A weak dollar, high gas prices, a late opening of Going-to-the-Sun Road and a modest cherry crop may seem like a recipe for disaster. But during the Flathead Valley’s most crucial economic time, tourism dollars continue to stack up. Granted, many of those are in the form of loonies from the record number of Canadians […]

MISSOULA – Two investment firms are calling on Plum Creek Timber Co. to disavow a deal with the U.S. Forest Service on forest-road easements. In a letter to Plum Creek, they say any short-term gains won through private negotiations could be negated by negative publicity and a loss of investor confidence. The letter, dated Aug. […]

It has been depressing lately, don’t you think? At the ORG (Old Retired Guys) table at the coffee shop morning after morning, it has been nothing but despair – the war, the economy, the cost of gas, the steadily shrinking IRAs, the smoke, the aches and pains and health care crisis that makes them worse, […]

Nearly two years after legal challenges first shut it down, a controversial West Valley gravel pit can resume operation. Last week, the Flathead County Board of Adjustment voted 3-1 to approve a conditional use permit for the Church Drive pit, owned by Bruce Tutvedt. Board member Tony Sagami was the lone dissenting vote, and board […]

Record crop prices and farmland real estate values, tempered by soaring input costs, have brought into sharp focus the old adage “bet the farm” and led agricultural experts to recall the great farm economy crash of the early 1980s. Following a recent report by the United States Department of Agriculture stating that the value of […]

Everything that went into this little house was donated: from the wood, to the paint to the electrician and builders time. A raffle during the Bigfork Art Festival raised $7,125-dollars for Bigfork High School’s science program, and now, “It’s going to benefit the school even more,” says Mary Siloti of MontanaBuild. Siloti says the raffle […]

PLAINS – The Sanders County sheriff says police have confirmed that three people killed over the weekend in Plains were the victims of a murder and suicide. Sheriff Gene Arnold says 39-year-old Israel Keyes first shot his girlfriend and her son early Saturday morning with a pistol before killing himself. Both 37-year-old Alexia Laslo and […]

MISSOULA – A University of Montana researcher says weakness in the U.S. housing industry and an uncertain timber supply are plaguing Montana’s wood products industry, with potential repercussions for years to come. Montana had 3,068 mill production workers in the state in the first half of this year, down from 3,330 in the first half […]

A 9-month-old Marion boy who was sexually assaulted Saturday evening remains in critical condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. The baby’s mother said her boyfriend, 20-year-old Shane Phillip Nickerson, volunteered to watch the child. But shortly after he began caring for him, he woke her up and told her something was wrong. She saw […]

Good morning; on this date in 1833, the city of Chicago was founded. On the Beacon this morning, the lawsuit brought by Polson-area residents who say the Kerr Dam has damaged their lake and riverfront properties is about to go before the state Supreme Court. A 9-month-old Marion boy remains in critical condition after being […]

PABLO – A wildfire west of Elmo has grown to 1,050 acres and more than 200 firefighters were on the scene Tuesday. The Deep Draw fire grew by 450 acres since Monday in steep, rocky and timbered terrain near Montana 28 about eight miles west of Flathead Lake. It was triggered by lightning Friday. About […]

The long awaited Runaway Train opens this Saturday, Aug. 16. Whitefish Mountain Resort’s new freestyle downhill mountain bike trail drops from the summit to the village with a pitch that places it up with some of the region’s top resort mountain biking destinations. “It’s not that extraordinarily technical, but it’s fast and with huge air […]

WHITEFISH – A Whitefish man who died in Iraq suffered fatal injuries in a vehicle accident while supporting combat operations, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. Cpl. Stewart S. Trejo, 25, died Thursday after being injured in Anbar province, the military said. Also killed in the accident was Cpl. Adam McKiski, 21, of Cherry Valley, Ill. […]

3:30 a.m. Deputies checked out two men who ran across U.S. Highway 2 and hid in the ditch on the west side of the road. 3:15 a.m. Dogs were chasing some horses on Lake Blaine Road. 4:04 p.m. Deputies failed to locate someone who was driving a white minivan like a jerk on Hart Hill […]

DAVIE, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins cut kicker Jay Feely a year after he set the team’s single-season record for field-goal percentage. Feely’s release Tuesday clears the way for undrafted rookie Dan Carpenter to take over as the starting kicker. “It’s Dan’s job to lose,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said after Tuesday morning’s practice. Carpenter, […]