Good morning and happy birthday to French seer Nostradamus. On the Beacon this morning, Editor Kellyn Brown wonders just what makes someone a “real” Republican? Animal expert Jack Hanna takes your questions about orphaned deer and the best places to vacation to see exotic animals. Read about a dude in Olney having an odd experience […]

In an about-face, the Montana Republican Party invited Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger to its winter meeting last week, a grudging acknowledgement that he is, in fact, a Republican. This olive branch was extended just months after the GOP summer convention, when Bohlinger was told to stay away. At the time, party members accused Democratic Gov. […]

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – Montana defensive end Kroy Biermann won the Buck Buchanan Award on Thursday night as the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern quarterback Jayson Foster won the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player and Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley won the Eddie Robinson Award. Biermann, […]

SAVANNAH, Tenn. (AP) – The two powerhouse NAIA schools of the decade will finally meet in the association’s marquee game. The Sioux Falls Cougars face the Carroll College Fighting Saints in the national championship Saturday, seeking the title that has been held by no other schools since 2001. The programs have accounted for the last […]

The Flathead County Animal Control staff is preparing for the possibility of having to take custody of as many as 40 additional dogs at once, after the sentencing of a Haywire Gulch man required that they be removed from his unlicensed kennel. “We are obligated to take them,” said Joe Russell, public health officer for […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday and Friday included the following: 9:01 a.m. A kid from Bigfork Middle School brought his CD player to school and someone stole it. 10:30 a.m. An accident involving a logging truck and a vehicle produced no injuries, fires, or errant logs. 10:58 a.m. Someone came […]

HELENA (AP) – An advocacy group chastised Montana authorities Thursday for failing to prosecute abuse allegations at a private residential treatment center for juveniles. The Swan Valley Youth Academy, north of Condon, closed more than a year ago, but a state report detailing some of the allegations was recently released by a judge following a […]

All right folks, you got to read Bill Schneider’s bit praising “quaint, charming, progressive” Whitefish last week. I’ll get to that shortly, after a little introduction for our readers regarding the who, what and why. I was born in midtown Manhattan, Noo Yawk City. It wasn’t my fault. My mom is from North Dakota, and […]

Good morning and happy Santa Lucia day to our Swedish readers. The Beacon is chock full o’ news this morning. Keriann Lynch writes about the lawsuit filed against the county by a group of Lakeside residents over the Eagle’s Crest subdivision there. Another showing of the controversial documentary, “The Fire Next Time,” prompted many of […]

When the controversial documentary “The Fire Next Time” was unveiled to a large crowd at Kalispell’s Liberty Theatre three years ago, filmmaker Patrice O’Neill posed a question to the people of Flathead Valley: Will the “last best place in America” become “the next worst flashpoint in the country’s running battle between the forces of economic […]

Three people died in separate Montana highway crashes Tuesday and Wednesday, the Montana Highway Patrol reported. A 28-year-old Kalispell woman died shortly before midnight Wednesday on Farm Road in Kalispell. Deputy Flathead County Coroner Brad Stahlberg said the woman died of a broken neck when her vehicle rolled after she drove off the side of […]

BOZEMAN (AP) – A former Montana State basketball player charged with murder pointed to his co-defendant as the one who pulled the trigger, according to transcripts of police interrogations unsealed Wednesday. Branden Miller, 23, is charged with murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence stemming from the June 2006 shooting death of Jason Wright, 26. Wright […]

HELENA (AP) – Former Montana State football coach Mike Kramer filed a lawsuit Thursday against the university, claiming he was wrongfully terminated earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges MSU President Geoff Gamble and Athletics Director Peter Fields “conspired to use coach Kramer as a scapegoat by publicly holding him responsible” for the conduct of former […]

Sunday afternoon I baked a few dozen chocolate chip walnut cookies. Some people bring them into the office to share with co-workers, but not me. I bring in four a day and eat them with lunch, sharing with no one. Which is what I did Tuesday, when someone brought in a platter of sweets including […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 8:56 a.m. A bizarre man was seen frantically digging through the dumpsters in Kila. He was reported to be moving very fast, throwing trash and driving a little blue car. 12:04 p.m. Someone called into the Sheriff’s Department to ask what they […]