Do This Or Your Montana Vote Won’t Count

We're getting down to crunch time for Tuesday's General election, and election officials across the state are expressing concerns about running out of time to fix the "birthday ballot" boondoggle".

There are no hard numbers; it may be in the thousands if you count statewide, but many ballots are being rejected because of the new requirement that voters include their birth date in the small boxes underneath their names on the signature envelope.

     🗳️ It's part of a new "ballot security" effort approved by the Legislature.

Shoulder parking kills Oregon trucker

A fatality accident in Powell County underscores the danger of stopping alongside the road, especially if drugs and alcohol are involved in some way.

Montana Highway Patrol is reporting it was a 25-year-old man from Troutdale, Oregon, who was killed yesterday morning when his truck sideswiped a pickup that was stopped on the shoulder on I-90 near Garrison Junction.

Troopers say a Clancy man had stopped on the road, with his front tire over the fog line. The victim didn't see the car, and his truck clipped it, sending it off the road and through a fence, where it overturned.

Big on books this weekend in Missoula

It's all about the books in Missoula this weekend, as an estimated 60,000 volumes are on sale.

That's not quite the pile that had accumulated after the pandemic had forced the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula to cancel the sale for a couple of years in a row. But it's still impressive, making the sale the largest in Montana.

The annual fundraiser, which started Friday morning at Fort Missoula, runs through the weekend. And while most of the selection covers everything from used romance novels to Tom Clancy tomes, the real prizes are the number of rare books that can pop up in the donations, attracting collectors from across the region.

     📚 The sale continues Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 12 to 4.

Wild porkers found just in time

It won't solve all the problems with empty plates in the coming weeks, but some wild critters on four hooves are turning out to be heroes, rather than a problem.

     Nick Northern is following the story from Great Falls. ⬇️

Blackfeet Tribe expanding food efforts

Members of the Blackfeet Tribe are acting quickly to respond to the end of SNAP benefits today, brought about by the federal government shutdown.

As we reported earlier this week, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council is declaring a state of emergency, activating the tribes' Incident Command team to coordinate the response.

Others are also stepping in, with Southern Piegan Health Center saying it will be purchasing adult meal tickets through the entire month of November, for people who would like to join their children and families during the School Supper Program.

READ MORE: Wyoming-based Taco Favorite Jumping in to Help with SNAP Cuts

Senate hears how cuts are hitting reservations

In Washington D.C., tribal representatives from across the country tell the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about their fears of the impacts from the SNAP shutdown, referring to the steps by the Blackfeet Tribe and others.

Ben Mallott, of the Alaskan Federation of Natives, says the loss of SNAP assistance comes at the worst time, as winter closes in.

Others spoke of the shutdown's impacts on tribal health programs, education, and putting a stop to critical economic development work on reservations here in Montana and elsewhere.

Zinke: Dems playing politics with people's food

Representative Ryan Zinke says he recognizes the shutdown is having a real impact on people, whether it's the military, air traffic controls or people dependent on food assistance programs.

Speaking yesterday with our Aaron Flint in Washington, Zinke accused the Democrats of playing politics with critical programs like WIC and SNAP.

"It's there for people that need some help. And now you're going to withdraw that and hold it over politics. And then you talk about snap, the same thing. you know, a lot of families.So this has real consequences." -Rep. Ryan Zinke (R)

Tax break for solar project?

The company that wants to develop a major solar power project in Rosebud County is hoping to win approval a 50% tax abatement to help get the project off the ground.

The Miles City Star reports county commissioners are open to the idea, considering NextEra Energy Resources plans to invest nearly $2-billion over the life of the project, but say public hearings will be needed first.