Kinder Morgan acquires Hiland Partners
Kinder Morgan is buying oil and gas company Hiland Partners in a deal worth $3 billion, including $1 billion in debt.
Houston-based KMI said the deal with founder Harold Hamm includes oil-gathering and transportation pipelines, as well as gas-gathering and processing systems for the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Montana.
KMI says it will gain it access to viable Bakken areas, and will retain most of Hiland’s 430 employees.
KMI also announced that founder Richard Kinder will step down as CEO in June but remain as chairman.
Bankruptcy hearing for funeral home operator
More than a dozen creditors showed up at the Mesa County courthouse in Grand Junction on Friday, some with walkers or oxygen tanks, demanding to know what happened to the money they paid for future services after a funeral home operator admitted she spent the money on a vacation and other personal expenses.
Rhonda Lynn Nelson, owner of Mesa Funeral Service, told officials she owes at least 30 people for prepaid funeral expenses. She said on Friday that she went on vacation, bought her boyfriend a truck and paid his legal bills using money from the funeral home’s checking account.
Nelson filed for personal bankruptcy in January, claiming $450,000 in debts.
Nelson said she would return the deposits after she finds a job.
Pepperidge Farm recalls 46,000 bagel packages
Pepperidge Farm is recalling about 46,000 packages of bagels because they may contain peanuts or almonds that could set off an allergic reaction.
The company said no illnesses have been reported.
The recall includes plain, everything and cinnamon raisin bagels. Mini bagels, sold in whole wheat, cinnamon raisin and brown sugar with cinnamon flavors, are also being recalled. The affected bagels have sell by dates ranging from Feb. 7 to Feb. 12.
The bagels were sent to stores in 23 states including Colorado and New Mexico. Customers can return the bagels for a full refund.
Marijuana welfare measure passes first vote
The Colorado Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill to add marijuana businesses and strip clubs to the list of Colorado businesses where electronic benefits cards – called EBTs – can’t be used to withdraw cash.
The bill aims to alleviate concerns that public benefits can be used to buy pot. A similar measure failed last year.
The bill faces a more formal vote before going to the House.
Fraudulent tax returns force delay in filings
The do-it-yourself tax preparation software TurboTax halted processing state tax returns for about 24 hours because of a spike in fraudulent filings.
State agencies have reported a rise in filings with stolen personal information, Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, said Friday.
Most victims found out that a fraudulent tax return was submitted in their name when they received a rejection notice after filing their returns, said Intuit spokeswoman Julie Miller.
Intuit said it resumed filing of state returns at about 6 p.m. Eastern time Friday and is working with a security company to investigate the problem.
Associated Press & Cortez Journal
