MISSOULA (AP) – Attorneys for W.R. Grace & Co. are challenging a federal appeals court ruling that restored criminal charges of “knowing endangerment” to the government’s asbestos case against the company and its top managers. Last month, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed or revised six decisions handed down […]

Defense and special teams combined to help the Columbia Falls Wildcats stifle the Polson Pirates Friday night and clinch a playoff berth with a 18-13 home win. Highlights included an interception by Tanner Perry, a successful onside kick recovered by kicker (QB) Mackie Nolan, and a great defensive stand at the end of the game […]

POLSON (AP) – A Polson man convicted of kidnapping a Whitefish woman in May 2006 was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison. Charles Devlin, 58, will not be eligible for parole until he is 83. In April, a District Court jury found Devlin guilty of kidnapping of an intoxicated woman he met at a […]

The Montana Board of Crime Control and the Federal Bureau of Investigation both recently released 2006 crime statistics for the state’s counties and cities, but Sheriff Mike Meehan and a local crisis center warn that measuring area crime isn’t as simple as new numbers. According to the FBI’s crime statistics, the Flathead County Sheriff Department […]

It’s getting to be the time of year when the temperature begins to drop and skiers, snowboarders, skaters and snowshoers start to look to the sky. The boats are winterized; it’s almost time to wax the skis and by most indicators of snowpack for the upcoming winter – either local superstition or honest-to-goodness climate science […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday and Friday morning included the following: 9:47 a.m. An employee at Simpson Motors noticed a CD player had been stolen out of her car. 12:17 p.m. A 25-year-old man called 911 when he cut one of his fingers off and was unable to find it. […]

Good morning and happy World Smile Day. Granted it’s Friday, but if I see someone with a big grin on their face, particularly after the Yankees trouncing yesterday, I’ll be tempted to wipe that smile right off. Maybe I better just get straight to the news. On the Beacon this morning, weather experts are predicting […]

No one can put a timetable on when the U.S. Highway 93 bypass will be completed. It’s said that it will be built in phases: a slab of concrete here, another there. The dead ends will then be connected to form an eventual road when enough money is panhandled by our Washington delegation. Mitch Stelling, […]

Four female artists in the Flathead have lost control. The result: 200 to 300 pieces of art and one interesting social experiment. “Most artists think what they do is a sacred thing and that’s it and that’s what it’s supposed to be,” Deb Stika, a Whitefish artist, said. “With this you don’t have that control.” […]

I sit at my desk and ponder, “What could have been?” I look at the concert venue I built in a small town and I am proud. I came to Whitefish with the same hope and aspirations as others: to find a place to call home, build a business, start a family and become part […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Wednesday and Thursday morning included the following: 4:47 a.m. A resident on Forest Acres called the Sheriffs Department after she heard a woman scream “no, don’t hit me” three times then the voice of a male yelling “shut up.” Deputies were unable to locate the man. […]

Good morning and Happy Independence Day to our readers in Lesotho. On the Beacon today, editor Kellyn Brown blogs about the folks who comment on news stories online, and add a completely different dimension to news stories published on the Web. The owner of Flanagan’s Central Station in Whitefish answers back to authorities after a […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Corvette and a pickup truck collided nearly head-on on Montana 93 north of Olney, killing the driver of the car, the Montana Highway Patrol said. Michael Stearns, 67, died at the scene of the crash Wednesday morning, said Flathead County Deputy Coroner Dorothy Browder. The driver of the pickup, a man […]

Before volleyball practice, Danae Sheeran wraps up the school day in her bedroom. It’s not homework. Her bedroom is her classroom. Danae, a talented 5-foot-11-inch middle hitter for the Flathead Valley Home School volleyball team, is one of about 80 home school kids in the area that will participate in athletics this year. Danae is […]

One of the best things about being a reporter is that I get to indulge my curiosity. But this is a local news source; it’s not always a place where you can indulge interests outside the Flathead, which is why I spend some of my non-working hours (ahem), learning about a subject in which I […]