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Montana Matters
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Good for Baby: Whitefish couple creates healthy baby food
In a professional kitchen off of U.S. 2 between Kalispell and Columbia Falls, two people are giving families healthier choices for baby food.
Todd and Becky Horning are the owners of Wee Chef, a company that creates healthy baby food that babies love — and parents love feeding. The Hornings began Wee Chef after their son, Otto, was born. Since Otto was born six weeks early and weighed five pounds, the Hornings were committed to feeding him the best, nutritious food available. |
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Filling the Gaps: public health centers fill community health need
Health care safety net is a phrase you will hear more in the future. It is meant to describe services that are available to “catch” people in this country who are not able to use the traditional health care system and, therefore, “fall through the cracks.”
Most often, this is due to an individual’s financial situation, but it can also be due to not having health insurance, or not having enough or the right kind of health insurance, or even not speaking English. |
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Uncovering the Mysteries of Sleep
The one thing we need most in life seems so easy to get: sleep. But while sleep may be easy to come by for some people, for millions of others it’s the tonic that is completely elusive.
The word apnea may be Greek for “without breath,” but for these people it means losing sleep.
Sleep apnea affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Risk factors for having sleep apnea include being male, overweight, and over the age of 40, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. The vast majority of people with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences — from high blood pressure to cardiovascular illness. |
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Oil spills into Yellowstone River near Billings
At approximately 11:00 PM on Friday, July 1 a break occurred in a 12-inch oil pipeline owned by ExxonMobil that resulted in a spill of crude oil into the Yellowstone River approximately 20 miles upstream of Billings, Montana. According to the company’s estimates, 1,000 barrels of oil entered the river, which is in flood stage, before the pipeline was cut off. |
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Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg's service to tobacco industry
The House Appropriations Committee voted to approve an amendment introduced by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Montana) that would immunize the tobacco industry against U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules stopping them from making cigarettes more addictive and marketing them to children. Among other things, Rehberg's amendment restricts FDA's authority to regulate the use of menthol in cigarettes. An FDA Scientific Advisory Committee concluded last March that menthol added to cigarettes makes them more attractive of children, increases the number of kids who start to smoke and reduces the number of smokers who can successfully quit. The Rehberg amendment also blocks FDA from regulating ammonia in cigarettes, which tobacco companies add to speed the the bodies' absorption of nicotine. Rehberg's amendment is aimed at weaking the landmark 2009 law giving FDA authority over tobacco products. Members of the Appropriations Committee who voted in favor of Rehberg's amendment together accepted $289,927 in tobacco industry campaign contributions in the last election cycle compared to just $10,000 taken by those who opposed the amendment -- a 20-fold difference. |
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Flathead River to Lake preservation group lauded for conservation efforts
HELENA — Landowners, volunteers and agencies involved in the Flathead River to Lake Initiative were honored recently for their work protecting the clean water and healthy habitat upstream from Flathead Lake. The Montana Wetland Council presented the 2011 Montana Wetland Stewardship Award to the Flathead River to Lake Initiative last week in Helena. |
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Hiker rescued by helicopter on Stanton Peak
WEST GLACIER, MONT. – After summiting Stanton Peak at the head of Lake
McDonald, a man fell over a 30 foot cliff and sustained injuries. The
individual was airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by the
ALERT helicopter on Tuesday evening on May 31, 2011. |
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Hiker found tired but uninjured in Glacier National Park
WEST GLACIER, MONT. –A veteran hiker from Helena was rescued May 26 in a remote section of Glacier National Park.
Officials at Glacier National Park were contacted by the wife of an overdue hiker on May 25, 2011. Richard
Layne, 59, was issued his backcountry permit on May 10 and according to his permit would be hiking in remote sections of
Glacier’s North Fork and exiting on May 20. Layne and his wife had agreed that if he was not back by the 25th of May, she was to contact the park
service. |
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Boy Scouts pitching in to rebuild dining hall, classroom for Glacier Institute
A coalition of Boy Scouts will help build a classroom for the Glacier Institute in Glacier National Park.
“Hands Across the Continent” was inspired by a deep passion for nature and scouting. A former Scout leader has graciously donated funds to rebuild a dining hall/classroom for the Glacier Institute – and will supply the manpower as well. Construction begins in July when thirty Scouts, parents and leaders cross the country by bus for a service project in Glacier National Park – an endeavor that will benefit visitors for years. |
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