Good morning and happy birthday to Michael Phelps, the U.S. swimmer who just broke another world record and is aiming for a record seven gold medals – or more – at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
On the Beacon this morning, wildfires are raging in California. Lido Vizzutti gives a suggestion of how to spend a nice summer day in Kalispell. Also, two swimming stories remind us that summer is officially underway, with both the Columbia Falls swim team and KATS program kicking off their summer seasons. Oil is making millionaires in North Dakota. The Kitchen Guy reveals a tasty lamb recipe that could be a perfect Fourth of July dish. And Dan Testa recalls his brief, yet grueling, mountain bike racing career.
Elsewhere in state and regional news, governors from several Western states met in Wyoming to discuss wildlife and energy concerns. In Billings, a long-anticipated new baseball park opened up, only to have difficulties with its lighting. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reflects on the fires of 1988. Two deaths marred the weekend, with a woman dying in a car accident near Pony and a Missoula man drowning after a rafting accident. And a longtime Polson newspaper editor has retired from the Lake County Leader, where he began working in 1959.
And finally, an Australian man who auctioned his life on eBay is disappointed with the final selling price of $384,000.