The Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday included the following: 7:12 a.m. A woman called in from Bigfork because she saw a man wearing a black coat peeping in her window. 8:46 a.m. An abandoned meth pipe was found in the ladies room at a casino in Kalispell. 9:01 a.m. Someone in Bigfork called in […]

Good morning, and happy Frankenstein Friday. It’s a brisk and booming news day in the Flathead. In an interview with the AP, Gov. Brian Schweitzer disclosed that Canadian officials have been working for years to get the sentence of one of Montana’s remaining death row inmates, a Canadian, commuted. The Montana High School Association has […]

The Montana football team faces a tough road test against Northern Arizona Saturday, a week after the Griz offense finally clicked for a full game. No. 3 Montana (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky) takes on NAU (5-3, 4-1) in a battle of the top two teams in the league standings. The game kicks off at 4 […]

Those who make the median income in Flathead Valley – a bank teller, a customer service representative, a small business owner – can’t afford to buy a house. And while money, credit and access to information remain barriers, the biggest challenge they may face are the stereotypes of others who live here. As the Flathead […]

Live Music: Friday: Badwater Bill at Scotty’s; Silver Platters at The Cottage Inn; Kiniption Fit at Great Northern Bar; Andre Floyd at the Blue Canyon; Good Wood Trio at Raleigh’s; Mike Bader Blues Band at Red’s; Glacier Symphony & Chorale at Glacier High School Saturday: Can’t Hardly Playboys at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake; Good […]

The Habitat steamroller continues Saturday with yet another pair of groundbreaking ceremonies. While much of Columbia Falls will be watching the Wildcats battle Hamilton on the football field, 2 families will join the Habitat board and volunteers to break ground on their new homes in the Flats. If you’d like to join the fun, the […]

HELENA (AP) – U.S. Sen. Max Baucus said Wednesday he will back a Senate plan that calls for a cap on global warming gases. Baucus, D-Mont., said he has been working with the bill’s sponsors, Sens. Joe Lieberman and John Warner, to make sure provisions were included to help Montana’s coal industry with new technologies […]

Go to a public meeting in Whitefish, listen to the boisterous booing and exuberant clapping, see the finger pointing and crying, and it’s clear the city is at a crucial stage with elections looming. Councilor Shirley Jacobson said she hasn’t seen contentiousness this intense in Whitefish politics since her previous stint as a councilor when […]

POLEBRIDGE – On a cool, autumn day here last week, the sky alternated between the sun pushing through to illuminate the Livingston Range, and the first snow of the season. The locals coming into the Polebridge Mercantile seemed puzzled that, after a long summer, it was once again snowing. “I saw this scattering of white […]

Today’s Rotary Club of Columbia Falls weekly meeting included a brief address by Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman, followed by a question and answer session. The questions were focused on two primary areas of interest: growth (including water rights, green space, and private property use) and possible upcoming bond issues. Bond issues discussed were all […]

The Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday included the following: 8:23 a.m. An annoyed Kalispell resident called in because someone had put up a Ron Paul poster on his vinyl fence. 8:27 a.m. A woman called in to say that while she was driving down Willow Glen, someone shot at her and broke her window. […]

Good morning and happy birthday to Pablo Picasso. Two men who allegedly fired shots at Flathead County deputies early Thursday morning, are now in custody. No one was hurt, but the suspects prompted police to set up three roadblocks in the Creston area. Up in Polebridge, the snow has begun to fall and the Mercantile […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Kalispell woman who left her two young daughters home alone for more than nine hours in filthy conditions has been sentenced to five years in prison. Rachel O’Brien, 24, was sentenced Wednesday in District Court. O’Brien pleaded guilty in September to two counts of criminal endangerment for neglecting her daughters, ages […]

HELENA (AP) – The Big Sky Conference men’s basketball coaches favor Weber State to repeat as league champion while media members picked Montana first in preseason polls released by the league Thursday. Weber State, which shared the 2006-07 regular-season title with Northern Arizona and beat the Lumberjacks in the tournament championship game, received four first-place […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Kalispell man accused of shooting another man in the back after an argument in February has pleaded guilty to some charges in the case and not guilty to others. Kenneth Kraus pleaded guilty Wednesday to assault with a weapon and two counts of criminal endangerment, but pleaded not guilty to one […]