Don't go ballistic over gov's ball

In politics, sometimes there's plenty of smoke but no fire. That seems to be the case with the Montana Republican Party's intense interest in a long-awaited audit of finances for the governor's inaugural ball.

The state's GOP leaders have established a countdown for the audit's release (175 days so far) because they want to show how Gov. Brian Schweitzer's brother was involved with fund-raising, and how the ball relied heavily on contributions from lobbyists.

There's no indication of anything improper involved with fund-raising for the ball, other than the notion that Walter Schweitzer shouldn't have used state offices and phones to raise money, and that Schweitzer has somehow been inconsistent, or even hypocritical, because he has been critical of the influence lobbyists have on state and federal government.

But frankly, we just don't see where the red meat is here.

Better to have Walter Schweitzer raising the money, with no pay, than having a paid administration staffer do it.

As we understand it, every governor has gone to similar sources to pay for previous inaugural balls. And Schweitzer has the plausible defense that it wasn't a party for himself, but a party for the people of Montana, and that it was a party that shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer funds.

It was a hot time in the heart of the valley last weekend.

Some of the heat came from Mother Nature, but plenty was generated by the performers at the Mountain Madness Air Show.

There were jet-powered trucks on the ground, Navy Blue Angels jets flying precision maneuvers high and low, and even a jet-powered cargo plane.

Those were just a few of the acts that thrilled the 40,000 people who attended the air show. Over two days, Glacier Park International Airport became its own little city.

It took legions of volunteers and countless hours of community help to stage the air show, the biggest event in the Flathead Valley this year.

Congratulations to the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce and all of the other sponsors and helpers for putting on a great show.

Just maybe the next "American Idol" will be from Kalispell.

Thanks to the Kalispell Eagles Aerie, three local teenagers are going to have a chance to audition for the popular singing competition, and possibly even get on national TV.

The girls can be proud of themselves, and so can the Eagles. The fraternal group thought a local talent contest would be a good way to attract new members, as well as to help some deserving younger folks.

They were right in both cases. It looks like the aerie added about 20 new members, and put smiles on the faces of three teen-agers as well. Winner Kerri Javorka is bringing her friend Liz Helder with her to San Francisco for a tryout, and runner-up Kaci West is heading to Denver, all with the generous help of the Eagles.

Good show.