A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by Montanans for Multiple Use over amendments made to the Flathead National Forest plan, saying the group did not appeal each amendment as it was made. The lawsuit, filed five years ago, was largely aimed at the forest’s adoption of 23 amendments to its forest plan since […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 10:10 a.m. Someone reported an 18-wheeler tearing down telephone lines on Idaho Street in Kalispell. 11:19 a.m. A Whitefish resident called in to report that their neighbor has been shooting at their dogs. However, the dog owner said they didn’t know which […]

WHITEFISH – Firefighters check the vitals of the driver of a Jeep off U.S. Highway 93 Tuesday afternoon. The driver, a 68-year-old man from Eureka, said the last thing he remembered was heading south on Highway 93 through Whitefish and then the sensation of “being hit with a sledgehammer,” according to the Montana Highway Patrol. […]

FLORENCE – Glen’s Cafe hasn’t had a night shift in nearly seven years, ever since someone walked into a local hair salon and slashed the throats of three women. The grisly November 2001 killings stumped investigators for years. Some residents say the small western Montana town in the picturesque Bitterroot Valley was never quite the […]

Good morning; today is the anniversary of Abraham Lincolns assassination. It’s a warm morning in the valley, and the Beacon is all about local spring sports this morning. Myers Reece profiles a Flathead High school senior preparing to finish her gymnastics career at a regional competition. Mark Riffey has photos of the Columbia Falls Wildcats […]

Kalispell City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. for a work session to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) component of the proposed Transportation Plan and the CIP’s relationship to transportation impact fees. Impact fees are charges the city applies to new homes or business construction to compensate for the services the city must then […]

When Elton John first came to Missoula last September I had a myriad of excuses for missing the show – too expensive, too far, too much hassle – but I was plagued by a nagging sense of regret after missing it. For my boyfriend a similar regret has haunted him since high school when he […]

HELENA – Yellowstone County Commissioner Bill Kennedy says he is endorsing Hillary Rodham Clinton, citing Barack Obama’s recent comments on guns and religion. Obama told a group in San Francisco that some rural voters are bitter and “cling to guns or religion.” Kennedy says the comments solidified his support for Clinton. He says Montanans aren’t […]

With snow patches still lingering on Whitefish Lake Golf Course, the annual opening of the golf season bumped a bit later than usual. As local golfers itch to hit the greens, late April snows wreaked havoc with prepping the course to open. Whitefish Lake Golf Club aims to open the driving range later this week. […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Sunday included the following: 12:11 p.m. An animal warden trap fooled a gullible cat. 12:41 p.m. A resident on El Rancho Road called in because there was a clan of hobos camping on their property. Upon request, they picked up their tents and moved on. 2:43 […]

HELENA – Democrat Jim Hunt topped incumbent Congressman Denny Rehberg in this quarter’s campaign finance reports. Hunt, who entered the race in February, reported raising about $133,000. Rehberg, a Republican, reported raising about $107,000. But Rehberg, who has been raising money since last year, reported a much larger war chest. The incumbent has more than […]

After a few weeks of alternating between warm, dry practices on the soon to be refinished city tennis courts and cold, wet snowy days that force them indoors, the Columbia Falls High School tennis teams have started their tournament season. This weekend (Friday and Saturday), they met Whitefish and Bigfork, but went down in defeat […]

MISSOULA – Both the offense and defense had their bright moments in front of about 1,500 fans at the Polson High Athletic Complex as the University of Montana Grizzlies wrapped up 2008 spring football practice with a scrimmage. All four quarterbacks saw action in the 61-play scrimmage Saturday afternoon that lasted about an hour, and […]

DEER LODGE – Convicted sex offender Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, who authorities accused of killing and cannibalizing a young boy in Great Falls, was found dead in his cell early Sunday at the Montana State Prison. Bar-Jonah was serving a 130-year sentence for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and choking a teenage neighbor boy. In 2000, authorities also charged […]

MISSOULA – Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has scheduled a campaign stop in Missoula. Campaign spokesman Jesse Benton says Paul is scheduled to speak Monday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the University Center Ballroom at the University of Montana. Paul, who describes himself as a “strict constitutionalist,” opposes the Iraq war […]