Legal saga continues over Whitefish Mountain Jesus Statue

Knights of Columbus Jesus Statue sits near the top of Chair Two at the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort on Big Mountain.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation recently filed a brief supporting it’s case against the Jesus statue at the top of Chair Two at the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort on Big Mountain.

The group takes issue with the statue sitting on federal land in what it calls a violation of the Establishment Clause. This part of the First Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits government endorsement of religion.

The FFRF issued a press release February 18, 2013:

The statue was erected by the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a Fraternal Catholic Organization. In the fall of 2011 the U-S Forest Service denied a re-authorization permit for a statue that’s been regularly reauthorized since it went up in 1954. Public outcry greeted the decision to not reauthorize the Knights permit, and the Forest Service put the question out for review. The Forest Service reversed its decision at the beginning of 2012. The Knights of Columbus say the statue is a war memorial put up by members of the 10^th Mountain Division returning from World War II who were also members of the Knights, and had seen similar statues in Europe.

Former Representative Denny Rehberg got involved with the effort to keep the statue and the issue has gained national attention. Rehberg spoke to Fox News in 2011:

The issue is scheduled to go before the judge in federal court in Missoula in March.

Sally Mauk talks with political scientist David Parker about Montana’s expensive Senate race….

The final figures confirm that Montana’s 2012 U.S. Senate race between Democrat Jon Tester and Republican Denny Rehberg smashed campaign spending records, with at least 47 million dollars poured into the race – almost three times what was spent in the 2006 Tester/Burns race. Montana State University political science professor David Parker is writing a book on the 2012 race. In this feature interview, Parker breaks down the campaign spending numbers with News Director Sally Mauk…

Campaign Beat Nov 9 – Sally, Chuck and Mike give their final thoughts on the 2012 election…

Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison

On this final edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about who won, who lost, and what happens next…

 

 

Sally Mauk and UM political scientists Rob Saldin and Chris Muste dissect the election…

Sally Mauk, Chris Muste, Rob Saldin

The smoke has finally – mostly – settled on the 2012 election and the winners and losers are assessing where they go from here. News Director Sally Mauk sat down with University of Montana political scientists Rob Saldin and Christopher Muste today to
sort out some of the drama of the Montana results…

Sally Mauk and political scientists Chris Muste and Rob Saldin preview the election…

Sally Mauk, Chris Muste, Rob Saldin

The long campaign season ends tomorrow when the votes are counted and we find out the winners and losers. Polls show almost all the top tier races in Montana, including the race for U.S. Senate and the governor’s seat, are in a virtual tie. News Director Sally Mauk sat down today with our political analysts – University of Montana political science professors Rob Saldin and Christopher Muste to preview the possible election outcomes…

Campaign Beat Nov 2 – Sally, Chuck and Mike talk polls, break-in’s and ads…

Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison

On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the latest poll showing a LOT of tight races, the ongoing brouhaha over American Tradition Partnership, and the new ads that run from the scary – to the odd…

Sally Mauk talks Obamacare, stimulus and lobbyist money with Jon Tester…

Sally Mauk, Jon Tester

Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Tester is locked in a too-close-to-call race with Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg. One of the main themes of Rehberg’s criticism of Tester is that he is a rubber stamp for President Obama, voting with the president 95 percent of the time. In this feature interview with News Director Sally Mauk, Tester disputes that statistic – but says he understands why his opponent wants to make it a big deal…

 

Sally Mauk talks spending and cutting, death and taxes with Denny Rehberg…

Jan and Denny Rehberg, Sally Mauk

Either Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg or Democratic Senator Jon Tester will be out of a job soon, as Montana voters decide which one they want to be in the U.S. Senate for the next six years. Their high profile race has attracted millions of dollars spent on attack ads and mailers and phone calls that have bombarded voters’ homes for months now.
In tonight’s feature interview, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Congressman Rehberg, about why he’s giving up his House seat to make this run for the Senate…

Campaign Beat Oct 26 – Sally, Chuck and Mike talk about the $500,000 question…

Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison

On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the flap over the $500,000 donation to Republican Rick Hill’s gubernatorial campaign, the final push in the tight U.S. Senate race, two new attack ads in that race, and the impact of absentee voting…

Campaign Beat Oct 19 – Chuck, Sally and Mike talk donations, lawsuits, and ads…

Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison

On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the brouhaha in the governor’s race over campaign donations, the importance of Saturday’s televised Senate debate, and the latest ads in that Senate race….