Friends are fleeing the flock all around me. My core of Missoula friends, a few that I’ve known since childhood, are now finishing up college and looking – or just staring blankly – at the future. Some are searching for that elusive “real” job, while others are avoiding it at all costs. Either way, they’re […]

After my “Wildernists” column, my secret advisory board jumped me for not fully explaining the “wilderness” concept to readers. To begin with, wild land is wild land, but whether it is “Big-W” Wilderness, sanctioned by Congress, is a political act by human beings. God makes the ground, but only Congress (people) make Wilderness. So, since […]

We have seen a lot of properties come on the market lately, at tremendously high price levels. Over the past several months we have begun to see these listing prices fall. A lot of people are asking me what’s going on with the market. I usually mention to them that if you are serious about […]

HELENA – The Montana Democratic Party says it sold 2,400 tickets for an April 5 dinner featuring Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in about 15 minutes. The extra tickets were put up for sale because the dinner had sold out previous to the announcement that Obama and Clinton would be speaking. A total of 4,000 […]

Shortly before 11:30 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, the Whitefish City Council voted 5-1 to sue Flathead County. With the decision, councilors authorized Whitefish City Attorney John Phelps to file a lawsuit seeking a resolution to a planning jurisdictional discrepancy that arose last week when Flathead County commissioners voted 2-1 to rescind a 2005 inter-local […]

A 46-year-old Creston man who surrendered Monday evening after a daylong standoff with law enforcement has been charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Robert Kowalski was arrested at his house Monday evening after Flathead County deputies shot cans of tear gas into his house. Deputy Flathead County Attorney Allison Howard says […]

Officials have released the name of a 39-year-old man who was killed in a one-vehicle crash near Bigfork. John J. Moore of Woods Bay died early Monday after he lost control of his vehicle, which rolled into a ditch. The Montana Highway Patrol says he was not wearing a seat belt and died at the […]

Good morning and happy birthday President Grover Cleveland. In our top story this morning, Whitefish City Council last night voted to sue Flathead County to resolve who has authority over the controversial “planning doughnut.” After a day-long standoff with authorities, a Creston man accused of killing his girlfriend surrendered yesterday. A Woods Bay man is […]

A 34-year-old Billings truck driver entered Montana’s U.S. Senate race Monday because, well, he just really can’t stand Democratic incumbent Max Baucus. “It seems like every time (Baucus) opens his mouth, he just really rubs me the wrong way,” Shay Joshua Garnett, who has never run for political office, told the Billings Gazette. “In our […]

BILLINGS – Republican Denny Rehberg is running for a fifth term as Montana’s sole representative in the U.S. House. The congressman announced his re-election bid Tuesday morning at an event in Billings. Rehberg emphasized his opposition to government-run health care and his support for continued development of fossil fuels. He also urged voters not to […]

After sitting for years with its future uncertain – filled with historical artifacts, but closed to visitors – the county museum’s transition from defunct to a smoldering pile of ashes came quickly. The county land where the building sat has been bought back by its original owners, and the county has until April 30 to […]

“Dancing is about dancing, and a dress is about a dress. It’s not about an invitation or a provocation,” said Hilary Barshay, P.E.A.C.E. and community education coordinator for the Violence Free Crisis Line of Kalispell. As spring ushers in prom season in the Flathead, P.E.A.C.E. launches the PEACEful Prom Project to promote a violence free […]

HELENA – U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says he believes the economy’s slide is near the bottom, but more can be done by Congress to correct flagging confidence in financial markets. Baucus told the Helena Chamber of Commerce Tuesday that he believes the Federal Reserve has done a “pretty good job” of providing liquidity. That, coupled […]

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Tuesday that Montana can’t set its own fuel efficiency and emissions standards as suggested in a global warming report because the state has too little buying power. Schweitzer made the comments in an interview after meeting with a representative of the automobile manufacturers, who are opposed to individual states […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 7:47 a.m. There was an injured coyote on the side of the road near Lakeside. 10:02 a.m. Tools were stolen from a business on McCafferty Road. 1:19 p.m. Someone called in from Sunset Drive because there were arrows falling from the sky […]