The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 11:43 a.m. A man and a woman were calling each other names on Lore Lake Road. 2:45 p.m. A frightened woman on Bar H Drive called in after a suspicious man and woman knocked on her door and asked to come in. […]

In an age where around 40 million Americans are looking for that special someone on online dating sites, members of the Boomers Singles Group in Flathead Valley still prefer the “old-fashioned” version of socializing. The group doesn’t offer flashy gimmicks – their only advertisement has been a weekly spot in the Mountain Trader classifieds for […]

Good morning and happy Get a Different Name Day. If you don’t like your name, today is apparently the day to change it. Sorry about the late Buffet today; I’m having a busy morning. It’s a wet, snowy morning in the Flathead and the new Beacons are on the stands. And just in time for […]

On a recent Friday evening at Red’s Wines & Blues in Kalispell, James Reeves looked around the bar in despair, and said he felt like he was at “a Doobie Brothers reunion concert.” It was 7:45 p.m., a time in Kalispell’s nightlife when the 30-, 40-, and 50-somethings have yet to yield the territory to […]

This seven part series is about making real, substantive steps to improving your business in seven weeks. It doesn’t matter whether you are a butcher, baker or candlestick maker (or perhaps an attorney, insurance salesperson, or Realtor), these things will get you going in the right direction but they will not do a darned thing […]

In a previous job in another part of Montana, a deputy chief shot me in the back with a Taser gun. In response, I murmured a string of insults as my body twitched on the floor. It was a voluntary jolt; as police departments began using the weapons, many asked to shoot reporters to prove […]

If you follow the Wilderness issue like I do, you know that Congress is currently considering the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), which would designate as Wilderness basically all of the remaining roadless land in Idaho and Montana, and most of northwestern Wyoming as well as small tracts in Oregon and Washington. That’s something […]

Martin McGrew lost an appeal in Flathead County District Court to remain on the Whitefish City Council a week after the council voted to remove him because of residency concerns. He requested an annexation petition from the city after the court’s ruling. Two weeks ago, a city employee discovered that the lot on which McGrew’s […]

Good morning and happy birthday Abraham Lincoln. The Columbia Falls Wildcats turned away the Ronan Chiefs last night in boys hoops, with a score of 66-40. Katrin Frye details a proposed new library in Bigfork, part of an $11.1 million bond facing voters. In Kalispell, Nomad Technologies continues to grow, producing high end mobile command […]

As gold prices have soared and the economy has soured, some area pawnshops and gold retailers have seen a steady uptick in customers, some looking to buy, most hoping to cash in – even on their dental work. Necklaces, coins, rings and, yes, even gold fillings, along with anything else containing the precious metal, have […]

When the snow begins to melt, I’m drawn to rivers. Over the weekend I packed up my waders, fishing vest and fly rod and headed to Rock Creek east of Missoula. I dragged a friend along too. As expected, the fishing was slow, but I didn’t care. I didn’t see another person all day, and […]

In February alone Flathead National Forest officials have handed out 17 citations for illegal snowmobiling. Rangers ticketed eight people in Sondreson Meadows in the North Fork area on Feb. 3. Nine more people were ticketed won Feb. 9 in the Mission Mountain Wilderness. “We are disappointed that some snowmobile riders are being disrespectful and irresponsible […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 6:40 a.m. Someone broke into a locked vehicle on U.S. Highway 2. Three firearms were taken. 8:43 a.m. A side window was broken out of a vehicle on Mission Trail. 9:35 a.m. Prescription medication was taken out of a vehicle on Woodland […]

On Feb. 9 Flathead County Commissioner Gary Hall sent a letter to the mayor and city manager of Whitefish requesting that the city exclude the “planning doughnut” area from a proposed critical areas ordinance. In the letter, Hall warns that if the city doesn’t honor the request by March 3, the ordinance’s second reading at […]

After an emotion-packed boys Cats-Dogs basketball game Saturday night, the Kats took the floor in a late evening game against the Lady Bulldogs. While the Kats weren’t expected to win against a strong Lady Bulldogs squad, they played tough, keeping the game within four points at two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for the […]