BILLINGS – Sen. Max Baucus has appointed a 29-member Montana Health Care Advisory Council to make recommendations for improving the nation’s health care system. Baucus is asking the panel to hold meetings and conference calls and submit five recommendations to him for improving health care by Dec. 1. Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, […]

David Kaczysnki’s brother Ted, cemented in history as the “Unabomber,” will never be executed. Instead he will spend the rest of his life in prison, a reality that David embraces. But David, who originally tipped off authorities about his brother, is fully aware of how Ted arrived at the life sentence: a government-appointed, all-star defense […]

When I first ran for elected office I was conflicted between running as a Republican or a Democrat. I am from one of the many families who are a bit split on issues: my dad a Republican who delivered crude oil across the seas, my mom an English teacher and a Democrat. In 2002, when […]

After a work session Monday night where Kalispell’s major developers and business leaders found much to object to in the city’s proposed transportation impact fees, Kalispell City Council does not appear ready to vote to implement those fees any time soon. Instead, Mayor Pam Kennedy directed city staff to draw up a list of the […]

Real Clear Sports, an excellent and easily navigable Web site for all things athletic, recently released its Top 10 Weirdest Mascots list. Big Red of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers is among those honored. Big Red is a fat, red blob that loves to give powerful “thumbs ups.” Fair enough. Then there is the unofficial mascot […]

BILLINGS – Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they want to remove wolves in the Northern Rockies from the endangered species list — again — by early 2009. That declaration came on the same day a judge restored the predator’s endangered status, as part of a lawsuit filed by environmentalists. It’s been less than seven months […]

MISSOULA – Officials with the swanky Resort at Paws Up said the economic downturn is hurting the luxury leisure travel market and the resort will be closed for several months over the winter. Managing director Terre Short said 70 employees will lose their jobs around Nov. 1. Paws Up will open for the Christmas and […]

Last week more than 700 high school seniors poured into Flathead Valley Community College to learn about life – real life, with all of its opportunities, difficult decisions and, yes, bills. At the inaugural “Planning Your Dream” seminar on Oct. 10, seniors from Flathead and Glacier high schools, along with Laser School and Bridge Academy […]

MISSOULA – Officials have released the name of a 29-year-old Laurel woman who was killed in a one-vehicle crash near Bigfork. The Montana Highway Patrol says Lyla Page was westbound on Secondary 209 Friday night when she veered off the right side of the road and overcorrected. Her SUV overturned and rolled several times. Page […]

NEW YORK – The dramatic changes in the US financial system – the debt write-downs and consolidation of corporate balance sheets – are now mirrored at kitchen tables around the United States. Households are cutting spending, paying down debt, and rebuilding their personal balance sheets. The belt-tightening may have been spurred by two years of […]

With the budget out of the way, Kalispell City Council continues to chip away at another major issue: implementing transportation impact fees. At a 7 p.m. work session tonight, at which no formal votes are allowed, the city’s impact fee advisory committee will brief the city council on its recommendations for assessing the fees. Kalispell’s […]

7:23 a.m. A deputy gave a man a ride to the auto parts store to get a part to fix his car. When the deputy found the man, he was asleep in his car. 1:32 p.m. A Mission Way man in Kalispell reported the theft of $2,000 from his wallet. The money was left in […]

Good morning; today is the day we celebrate Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. Also, happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian neighbors. On the Beacon this morning, with recent cuts in the city of Kalispell’s Parks Department and Flathead County’s future budget projections looking bleak, the county’s parks and recreation department is working on its first-ever, […]

When I was a child, my grandma used to make me frankfurters and mashed potatoes if I was upset or not feeling good. I miss those days dearly, grandparents are graceful and just knew how to make it right. She also had some great insight into how best to deal with others when they treated […]

MISSOULA – The Missoula County sheriff’s department is investigating the death of a man whose body was found on Mount Sentinel over the weekend. Sheriff Mike McMeekin says two hikers found the body on Saturday. The body was taken to the state crime lab. The man hasn’t been identified.