MONTANA

Record snow drought raises concerns

A record snow drought with unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation.

Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they’ve seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations have measured their warmest December through early February on record. Normal snow cover this time of year should be about 460,000 square miles — about the size of California, Utah, Idaho and Montana — but this year it’s only California-sized, about 155,000 square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The snowpack — measured by how much water is trapped inside — in Oregon is not only record low, but 30% lower than the previous record, said Jason Gerlich, regional drought early warning system coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Ski resorts had already been struggling through a difficult season, but the persistent lack of snow is prompting growing concerns about wider effects.

Oregon, Colorado and Utah have reported their lowest statewide snowpack since the early 1980s, as far back as records go.

Experts said the snow drought could also kick-start an early wildfire season. Snow disappearing earlier than average leaves the ground exposed to warmer weather in the spring and summer, which dries soils and vegetation quicker, said Daniel McEvoy, researcher with the Western Regional Climate Center.

UTAH

Bill adds Supreme Court justices

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill on Jan. 31 that expands the state Supreme Court from five justices to seven, as frustration has mounted among Republican lawmakers over a string of defeats before the tribunal.

Republican advocates for the change argued that it would help improve the court’s efficiency. But legal experts said it could have the opposite effect and set a dangerous precedent at a time of tension between the branches of government. The state’s judiciary did not ask for more justices on the high court.

Democrats, who were united in opposition to the bill, called the timing suspicious. A week earlier, the legislature asked the court to overturn a redistricting ruling that gave Democrats a strong shot at picking up one of Utah’s four Republican-held congressional seats in the fall.

New justices could be in place when the court decides the fate of the congressional map.

Because the bill received approval from more than two-thirds of legislators, it took effect immediately after the governor signed it, allowing him to bypass a several-month waiting period to start adding justices.

Cox, a Republican, has denied that the policy is politically motivated, noting that Republican governors and senators have made all recent appointments.

The Utah State Bar has raised concerns about the expansion and other proposals it said would weaken the judiciary’s independence. Among them is a bill that would create a new trial court with exclusive jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges. The proposal would limit the ability of other judges and courts to block potentially unconstitutional state laws with injunctions.

Republicans have also been collecting signatures to try to place on the November ballot an initiative that would restore their ability to draw voting districts that deliberately favor a political party, a practice known as gerrymandering.

NEW MEXICO

Newborn’s death likely linked to raw milk

A newborn baby died from a listeria infection likely linked to the child’s mother drinking raw milk during pregnancy, health officials said.

New Mexico officials in February warned people to avoid consuming unpasteurized dairy products following the death. Interest in and sales of raw milk have been rising in recent years, fueled by social media and growing support from the Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.

State officials provided few details about the newborn, citing privacy restrictions. While investigators said they could not determine the exact cause of the baby’s death, “the most likely source of infection was unpasteurized milk.” That conclusion was based on information gathered during the investigation, including the timing of the infection and reports that the mother drank raw milk during pregnancy, an official said.

Raw milk can contain several disease-causing germs, including listeria. That is a type of bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or fatal infections in newborns, even if the mother is only mildly ill.

Pasteurization — the process of heating milk to a high enough temperature to kill germs — can prevent infections from listeria as well as other types of bacteria as well as viruses. Raw milk can contain germs that cause infections from avian influenza, brucella, tuberculosis, salmonella, campylobacter, cryptosporidium and E. coli. Many of those infections are particularly dangerous to young children, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems.

WYOMING

Cash sales could round to nearest nickel

CHEYENNE — As the penny slowly vanishes from cash registers across the country, Wyoming lawmakers are moving to ensure the state’s commerce doesn’t grind to a halt over a few cents.

Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, has introduced a measure designed to establish a uniform system for rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel.

The proposal follows the U.S. Treasury’s historic decision last November to suspend production of the penny, after determining it was no longer necessary for the nation’s needs. The decision was primarily driven by production costs, as a penny is worth only one cent, but it costs the U.S. Mint roughly 3.69 cents to produce and distribute a single coin. By stopping production, the federal government expects to save approximately $56 million annually.

Under the proposed law, if a cash total ends in one, two, six or seven cents, the amount would be rounded down to the nearest five cents. Conversely, totals ending in three, four, eight or nine cents would be rounded up. For small sales, any amount exactly 1 or 2 cents is rounded up to 5 cents.

The bill emphasizes that this rounding applies only to cash payments when the seller cannot provide exact change.

The legislation attempts to keep the state’s coffers unaffected, as well. All sales and use taxes must be calculated on the original price before rounding occurs. The rounding requirements do not apply to credit cards, debit cards, checks or digital payments, which will continue to be processed at exact amounts.