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SAGE GROUSE-LAWSUIT
Interior Department, states appeal sage grouse ruling
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Interior Department, Idaho and Wyoming are appealing a court ruling that halted a Trump administration plan to ease land-use restrictions that protect struggling sage grouse. The notices filed Monday say the agency and states will seek a review by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of a ruling temporarily preventing the plan from being used. Idaho and Wyoming back the Trump administration plan that eases restrictions on energy companies and other industries. A judge in October said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management hadn't adequately considered how the Trump administration plan could harm sage grouse.
GRAND COULEE DAM-COMPENSATION
Spokane Tribe finally wins compensation for Grand Coulee Dam
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Spokane Tribe of Indians will finally be compensated after some of their ancestral homelands were flooded by the giant Grand Coulee Dam seven decades ago. The U.S. House on Monday approved and sent to President Donald Trump a bill that sets up yearly payments to the tribe based on a similar system for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The Spokesman-Review reported that Trump is expected to sign the bill. The Spokane Tribe will receive $6 million a year for 10 years, and $8 million a year after that. The money will come from revenues of the Bonneville Power Administration, which sells electricity generated by Grand Coulee and other federal dams in the Northwest.
MINE UNION STRIKE
Union members from Idaho mine reject agreement with company
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Members of a union representing workers at an Idaho mine have rejected a tentative agreement that could have ended a two-and-half year strike. The Spokesman-Review reported Monday that United Steelworkers Local 5114 and Hecla Mining Company announced a tentative agreement in November that required ratification by a majority of union members. Union officials say a third party counted ballots Monday finding that the majority voted against the proposed contract. Officials say the union represents about 200 workers at the Lucky Friday Mine near Mullan, Idaho. Hecla Mining was not immediately available for comment.
PLANE CRASH-SOUTH DAKOTA
NTSB: Icy conditions during deadly South Dakota plane crash
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal investigators say the pilot and a passenger spent three hours clearing snow and ice off of a small plane before it crashed after taking off from a small South Dakota airport over Thanksgiving weekend. The Nov. 30 crash killed nine of the 12 members of an Idaho family who were on board, including the pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board says in a preliminary report released Tuesday that three of the planes warning systems activated within seconds of taking off from the small airport in Chamberlain, South Dakota.
PUBLIC RECORDS LAWSUIT
Ada County won't appeal ruling in public records lawsuit
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Ada County Commissioners won't appeal a judge's ruling that they violated Idaho's Public Records Act after largely rejecting records requests from four Boise-area journalists. The board of commissioners voted 2-1 on Monday not to appeal the ruling from 4th District Judge Deborah Bail. The Idaho Press Club and the journalists filed the lawsuit earlier this year, contending the county wrongly denied access to some public documents and over-redacted others.
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