Good morning; on the Beacon today, Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch told the Kalispell City Council last week he expects to have the southern portion of the long-awaited Kalispell Alternate Route open to traffic Nov. 17. Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman presented the State of the County speech to a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Nov. 9, a disquisition bookended with his feelings about the recent election and his fears for the county’s future. The closest trailhead to Whitefish is the Lion Mountain Trailhead and is an awesome, relaxed hike. The Flathead Nordic Ski Patrol hosts the 2010/2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour on Nov. 16 and 17 at Flathead High School’s auditorium.
A Bozeman businessman, Steve Daines, has announced he’ll run as a Republican in 2012 for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Jon Tester. Two Montana business groups are joining the online travel companies in an ongoing dispute with the state over hotel bed taxes now that the Department of Revenue is rewriting its rules aimed at the big companies. When things got tough Saturday, Montana running back Chase Reynolds stepped it up and carried the Grizzlies to a 27-17 victory over North Dakota. One judge set a Jan. 31 execution date for the only Canadian on death row in the U.S. Another judge ordered a stay in the execution. Now the Montana Supreme Court is being asked to decide who’s right. A proposed logging project on a popular network of trails in Whitefish is nearing fruition, and an advocacy group with ambitious plans for the area is taking steps to ensure that recreation is an integral part of the state’s management plan. Sun Mountain Lumber Owner Sherm Anderson says unstable market prices and lack of available logs prompted 30 layoffs at the Deer Lodge operation. No new information was released by Great Falls Police on Sunday about the shooting deaths of a married couple in Great Falls on Thursday.