KALISPELL – A 114-year-old bridge spanning the Flathead River near Kalispell will soon be closed and work on a replacement will begin. The Old Steel Bridge was built in 1894 as the first crossing on the upper Flathead. The 600-foot span was built with steel overhead trusses and timber. State transportation officials say the new […]

KALISPELL – A man accused in the shooting death of a Flathead Valley toddler has pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide. Dwayne Smail entered the plea Thursday in state District Court in Kalispell. Smail is charged in the death of 19-month-old Korbyn Williams, who was fatally shot on March 5th while 23-year-old Smail was babysitting […]

KALISPELL – The Flathead Community Health Center has received a $1.29 million state grant. Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced the grant at an event Wednesday in Kalispell. The funds will be used to boost staff and office equipment at the four-month-old facility. While open to everyone, the center provides discounts to families who earn less than […]

I can’t do it any longer. My eyes are glazed over and my brain feels like tapioca. I haven’t spent this much time reading words that have no meaning since my beginning fiction-writing workshop in college. The articles now being written about the prolonged primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have zero information, […]

The three of us were going to travel in Sam’s brand new 23-horse-power 1955 Volkswagen bug. It was raining hard as we tried to figure out how we could get four adults, six suitcases, four pairs of skis and all of my camera gear into the small German car. We finally figured that if two […]

On a rollercoaster day where the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate three-quarters of a point to 2.25 percent and the Dow Jones shook off early morning doldrums to surge 420 points, a group of Flathead residents questioned U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on why federal officials weren’t being more forthright with the public about […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 10:38 a.m. A Whitefish man called in because his wife has been forging his name. 10:57 a.m. A tenant made threats to the planning department after a no trespassing sign was posted on their property. The property was deemed unsuitable for human […]

As snow melts to brown grass in Flathead Valley, winter still grips mountain slopes. In upper elevations, lingering cool temperatures and little new snow has preserved a weak layer in the snowpack for six weeks, Flathead National Forest avalanche specialists report. It’s a layer that causes slides – especially when triggered by backcountry skiers and […]

Fisheries manager Jim Vashro’s office wall is covered with pictures of fish, fish tails and a bumper sticker: “Kick the Bucket, stop illegal fish introductions.” Vashrow is updating Montana’s list of illegally introduced fish species, and the highest number are in Region 1 which stretches from the Flathead Indian Reservation north to the border of […]

KALISPELL – Avalanche experts are warning that dangerous snow conditions continue in Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest, despite the arrival of warmer weather at lower elevations. Stan Bones, an avalanche analyst for the Flathead National Forest, said winterlike snow conditions similar to those found in February linger. “A persisting buried weak layer […]

HELENA – One of the U.S. Senate candidates hoping to unseat Max Baucus in the fall has an outstanding warrant in Indiana for failing to appear in court as part of his probation on charges of stalking, harassment and invasion of privacy. Shay Joshua Garnett, a political unknown who filed to run in the crowded […]

Gary Hall is no stranger to controversy. Since beating fellow Republican Dale Williams in 2002 for the Flathead County Commission, Hall has presided over a time of intense change in the valley where he was born. At the start of his term, Hall was among the community leaders thrown into the struggle to reconcile violence […]

Where do you go if you have a question these days? World Book? Britannica? Nope. Google. More often than not, you ask Google and it tells you where to find the answers. Note the important fact that Google doesn’t know everything, but it seems to know where everything is – which is why people use […]

Good morning and happy birthday to poet Robert Frost. I love Wednesdays. The new Beacons are on the stands and the news cycle begins accelerating. Our top story looks at the GOP primary county commission race between incumbent Gary Hall and former sheriff Jim Dupont. Just off of his announcement to seek reelection, U.S. Rep. […]

The price of food is rising rapidly. So much, in fact, that one in 10 Ohioans and one in six West Virginians are now receiving food stamps. Those who get no government assistance are also suffering as commodity prices outpace wage increases. But, as the New York Times reported today, there is an unconventional way […]