HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer says he wants to increase reserves and limit budget increases amid a faltering national economy and a projected downturn in tax revenue. Schweitzer released his proposed two-year budget on Saturday and said it would reduce overall spending a small amount from the previous budget, due to cuts in one-time expenses. […]

Kayla Smart thrives in an organized world. “I can’t go to bed unless my room’s clean,” said the senior defensive specialist on Glacier High School’s volleyball team. And while packing before each game, Smart folds her jerseys so that the numbers are always facing up. It makes sense that a methodical, and a bit superstitious, […]

BILLINGS – A renewable-energy expert says Montana will play a crucial role as the U.S. grapples with energy over the next two decades. Randy Udall, the son of former Arizona Congressman Mo Udall, was keynote luncheon speaker during the 37th annual meeting of the Northern Plains Resource Council in Billings. Randy Udall said Montana is […]

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama is forming a White House leadership team that combines experienced Washington insiders who can help build a bridge with Congress and trusted associates who share his Chicago roots. The West Wing appointments that Obama has announced in recent days stand in contrast to those of George W. Bush, who relied […]

6:43 a.m. Cash and checks were stolen from a Bigfork coffee stand. There was a missing boom box. 7:46 a.m. Kids at an Evergreen elementary school were yelling at each other. 8:05 a.m. A man, who was sleeping in a spare trailer, was asked to leave. He was told not to return. 8:37 a.m. Someone […]

Miriam Ascher likes the idea of making mistakes. At the worktable in her new Kalispell business, Creative Arts and Beads, she adds different glitters and paints to a red ribbon before discarding it as “begging to be thrown away and put out of its misery.” With the store, Ascher hopes to spread her artistic mantra […]

BOZEMAN – Walking around the remote village of Patika, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Greg Mortenson, at well over six feet tall, was hard to miss that day in 2006. Some villagers understood he was there to build schools, but since the devastating earthquake a year before, they were used to relief workers coming and going. Mortenson’s […]

Part of a 19th century bridge in Kalispell has been spared demolition. A man who bought a 140-foot section of the Old Steel Bridge for $15,000 says he wants to move his piece of history and put it across the Stillwater River, for pedestrian and bicycle use. The Old Steel Bridge built in 1894 spanned […]

Dropping enrollment numbers prompted state education officials to lower Bigfork High’s class status from A to B. “Because of declining enrollments,” said Superintendent Russ Kinzer, “we’ve been getting closer to the class B level for some time.” The Bigfork School Board of Trustees voted 4-2, not to appeal the Montana High School Association’s decision drop […]

Across the nation thousands of schools, including a handful in Montana, have adopted random drug testing for students. Just this fall, Colstrip and Anaconda implemented random testing policies for extracurricular activities, while here in the Flathead, the Whitefish school district has looked into a similar plan, and is still considering it. Meanwhile, the district has […]

Both presidential candidates called on Washington to come to the rescue of the economy with extra spending and tax cuts. Probably a large majority of economists agree that a stimulus plan is badly needed. “It pays to be bold,” write two Wall Street economists, Jan Hatzius and Ed McKelvey of famed Goldman Sachs Group. They […]

Good morning; on this date in 1851, “Moby Dick” was published. On the Beacon today, with one semester almost finished under suspicion-based drug testing, Whitefish school officials say they are pleased with the policy so far. Storied Flathead Braves football player Mike Huggins, 50 years after his high school career, was honored for an incredible […]

The girls volleyball team at Glacier High School cruised to a 3-0 at victory home last night against Missoula Hellgate. The third-seeded Lady Wolfpack now advance to the Class AA state tournament in Bozeman on Nov. 20-22. Their record is 13-9 and 9-4 in the conference. Flathead High, the No. 5 seed, doesn’t play its […]

In 2001 I was assigned to photograph a cave rescue seminar – part of a Wilderness Medicine Conference to demonstrate cave rescues to other doctors – on the north end of Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. I showed up wearing a waterproof jacket, boots I could get mucky, khaki pants and of course my camera gear. […]

HELENA – The faltering economy is hitting the state’s coffers — and the projected surplus is shrinking. Revenue analysts will tell lawmakers next week that tax collections could drop by about $40 million for the upcoming two-year budget period. And the projected surplus for the budget period that ends in mid-2011 has dropped by about […]