KALISPELL – Authorities are investigating the apparent beating death of a dog whose body was found submerged in the Tobacco River near Eureka. A man picnicking near the river Saturday morning discovered the dog’s body in 5 or 6 inches of water and notified animal control officers. Wendy Anderson, director of the Tobacco Valley Animal […]

POLSON – The director of the state Department of Transportation said Wednesday he hopes to gather public comment about truck traffic on Montana 35, where a tanker truck crashed and spilled almost 6,400 gallons of gasoline earlier this month. Jim Lynch said that through public comment, the DOT can make recommendations to the Federal Highway […]

Good morning and happy May Day and Mother Goose Day. The Buffet is overflowing with a bounty of news today. Our top story looks at how area Catholic schools have managed to steadily grow their enrollment while thse numbers have dropped off precipitously nationally. The Montana Department of Transportation is planning a public comment period […]

“Great bear research is being applied successfully,” says Jane Ratzlaff, Executive Director of the Glacier National Park Fund (GNPF). Four summers ago, an aggressive grizzly sow kept Old Man Lake closed to backpackers for most of the summer. In a two-summer training program funded largely by the GNPF, Karelian bear dogs, park rangers, and wildlife […]

The unlikely spotlight shining on Montana isn’t only reserved for Democratic presidential frontrunners apparently. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul spoke to a rowdy crowd in Missoula last week. And defunct hopeful Mike Huckabee was in Billings this week, campaigning for gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown. And I fully expect presumptive GOP nominee John McCain to show […]

Columbia Falls might be getting involved in the legal tussle between Whitefish and Flathead County. Whitefish sued the county last month after county commissioners voted 2-1 to rescind a 2005 interlocal planning agreement. Columbia Falls also has an interlocal agreement with the county, which concerns both City Attorney Eric Kaplan and City Manager Bill Shaw. […]

The city of Whitefish’s battle to retain authority over the planning doughnut took a major hit Thursday when District Court Judge Katherine Curtis denied the city’s request for a preliminary injunction. A temporary restraining order against the county has also been lifted. Though further legal proceedings can be expected, as it stands now the city […]

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign announced Thursday that it is opening a Kalispell field office and his state spokesman said the Illinois senator can appeal to traditionally red northwest Montana. “Sen. Obama has something a lot of candidates don’t,” Matt Chandler said. “He appeals to independents and conservatives. That’s why we’ve been able to […]

A 23-year-old Evergreen man now faces a murder charge in the shooting death of a 19-month-old girl. Dwayne Smail was initially charged with negligent homicide, but the charge was upped to deliberate homicide after investigators determined physical evidence at the scene failed to support Smail’s claim that the shooting was an accident. Smail pleaded not […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 11:50 a.m. Someone kicked a vehicle parked at a saloon near Columbia Falls over and over. 1:56 p.m. A worried animal lover called in about a cat with a bad leg near Blankenship Bridge. An animal warden picked it up. 2:31 p.m. […]

WASHINGTON – Congress has sent a sixth extension of farm and nutrition programs to President Bush as lawmakers struggle to finish a farm bill that can survive a presidential veto. Both the House and the Senate on Thursday passed a two-week extension of current law. Bush has threatened to veto the new legislation and has […]

HELENA – A group renowned for an anti-meth message that uses shock value to grab the attention of teens pulled one of its new advertisements Tuesday after complaints the image of a girl prostituting herself for drugs was too explicit. The billboard for the Montana Meth Project debuted a few weeks ago and depicted a […]

From industrial to recreational, Columbia Falls is making a shift as community groups and local government officials work to boost the local economy while still preserving the town’s character. The traditional image of Columbia Falls is enduring, characterized by its role as Flathead Valley’s industrial hub. For generations, the majority of the town’s residents made […]

WHITEFISH – It’s hard to say just how many parents here oppose the school’s push toward implementing random drug testing of high school students who participate in extracurricular activities. But at the April 22 school board meeting, school officials made clear that, drug testing or not, something more must be done about drug use among […]

Last week’s web site adventure was chasing down real estate websites in the Flathead. This week, I put the websites of local legal firms on trial. As I noted in a comment to a reader who responded to last week’s column – this is not about slamming company A or company B. Instead, it’s about […]