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Mid-Day Top Stories on Montana's News Station for Tuesday, February 7th, 2012.

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- Governor Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) has officially signed extradition requests for Michael Spell and Lester Waters, Jr., the two men accused of kidnapping missing Sidney teacher Sherry Arnold. Schweitzer signed the requests and sent them to North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple. Spell and Waters are set to appear at an extradition hearing in Williams County, North Dakota, on February 14th, where the public is expected learn more about what connection the suspects have to Arnold's disappearance. The status of the Arnold investigation has not changed; Sherry Arnold's body has not yet been found.

- The Gallatin County Sheriff's department says that Ashley Blake, a 36-year-old Big Sky man who was reported missing from his home on February 5, has been found dead. According to a press release, a Sheriff's deputy responded to the area to look for the man, began investigating the case, and activated Gallatin county search and rescue teams. Search dogs checked the area of Dudley Creek Road for nearly two hours before finding Blake at the bottom of a drainage. Blake was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation by the Sheriff/Coroner determined that Blake died from exposure.

- Charles Lee Reynolds, Jr., the inmate at the Cascade County Detention Center who died after being found hanging in his cell on Sunday, likely committed suicide. Lewis & Clark County Coroner Mickey Nelson is investigating the death; all inmate deaths must be investigated, according to statute. Nelson tells us that Reynolds used bedsheets and parts of his detention center uniform, and that there does not appear to be any evidence of foul play.

- Two Montana Tech Students face felony charges for shooting live rounds in the direction of a student housing complex at Montana Tech early Sunday morning. Clayton Giesick, 22, and Joshua Clark, 23, were taken into custody by a SWAT team shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday. Officers responded to a report of gun fire around 1 a.m. They were unable to get a response from the occupants of the home but reported seeing a man hanging out the window with a gun. The SWAT team was called in around 2 a.m. and entered after 5 a.m. when they had secured a warrant. Both men were found inside the home and were reportedly heavily intoxicated, and arrested without incident.

- The funding for Essential Air Service to rural Montana is locked in for the next several years. The funding has been under attack as wasteful spending by some members of Congress, U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) announced a compromise that will continue full authorization of EAS. The compromise, which Baucus announced last Tuesday as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization, passed the House last Friday and is now ready to be signed into law by the President.

- Trapping wild animals on public lands in Montana has come under fire as more and more people recreate in Montana's wilderness. There are few issues related to wildlife management as polarizing as trapping with one of the people we talked with saying that it's similar to religion as far as morals and values are concerned. Dr. Paul Krausman serves as president of the Wildlife Society, the professional organization of wildlife biologists, managers and university staff in North America. Krausman says despite the emotions that surround trapping, it's an important management and research tool. "It's probably one of the most controversial things we have because it involves killing animals that are trapped and aren't killed immediately. But when it's done properly it's just like hunting or anything else."

- A look at weather across the Treasure State.