HELENA (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has named former Gov. Tim Babcock and Secretary of State Brad Johnson to head his campaign team in Montana. Romney, who will speak at the state Republican Party convention here Friday morning, selected Babcock as the campaign’s honorary Montana chairman and Johnson as chairman of the campaign. […]

For some people with disabilities, fishing on Flathead Lake is not an every day occurence. But on Thursday, 90 people with disabilities were able to experience fishing on “the big lake” during the 14th annual Fishing Without Barriers Day. The event provides an opportunity for people with disabilities to get out on Flathead Lake and […]

After Mother Nature raked her fingers across the landscape last winter with floods and high winds, more than a few places show scratches from her nails. “The winds played havoc,” sums up Deb Mucklow, Spotted Bear District Ranger. “Our roads are drivable, but trails have some very big plugs.” She describes rough, washed out roads […]

This coming Saturday, Governor and First Lady Schweitzer will participate in a press conference and wall dedication at the Columbia Falls Habitat for Humanity Sweeney building site at approximately 1pm. The Sweeney home is the “Lowe’s Women Build” home, which encourages women to join the construction process, learn home construction skills and participate in improving […]

HELENA (AP) – A U.S. Senate panel Tuesday approved nearly $1.3 million for collection of environmental data in the area where a Canadian company wants to develop a coal mine, just north of Glacier National Park. Opponents of the mine want the environmental information for a baseline against which to gauge how the Cline Mining […]

Glacier High’s fledgling athletic program enters next fall with a big budget and a strange situation – the Wolfpack won’t have any seniors and some of its potential top sophomores and juniors are staying at Flathead, some because of the district they live in and others because they found loopholes in the system. On the […]

Growth, Measured in Dollars Flathead’s bank deposits eclipse Missoula’s in 2006 It’s no secret that growth is hustling in Flathead County, adding 15,000, or 20 percent more people in the last decade. But the valley’s wealth infusion makes growth look sluggish. In those same 10 years, the amount of money deposited annually in Flathead banks […]

HELENA (AP) – The executive director of the Montana Republican party said Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger is not welcome at the party’s convention here this week because he is no longer a Republican. “To me, it’s pretty cut and dried,” said Chris Wilcox, the party’s executive director. “He filed for office as part of a […]

For our print edition this week I wrote about the so-called “rift” in Montana’s Republican party between moderates and conservatives that may or may not exist, depending on whom you ask. Then this morning, the Helena media reported that Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger was snubbed after attempting to purchase tickets to the Friday night dinner […]

A Cajun friend of mine noted a recent news story where Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff said New York needed to prepare for a big hurricane. The story discussed the possible evacuation of the city, how well it has planned for things, and took the attitude that people in New Orleans were just too dumb […]

Sarah’s excited to be out for a run; she’ll be three soon, it’s sunny, the gravel crunches, a yellow-winged butterfly races by, and she skirts between and behind a team of strollers. “The joys of going on a walk with a toddler and a little one,” her mom Aimee Uzzi says as she tries to […]

A campaign is underway to build a 1,300-seat performance hall in Kalispell. If the proposed Glacier Performing Arts Center succeeds in bringing large-scale live entertainment back downtown, it will be a step back in time. Looking at the McIntosh Opera House today, it is hard to visualize what the building once was. The dilapidated opera […]

Because we like examining taxes so much we do it all year round, not just during tax season, this week the Beacon assembled a chart comparing a small sampling of 2006 property tax bills among homeowners in six of Montana’s largest and fastest growing counties. On average, Flathead County taxes top the list. Before steam […]

There was an awkward moment Monday night outside Kalispell City Hall as about 17 city employees marched back and forth up the block holding signs, protesting the contract dispute between their union and the city. Shortly before the city council meeting was to begin, City Manager Jim Patrick, who has been leading the team representing […]

Vocal booing turned to boisterous clapping at Whitefish’s city council meeting Monday night when the council unanimously approved a $12-million Safeway expansion proposal. The unanimous vote comes two weeks after the city council sparked controversy with a 3-3 tie vote on the Safeway expansion. Mayor Andy Feury was not present to provide the tie-breaking vote. […]