charity care
Jan 17, 2008; ... HELENA - When it comes to "charity care" and other costs of serving the needy, most of Montana's major hospitals in 2006 incurred those costs at levels near or above the value of their tax exemption, says a report released Wednesday by Attorney General Mike McGrath But a handful of ...
Tight deadline frustrating for those who want museum at mall
Jan 19, 2008; ... HELENA - Backers of Helena's Capital Hill Mall as a site for a new Montana Historical Society museum said Friday that they haven't been able to raise any solid money because of an impossible deadline and no firm state commitment to build there even if they do. Former first lady Betty ...
Historical Society gets large donation
Jan 19, 2008; ... HELENA - The Greater Montana Foundation announced Friday that it will donate $600,000 over the next six years for an exhibit and media center that will be part of the Montana Historical Society's proposed new building. The foundation's chairman, Bob Hoene of Bigfork announced the gift at ...
Canadian, U.S. development contrasted
Jan 24, 2008; ... HELENA - Coalbed methane drillers in Alberta face some stiffer environmental laws but far fewer lawsuits than their American counterparts, an energy company president told Gov. Brian Schweitzer and a group of invited industry and environmental representatives Wednesday. Michael Gatens, ...
Downtown land swap clears hurdle
Jan 24, 2008; ... Yellowstone County received an appraisal, Wednesday that supports its plan to buy property on North 25th Street, and a previous owner is upset that the county is paying $450,000 more than he sold it for two months ago. The property, at 201 N. 25th St., is the current home of the DHL ...
Custer collection, town to be auctioned off
Jan 24, 2008; ... Garryowen, the tiny town that was the southern edge of Sitting Bull's camp on the Little Bighorn River in 1876 and is now home to the privately owned Custer Battlefield Museum, is for sale. Presale price for Garryowen - including the 6,000-piece Elizabeth Bacon Custer Manuscript Archive, ...
PSC gives Qwest option in dispute
Jan 24, 2008; ... HELENA - State regulators on Wednesday gave telecommunications giant Qwest a new option for resolving accusations that it has been "over-earning" millions of dollars in profits from Montana customers. On a 5-0 vote, the Public Service Commission said Qwest Corp could propose reduced ...
Challenges to FDa's wisdom
Jan 24, 2008; ... Cloned beef, in the eyes of the Food and Drug Administration, tastes the same as that coming from cows made the old-fashioned way, but Billings butcher Gary Pollock still isn't swayed. He thinks the FDA's recent decision allowing cloned meat and dairy products in the marketplace smells ...
Cramped clinic welcomes news of more space
Jan 24, 2008; ... Veteran Dick Fletcher says visiting the Veterans Affairs clinic in Billings is some-times like playing musical chairs. "You go to triage first and the nurse will have you in one room. When a doctor's exam room finally gets open, they'll move you over to that mom," he said "One time, I ...
Dude ranchers wary of economy
Jan 26, 2008; ... CODY, Wyo. - The draw of Wyoming and other wild and scenic places remains strong for vacation travelers, but rising gas prices and a weakening economy may mean visitors spend less once they reach their destinations. That's one of the challenges facing dude ranch owners from Wyoming, ...
New Joliet clinic settles into routine
Jan 26, 2008; ... JOLIET - Members of the XYZers group for senior citizens are getting a little something extra with their Tuesday lunches at the Joliet Community Center - health care. The new Joliet Community Health Center opened a few weeks ago across the hall from the community center's lunchroom, and ...
Refinery identifies cause of fire
Jan 29, 2008; ... An explosion and fire at the Billings ExxonMobil Refinery last fall was caused by metal failure in piping where hydrogen gases mixed, a refinery official said Monday. A team of engineers from Texas and Virginia and operations experts in the Gulf Coast and at the Billings refinery ...
Top Cut
Jan 28, 2008; ... Darcy Russell is glad to gab, but she won't impose. The owner of Top Line Family Hair Care chats up all kinds at her shop at 1233 N. 27th St., trading gossip with health care workers and patients from the medical corridor, college kids from Montana State University Billings, revelers ...
Busy restaurant near landfill hauls in customers
Jan 27, 2008; ... On your way to the landfill, watch out for dancing hotdogs. That's where you'll find the curiously located KC's Lunch Box. A rainbow of flags on a gravel road just off Jellison Road directs hungry patrons to the concessions trailer, owned and operated by Billings businesswoman Dawn ...
Snow, repairs aid Red Lodge resort
Jan 27, 2008; ... Skiers and snowboarders enjoyed blue skies and sunshine Saturday at Red Lodge Mountain Resort. And with a new owner able to invest money to make needed improvements, the long-term forecast for the ski resort appears to be on the sunny side, as well. A combination of temperatures ...
Anytime now: Plans for downtown gym taking shape
Jan 27, 2008; ... 'Whether you want to work out tone up or get tan, Anytime Fitness will soon be open in downtown Billings - and, as the name suggests, it will be open anytime. Construction has begun in the basement of the historic Oliver Building, at 2702 Montana Ave., for a new Anytime Fitness. Manager ...
First comes love, then comes business
Jan 27, 2008; ... With more young adults taking longer to leave home and get their sea legs living independently, Jeremiah and Catherine Young of Billings stand out. In 1996, not quite two years after graduating from Billings West High School, the two married, attended the University of Montana together ...
Water rights group opposes state on streambeds
Jan 29, 2008; ... JOLIET - First in time, first in right. Montana farmers and ranchers have chanted that mantra for decades. Declaring that premise as their top priority, three Carbon County ranchers are trying to rally senior water users at a Joliet meeting where they plan to discuss an array of water ...
Partnership buys major idled manufacturing facility
Jan 31, 2008; ... A partnership of two large Texan and Canadian companies could bring several hundred manufacturing jobs to Billings. Local workers will fabricate pipe and other refinery components to be used, in part, in the tar sands oil industry in Canada. Berry Y&V Industrial Contracting of ...
Facility opens for long-term patients
Jan 30, 2008; ... A new long-term care hospital that aims to fill a gap in the local medical community has begun accepting patients. Four people were under the care of providers at Advanced Care Hospital of Montana on Monday, said its chief executive offices Joe McClure. The $14 million, ...
FCC fines station for partial nudity
Jan 30, 2008; ... A Montana TV station faces a $27,500 fine for airing an episode ABC Network cop drama "NYPD Blue" deemed offensive by the Federal Communications Commission. ABC affiliate KFBB of Great Falls was fined along with 51 other TV stations located mostly in the America's Central and Mountain ...