The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 8:38 a.m. Four bull mastiffs chased down and attacked a lady who was out riding her bike. The owners of the animals warned by an animal warden. 11:28 a.m. Dogs on Mooring Road are constantly barking. 2:00 p.m. A suspicious Evergreen resident […]

On Feb. 7 county commissioners Gary Hall, Joe Brenneman and Dale Lauman voted 3-to-0 for the destruction of not only the quality of life for all the citizens of Flathead Valley, but the complete annihilation of neighborhood plans as we know them and the zoning contained within these plans. They voted to allow industrial operations […]

PLAINS – A husband and wife from Vancouver, Wash., were killed in a head-on collision near Hot Springs in northwestern Montana, a coroner said Thursday. The victims were 62-year-old Russell Blackman and his 61-year-old wife, Linda, who had recently been living in Hot Springs, Deputy Sanders County Coroner Dan Bates said. Bates said the Blackmans […]

KALISPELL – The sentencing hearing for a man who pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide has been postponed until March 18. Daniel W. Resler, 32, has pleaded guilty to the charges for the March 2007 deaths of pedestrians Brad Williams, 19, of Somers and 16-year-old Kyle McCullugh of Kalispell. Tests showed Resler’s blood-alcohol […]

Good morning and happy Leap Year Day. Our top story on the Beacon today looks at how an economic downturn could affect endowments at colleges in Western Montana, thus decreasing the amount of financial aid those schools can offer. The sentencing hearing for a Kalispell man accused of two counts of vehicular homicide has been […]

John Sullivan likes to play outside when it gets cold – very cold. But the attendant drawbacks of athletic exertion in sub-zero temperatures can dampen the fun, and Sullivan believes most cold-weather masks create more problems than they solve. Goggles fog. Breathing is impaired. Exposed skin is frostbitten. And for winter athletes who spend extended […]

HELENA – Insulation that likely contained asbestos was found leaking from a small hole in an outside wall at an elementary school in Libby, but the material has been cleaned up, and students are not at risk, officials with the school and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday. The hole at Asa Wood Elementary […]

“I love beads,” says Kristi Veseth. “I can’t stop buying beads, and I have to do something with them.” Veseth does do something with her beads. She designs jewelry. But like many local artists, stringing glass and crystal beads doesn’t pay the rent. Many hold down several jobs, bending around work schedules to produce their […]

MISSOULA – A Missoula police official says the Hells Angels motorcycle club will return to the Missoula area this summer. Assistant Police Chief Mark Muir says the club plans to be in the area from July 31st until August 3rd and will stay at the Marshall Mountain Ski Area. Muir said Thursday the department plans […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday included the following: 8:41 a.m. Fourteen mailboxes were smashed on Brunner, Jellison and Trumble Creek roads. 8:41 a.m. A cat crawled under a Willow Glen resident’s porch after a car hit it. 11:01 a.m. Someone on Hare Trail was angry because their landlord entered their […]

Live Music: Friday: Can’t Hardly Playboys at Red’s; Bearfoot Bluegrass at O’Shaughnessy; Good Wood Trio at Scotty’s; Tim Torgerson at Blue Canyon; Silver’s Platter at The Cottage; Russ Nasset and the Revelators at Great Northern; Big Daddy and the Blue Notes at Raleigh’s Bar and Grill; DJ Mobile Beat at Red’s Saturday: Deidre Heaton and […]

Abuse of family transfers drew countywide attention and controversy in early 2006, but produced no popular solutions. Two years later the abuse is still rampant, but the county is no closer to preventing it. The family transfer exemption allows landowners to split part of their property into lots for members of their immediate family without […]

When the two former percussionists from The String Cheese Incident perform in Whitefish this week, no lucky fan will snag a souvenir set list from the stage. There won’t be one. Even the artists are unsure of what they’ll play – their show is entirely improvised. “There are no pre-programmed tracks or loops at the […]

Good morning and happy national Tooth Fairy Day. The Beacon’s top story this morning covers a new electronic, improvisational group made up of members of the jam band String Cheese Incident coming to play at the Bierstube at Whitefish Mountain Resort. The abuse of county land family transfers continues in full force, two years after […]

MISSOULA – A federal judge decided Wednesday not to hold a Bush administration official in contempt over court orders requiring a federal environmental study on the effects of a chemical fire retardant. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy had threatened to send Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey to jail after the U.S. Forest Service was slow […]