Good morning and happy birthday to Jack Kerouac. It’s a beautiful day in the Flathead, the new Beacons are hitting stands, and there’s a lot of news this morning. In our top story, the developer has pulled out of plans to build a large public marina on the Flathead River in the face of overwhelming […]

If Bigfork High ever gets a wrestling program back, these “Little Guys” will be ready for it. On Mondays through Thursdays in the winter, the Swan River School gym hosts up to 58 kids, ages 4 to 15, all coached in the best maneuver to pin their opponent. “When Bigfork dropped the wrestling program, this […]

When Craig Prather, owner of Great Northern Cycles in Whitefish, sees snow melting at the onset of spring, he knows what to do: Hop on his bike and ride. Prather said now is a perfect time for people to get out their road bicycles and start raising their fitness levels for summer. For racers, it’s […]

The 2008 Best of Preps highlights the Beacon’s All Star basketball team, Flathead High School wrestler Tyler Wells and Glacier High School swimmer Philip Rempe. Follow the links above for a gallery of portraits of each all star and for the full story.

The Flathead County solid waste district is planning to close the Marion green-box site in favor of a new, larger Kila collection area. It’s a move that has some Marion residents upset and could be the first of several consolidations for county waste sites. At its Feb. 26 meeting, the district’s board approved budget plans […]

Many tastes, I’m convinced, are inherited. I still have a hard time with tomatoes unless they are first puréed. The aversion to both the flavor and (more so) the texture was passed down from my tomato-hating father. Seafood that still resembles its life self, such as calamari, is also a turnoff – also inherited. But […]

DENVER – The Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has thrown his support behind an investigation of allegations of lavish spending and lax oversight at a half-dozen “prosperity gospel” Christian ministries. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana joined with Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa in urging cooperation from four ministries questioned by Grassley in […]

HELENA – U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus called a May 11 deadline for compliance with federal Real ID rules “arbitrary and ineffective,” and asked the Department of Homeland Security to exempt states from it. Homeland Security shot right back. “Perhaps these Senators neglected to read the law that Congress passed, which actually set […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Tuesday included the following: 8:24 a.m. A concerned Olney resident called in to report that a driver pulled up along side a bus and started yelling. 9:54 a.m. Someone called in from Plum Creek to report that they found a suspicious arrow that had been shot […]

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer met Monday with four ambassadors to the United Nations, talking about cleaner ways of using energy and other issues. Schweitzer told the ambassadors that “clean and green” energy is the biggest issue facing the world. The representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iraq and Thailand traveled to the state as part of […]

HELENA – Reports released Monday show Gov. Brian Schweitzer again topped challenger Roy Brown in campaign fundraising. Schweitzer, the Democrat incumbent, reported raising just under $200,000 from Jan. 1 to March 5. Brown, a state senator from Billings, reported raising close to $75,000. Schweitzer said he finished the reporting period with more than $900,000 in […]

HELENA – A legislative panel reviewing dozens of suggestions to deal with global warming carved out 15 for more study Monday. The smaller group of suggestions focuses on conservation and largely stays away from more controversial measures, such as mandates on vehicle emissions, included in the larger group of 54 recommendations that came from the […]

Good morning and happy Johnny Appleseed Day. On the Beacon this morning, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is considering changing the wake restrictions on Swan and Echo Lake. Reporter and baker Keriann Lynch admits she is not the world’s greatest chef. And on the Police Blotter, a LOT of fighting. State lawmakers argued […]

As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke makes pleas for lenders to show mortgage forgiveness to help cope with national housing woes, Northwest Montana Association of Realtors (NMAR) President Cal Scott makes a similar plea here in the Flathead. Caught up in a prolonged period of subprime mortgage practices, fluctuations in interest rates and house prices, […]

Today fellow Beacon reporter Dan Testa linked to a story about a creepy gnome apparently terrorizing locals in a northern Argentina town. This, of course, raises questions. We’re left to wonder why people in this town haven’t noticed the mysterious gnome before and, furthermore, why the gnome has just recently decided to waddle sideways through […]