For Second Time This Week, a Family Dies in Montana Air Crash

The Republican running for the Governor of Illinois is suspending his campaign, as his family deals with the loss of his son and his family, who was killed in a helicopter crash near Ekalaka.

Darren and Cindy Bailey's son Zachery Bailey, his wife Kelsey, their 12-year-old daughter, and their 7-year-old son were killed when the 4-seat Robinson R66 helicopter went down on the way to a farming convention here in Montana. Their 10-year-old son was riding with a business associate in another aircraft.

Darren Bailey's running mate, Aaron Del Mar, tells People Magazine the campaign has transitioned into the "Bailey Support Team" to help the family through the tragedy.

Zach had run the Illinois farm that had been in the family for 4 generations. Del Mar says it was just last month that he flew in that same aircraft with Darren Bailey and Zach on a campaign swing around the state.

The crash comes less than a week after an Alabama pilot and his two daughters were killed trying to overfly the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. 

Fewer "bad news bears" this year

Even though it's turned cold quickly, Missoula hasn't been seeing the problems with foraging bears that were such a problem three years ago when there was a major loss of the food sources they really on pre-hibernation.

FWP bear biologist Jamie Jonkel says there have been few bear reports, simply because there's plenty to eat in the wild, a far different scenario from 2022.

"And as a result, a lot of the bears came into town out of necessity to eat the choke cherries that were available along the river, but then they started casting off on garbage and stuff," Jonkel recalls. "Last year, it was really quiet too. We had another good bear food year last year as well."

"This year we had just a phenomenal natural food year. We had huckleberries, we had Hawthorne, we had service berry, you know, choke cherry, everything was perfect. And all the bears are just up in the mountains doing natural bear food selection." -Jamie Jonkel; FWP Wildlife Management Specialist

    Jonkel says even so, residents should remain diligent by securing garbage, and not leaving ripened fruit lying on the ground, or animal feed out that can lead to a "problem bear." 

Montana measles cases at zero this fall

Although some parts of the country are reporting a fall spike in measles cases, Montana continues to report no new cases as October comes to a close.

In fact, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services says the last reported case of measles in the state was in Lewis and Clark County in August, with no active cases this week. Statewide, there have been 32 cases this year, most falling in May and June, with the Gallatin County outbreak of 19 last summer being the most among Montana counties by far.

Why you should dispose of prescription meds this weekend

The latest statistics show Montana is still fighting a problem where teens are abusing prescription medications, many of which are leftover medications that haven't been thrown out.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction says over 13% of high school youth report using a prescription med without a prescription.

That's why the U-S Attorney's Office for Montana, and the Drug Enforcement Administration are reminding adults to take advantage of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to properly dispose of those medicines. The "Take Back" event is Saturday, from 10 to 2 at sites across Montana. Police departments and sheriff's departments will have drug disposal operations underway, so check with your local law enforcement for specific details.