The lawsuit filed by the parents of Jeffrey Bowman on Aug. 13, says Bigfork High School officials’ negligence and win-at-all-costs attitude killed their son. Bowman, 17, collapsed while running timed laps on the first day of football practice last year and died a week later at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. According to his parents’ lawsuit, […]

Funeral services are scheduled next week for the Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was killed in a head-on crash while pursuing another vehicle. The memorial service for 29-year-old Evan Schneider is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Christian Center Assembly of God Church in Kalispell, according to Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. A pickup truck […]

DENVER – Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, speaking Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, called on America to wean itself from foreign oil by investing in alternative energy and criticized Sen. John McCain as beholden to big oil companies. The outspoken governor took several jabs at the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting during the nationally televised speech, […]

Are you ready for the worst? Not $10 gasoline. Not 500% increases in food prices. And no, not a $20 per hour minimum wage. Nope, I’m talking about a business disaster. Maybe it’s a flood. Could be a creek that rose or a culvert that clogged, or it could simply be a pipe that burst […]

When 20 Flathead High School students enrolled in a pilot program called Running Start at Flathead Valley Community College in 1996, the concept of high schoolers earning college credit was already well developed in states like Washington, Utah and Minnesota. In Montana, though, the idea of expediting higher education had yet to take hold. Now, […]

These are the leaders of the pack. They are aspiring college students, all-state athletes, 4.0 students, young adults and future leaders. But most of all, they are wide-eyed and eager teenagers, fully aware of the big world they face and the special title they hold: Glacier High School’s first senior class. They intend to leave […]

Every summer before school starts, Duwayne Ulrich is hard at work, cleaning and waxing floors, tying up loose ends and waiting for the pitter-patter of feet to break the silence in the empty halls. Then late August arrives and solitude meets insanity. Ulrich, the head custodian at Flathead High School, hasn’t strayed far from his […]

I spent 18 years in Montana’s school system, from my distant preschool days in Livingston to my recent final college years in Missoula. My love of Montana was born and nurtured during this time, when life revolved around the uncomplicated schedule of school and Big Sky summers. These years shaped my life. Montana is wide […]

COLUMBIA FALLS – A Montana Highway Patrol officer was killed Tuesday night in a head-on collision near Columbia Falls. The Highway Patrol says a person in the second car also died in the crash. Patrol Capt. Tom Butler, in Helena, says it happened at about 7:40 p.m. Another person in the second car was airlifted […]

GREAT FALLS – The search for a missing hiker in Glacier National Park will continue for at least a week, a park ranger said Tuesday. Yi-Jien Hwa, 27, of Louisville, Ky., was reported missing Aug. 18 — the last day of a planned 100-mile hike. Park Ranger Megan Chaisson said the search was scaled back […]

7:01 a.m. Ashley Lake Road was temporarily overrun by cows. 8:04 a.m. The owner of a vicious dog became “ballistic” when confronted by their neighbor. 8:27 a.m. A generator and welder were reported stolen from a home on Bitterroot Drive. 11 a.m. A 72-year old man was taken to the hospital after he crashed a […]

Good morning, today is the anniversary of the Anglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war in history. The fattest edition ever of the Beacon hits the stands this morning, a whopping 56 pages with our Back to School supplement that’s got just about everything sports fans, parents and, of course, the kids need to kick off the […]

6:52 a.m. There was a vicious pit bull on Shilo Avenue in Columbia Falls. 8:19 a.m. Someone stole a dog in Somers. 9:16 a.m. Two people traveling by foot were rummaging through mailboxes on Bernard Road. 9:28 a.m. Some pain medication was reported stolen from a home on Sharon Road in Kalispell. 9:54 a.m. An […]

How fast can you run? Now change the course to 3.5 miles up with 2,200 feet of elevation gain to the top of Big Mountain. Last Saturday, Aug. 23, the uphill run for Glacier Nordic Ski Team crowned a new king and queen with the winning time hitting close to 37 minutes. The annual run […]

I was assigned to head up the Beacon’s inaugural “Back to School” special, which came out on the stands today and is also on our Web site. Aside from divvying out stories and writing a couple as well, I had the privilege of reminiscing about my school days in the introduction. By forcing myself to […]