The Jocko Lakes Fire forced fire officials to re-order evacuations Sunday as the fire’s unruly east side — the side closest to the some 1,500 threatened structures — got active again in stronger winds. Some of the original 675 evacuations on the fire were lifted earlier in the week, but on Sunday, they were ordered […]

During high summer travel season, Amtrak’s trains combat schedule disruptions due to Mother Nature and aging equipment. Recently, the Empire Builder, which stops in Whitefish, saw delays due to the Skyland Fire burning near Marias Pass. Meanwhile, the Cascades service running in Oregon and Washington lost railcars to maintenance, causing Amtrak to limit service. Despite […]

HELENA (AP) – Fire crews battled to save about 10 homes in a subdivision near Seeley Lake Sunday, while evacuation orders were issued on several fires across the state. The 20,800-acre Jocko Lakes fire spotted across containment lines Sunday and helicopters making water drops were ineffective in controlling the spot fires as they spread toward […]

Montana fires acted up again Sunday after a relatively quiet weekend. While evacuations were lifted on the Jocko Lakes fire near Seeley and the Chippy Creek near Thompson Falls, by Sunday evening, evacuation orders had been reissued in some areas on the Jocko Lakes fire. And the now 12,000-acre Columbine fire in Yellowstone National Park […]

In the weeks before Flathead Valley Community College opens the doors of its new Arts and Technology Building to students, the culinary arts program’s gleaming, spacious teaching kitchen is immaculate in a way it will never be again. Blue pilot lights flicker beneath the 10 burner-range of the massive stove – still free of any […]

It is impossible to miss the giant green and white towboat – grounded between two buildings – as you drive north into Polson, literally looking like a fish out of water. But what surrounds the 1926 logging boat is even more astounding: The Miracle of America Museum in Polson may just be “The Smithsonian of […]

Cooler nights and early mornings, back to school sales getting cleaned out; summer in Bigfork is leaning into fall. One sign of the season, the Bigfork Farmer’s Market, has a couple weeks left. “They’re all hand cut,” vendor Susan Hutz says to a customer at Wednesday’s Market, “every one’s a little different, they’re all individual.” […]

As the treasurer of Montana Trout Unlimited, I write to express our organization’s serious concern regarding potential coal bed methane extraction and open pit coal mining at the headwaters of Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. Montana TU is a grassroots organization comprised of nearly 3,400 sportsmen and sportswomen who love to fish for native […]

Thursday’s big news from the Jocko Lakes Fire is that the evacuation order issued for residences and businesses on the east side of Highway 83 was lifted — conditionally. The reopened area is along Golf Drive east of Highway 83 and between the town of Seeley Lake and the Double Arrow Resort. Highway 83 itself […]

HELENA (AP) – More than 120 new state restaurant beer and wine licenses are on hold, as officials review the state law that regulates them. Department of Revenue Director Dan Bucks said officials want to know if people who unsuccessfully applied for cabaret licenses in the past can apply that preference in multiple locations – […]

The four anglers stood hovered over the edge of their boat, eyeing the dark green water of Flathead Lake. Like some strange ballet, the anglers’ rods moved almost in unison – up and down, up and down. Then almost on cue, one rod stiffened, and bending, it formed an arc. “Fish on,” said the angler, […]

It’s that time of summer when a dark purple berry high in Vitamin C swells plump on Flathead hills. The sweet miniature fruit inspires lip-smacking pies and ice cream. Even daiquiris. It’s also is the inspiration behind the annual Whitefish Huckleberry Days—the town’s biggest summer weekend event. The three-day festival–August 10-12–crowds 125 artists into the […]

SEELEY LAKE – The Jocko Lakes Fire near Seeley Lake acted up again Wednesday, spreading again on the fire’s new trouble spot – the northeast flank. There, Dogtown, a subdivision of Seeley Lake, is threatened and crews were pulled off other sides of the fire to help combat the growth. The fire is now estimated […]

As of last week, Oscar-award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis had never been to Montana. Now she’s performed here once and plans a return trip. She, her husband, actor Louis Zorich, and David Ackroyd hosted an informal question and answer session Monday in the same vein as Bravo’s “Inside the Actors Studio” at the O’Shaughnessy Center in […]

A month of vandalism on road signs guiding the way to Whitefish Mountain Resort has left carloads of tourists lost, driving aimlessly in the night searching for signs that don’t exist. Heidi Borg of the Kandahar Lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort said 25 to 30 percent – up to five carloads a day – of […]