State seeks injunction against Eureka ranch for adopted Russian children

KALISPELL — Montana regulators at odds with a ranch for children adopted abroad are asking a judge to order its owners to stop using buildings not up to code.

The injunction request comes in a lawsuit by Department of Labor and Industry against Eureka's Ranch for Kids.

State attorneys previously said Ranch for Kids was making efforts to correct its building-code violations, but the injunction request says the ranch has refused to make some corrections.

The lawsuit is separate from a previous one in which District Judge James Wheelis ruled the ranch was not a religious organization exempt from state oversight.

Wheelis set a Dec. 3 trial date in the building-codes lawsuit.

The ranch cares for adopted children who have problems at home, including fetal alcohol-related issues. It has been at the center of recent controversy over the plight of children adopted from Russia.