North Meridian Road between West Center Street and West Idaho Street was shut down due to a mysterious and potentially dangerous gas smell that has been getting worse for days. Initially reported on Saturday, the smell, evident as far north as Three Mile Drive, “finally has gotten to a point where we feel it’s strong […]

For all it gives, the river also takes. In high school the famed Yellowstone River took my childhood friend and didn’t give him back for several days, when his body was found washed up miles downstream near a popular fishing access. But of course, the river never really gave him back. I know of many […]

At 4 years old, Ashlynn Meuchel had a hard time controlling her pony. So when Snowflake, her trusty but hungry horse, spotted an enticing patch of weeds, her little arms couldn’t steer the animal away from lunchtime. Ashlynn yanked so hard on the reigns that she pulled herself out of the saddle and slid down […]

DEER LODGE (AP) – A small plane crashed Monday night in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard said. None of the three people on board was seriously injured, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said. However, rescue crews were still working to reach them late Monday. Howard said the plane went […]

UPDATE: 12:30p.m. The Skyland Fire continues to burn at roughly 200 acres despite some early morning moisture. Additional resources, including a Type II management team, are being requested. Firefighter crews will arrive today. A camper in the area and a local fire lookout reported a fire in the Skyland Drainage on the Hungry Horse Ranger […]

For the second time in less than a week, a violent storm dropped rain, hail and booming thunder on much of the Flathead Valley Monday night, but this time around the wind was less severe. Burning branches were reported on a power line on Foys Lake Road, and Bigfork, Ferndale and Somers customers lost power […]

Six people died in weekend crashes on Montana highways, including Teresa Welty of Kalispell. Welty, 44, died at the scene of a one-vehicle rollover on U.S. 2 near Kalispell. Among the other victims was Sarah Lynn Russell, 16, of Helena, who died early Sunday in a one-car accident about 27 miles northeast of Helena, the […]

The East Shore of Flathead Lake got power back by 4 p.m. Friday. But most everyone was outside anyway; picking up after the wind, rain, lightning and hail of Thursday night. “They actually fared pretty good,” Nat O’Farrell, who works with orchards from Polson to Woods Bay, says of the cherry crop. O’Farrell thought maybe […]

AUGUSTA, Mont. (AP) – A wildfire burning on the edge of Lewis and Clark National Forest prompted an evacuation order for a cluster of summer homes, as firefighters across the state battled several fires Monday amid hot and dry weather conditions. Two of the largest blazes were burning in the forest’s Bob Marshall Wilderness, west […]

It’s free. Full of photos. But the news is rather musty. Heck, some dates back over a century. Pitched as the “best, worst, and just plain mundane,” Stumptown Historical Society’s 48-page summer newspaper just hit the streets. Laden with trivia spanning 100 plus years, the journal is a trek through Whitefish via the historical walking […]

A few weeks back I was driving north on U.S. Highway 2, heading to Glacier to report on a Flathead Basin Commission meeting. Passing out of Evergreen, I was in the left lane, keeping my eye on a developing situation a few yards ahead. In the right lane, a truck had two portable latrines, perched […]

2007 Bitterroot Invitational – 7/14/2007 to 7/15/2007 Boys 8 & Under 100 Yard Freestyle Relay 1, Bitterroot Swim Team ‘A’ (Carmody, Aidan 8, Meikle, Cameron 8, Williams, Brennan 8, Schreckendgust, Guy 8), 1:26.20. 2, Bitterroot Swim Team ‘C’ (Wilson, Matthew 8, Powell, Easton 8, Matt, Russell 7, Bos, Orion 8), 1:42.93. 3, Plains Swim Team […]

Beginner to expert mountain bikers will find a wealth of trails on Spencer Mountain west of Whitefish. A well-maintained dual track roadbed traverses the mountain for easy biking, hiking or jogging. Trails spread like veins across the terrain, and single tracks branch off the main road in numerous directions. An intersection about a mile up […]

HELENA AP) – A Canadian man who intentionally crashed a rented airplane into a northwest Montana lake in 1982, leading to the accidental drowning of his girlfriend, has pleaded guilty to passport fraud. Jerry Ambrozuk, 43, pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a false statement in application and use of a passport during a hearing in […]

Tromping along Kalispell’s urban streets – the hot asphalt, the droning traffic – like many, I see an uncertain future. More shops are springing up, but the vacancies loom large as proof of wasted infrastructure; the one next to the Beacon office on Main Street is ample evidence. Business owners interviewed earlier this month about […]