If you spend any time in the grocery store line perusing the tabloids near the checkout counter, you have noticed that former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is back in the news. Specifically, he is the target of a National Enquirer investigation that claims he fathered a “love child” with former party girl Rielle Hunter. […]

HELENA – Very little separates Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republican challenger Roy Brown when it comes to gun rights. Schweitzer, in a recent survey, said he will continue to keep a rifle on display in his office — despite a city ordinance that bans guns in the state Capitol. While the Helena city attorney says […]

POLSON – For migrant workers constantly on the move, maintaining a regular school schedule for their children is often a dim prospect. Maricela Flores has spent all of her 26 years shuffling through migrant worker camps, trying to balance the financial need of toiling in the fields with the educational need of classroom attendance for […]

Following a meeting this morning with representatives of the Montana State Brewers Association (MSBA), Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) Director Dan Bucks pulled the proposed administrative rule which was due to be hotly contested tomorrow afternoon in an official public hearing. Meeting with Bucks and his staff were Sam Hoffman, owner of Red Lodge Ales […]

1:19 p.m. A cat was struck by a car and killed near the Foys Lake boat launch. 2:28 p.m. Two hitchhikers were told to move on after one of them urinated on a telephone pole. 3:59 p.m. Pine Bench Road residents in Columbia Falls are up in arms over a wild dog that harasses other […]

2:41 a.m. An intoxicated woman was given a ride home from sheriff’s deputies after she was seen stumbling outside of an Evergreen bar. 3:14 a.m. There was report of a loud party in Kila. 3:26 a.m. A horse was saddled and ready to ride in Hungry Horse but no one was around to ride it. […]

HELENA – Missoula County has obtained some documents related to private negotiations that occurred between the U.S. Forest Service and Plum Creek Timber Co., which holds easements for use of Forest Service roads. “There’s definitely more (information) here than we’ve had before,” Missoula County Deputy Attorney D. James McCubbin said Monday after federal officials provided […]

At a public hearing over whether to establish a special parks maintenance district Monday night, opponents of the idea criticized the Kalispell City Council for trying to tax the public in an unfair way during rough economic times, while supporters of the proposal described it as a means to improve the best parts of the […]

Good morning. Today, in 1861, a federal income tax was levied for the first time in the United States. On the Beacon this morning, Dan Testa reports on last night’s Kalispel City Council meeting, where a proposed special parks maintenance district drew both criticism and support. And two University of Montana economists are reducing their […]

It’s August and by next week fall high school sports will be underway. It’s a fine time of year, even for people with little interest in sports. High school sports are only partly about athletics – they’re largely about community spirit, proud parents and kids figuring out values that will stick with them the rest […]

WHITEFISH – One day in the summer of 2003, during the Mountain Bike Academy at what was then the Big Mountain Resort, the coaches came up with a particularly sadistic activity for the campers: Everyone coasted to the bottom of Big Mountain Road, and the coaches tied the front of their bicycles to the rear […]

WASHINGTON – In the Senate, Democrats are refusing to adjourn for the August recess. Over in the House, Republicans are refusing to leave. Senate Democrats, repeating a tactic they have used all year, staged a lightning-fast pro forma session Tuesday, a procedure that keeps the Senate from officially adjourning and stops President Bush from making […]

HELENA – The state quota for Montana’s next bison hunt will not change from the last one. Montana wildlife commissioners have approved issuing 44 state licenses for the coming season. They hope that regulators of tribal hunting, which is separate from the state-managed hunt, will establish the same limit. Wildlife commissioners say it’s possible up […]

Alpine Theatre Project’s second summer musical delivers a time warp back to the music of the ‘50s and ‘60s. But Pete ‘n’ Keely, known for its sassy costumes and spunky music, delivers one more punch with sets designed by Bob Phillips, winner of two Emmys for his art direction of Sesame Street. Phillips served as […]

SAN DIEGO– Officials at the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park in California adopted an unusual wildfire policy four decades ago: When possible, they’d let fire be fire. If a blaze didn’t threaten homes or people, park officials would let it burn. The idea was to let natural processes take over and prevent wildland from […]