‘Town Crier’ – Briefs From the Region – 9/5/19

Briefs from The Region from the Sept. 5, 2019, “Town Crier” newsletter. To have regional content delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning, subscribe here.

Black bear found napping in Buck’s T-4 bathroom

This past weekend in Big Sky, a young black bear broke into popular Buck’s T-4 Lodge and Restaurant, where he hunkered down on the counter of the women’s bathroom for a Labor Day weekend snooze. Thankfully, no human patrons were using the facilities at the time of entry, and no one was injured—including the bear—after game wardens from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks along with Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office officials were called to the scene. They tranquilized the animal and later released it in a remote area. According to Q2 News, estimated damage to the window and mirror was assessed at less than $500. Watch the video here.

State voting machines receive $1.3M facelift

On Sept. 3, the Montana Secretary of State’s office announced that Montana will match funds provided by the federal Help American Vote Act so counties can purchase top-of-the-line Express Vote voting equipment, meant to assist people with disabilities in voting. According to The Missoulian, each new machine will cost around $3,500, and is a “big step in the right direction for counties to upgrade election technology that strengthens Montana’s election security ahead of 2020,” said Secretary of State Corey Stapleton in a Sept. 3 press release. An additional $750,000 is slotted for assisting counties with election security in the wake of calls of malpractice in many states following the 2016 election.