In brief: Coeur d’Alene man critical after car falls into lake
A 66-year-old Coeur d’Alene man was in critical condition Saturday evening after his car plunged into the cold waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene from Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive near Silver Beach.
Two passers-by pulled the unconscious man from his submerged car before paramedics arrived, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office news release. Divers searched the water for additional people but did not find any.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. The man’s name will not be released until family members are notified, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Swimmer, 7, still in critical condition
A 7-year-old boy found unresponsive in a hotel pool Friday evening remained in critical condition Saturday, Coeur d’Alene police reported.
Emergency crews were called Friday to the Spring Hill Suites, 2250 Seltice Way, where the boy was swimming with his 12-year-old brother, police said in a news release. The child had been diving in the deep end and swimming to the bottom but at one point did not surface.
The boys’ father, who had been in the nearby hot tub, and another hotel guest performed CPR until emergency crews arrived, police said.
The boy was flown to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane on Friday night. The boy’s family is from Missoula.
Obama signs Montana wilderness law
MISSOULA – President Barack Obama has signed wilderness legislation that preserves large areas of land in the North Fork of the Flathead and on the Rocky Mountain Front.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., hailed the legislation as a victory for the state and for bipartisanship.
Obama signed the bill Friday, shortly after Tester met with wildland advocates in the North Fork to celebrate their success, the Missoulian reported.
The measures were added as riders to the National Defense Authorization Act.
The National Defense Authorization Act contains $585 billion in Pentagon discretionary spending and more than $63 billion in overseas contingency operations. It also includes a package of 70 public land management bills that designate about 390 square miles as new wilderness while protecting other lands from energy development.
Eight Montana bills are in the package. They include the North Fork Preservation Act, which protects about 600 square miles west of Glacier National Park from energy exploration.