A press release from the Equine-Welfare Alliance says that actors Kevin Nealon, Viggo Mortensen and Mariana Tosca (who?) recently released statements about the welfare of wild horses.

The Indy's story on wild horses and Wild Horse Island in Octorber created some local buzz. But the national controversy about wild horses continues to catch fire—especially after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s recent proposition for transplanting wild horses. Reports of other celebrities getting riled up about the issue includes strong statements from Sheryl Crow regarding the horse transplant plan.

Our Up Front this week profiles a unique new graduate project at the University of Montana's journalism school. Rethink'08 formed in reaction to statements made by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina regarding the decline of political enthusiasm among America's youth. The 2008 presidential election saw a huge spike in the number of voters aged 18-29, largely due to President Barack Obama incorporating digital tools in his campaign.

That youthful activism has died off in the past nine months, as noted by Messina. The eight students behind Rethink'08 hope that by opening an online forum they can find an answer as to why. Follow the project's progress to date at their website here. More features are scheduled to appear between now and mid-December.

After Missoula City Councilman Bob Jaffe witnessed a Montana Rail Link (MRL) contractor spraying railroad tracks with herbicide last spring, he became alarmed. According to Jaffe, “large clouds of poison” rose up from a large truck spraying herbicide along the Bitterroot Spur track that day. Moments later, pedestrians meandered by oblivious.

“People walking their dogs two minutes after the truck went by would not know that the ground was soaked in poison,” Jaffe writes in a memo referring the issue to Missoula’s Public Safety and Health Committee.

The surprise guest at last weekend's Jamophilia at the Wilma: Mayor John Engen singing "I Will Survive." Gloria Gaynor ain't got nuthin' on this.

From John S. Adams of the Great Falls Tribune:

Barry Beach, the Poplar man who was convicted in 1984 of murdering 17-year-old Kim Nees on the Fort Peck Reservation, will get another chance to try to prove his innocence in court.

Two books of interest to our readers recently showed up on the Indy arts desk.

Tipu's, the mostly vegetarian Indian restaurant, was a favorite eatery for many locals, and there were some long faces when it closed last year. Missing it? Owner Bipin Patel just released a recipe book of some of the most popular dishes they had there: Aloo bringal. Baingan bharta dip. Mulligatawny. Mango chicken. Mouth..watering. Might be time to learn how to cook, right?

Outdoor Life magazine included Sen. Jon Tester, aka "a politician with a hunter's heart," in its annual list of men and women who have changed the face of hunting and fishing. Prolific Indy commenter Matthew Koehler gave us the heads up, and also wrote about it on his blog.

From Koehler:

These are the same “Outdoor Life” folks that bring you:

“Rack Girls 2009“

“Fish N Chix 2010“

“Shed Hunting Babes“

Yep, those “Outdoor Life” folks are all about big rack collaboration. Clearly their support of Senator Tester’s logging bill means something…but what that is isn’t exactly clear.

Fish N Chix? Really? Forget holiday food issues. I think the Indy has a new feature idea.

Anyway, Koehler takes exception to Outdoor Life's write-up concerning Tester's new Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Already, the usual suspects are hitting the magazine's site both for and against Tester's proposal.

It's not even Thanksgiving, but Missoula radio is already pumping the airwaves full of Christmas cheer. Thanks to a KPAX report, we learned today that KVWE-FM, 101.5 The View, is now broadcasting holiday music 24 hours a day. Joy to the world, right?

You can hear the streamed broadcast right here.

A story in this week’s issue of the Independent looks at Montana Pain Management (MPM), a medical marijuana clinic on Third Street with some 350 patients run by Rick Rosio. Clearly there’s a lot more to the story as the state feels its way around the nascent medical marijuana law—and there’s more to Rosio’s story, too.

As expected, the Big Sky ski resort filed voluntary petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for reorganization under Chapter 11. The move is intended to allow Moonlight Basin to remain open during the season.

From the release:

Moonlight Basin concluded that Bankruptcy Court protection was necessary as a result of
Lehman Brothers’ decision to foreclose on an outstanding loan, and its threats to cease critical
funding, rather than work with Moonlight Basin to appropriately restructure its debt contrary to
its prior representations to Moonlight Basin. Chapter 11 protection will enable Moonlight Basin
to conduct its business operations as usual while it develops a long term reorganization plan.
With the bankruptcy filing, the foreclosure action brought by Lehman Brothers against
Moonlight Basin is automatically stayed while the reorganization goes forward.

And from COO Russ McElyea:

"This was a necessary decision brought on by Lehman Brothers’ actions, including its recent effort to foreclose on Moonlight Basin Resort and the uncertain future of the Resort resulting
from Lehman Brothers’ actions," said McElyea. "We decided that it is in the best
interest of the Moonlight Basin family, including our creditors, employees, customers, suppliers,
home owners, and the Montana communities in which Moonlight Basin operates to reorganize
under Chapter 11."

Also from the release:

Moonlight Basin’s staff, which consists of over 250 seasonal and year round employees are
excited about the upcoming ski season. This year, Moonlight Basin is part of a community wide
effort to promote Big Sky, Montana and the Biggest Skiing in America. The Moonlight Basin and
Big Sky Resort interconnect ticket provides access to over 5,500 acres of terrain. Moonlight
Basin is excited to offer a collection of new events and programs for the season, including a
Freeride Team, new SnowSports programs and expanded terrain park. In addition, Moonlight
Basin is proud to encourage academic achievement in our local community through our
legendary M‐BAR‐T program, which rewards scholastic achievement with free skiing at
Moonlight Basin. Each of these programs will continue without interruption.