After a brief countdown and a bit of psyching up, participants in the Polar Bear Plunge rush into Flathead Lake behind the Raven Brew Pub in Woods Bay. The 41-degree water didn’t deter plungers from around the valley from testing their nerve in the annual event.

HELENA (AP) – Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Denny Rehberg have strong approval ratings heading into the 2008 election, a poll conducted for Lee Newspapers of Montana shows. A telephone poll of 625 registered Montana voters, conducted Dec. 17-19 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., of Washington, D.C., showed the three major […]

Good morning and Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s a cold, snowy morning here in the Flathead, but the news hasn’t taken off for the holidays. Deputies have spent the weekend investigating a possible murder-suicide just south of Libby. Two bodies were found on Friday. The Flathead County library in downtown Kalispell continues its search for […]

Holiday weight gain is a simple fact of life. Eat extra cookies, drink a little more champagne, and down chocolates. Share extra rich meals with friends and family, and the pounds creep on. Some reports have suggested that the average person gains up to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But last March, the New […]

It’s that time of year again when newspapers everywhere are filled with reminders of what happened this year and we make promises to ourselves that we so often do not keep. I’m not quite sure what it is that causes us to respond this way to a changing calendar, but I imagine it’s part of […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Sunday included the following: 12:02 a.m. The Sheriff’s Department was called after a man threatened to grab a gun during a Bigfork bar fight. He was gone when deputies arrived. 3:01 a.m. A Lakeside resident called in because they saw a white Jeep senselessly spinning doughnuts […]

As a former and past president of the Flathead County Planning Board and a professional engineer, I have participated and been involved with the stream setback proposal being pushed by Flathead County. I am the vice president of the Montana Environmental Consultants Association, a group of about 15 members consisting of professional engineers and professional […]

The big guy rocks a flute onstage and wears flip flops outside in the winter. And now he has the blues. Trusten Williamson, who hosts his own acoustic night at Red’s Wines & Blues in Kalispell and is a member of the Good Wood Trio, has a stage presence as commanding as any in the […]

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Lisa Bue scored a career-high 29 points Sunday to lead North Dakota State to an 82-59 victory over Montana State. Bue scored 18 of her points in the second half as the Bison (6-6) pulled away from a 34-30 halftime lead. Montana State (5-7) trailed 46-40 after a layup by Lyndi […]

MISSOULA (AP) – Matt Martin scored 17 points Sunday afternoon to help Montana end a five-game losing streak with a 91-36 rout of Montana Tech. Jordan Hasquet added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Griz (6-7). Andrew Strait also scored 16 and Ryan Staudacher added a career-high 15 points. Montana forced Tech, an NAIA […]

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota women’s basketball team rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit Friday to beat Montana State 88-74. Montana State (5-6) built a 43-30 advantage at intermission behind the efforts of post players Krislyn Wallace and Jamie Thornton, who scored eight points each in the first half. North Dakota (13-0), […]

BOZEMAN (AP) – Carlos Taylor scored 18 points to lead Montana State to a 92-56 victory over Evergreen State Friday night. Taylor missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Montana State (7-5) out-rebounded its NAIA opponent 44-29 in the win. Divaldo Mbunga was just one rebound shy of his first ever double-double for the third […]

BILLINGS (AP) – A man exonerated of rape charges after spending 15 years in prison has rejected an offer by Yellowstone County to settle his federal civil lawsuit. Deputy County Attorney Kevin Gillen said Friday that Jim Bromgard’s attorneys had notified him that Bromgard was turning down the county’s settlement offer. The county is prevented […]

Melanie Cross is a self-described “OK” knitter, an interesting distinction given the fact that she’s spent the last six months gutting and remodeling a downtown Kalispell shop in order to open her own specialty knitting store. That’s not to say Camas Creek Yarn was built on a whim: Cross’s husband and business partner Andy Hurst […]

LIBBY (AP) – Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies say they are investigating a suspected murder-suicide near here. Authorities received a report early Friday of two people on the floor of the state highway department building three miles south of Libby on U.S. 2. Deputies said that when they arrived, they found the bodies of a man […]