The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from October 2003

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from October 2003

Year's Sugar Beet Harvest in Billings, Mont., Region Declared Good One.
October 1, 2003... Oct. 1--The sugar beet harvest was good this year, and truckloads of the beets are arriving daily at Western Sugar Cooperative's South Billings factory. "It looks like we've got a good crop," Western Sugar's agriculture manager Tony...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Business Briefs Column.
October 5, 2003... Oct. 5--TAX PRACTITIONER MEETING SET: The 21st Annual Tax Practitioner Institute, sponsored by the College of Business at Montana State University-Billings, will be at the Holiday Inn, Oct. 27-28. The two-day seminar, the longest running...

Montana's Leachman Cattle Scattered by Debt, Feud.
October 5, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 5--Most of the hands at the Leachman Cattle Co. drew their last paychecks Tuesday. Meanwhile, the debate over dividing up what's left of the ranch assets continued in Yellowstone District Court last week. ...

Houses in Montana Use Solar Panels, Produce Energy Surplus.
October 5, 2003... Byline: Bryan O'Connor Oct. 5--David Wallace stared at his electric meter intently, watching the wheel slow down, come to a full stop, then rotate backward. "I can't tell you how much that's worth to me. I just look at it and say, 'Yes...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad Column.
October 5, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 5--Construction isn't completed yet on the second mini-mall in front of the Heights Wal-Mart, but tenants are signing up. Clint Lunde, a 20-year veteran of United Parcel Service, is opening a UPS franchise...

Montana's Smaller Airfields Lack Amenities.
October 7, 2003... Byline: Donna Healy Oct. 7--Montana has 120 public airports, but only 15 of them have regularly scheduled airline service. Only six have control towers. Many general aviation airports in Montana are so small they lack pay telephones....

Sheriff Helps Montana's Smallest County Open State's Newest 'Airport'.
October 7, 2003... Byline: Donna Healy Oct. 7--It takes a windsock, grass runway and some white plastic cones to qualify as a public airport in Montana. But even those bare essentials seemed beyond the reach of cash-strapped Petroleum County, until an...

Montana Coal Mine, Power Plant Backers Seek Guarantee of Transmission Lines.
October 8, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Oct. 8--Promoters of a large coal-fired power project in southeastern Montana said Tuesday that an amendment to the national energy bill being written in Congress is critical to their plans. Before such a large...

'Clean-Coal Technology' Plant Proposed for Miles City or Circle, Mont.
October 8, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 8--Tired of uncertain supplies and roller-coaster rates for electricity in Montana, five rural electric cooperatives and the city of Great Falls are joining forces to chart their own independent energy future. ...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad Column.
October 8, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 8--There are many examples of folks turning a beloved hobby into a business. Pam McNally-Murphy is one. Seven years ago, she listened to friends and neighbors who loved the cookies she baked and sold for...

Billings, Mont., Community to Vote on Sewer Again.
October 14, 2003... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 14--Lockwood residents will vote on a sewer bond for the third time in two years in the Nov. 4 election. The Lockwood Water and Sewer District Board of Directors has scheduled public meetings tonight and on Oct....

Halloween Family Outings Cheer Billings, Mont., Merchants.
October 17, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 17--Standing under the neon "Bates Hotel: No Vacancy" sign above her porch, Edna Dempster laughs almost continuously as she decorates. "Honey, I'm huge on holidays," she giggles. "I'm bad." Fingering her...

Dozens of Montana Specialty License Plates Support Array of Non-Profit Groups.
October 17, 2003... Byline: John Fitzgerald Oct. 17--Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but art may be on the car in front of you. From the grim visage of Sitting Bull to the serene waters of Lake McDonald, Montana drivers can adorn their vehicles...

Billings, Mont., Smith's Food and Drug Center to Cut 50 Jobs in Closing.
October 21, 2003... Byline: John Fitzgerald Oct. 21--Come Dec. 6, more than 50 Smith's Food and Drug Center employees will be out of a job -- a fact that saddens employees, customers, management, West Park Plaza officials and other mall business owners. ...

Sioux Falls, S.D.-Based NorthWestern Puts Positive Spin on Bankruptcy.
October 24, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 24--NorthWestern Corp. is holding an auction Wednesday in New York City to sell off its telecommunications subsidiary, which has cost the company hundreds of million of dollars in losses over the past few years....

Most Billings, Mont.-Area Farmers, Cattlemen Enjoying Bountiful Harvest.
October 25, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Oct. 25--Six years of drought and record heat in July, August -- and October -- should have withered crops and expectations. Yet, timely spring rains and plenty of irrigation in most areas have left farmers with...

Billings, Mont., Firm Set to Grow After Niche Software Wins Notice in Canada.
October 25, 2003... Byline: John Fitzgerald Oct. 25--What started as a hobby has turned into an international business for one Billings company. CUC Software makes a computer program that helps heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad Column.
October 26, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 26--DEREG NIGHTMARE LIKELY TO DRAG ON: For six long years, Montana has suffered economically from the decision by the 1997 Montana Legislature to pass a deregulation bill: higher energy bills, the loss of good jobs...