Five wolves killed for preying on livestock

MISSOULA (AP) — Federal trappers have killed the remaining five wolves from the Willow Creek pack near Hall, after they made a habit of killing livestock in the area.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks authorized the wolves to be killed on Aug. 23 after USDA Wildlife Services confirmed wolves killed a calf on private land.

Wolves had been killing cattle and sheep in the area since April.

Eight wolves from the pack were killed in April and three more were killed earlier this month.

Man pleads not guilty to assaulting infant

KALISPELL (AP) — A Marion man charged with physically and sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s 9-month-old son has pleaded not guilty.

Shane Nickerson, 20, was arraigned Thursday in District Court on charges of rape, sexual assault, aggravated assault and criminal endangerment. He remains jailed on $750,000 bail.

The baby has returned to the Flathead Valley after receiving treatment at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, Wash. Investigators say it’s not known if the child will suffer long-term effects from his injuries.

Officials with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services would not comment about who had custody of the child.

Doctors who examined the baby when he was brought to the emergency room on Aug. 9 said the child had bruises on his head, a bloody mouth and injuries consistent with sexual abuse. Doctors in Spokane said the boy had severe brain injuries from partial asphyxiation.

The baby’s mother said Nickerson offered to baby sit while she slept in that morning. After two hours, she said Nickerson woke her up and said something was wrong with the baby.

Cascade County woman has West Nile

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A Cascade County woman was recently diagnosed with a mild case of West Nile virus.

Allene Mares, executive director of the Cascade City-County Health Department, is urging county residents to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Most people who become infected with the mosquito-borne disease have no symptoms, while some develop West Nile fever, which may last for three to six days.

Fewer than one out of 150 may develop West Nile encephalitis or West Nile meningitis, which causes headache, rash, high fever, mental confusion, muscle weakness, tremors, convulsions, coma and paralysis.

There has been one other human West Nile case reported in the state this year, a Richland County woman who also had a mild case.

In 2007, there were 202 cases of West Nile virus and five deaths reported in Montana.

Fort Belknap man pleads not guilty

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A 21-year-old Fort Belknap man has pleaded not guilty in federal court to the March stabbing death of David Azure.

Dallas Walker was arraigned Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder before U.S. Magistrate Keith Strong of Great Falls.

Prosecutors allege Walker stabbed Azure with a knife on March 30 on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

No trial date has been set.

Lodge owners split on impact of wildfire

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) — A co-owner of the Elephant Head Lodge west of Cody says business has been fallen flat this summer because of the Gunbarrel fire.

The lodge was recently under an evacuation order because of the fire. That order has been lifted, but Debbie Millard says she’s frustrated that the fire affected her so much financially.

Millard says she understands why forest managers decided to let the fire burn to consume dead trees and rejuvenate the forest. But she also says managers need to weigh those benefits against the potential costs to area enterprises.

Other lodge owners say they’re glad the fire has burned out dead trees in the forest.

Kerry Boyd, owner of the nearby Absaroka Mountain Lodge, says he’s glad that he doesn’t have to worry about fires for decades to come.

MDU plans to generate power from waste heat

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. is planning to build a small power plant to turn a natural gas compressor station’s waste heat into electricity.

North Dakota’s Public Service Commission has approved the project.

MDU says the plant will generate about 7.5 megawatts of electricity. Commissioner Tony Clark says the electricity will have a similar price to MDU’s more conventional power sources.

The power plant will be built near Glen Ullin, about 50 miles west of Bismarck. It will use waste heat from a huge compressor that is part of Northern Border Pipeline Co.’s natural gas pipeline.

Clark says electricity generated from compressor station waste heat is a good new potential energy source.

Bozeman bank robber gets 10 years in prison

BOZEMAN (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to robbing a Bozeman bank has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Deputy County Attorney Todd Whipple said District Judge Holly Brown imposed 31-year-old Terrence Fox’s sentence Tuesday.

Fox pleaded guilty in July to approaching a teller at a Main Street bank in February with a handwritten note demanding money.

According to court documents, the note stated, “Money now no alarm no dye or I will be violent.”

The teller complied and handed over an undisclosed amount of cash. Officers said Fox fled on foot but was quickly detained by police.

Bozeman gets no bids on City Hall; extends sale indefinitely

BOZEMAN (AP) — The city of Bozeman has indefinitely extended the window to bid on City Hall — because no offers came in before last Friday’s deadline.

It’s been one month since the city opened the bidding on the property, appraised at $1.68 million.

The 13,160-square-foot-building sits on a 20,625-square-foot lot.

City workers will move out of the building in mid-September and into the renovated former city library.

The city of Bozeman is trying to save money by selling City Hall without using a real estate agent, but some say it would be in the taxpayers’ best interest to hire a professional.

City Manager Chris Kukulski said Tuesday the city will reconsider its marketing strategy in seven to 10 days if City Hall still doesn’t draw any offers.