KALISPELL (AP) – A woman accused of leaving her 2- and 3-year-old daughters home alone, in squalor, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of criminal endangerment. Police who arrested Rachael O’Brien, 24, on Aug. 4 said she went to her restaurant job that day and left the children home alone for more than nine hours. […]

Hunter numbers have fallen nationally, but the sport remains a popular pastime — and lucrative business — in Montana. Signs of a busy hunting season are visible inside Kalispell’s Snappy Sports Senter: customers peruse aisles of everything camouflage, socks to stocking caps; guns; ammunition; and, yes, even cow elk urine for that special hunter bath. […]

A man accused of shooting a gun in a street fight in Cleveland and killing a 12-year-old girl caught in the crossfire as she walked to a corner store was captured near Kalispell. Eric Wilson, 35, had been wanted since the Sept. 1 shooting death of Asteve’e “Cookie” Thomas, who was struck in the neck […]

Bid farewell to Flanagan’s, but not yet to the music. Some people in the valley think Flathead’s live music scene is just getting revved up, including Phil Harris, who owns Stadium 14 theaters and the Strand and Liberty theaters in downtown Kalispell. Harris has plans to turn the Liberty into a major concert venue with […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Tuesday included the following: 9:43 a.m. Squatters in sleeping bags and a homemade tent were given the boot out of Conrad Cemetery. 10:38 a.m. A woman called in to report a black bear in her backyard. The woman was informed the “bear” was actually a steer. […]

WHITEFISH – Flanagan’s Central Station drew bigger bands and better musicians than Whitefish has ever seen – but the club couldn’t stay on the right side of the local police and the state liquor authorities, and next week it will close its doors after a three-year run. Whitefish city attorney John Phelps welcomed the club’s […]

I was having lunch with a friend from Rotary a while back and he told me about an interesting encounter he’d had with a new bank that came to the area. He said that this bank was new in town, but not new to banking – in fact, he’s had an account there for over […]

HELENA (AP) – Bozeman businessman Steve Daines, who started a group and a Web site demanding that lawmakers return more of the budget surplus to taxpayers, said he will not be a Republican candidate for governor in 2008. Daines said a number of people encouraged him to run, but he declined. “The biggest reason is […]

A proposed plan to increase graduate student enrollment and tighten undergraduate student admission requirements at Montana’s universities could boost enrollment at the state’s baccalaureate and two-year higher education institutions, including Flathead Valley Community College. At his Aug. 24 State of the University address University of Montana President George Dennison said he would like to increase […]

Yesterday I was on a Southwest flight from Chicago to Seattle and it conveniently flew over the Bob Marshall Wilderness during the ride. Here’s a few shots of the fires from 38,000 feet. Even though USFS’s Jimmy DeHerrera had told me previously that there were tons (my words, not his) of little fires all over […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – Montana’s congressional delegation gave mixed reviews Monday to Gen. David Petraeus’ report on Iraq. Petraeus, the commanding general of the war, told Congress that last winter’s buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives “in large measure” and said he envisions the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops by next summer. […]

The Kalispell Police and Flathead County Sheriff’s reports for Monday included the following: 7:28 a.m. A transient on Conrad Drive and Willow Glen Drive was advised to get a move on. 8:48 a.m. A worried tenant staying at a motel in Martin City called the Sheriff’s department when he heard shots fired. When deputies arrived […]

FLATHEAD Libby Man Charged with Murder-for-Hire A Libby man who allegedly paid an employee $50,000 to help him find someone to kill his estranged wife is charged with murder-for-hire. Shane Sichting, 38, appeared in U.S. District Court in Missoula last week. He did not enter a plea. After receiving the last of the wire transfers, […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – Montana Sen. Jon Tester returned $4,750 in contributions linked to Norman Hsu Tuesday, joining a growing number of Democrats who are giving away donations from the disgraced Democratic fundraiser. Tester did not receive any direct donations from Hsu, who is under federal investigation for allegedly violating election laws. But he received money […]

“I think there are other ways to fight than with weapons,” says Debi Strong, Montana’s state coordinator for the Department of Peace. About a year ago, Strong saw a friend wearing a pin reading “Peace is Patriotic”. When she asked about it, the friend directed her to the Peace Alliance website. “I was just so […]