BIGFORK (AP) – The school district here is bringing in an outside investigator to look into the death of an incoming senior who collapsed while running laps during football tryouts. “Because of differences in perception relative to the incident, we’ve hired an independent investigator,” said Superintendent Russell Kinzer. “The stories we’ve heard are very consistent […]

Lightning struck near Seeley Lake Aug. 3, sparking the Jocko Lakes fire. Over the next two days the blaze tore through thousands of acres, forced evacuations, and closed the highway – essentially choking off commerce in this town. “We were full every day, every cabin, through the month of August,” says Brian Bertsch, owner of […]

Aaron Kyrouac is living the life of an evacuee. Time has taken on an elastic quality for him. Details and dates blur. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused on one task. His days are monotonous. He wakes every morning and dials the information line for the Jocko Lakes fire. He recently down-sized to one cell […]

Remember the Big Gulp? When I was in college, it was the ultimate thirst quencher at the local 7/11 convenience store. Back then, 32 ounces seemed like a honkin’ big drink. Nowadays though, the Big Gulp is a wimpy little cup. There’s the Super Big Gulp and the Double Gulp, for example. Some stores have […]

August has been a tumultuous month. Too many fires and too little rain. If David Plotz of Slate.com were here, he would interpret Flathead’s situation as further proof that August is the year’s worst month and should be abolished. Of course, he’s joking. Or is he? I’m not laughing. I happen to be partial to […]

I was on an airplane this past weekend, and the pilot came over the intercom and said something funny, it was about….. wait, it’s gone. It was probably the head flight attendant anyway; they’re more accustomed to talking to actual, real-live people. It reminds me of another flight, a couple months ago, when I decided […]

I was on an airplane this past weekend, and the pilot came over the intercom and said something funny, it was about….. wait, it’s gone. It was probably the head flight attendant anyway; they’re more accustomed to talking to actual, real-live people. It reminds me of another flight, a couple months ago, when I decided […]

Shortly after Tony Clayton moved to Kalispell from Las Vegas three years ago, one of the first things he and his grandson did was head to the Chamber of Commerce with the question: “Where’s the rink?” Clayton, who had coached his grandson’s ice hockey team for years, was surprised to find there are more rinks […]

The tables are turned. There has, perhaps, never been a time in which entry-level workers have been so sought after and possess so much control over their employers. The much-publicized, much-studied and much-agonized labor shortage in the Flathead – where the unemployment rate hovers at 2.4 percent – continues with no end in sight. The […]

As bad news pounds the national real estate market, Montana, while taking some punches, has proven to have a tough chin. The pace of second-quarter existing home sales fell in 44 states – including by 7.1 percent in Montana – compared to the same time in 2006, according to numbers released last week by the […]

KALISPELL (AP) – A Bigfork High School football player who collapsed during practice last week died Monday morning at a hospital here. Jeffrey R. Bowman, 17, died at 11 a.m., according to officials at the Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where Bowman had been since collapsing last Monday. Bowman fell while running laps with the team, […]

Monday’s cooler temperatures and scattered rain gave firefighters the edge they need on several Montana fires, including the Jocko Lakes fire burning near Seeley Lake and the Black Cat fire burning northwest of Missoula. And, more of the same weather is on its way for Tuesday before things start heating up again later in the […]

After nearly eight years as mayor, Andy Feury submitted his official resignation at last night’s city council meeting. Then, City Attorney John Phelps swore in Cris Coughlin to fill the mayor role until this fall’s election. This past year, Feury discovered that his work in China took more of his time than he thought. Feury’s […]

Kalispell City Council made quick work Monday night of the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, voting to fund everything from urban forestry to street maintenance to the annual tax levies. While the voting was quick – almost every item passed unanimously – the council took a long time reaching that point. It has […]

HELENA (AP) – Gusty wind and low humidities in advance of a cold front tested fire lines across the state Sunday and prompted more evacuations at several blazes in western Montana. Red-flag warnings, denoting critical fire conditions, were posted in a number of areas through Monday. A severe thunderstorm watch also was in effect, with […]