HELENA (AP) – A new poll shows big approval ratings for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, Rep. Denny Rehberg and Gov. Brian Schweitzer. All three, up for re-election in 2008, are strong favorites if the ballots were cast now, according to the survey conducted for the Lee Newspapers of Montana. The poll also showed that Montanans […]

Summer has arrived and for those looking for an easy yet beautiful place to be outside take a stroll along the Rails to Trails of Northwest Montana. Built on the former Great Northern Railroad bed, the trail winds its way through currently undeveloped pristine Montana. A paved section from Kalispell west to Ashley Creek, 5.5 […]

Good storytelling has a good beginning, a good ending and wanders somewhere compelling in between. That’s exactly what the inaugural Whitefish Review does. The 128-page collection of art, literature, and photography is worth a stroll, for it pulls you onto the page with best-selling author Tim Cahill, roams through multihued works, and ends with one […]

LAKESIDE (AP) – An 81-year-old man died Friday evening after being struck by an RV while walking along U.S. Highway 93 here, authorities said. Wallace Best was walking on a pedestrian path on the side of the highway when the RV pulled out of a parking lot shared by a convenience store and a fast-food […]

Hose the mud off those knobby tires. It’s time to race. As Whitefish Mountain Resort launches its summer mountain bike racing season at Big Mountain, fat tire riders trim out their gears for the Early Bird Cross Country Race, a prelude to the seven-week Thursday Night Race League. “People get muddy sometimes at the Early […]

Flathead County’s population may be skyrocketing, but its school enrollment is not – a concern for educators, students and taxpayers alike. Additionally, school officials say, Flathead’s enrollment stagnancy is a reflection of a socioeconomic reality: the predominant demographic moving to the Flathead is older, often retired with above-average wealth and without school-age kids. “The whole […]

It’s been a big week for Montana politics: LANGE TO CHALLENGE BAUCUS Friday morning, Billings Republican Mike Lange met with reporters there to officially announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate against Max Baucus in November 2008, according to Matt Gouras of the Associated Press. I’m still waiting to hear it straight from Lange, who […]

Less than a week after announcing Red’s Wines and Blues will close down, owner Bill Goodman said Red’s will reopen – with a new look. “It will be a very different place,” he said. “It will be less of a restaurant and more of a bar.” The popular downtown Kalispell restaurant will close down at […]

A jury voted unanimously Thursday evening that the city of Whitefish unfairly denied two residents equal protection under the law by not permitting them to build a house on Whitefish Lake. The jury voted 12-0 on two counts in favor of William and Theodora Walton regarding the way a controversial critical areas ordinance was applied […]

It’s just not the sort of thing you want to see in your rear view mirror. Look closely at my side mirror and you’ll see a house driving down through the middle of Columbia Falls. Needless to say, traffic on US 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls, as well as traffic on US 2 through […]

Next Thursday, July 5th, the American Red Cross will have a blood drive at the North Valley Community Center on Nucleus Ave in Columbia Fals. Walk ins are welcome between noon and 530pm. To make an appointment, contact the Kalispell Red Cross office at 752-6433. Every 6 weeks, Glacier Bank and the Rotary Club of […]

Emotions ran high at a union meeting for the Local 256 chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees last month, when about 50 out of 73 Kalispell city employees called vehemently for a vote to strike, according to Timm Twardoski, the regional field representative and lead negotiator. Negotiations between the union […]

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park should be open by July 1, park officials announced Thursday. Heavy rainfall in November 2006 that caused numerous washouts delayed opening of the entire Sun Road this year. Final repairs from last November’s washouts are being made east of Logan Pass to allow two-way vehicle access across the alpine […]

It’s all about size. The size of the marketing return on investment, that is. Last week’s McKinsey Quarterly’s premium edition featured an interview with Cammie Dunaway, Yahoo!’s senior marketing executive. She explained how she is preparing Yahoo! for the future using strategies that Dan Kennedy, others and myself have been teaching small business people for […]

After a good bit of gridlock and nitpicking, the Whitefish City Council finally approved Safeway’s expansion into the old Ben Franklin footprint. The process generated plenty of public interest and criticism from those who feel it is important that projects be approved in a timely manner, without dithering over details such as has happened here. […]