Janitor found dead in Butte school

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Butte-Silver Bow County officials say no foul play is suspected in the death of a janitor whose body was found in a Butte elementary school over the weekend.

Coroner Lee LaBreche says the death of 51-year-old Doug Weisenberger appeared to have been caused by a medical condition. He says an autopsy was planned.

A teacher discovered Weisenberger's body at the school Saturday morning and contacted authorities. No children were at the school.

New charge filed in fatal shooting

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone County prosecutors have filed another charge against a Florida man accused of shooting a romantic rival to death last August.

Amasa Niles IV appeared in District Court by video Monday to be served with an amended charging document that adds a felony count of tampering with evidence for allegedly trying to hide the revolver used in the shooting.

Niles is charged with deliberate homicide in the Aug. 26 shooting of Troy Holland in an alley behind a Billings motel. Court records say both men were involved with the same woman and that Holland had arrived at the motel with a baseball bat after seeing Niles and the woman at the motel the night before.

An attorney has said Niles will claim self defense. Niles remains jailed on $250,000 bond and his trial is scheduled to start on March 30.

Real estate agent charged with stealing drugs

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 59-year-old Billings real estate agent has acknowledged taking prescription drugs from a house that had been listed for sale.

Brian D. Skinn pleaded guilty to felony burglary Monday before District Judge Gregory Todd. A plea agreement calls for Skinn to be given an 18-month deferred sentence and pay a $2,000 fine when he is sentenced on May 11.

Court records say that on May 20, Skinn used his position as a real estate agent to enter a house that had been listed for sale.

A video camera the homeowners had installed captured Skinn rummaging in drawers and closets. Audio from the camera captured the sound of someone in the kitchen emptying a pill bottle. The homeowners found an empty pill bottle and reported another bottle missing. Skinn had been the only real estate agent in the house that day.

Tribes up the ante in Montana trout tournament

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are increasing the payouts for this year's Flathead Lake trout fishing tournament in an effort to entice more anglers and reduce the lake trout population.

The state and tribal co-management plan for the lake expires this year, and the tribes want to reduce the number of lake trout by 80,000 in 2011. They're considering a controversial gill-netting plan to reach the goal.

But first, they want to give anglers a chance. The most dedicated anglers could reel in $3,000 or more apiece during the 33-day tourney. People who catch 20 lake trout will get $35. An angler who catches the limit of 50 a day, every day of the tournament would win more than $4,800.

The tournament starts Friday.

Montana town hurries to replace failing water tank

BELT, Mont. (AP) — The tank that supplies water to the roughly 600 residents of the tiny Montana town of Belt is failing, and city leaders are scrambling for a fix.

Belt water and wastewater operator Robin Franzen says the 180,000 gallon tank is leaking so badly that huge ice formations are visible on its outer walls, and steel reinforcement bars once inside the concrete are now exposed.

Lyle Meeks, an engineer with NCI Engineering of Great Falls, says the tank is going to fail, perhaps catastrophically. He says a replacement could cost $1.2 million, but said the price may be trimmed to make it more affordable for residents.

Belt missed out on $38 million in federal stimulus funding earmarked for water and sewer projects in Montana.

Montana man dies in ND oil field

BEACH, N.D. (AP) — A Montana man working in the western North Dakota oil field died after a 250-pound steel pipe fell on his head.

Christopher Whalen, of Havre, Mont., was an employee of Erickson Contract Surveying Inc., a Sidney, Mont.-based company.

Golden Valley County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Moll says Whalen's crew was drilling access holes for seismograph lines Friday afternoon north of Beach. He says it is not known what caused the pipe to fall, or from what height it fell.

Whalen died the next day at a Bismarck hospital.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

Coconino National Forest has a new supervisor

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona has a new supervisor.

Earl Stewart replaces Nora Rasure, who left in July to become the deputy director of recreation, heritage, and volunteer resources in Washington, D.C.

Stewart was the deputy forest supervisor of Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana for the past two years. He joined the Forest Service in 1991 and has worked in five national forests in three different regions before coming to the Coconino.

Stewart began his new job on March 1 and is stationed in Flagstaff.