Man in hospital after motorcycle crash

A Montana man was flown to Harborview Medical Center Sunday with critical injuries after crashing his motorcycle on Interstate 90 near Rose Lake, Idaho.

Ryan D. Anderson, 55, of Ronan, Mont., was traveling west on I-90 about 10:30 a.m. when he attempted to pass another vehicle with his 2004 motorcycle. He lost control and struck the center barrier after hitting loose gravel, according to the Idaho State Police. Anderson was ejected into the eastbound lane about three miles west of the Rose Lake exit. He was not wearing a helmet, the report said.

Anderson was initially taken by Medstar to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, then flown to Harborview in Seattle.

The accident remains under investigation.

Camper trailer accident blocks traffic

A pickup pulling a camper trailer overturned on Interstate 90 near Cataldo, Idaho, on Sunday, blocking traffic for about an hour.

The driver, Melanie D. Onyschuk, 20, of Ottawa, was traveling east when her 2005 Toyota pickup left the road, slid into the median and rolled. The truck and trailer ended up in the westbound lane and shut down those lanes.

Onyschuk was taken to Shoshone Medical Center and treated for minor injuries. Alcohol was not a factor in the 2:26 p.m. accident, the report said. It’s unknown if Onyschuk was wearing a seat belt.

Montana firefighters work on mop-up

Firefighters Sunday did mop-up work at a fire near Plains, Mont., a day after containing the blaze, and continued efforts to control one burning in the forest southwest of Philipsburg.

Besides the mop-up at the 2,333-acre Baker fire, crews patrolled for hot spots and undertook some work to rehabilitate the land, fire information officer Jennifer Thompson said. The number of people still assigned to the fire fell to about 80, Thompson said.

Farm equipment started the fire last Monday. It raced through dry grass and for a time threatened to burn into Plains.

About 25 miles southwest of Philipsburg, some 275 firefighters labored on the Frog Pond fire, reported Thursday after lightning. On Sunday the estimated size of the fire in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest remained at 300 acres.

Managers said crews progressed in digging shallow trenches along the western area of the blaze.

Cassia County to decide on dairy proposal

Burley, Idaho Cassia County commissioners today will consider a proposal to build a 6,290-cow dairy that’s split between two counties and would use nearly 50,000 gallons of water per day to clean up manure and cool milk.

David Funk plans to build the dairy facility on 310 acres in Cassia County and use a 947-acre portion of the site situated in neighboring Twin Falls County for managing the resulting waste from his cows.

As a result, only Cassia County officials must sign off on the plan, said Rob Williams, Funk’s attorney.

In May, the Cassia County planning and zoning commission approved a conditional-use permit for David Funk’s proposed dairy near Murtaugh, though that decision has been appealed, prompting today’s hearing.