Matt Griffin, right, checks out one of two horses he was hauling when his truck and trailer were struck by a train on Boekel Rd. near Rathdrum Tuesday morning. Griffin escaped with a small bump on the head. The horses were quickly rescued from the overturned trailer and showed only minor cuts when examined on scene/Jesse Tinsley, Spokesman-Review.

Eye On Olympia: Bothell-based Christian group offers prayer of forgiveness for believers who failed to vote in the last election here.

1. Republican Lite? A new political group aims to draw people "who should be good Democrats" but have drifted away, an organizer says. Progressive Democrats of Montana will work to field candidates for political races and is concerned the Democratic Party will not succeed if it is "Republican Lite," said Paul Edwards of Helena here.

2. A former Montanan who spent 24 years on the run and later prospered as a software developer has been convicted of the drowning death of a girl who'd tried to elope with in 1982 here.

3. - A former elk rancher who had more than 100 domesticated elk escape from his Fremont County hunting preserve last fall has filed a $1.3 million tort claim against the state, alleging it was negligent and capricious in its handling of the incident here.

4. A 62-year-old University of Washington professor pled guilty Wednesday to dumping a hazardous material down a laboratory sink and covering up his actions because he didn't want to pay to properly dispose of it here.

5. Law enforcement rangers arrested a record number of people in Yellowstone National Park last year, according to an annual report. In addition, a record number of people _ 374 _ appeared to face charges at the federal courthouse at Mammoth Hot Springs, the park's headquarters here.

6. IMHO-NW: Tom Henderson/Lewiston Tribune (Proud to be a Coulter fag), Helena Independent Record (Real ID deserves boot), Randy Stapilus/Ridenbaugh Press (A door-opening water decision), Tom Forbes/Palousitics (The Cup Runneth Over w/Hypocrisy), and Tim Trainor/St. Maries Gazette Record (One penguin at a time).

Online Poll: 53% of 300 respondents to a Great Falls Tribune poll say they don't scrub their fruits and vegetables before eating them.

*Diamond Parking mogul dies at 99 here.

*Reardan Indian is a one-girl cheerleading squad here.

*Spokane murder victim: "You shot me in the eye" (w/KREM2 video, photos) here.

*Montana House votes to make funeral protests illegal here.

*Washington inmate allowed to marry in exchange for pleading guilty to murder here.

Orbusmax Special: UOregon dean standing by ethics award to reporter who gave $2000 to teen Internet pornographer here.

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