100 percent of precincts reporting Mitt Romney 625 – 38 percent Ron Paul 400 – 25 percent John McCain 358 – 22 percent Mike Huckabee 245 – 15 percent

While supporters of Ron Paul dominated the Flathead County Republican caucus with signs, cheering and supporters, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ultimately emerged the winner, taking 36 of the 75 votes cast. Read the story by Dan Testa.

HELENA (AP) – Four presidential hopefuls are planning a last-minute plea to persuade voters in Tuesday’s Republican caucus. Sen. John McCain, Rep. Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee will each speak directly with voters during a Tuesday evening conference call at caucus sites across the state, the Montana Republican Party said Monday. Huckabee was […]

Good morning and happy Fat Tuesday! Our top local story this morning: The Whitefish City Council voted to remove Martin McGrew from the council after it was discovered that he didn’t live in the city – despite paying city taxes. McGrew said he plans to sue the city. After closing the rail route between Havre […]

The Whitefish City Council voted to remove Martin McGrew from his council position after City Attorney John Phelps recommended the action based on recent findings suggesting McGrew isn’t a legal city resident. McGrew plans to sue. Turner Askew, who tied McGrew in city elections but wasn’t selected by the council in a tiebreaking vote, would […]

Once again, a fat ground-dwelling rodent has told us what we should expect from the weather. Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvanian groundhog with a keen sense of meteorology, predicted on Feb. 2 we will have six more weeks of winter. I’m skeptical, but in the end I have no reason to doubt his well-tested method of […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 7:28 a.m. Someone pillaged a Kalispell resident’s car. Nothing was taken. 7:34 a.m. Someone banged a 1-foot hole through a Kalispell resident’s garage door. Nothing was stolen. 11:35 a.m. A woman called in from a trailer park on Shady Lane to report […]

HELENA (AP) – Republicans say John McCain now has a better chance in Montana’s unique GOP caucus — open to only about 2,000 party volunteers and officeholders — after getting rid of a state chairman many in that group saw as a traitor. McCain dumped a maverick Montana Republican recently in favor of former U.S. […]

The Whitefish City Council is ready to look at conceptual design plans for a parking garage and street improvement project in downtown Whitefish at tonight’s 7:10 p.m. public meeting. The council will also hear City Attorney John Phelps’ conclusions on a residency issue concerning Councilor Martin McGrew. It was recently discovered that part of the […]

Good morning and happy birthday Rosa Parks. I hope everyone is recovering from the Superbowl and didn’t bet on the Pats. Media Director Lido Vizzutti spent the weekend chronicling the traditions and events of Whitefish’s winter carnival. Check out his photo slide show if you missed the festival. Keriann Lynch writes about the two youngest […]

Warning: If you were sick of hearing about the Super Bowl a week before kick-off yesterday, you should probably avoid this blog posting. I realize many may be tired of the subject, but it’s Monday morning and my junk food induced lethargy from yesterday – and general laziness – has made it impossible for me […]

HELENA (AP) – Amtrak operations between Havre and Whitefish resumed Monday after shutting down over the weekend due to concerns over possible avalanches. BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said the railroad made the decision to disallow operations on that stretch Friday because of heavy snow. Empire Builder passengers were bused between the two towns. BNSF […]

With near-record busting snows, being a lift operator is tough. Skiers and snowboarders whoop into lift lines raving up face shots and sick powder lines. But Josh Meier weathers it well. “It’s fun,” he says. “I feed off their enthusiasm.” Meier is a patient man. Where others might act snap-nasty missing out on epic powder […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Sunday included the following: 6:25 a.m. A perturbed woman called the Sheriff’s Department because her soon to be ex-husband was annoying her and causing unnecessary problems. 9:36 a.m. Twenty-five mailboxes were knocked over by a vehicle on Mountain Meadow Road. 11:50 a.m. An Evergreen man got […]

The sudden tragic death of David Gogolak came as a shock to family and friends from around the globe. Dave was a special individual with energy and a positive outlook that you don’t find in people very often. A young man, father of two, loving husband, friend to thousands, and employer of hundreds, the loss […]