WASHINGTON – Congress has enacted a massive election-year farm bill over President Bush’s veto. More than 90 percent of the bill will become law after the Senate voted 82-13 to override Bush’s veto Thursday. The president claimed it was too expensive and too generous with subsidies for farmers. But the version that Bush vetoed was […]

“Price discounts of 10 to 25 percent!” “Low-interest financing available!” “Large inventory, great selection, and terrific values in every neighborhood!” Is it just advertising hype to lure buyers into plummeting housing markets – or a sign of great buying opportunities? As real estate’s busiest months begin, potential buyers are challenged to understand both the opportunities […]

Developers of the North Shore Ranch subdivision near Somers filed a lawsuit against Flathead County late Wednesday afternoon, seeking a reversal of the county commissioners’ decision to deny the project last month. On April 23, commissioners Joe Brenneman and Gary Hall voted against preliminary plat approval for the development, citing concerns with flooding, ground stability […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 8:36 a.m. Someone stopped by the front counter of the Sheriff’s Department to complain about being arrested. 9:42 a.m. A weed sprayer was stolen from Plum Creek Friday. 11 a.m. A woman called in because someone shot a hole through her window. […]

The line to see Bill Clinton speak in Kalispell snaked across the campus of Flathead Valley Community College and Rebecca Kelly stood at the front, bundled up against the chilly, rainy weather. Kelly, 53, of Kalispell, asked to leave work early and arrived more than three hours before the former president eventually showed up last […]

The morning after Sen. Hillary Clinton trounced Sen. Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, and Bill Clinton stumped for his wife from the back of a truck in Kalispell, the spin rooms of the two campaigns revved up as the finish line of the June 3 Montana primary draws closer. The remaining weeks of […]

Finally, we’ve hit the end of this little 4 week journey through the websites for different markets in the valley. In week 1, we looked at real estate websites and found most of them, well, lacking curb appeal. Those that had curb appeal often left me wanting once I stepped inside. In week 2, we […]

HOT SPRINGS – The mayor of Hot Springs, who faced a recent petition drive for her resignation, has decided to leave the post. Renea Keough is in Florida to receive training at a school for the blind. She sent an e-mail to Town Hall saying she couldn’t return to Hot Springs for at least six […]

Good morning; today is the anniversary of the founding of the American Red Cross. On the Beacon this morning, we look at the final days of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination and how the campaigns of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are planning to handle the home stretch. Interviews with many Flathead […]

Venue Change: The evening AAUW fundraiser for Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute will now be held at Glacier High School at 7:30 p.m. For almost a year, an eight-foot aluminum peace pole has stood propped up in the Flathead High School choir room, as organizers waited for the right time to place it in front […]

Current forest management policies are causing annual catastrophic fire, and resulting in negative economic, environmental and health effects for Montana residents, according to several former government agency employees and two area citizen groups. At a public symposium last Sunday at the Flathead County Fairgrounds, about 60 people gathered to hear five presenters – three of […]

Between ski season and summer’s onslaught of tourists, business in downtown Whitefish slows to a creep. But this spring, Central Avenue is far from quiet. It buzzes with changes as businesses close, shops swap locations, and construction adds more. Shortly after the ski season ended, Mountain Sports Ski and Cycle painted its window with a […]

When the Beacon posted a short Web story noting that Kalispell mayor Pam Kennedy had endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president it quickly drew a plethora of opinions, which ranged from support to utter outrage. And while it is open to debate whether her endorsement matters, the city she represents certainly could – especially if […]

A 54-year-old Eureka man who pointed a rifle at a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy is hospitalized in Kalispell after being shot by the deputy, County Attorney Bernie Cassidy said Wednesday. Cassidy said officers were investigating a report that a man had been shooting a gun in a house Tuesday when they spotted the suspect’s vehicle […]

Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer “multiple use” over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say to myself, “Wrong!” So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words “multiple use” have lost in the Wilderness. In the […]