One lane of Montana 35 remained closed Thursday and crews were removing contaminated soil where a tanker overturned and spilled an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of gasoline. “Right now we’re just trying to get a feel for how far the contamination runs in both directions,” said Stephen Stanley, coordinator of the Lake County Office […]

WHITEFISH – When Courtney Ferda took her track skills to the University of Montana last year, she left behind more than her legacy to inspire the Whitefish High School track and field team. She left her cousin, Ashley, too. Ashley and Courtney Ferda will be reunited when Ashley goes to UM to play basketball next […]

Good morning; today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There’s a lot of news in the Flathead this morning. The Creston man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend before involving authorities in a day-long standoff pleaded not guilty in court yesterday. Crews spent all day cleaning up […]

BOZEMAN – March mountain precipitation statewide was 88 percent of average and water year precipitation was 102 percent of average as of April 1st. Roy Kaiser is a water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bozeman. He says March mountain precipitation west of the Continental Divide was 94 percent of average. East […]

MISSOULA – “Hey, Hill, if you ever dump Bill, come date me.” The catchy lyrics are part of a love ballad penned to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by a Montana band, aptly named The Clintons. The Bozeman-based band has been around since late 1999, when Clinton’s husband still occupied the White House, although band members […]

With Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama arriving in Montana this weekend, both presidential candidates are doubtless trying to suppress reports that a key supporter and national leader has switched support from Clinton to Obama and now remains undecided. I’m not talking about New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, but of hip hop artist, actor and video […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday included the following: 12:15 p.m. Two people in Columbia Falls are involved in a heated battle over custody of their dog. 12:55 p.m. A 24-ounce can of beer was stolen from an Evergreen gas station. 1:53 p.m. Three down-and-out puppies with porcupine quills stuck in […]

HELENA – When Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama take center stage this weekend in Montana, political observers will be watching how cozy the state’s elected leaders are with the presidential candidates. National Democrats have always been a tricky issue for Montana Democrats, who maintain their independence on key issues such as gun control and […]

Live Music: Friday: Can’t Hardly Playboys at Red’s; Silver’s Platter at The Cottage; Karaoke at Grizzly Jacks; Rudy and Gena Mendez at Los Caporales; Déjà Vu at Great Northern Bar; Good Wood at Packer’s Roost; Big Daddy and the Blue Notes at McGregor Lake Resort; Brad Lee at Scotty’s; Sonny King at Blue Moon Nightclub; […]

HELENA – Presidential candidate Barack Obama announced Wednesday he is setting up campaign offices in Montana and will hold a public rally in Missoula on Saturday. Spokesman Matt Chandler said the campaign hopes to have offices set up in Helena and Missoula by the end of the week, with about 10 staffers working in the […]

A jury has convicted a Kalispell woman of three crimes in connection with in a 2006 traffic crash that killed a Bigfork man. Wednesday afternoon, 27-year-old Steffanie Ann Schauf was found guilty of negligent homicide, negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment. The negligent homicide verdict represented a reduced charge by the jury; Schauf was on […]

Two years after it was first unanimously denied by the Flathead County Planning Board, a controversial subdivision along the north shore of Flathead Lake came one step closer to reality Wednesday night when the board voted 5-1 to approve the project. The North Shore Ranch subdivision is a proposal to create 290 single-family residential lots […]

Professional tinkerer Larry Chouinard is always into something. Welding go-karts, flying RC airplanes and helicopters, launching rockets, building things that sort of explode and now, experimenting with high-voltage electricity. Thankfully, at low amps. This past Tuesday, Larry and his son Dusty visited Troop 41 in Columbia Falls and showed off Larry’s latest hobby – high-voltage, […]

Good morning. Today is the anniversary of the opening of mail service by the Pony Express. It’s a sunny morning in the valley and there’s a lot of news breaking locally, and across the state. The County Planning Board approved the controversial North Shore development 5-1 last night. Kalispell firefighters were hard at work yesterday […]

MISSOULA – The Barack Obama campaign said Thursday that all available tickets for Obama’s rally Saturday in Missoula have been given out. The free tickets were distributed through Obama’s campaign Web site and through his campaign office in Missoula. At 9:30 a.m. Thursday the campaign web site reported: “Tickets for the Rally with Barack Obama […]