Whitefish, with its resort-town appeal, hasn’t had a problem attracting city manager candidates to replace Gary Marks, who left his position in July to take the top city administrative job in Ketchum, Idaho. Sixty-three applied for the Whitefish position, but following a lengthy examination process and a meeting between a consultant and city councilors on […]

HELENA – A federal agency’s refusal to protect wolverines under the Endangered Species Act is being challenged in court. Groups that filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula say politics overrode science in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to protect wolverines, a member of the weasel family. Defenders of Wildlife […]

MISSOULA – A Seattle man who impersonated the son of country music legend Merle Haggard has pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft. Federal prosecutors say Mark G. Sams, while impersonating Noel Haggard, chartered a private jet to Mexico and then charged the $61,000 bill to a Whitefish acquaintance’s credit card. Sams told the victim […]

BILLINGS – Election officials say there are more than 36,000 newly registered voters on the rolls this year, primarily due to Democratic efforts. “We’re getting about 100 a day from the Obama campaign,” said Barb Cox, Yellowstone County’s election clerk. “We might get 50 to 100 a week from the Republican Party.” Other urban counties […]

1:40 a.m. A man called in and said he was going to be assaulted with a pool stick. 7:53 a.m. Someone had been shooting birds since 5 a.m. 9:47 a.m. A fight broke out in the pool and spa area of a Somers hotel on U.S. Highway 93. A window was broken. 10:50 a.m. Political […]

It has been three years since I shot and killed an animal. My dad still makes sure my freezer is mostly full of meat: venison, elk, antelope and a variety of feathered creatures. But my own hunting has been nonexistent. I like the meat and I always loved the hunt, but over time I grew […]

Valhalla Adventures entices those seeking uncut, deep powder. Now, the cat-ski operation is seeking to expand into the heli-skiing business. Fred Dietrich, owner of Valhalla Adventures, applied to the Stillwater Unit of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for a permit to run heli-skiing in conjunction with his cat-ski operation on Stryker Ridge outside […]

No wonder Americans aren’t happy about the ideas being considered to resolve the deepening financial crisis. The task is to choose among bad options – and to do so in a hurry. But amid all the debate about whether “Main Street” should bail out “Wall Street,” the reality has also been sinking in for many […]

TORONTO – A lawsuit to be argued Monday alleges a Canadian on Montana’s death row for 25 years is more likely to be executed because Canada’s Conservative government stopped seeking clemency. The government’s “abrupt abandonment of their promises and long-standing practice has now created severe detriment” to Ronald Smith, the suit states. “In particular, he […]

Two Bigfork-area men died when their vehicle rolled over on Montana 209 near Ferndale. The Flathead County sheriff’s office identified the men as 27-year-old Matthew Emslie and 26-year-old Sean Purcell. Authorities say the vehicle was traveling west on Montana 209 shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday when it veered across traffic into a ditch and rolled. […]

Good morning; on this date in 1829 Scotland Yard was formed. On the Beacon this morning, two Bigfork men who died in a vehicle rollover on Montana 209 over the weekend have been identified as 27-year-old Matthew Emslie and 26-year-old Sean Purcell. Former KOFI radio station employee Kent Etchison was sentenced to 60 days in […]

POLSON – major cleanup project is scheduled to begin this week at the site of an April 2 truck accident that spilled nearly 6,400 gallons of gasoline along Montana Highway 35 near Flathead Lake. Gasoline vapors have forced five families from their homes in the Finley Point area. On Wednesday, crews are scheduled to begin […]

WASHINGTON – The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry. Stocks plummeted on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor. When the critical vote […]

6:12 a.m. A door at the Martin City Fire Hall was kicked in. Nothing appeared to be missing. 12:35 p.m. A man was worried because people were shooting in his direction. 1:57 p.m. Business papers were stolen from a car. 3:23 p.m. There was a creepy looking man on Helena Flats Road. He was hunched-over […]

During Friday night’s presidential debate Sen. John McCain – suggesting that the federal budget is rife with pork-barrel spending – cited a $3 million expenditure “to study the DNA of bears in Montana.” McCain routinely uses the DNA study in his campaign stump speeches. Never mind that the study actually cost $4.8 million and is […]