HELENA – Montana’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 4 percent in July. The state Labor Department says the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percent in July, after falling 0.1 percent in June. The decreases over the past two months follow a string of five months of increases. Nationally, the unemployment rate increased […]

The Democratic-controlled Congress and the Bush administration have presided over a surge in new federal spending obligations that may be the most enduring legacy of the 110th Congress. From new entitlements such as a GI bill for military veterans to recent federal commitments to shore up a troubled housing market, Washington is taking on obligations […]

6:29 a.m. A man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans was reportedly looking at cars. 7:43 a.m. A car in Somers had a door ajar and the glove box was open. 7:46 a.m. A cabin on Ashley Lake Road was broken into. Nothing was missing. 8:03 a.m. Deputies were unable to locate an […]

Good morning; on this date in 1969 the Woodstock music festival began. On the Beacon today, Myers Reece profiles two young Flathead girls who spend their Saturday nights blasting around the track driving racecars. Awesome photos by Lido, too. For ten years now, SnowDog Web Development has grown from a tiny startup to an award-winning […]

As Sharla and I buckle down for another harvest near Big Sandy, we’re feeling what all Montanans are feeling at home – the pinch of out-of-control energy prices. It’s an issue that I deal with every day as a U.S. Senator and as a family farmer. Our energy problems are the result of poor presidential […]

Recent reporting by The Atlantic magazine’s Joshua Green resurrected the long, narrow defeat of the Hillary Clinton campaign in the Democratic primary by publishing a series of internal e-mails by her staffers. The squabbling, spelling errors and massive egos on display in the memos have inspired me. I’m going to become a highly paid presidential […]

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A University of North Dakota professor says research could lead to methods that could more than double the amount of oil recovered from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana. A report from the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil can be recovered […]

During this lawsuit-friendly era, it’s standard for government entities to carry liability insurance. Flathead County’s insurance, for example, acts as an umbrella to county-created committees. The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee is covered, but its subcommittee, the Bigfork Steering Committee, is not. “We can’t extend liability coverage to an entity that we haven’t sanctioned,” County […]

“The West, more than any other region of the country, is a place of large vistas and outdoor experiences,” says Judy Cornell, owner of Two Medicine Gallery with her husband Jeff. That’s the impetus behind the gallery’s August show featuring three well-known western impressionists—Linda Tippetts, Bye Bitney, and Eric Jacobsen. The gallery, which has long […]

Live Music: Friday: Can’t Hardly Playboys at Red’s; Betty and the Boy at The Cottage; Andre Floyd at Blue Canyon; Badwater Bill at Scotty’s; Kiniption Fit at Great Northern; Canyon Creek Ramblers at Garden Bar; Sonny King at Blue Moon; Dangerous at Ricciardi’s; Rudy and Gena Mendez at Los Caporales Saturday: Barrel Stove at The […]

HELENA – A top official with the National Rifle Association said Wednesday that Barack Obama is trying to mislead voters about his past support of gun control, calling the Democratic candidate “a poster child of the extremist, elitist gun control movement.” Chris W. Cox, the NRA’s chief lobbyist, said he was responding to recent comments […]

HELENA – Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer earned a coveted speaking role at the Democratic national convention later this month in Denver, and said he will likely use the platform to talk about energy issues. Schweitzer, scheduled to speak on the second day of the convention, was one of six Democratic governors granted a role Wednesday […]

KALISPELL – Overcast skies and milder temperatures have slowed a wildfire west of Elmo, but firefighters are preparing for hotter, windier weather in days to come. The Deep Draw fire on Thursday was estimated at 1,726 acres and more than 400 firefighters were on hand. It’s now 65 percent contained and firefighters hope to have […]

KALISPELL – Sen. Max Baucus thinks the United States is missing the boat when it comes to trade. At a global trade conference Wednesday in Kalispell, the Montana Democrat said other nations are sealing free-trade deals among themselves, lowering and eliminating tariffs to pump new vigor into their markets. But he says the United States […]

Efforts to institute a resort tax in Bigfork have stalled temporarily, as delays with the state and difficulties defining the proposed resort area’s boundaries have likely postponed a vote on the issue until next year. Originally, the goal was to get the tax on the November ballot, but organizers now say that is all but […]