WEST GLACIER – A search was under way Thursday in Glacier National Park for a 27-year-old man who was three days overdue from a lengthy backcountry hike. Yi-Jien Hwa, a resident of Kentucky and Malaysia, was last seen at the St. Mary Visitor Center on Aug. 11, the first day of his planned hike, park […]

COLUMBIA FALLS – Bob Arends thinks you might catch some trout if you stop making fly fishing so complicated. Walk into his store and you’ll get what he means. He has two, maybe three, nets for sale. He doesn’t have the latest state-of-the-art vests or much of anything else in the way of clothing. He […]

HELENA – The official overseeing an ethics complaint against Gov. Brian Schweitzer says the governor appears to have violated state law by distributing a public service announcement after filing for re-election. University of Montana law professor William Corbett was appointed the hearings examiner in the case. On Thursday, he recommended Schweitzer be found guilty of […]

HELENA – A Kalispell woman has claimed a $40,000 Powerball prize. Montana Lottery officials say Tamara Hamilton bought her winning ticket for the Aug. 6 drawing at a Town Pump in Kalispell. She claimed her winnings Thursday. Hamilton won $10,000 by matching four of the five white balls and quadrupled her prize because she matched […]

OMAHA – The rural economy continues to falter with a significant pullback in new hiring, according to the August survey of bank CEOs in 11 Midwestern and Plains states. The Rural Mainstreet Index, which ranges between 0 and 100, plunged to a record low of 38.9, down from July’s 41.4. In August 2007, the index […]

CHOTEAU – A new study says protecting homes from forest fires in Montana is costing the state millions of dollars extra, and it’s only going to get more expensive as more residents settle on large rural lots. Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group in Bozeman, completed the study for the Legislature’s Fire Suppression Interim Committee. […]

There’s nothing scarier (well, canoeing-wise) than sticking $2500 worth of camera gear in a dry bag and sitting it between your feet in the bottom of a canoe. But that’s what I did and thankfully, it survived the week unharmed. Meanwhile, the older guys in Troop 41 spent the week overdosing on huckleberries, making a […]

As I sat yesterday morning in the seat of a small airplane, my gangly legs pressed against the seat in front of me, waiting on the runway for “mechanical troubles” to be resolved, I remembered a series of travel columns from the San Francisco Chronicle that I read several years ago in a journalism class. […]

The presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama is making good on its promise to wage a serious battle to win Montana in November. In Flathead County alone, the Obama campaign has three offices, in Whitefish, Bigfork and Kalispell. Thirteen other Obama campaign offices dot the state, stretching as far east as Glendive and […]

Several years ago, Seth Godin wrote a book called “Permission Marketing”, which among other things discussed that people don’t want to buy from people who make annoying phone calls during dinner (duh), and how to fix the problem for your business. It isn’t because they don’t want to buy your item. They just don’t want […]

POLSON – The president of the University of Montana identified the man whose body was found Monday in Flathead Lake as James D. Kriley, a former dean of the university’s School of Fine Arts and the former artistic director of the Montana Repertory Theatre. UM President George Dennison issued a statement Tuesday informing the community […]

KALISPELL – A Montana bank holding company, Glacier Bancorp Inc., says it will acquire Bank of the San Juans, a community bank based in Durango, Colo. The acquisition marks Glacier’s first entry into Colorado. Bank of the San Juans has two offices in Durango and one in Pagosa Springs, Colo. As of June 30, the […]

Good morning. Today was the birthday of Isaac Hayes, an R&B singer and the voice of South Park’s Chef, who died earlier this month. It’s Wednesday! You all know what that means…only two more days until the weekend! Oh, and, of course, the new print edition of the Beacon is out on the stands! Check […]

Last month, at a Bozeman meeting about changing the legal status of wolves to a species in need of management, only 11 citizens showed and only four said anything. Why did so few bother? The answer came two days later, July 18. Federal judge Donald W. Molloy granted environmentalists a preliminary injunction effectively blocking removal […]

POLSON – The body of a 70-year-old Bigfork-area man has been recovered from Flathead Lake. Lake County officials say the body of Larry “Ty” Beardsley was located at a depth of 251 feet using side sonar equipment and recovered at 5 p.m. Tuesday by a team from Kuna, Idaho. Beardsley had been missing since Friday […]