When I first started taking journalism classes in college, I was drawn to the print department over photo or broadcast because, in general, I felt it gave a better opportunity to really tackle an issue rather than try to capture it in a photo or 30-second sound bite. I enjoy the chance to try and […]

WASHINGTON – Montana Sen. Max Baucus’ chief of staff is leaving to fill the same position for Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Jim Messina served as campaign manager for Baucus in 1996 and 2002 and is his Washington aide. Legislative director Jonathan Selib will become the senator’s acting chief of staff. Obama’s campaign named several […]

The Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Sunday included the following: 1:08 a.m. A woman called in to report that four or five kids were in her yard. She thinks they may have turned her power off. The unidentified children were gone when deputies arrived. 3:52 a.m. A woman called in complaining that her car was […]

When I lived in upstate New York, there was a diner I used to patronize almost every morning before heading to my office – because it was in the same building as my office. It pained me to stop going there, but the short order cook apparently thought that the food should please him and […]

BILLINGS – Gas prices have reached a new milestone in Montana. On Friday, the statewide average topped the $4 mark. Prices across the state are just pennies apart, with Missoula at $3.98 a gallon, Billings at $3.97, and Great Falls and Bozeman at $3.95. The highest price for gas in the state is $4.19 a […]

Growing in popularity, Herron Park has become a launching point for horse enthusiasts, cross-country skiers, mountain bikers, walkers and runners of every discipline A large inviting equestrian field greets visitors near the parking lot off Foys Lake Road south of Kalispell. Taking a long walk from the lot through a field of short grass, or […]

Meadow Gold Dairy has shut down its production facility in Kalispell. Forty-three workers affected by Friday’s closure received severance packages and benefits extensions. Ellen Barry, a spokeswoman for Meadow Gold’s owner, Texas-based Dean Foods, said the Kalispell plant will remain open as a distribution center and will employ a few workers. Dean Foods announced in […]

HELENA – Republican Michael Lange of Billings, who finished second in the U.S. Senate primary, said Saturday he will continue to run for the seat as a write-in candidate. The former Montana House majority leader made the announcement at a press conference at the Capitol with truck driver and rancher Anton Pearson of St. Regis. […]

MOIESE – An annual funding agreement that will put Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal employees back to work at the National Bison Range is expected to be signed next week. Lyle Laverty is assistant secretary in charge of fish, wildlife and parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior. He told the Missoulian that the […]

If you haven’t ever heard the story of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick, take a few minutes to read Rick Reilly’s story in the June 20, 2005 issue of Sports Illustrated. Happy Father’s Day, guys.

BIGFORK – When the Bigfork Summer Playhouse opened its season in the summer of 1988 it was a big change. It had the luxury of actual dressing rooms for the players. Now they wouldn’t have to run across the street to the upstairs of the Mountain Lake Tavern to change – causing quite the spectacle […]

Lingering winter conditions on Logan Pass have prompted Glacier National Park officials to relocate the 75th anniversary celebration of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The celebration has been moved to Lake McDonald Lodge but will still be held on June 27, park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt said Thursday. “We are doing that because of the continued snowy weather, […]

Several new retail and service shops are moving onto Main Street of downtown Kalispell, a sign of what business owners say is a comeback for the district. Still, even as newcomers revitalize the area, other businesses are closing up, continuing one of downtown’s historic struggles: keeping all the stores open at the same time. This […]

A jury declared itself deadlocked Thursday in the trial of an Evergreen man accused of driving drunk and causing a 2006 crash that killed a motorcycle rider. Terry Dean Miller, 45, was charged with negligent homicide in the death of 40-year-old David McCann of Oceanside, Calif. The jury found Miller guilty of a misdemeanor charge […]

Good morning, today is the anniversary of Thurgood Marshall’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first African-American to serve on the court. It’s a perfect, sunny morning in the Flathead (no sarcasm this time.) On the Beacon, we look at the shuffle taking place on Kalispell’s Main Street, as older businesses move on and […]