MISSOULA – More than 50 employees at a manufacturing plant here are expected to be laid off at least until the end of the year. Mike Mullin, a spokesman for Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., said a machine that makes the material used to line cardboard boxes would be shut down between Thursday and the end of […]

A 25-year-old Martin City man shot his mother in the finger while unloading a 9 mm pistol. Apparently, the man was unloading the weapon when he accidentally discharged it, shooting the woman’s middle finger. The 45-year-old woman was taken to North Valley Hospital and treated for the gunshot wound that severed her finger between the […]

Good morning; on this date in 1947, “Meet the Press” debuted on NBC. There’s a lot of news on the Beacon and across the state as the implications of election results grow clear. Our top story this week looks at how, and if, media bias played a role in coverage by the Montana press during […]

The curtain goes up for two different shows this weekend on Whitefish stages. While both venture into the world of the mind, they do so in opposing directions. Acting out hi-jinks and plot twists, the Whitefish High School Drama Club presents the comedy The Curious Savage, a play written by John Patrick. The story about […]

An FVCC photo from a previous trip to Venice, Italy. FVCC instructors have expanded options for an upcoming semester abroad program in Venice, Italy, providing more economical and less time-consuming alternatives to study and explore the famous city. The program has been broken into two half-semesters, and, in addition, will offer an 12-day trip in […]

When the Christmas rush is over and the ski resorts return to the January doldrums, there are almost no customers and no lift lines because everyone thinks it’s too cold. With as many different kinds of temperature-defeating inventions on the market today, there is no need to be cold. Think: Layering, foam rubber face masks […]

It’s two days after Election Day, and the national press has rapidly pivoted from its “What a Historic Moment” essays about the election of the first African American to the presidency, to the bleaker, but necessary stories focusing on the “Daunting Tasks Next President Faces.” It’s fairly straightforward stuff, but what I found most interesting […]

This may be a day late in getting to, but I always think it’s worth looking at how different newspapers from around the country look the day after big events – and this week’s was immense. Anyone can access the day’s front pages from around the globe at the Web site Newseum. If you’re interested […]

When it comes to the murky waters of streamside setback regulations, residents on either side of the issue aren’t backing down – even after nearly two years of revisions, heated debate and lengthy public hearings. Commissioners are set to vote on subdivision regulations as early as next week, but with various parties threatening litigation a […]

Over at FlatheadMemo.com, local blogger James Conner crunches the numbers on whether Flathead County’s provisional ballots – which won’t be added to voter totals until Monday – could defeat the 911 center bond, which passed by a narrow margin Tuesday night. While there are roughly 370 provisional ballots yet to be counted and the bond […]

Like most investors, Flathead Valley Community College had a rough month in September: The school’s endowment saw about a $475,000 decline. But at the same time, tough economic conditions – coupled with expanded degree programs and class offerings – are ushering more students through the school’s doors. FVCC’s endowment total had reached about $6 million, […]

A week after Helena Capital broke the Flathead Braves’ six-game win streak with a dominating 65-27 victory, the Braves enter the playoffs facing an equally, and some would say more, formidable opponent in Billings West. West, the No. 2 seed, finished the regular season with a 9-1 record, its only loss coming to undefeated Capital […]

It was a full evening for the sizable crowd at Columbia Falls’ Discovery Square late today, where the First Best Place Task Force and the Columbia Falls Chamber organized a celebration of the arrival of the 2008 Capitol Christmas Tree. Your agenda for the evening looked something like this: Sign the banners on the 2008 […]

Use the arrows or click on the image to see pictures from Tuesday’s 2008 election.

The line of people at the Flathead County courthouse building, as of 6:30 p.m., stretched down from the Election Department on the second floor through the basement, out the back door and into the parking lot south of the building. Between 300 and 350 people were waiting on line there as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday […]