Columbia Falls homecoming weekend was a rough weekend for the football and both soccer teams. The WildKats lost to Libby 2-1 in a tight, hard-fought match early on Homecoming Saturday afternoon. Shelby Wiebelhaus (2) passes down the sideline.  Jamie Valov (17) cuts back to the inside, leaving her defender leaning the wrong direction.   Hebert […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Coram man is dead after crashing a friend’s all-terrain vehicle on a gravel road north of Columbia Falls, authorities said. The victim was Jeffery T. Musuta, 43, Flathead County Deputy Coroner Ernie Freebury said. The wreck happened at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Musuta rolled the four-wheeler while attempting to turn at […]

While cleaning out some boxes a while back, I happened to come across some papers I wrote (by hand) in high school. I guess they were rough drafts considering they were not in my regular slightly larger type with 2.3-spaced paragraphs – papers were always supposed to be double spaced but if you manually typed […]

GREAT FALLS (AP) – The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board will begin hearings Oct. 16 on the Alberta portion of a proposed cross-border power transmission line connecting electric systems in the Canadian province and Montana. The hearings in Lethbridge will involve a three-member panel examining the evidence and listening to testimony. The panel will make […]

Friday was a wet evening in Columbia Falls, where the Cats took on a tough Libby team for homecoming. Unfortunately, the Loggers’ speed was too much for the Cats, as Libby left town with a 41-21 victory. There were a few bright spots, including a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Scott Palmer […]

“Bells are ringing, lights are flashing, sirens are going off! Somebody just broke one of the ten commandments,” yells cake decorating instructor Beverly Medved. No, this isn’t a sin of adultery or murder. Someone’s broken commandment number three of Wilton Company cake decorating: “Thou shalt not lick icing from spatula, fingers, or any other body […]

A few things that you need to know: 1) Nathan Carr (9) is an elusive guy. In this series of shots, Carr encounters two defenders, manages to slip between them, gets a block from Chance Morine (84), and runs for daylight before being dragged down 10 yards later.   2) Daniel Jones (40) cannot be […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Thursday included the following: 7:19 a.m. A thief snuck in through a cracked window at Greg’s Mobile Homes and stole $3,350 worth of appliances, furniture and doors from one of the models. 8:03 a.m. A man called the Sheriff’s Department because he believes someone is setting […]

Good morning and happy Love Note Day. As such, today’s Buffet will take the form of a love note – and what better way to express my feelings than to, um, review today’s top news stories? I think that will be less awkward for everyone. On we go. On the Beacon this morning, a guest […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Kalispell woman who left her two young daughters home alone for more than nine hours in squalid conditions has pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal endangerment in a plea agreement with a recommended five-year prison term. Rachel O’Brien, 24, also pleaded guilty Thursday to felony theft stemming from a 2006 […]

The school children from Canada and the United States smiling, shaking hands at Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park earlier this month reminded me of a popular ride at Disneyland. You’re familiar with it if you’ve ever sweated it out for a day at the California amusement park. You float through a castle and more than 300 […]

Erin Arndt, 28, was filling out her baby registry in Target when she realized her cramps were actually contractions, and she was going into labor – two months early. “I was walking around Target and I was in labor and didn’t even know it; it’s your first baby you don’t know how it feels,” she […]

The U.S. Postal Service, at the urging of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., will reconsider closing the Martin City post office, according to a Friday press release sent from the senator’s office. The USPS announced Wednesday that it would be closing the Martin City branch because the contractor who runs it stepped down and the agency […]

WHITEFISH – “Grab a jar, open, sniff, and scoop,” directs Jennifer Krack after pouring a quarter cup of heavy whipping cream into six colorful bowls, one sitting in front of each of us. From old fashioned flip-top glass canning jars, we ladle out spoonfuls of orange peel, soy flour, raw sugar, cornmeal, coffee grounds, carrot […]

COLUMBIA FALLS – In all sports at all levels, teams in the middle of the pack try to turn the proverbial “corner,” an undefined destination that presumably, once reached, vaults a team into the realm of the elite. Columbia Falls believes it’s ready to make that move. “We have abilities that we didn’t have before,” […]