Ahhh...sweet relief

May sweeps is over. (Okay...technically it's not. That happens Wednesday. But for me...it basically is. Thank God)

We're usually supposed to churn out a few special projects for sweeps. I came up with one. A story on stream access in Montana. I know it sounds boring and to many it probably is. But I had my eye on that story since my first day on the job and now it's finally finished. It got rave reviews too. Feels nice.

I also did a story about a "zone of death" in Yellowstone National Park. In a nutshell...you could commit murder in part of Yellowstone and get away with it easily. For those who don't know, the park straddles three states. Most of it is in Wyoming but there are smaller portions in Montana and Idaho. The "zone of death" is in the Idaho portion. Since the park is federal land you must be tried in a federal district court if you commit a crime. But the constitution says a jury of your peers must be made up of people from the district AND state the crime was committed in. So if you kill someone in the Idaho portion you need a jury from that little slice of Idaho. The problem? No one lives there. (The Montana portion of Yellowstone almost fits this scenario but there are a few dozen people who live in that part of the world). A Michigan law professor discovered this loophole and wrote an essay about it. Then a Wyoming author decided to write a book based on the idea. Here it is:

I'm reading now. It's pretty good...for your average, run of the mill mystery/adventure novel. Even after the story though, I'm still wondering...could this really happen. The law professor I interviewed said yes. Hjustin, you're the only lawyer I know. Would this thing stand up in court. A murderer couldn't go free on a technicality could he/she? It seems ridiculous. Anyway, it was a fun story and I got to go into Yellowstone and get paid for it. It was awesome.

Have I mentioned to anyone that I'm going head to head with a former CNN news anchor this fall. The other station in town has hired former CNN newswoman Donna Kelley to anchor the local evening news. I'd be more intimidated if I thought I was staying in Bozeman for much longer. But hopefully I'll be on my way to a new job somewhere else in the country. It's still disheartening though. Good for them for getting here. She's a Bozeman native and wants to live here forever so...the job fits. But in hiring her they're sort of changing Bozeman from a starter marker (where rookies come to learn) to a higher caliber one. Should be interesting.

That's all. Have a good day.