TUITION FREEZE
Governor lauds regents for tuition freeze
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The governor is lauding the Montana Board of Regents for implementing a college tuition freeze.
The regents voted Friday in Great Falls on a plan to freeze college tuition over the next two years at college campuses for Montana residents.
Gov. Steve Bullock says it was important for him early in the budget process to negotiate the tuition freeze with the university system.
There is one exception. The plan does allow for a small tuition increase of about 2% each year at Miles City Community College that was requested locally.
Nonresident tuition will increase up to 3% each year at the colleges and universities.
The regents also approved fee increases of up to 3% at the universities and as much as 9% at the 2-year colleges.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA-RAIDS
9th Circuit panel rules 2011 raids constitutional
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A panel of appellate judges has upheld the 2011 federal raids on Montana medical marijuana providers as constitutional.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on May 15 affirmed U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy's dismissal of a lawsuit claiming the raids violated the providers' constitutional rights.
Fourteen providers and associations sued after federal authorities raided 26 businesses, warehouses and homes in as part of a drug-trafficking investigation.
The plaintiffs claim they were operating under a voter-approved Montana law and the government interfered with the rights and powers given to the states by the Constitution's 10th Amendment.
Molloy ruled the providers are bound by federal law making marijuana an illegal drug. The 9th Circuit panel agreed the federal government did not overstep its authority.
MOOSE ATTACK
Missoula woman injured by moose
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - A woman walking several dogs on a forest trail southwest of Missoula was injured when she was kicked by a female moose with a calf.
The attack happened between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Blue Mountain. Officials say the dogs started barking at the moose and the woman was trying to get the dogs away when the moose knocked her down and kicked her.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say the moose was protecting her calf. FWP Sgt. Joe Jaquith says the agency is not taking any action against the moose.
The woman was taken out of the area on a stretcher, but Jaquith says she is going to be OK
He says the moose and her calf appeared unharmed when FWP workers checked on them after the attack.
WIND POWER
Wind turbine doesn't meet expectations
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - Cascade County officials say the wind turbine at the county shop hasn't met expectations that it would generate up to 80% of the facility's energy costs, in part because the site isn't as windy as officials anticipated.
The Great Falls Tribune reports at the turbine's current rate of power production, it would take the county nearly 34 years to recover its $202,000 investment. The expected life of a turbine is 25 years.
The newspaper reports county commissioners voted to install the 150-foot-tall tower and 50-kilowatt turbine in 2008 without conducting a wind study.
On average, the shop turbine is generating $6,000 in electricity each year, or 34% of the shop's electricity bill.
The turbine has been idle for much of this year due to a mechanical issue.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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