The Kalispell City Council meets Monday at 7 p.m. to vote on a number of development-related proposals. Ashley Heights, LLC, wants to annex property between Sunnyside Drive and Bismarck Street. The proposed Highway 93 Bypass would serve as the western boundary. The resolution was tabled at the last meeting. The council will also decide how […]

Whitefish City Planning and Building Director Bob Horne said that he resigned last week not because of rumors or controversy, but to pursue other interests. He announced his resignation at a city council meeting on May 7, ending a two-year stint as the first director of Whitefish’s young planning department. He acknowledged that some in […]

The British Columbia man who allegedly left his girlfriend to drown after crashing a plane into a Montana lake in 1982, pleaded guilty in Flathead County District Court Thursday to criminal endangerment and criminal mischief. Jaroslaw “Jerry” Ambrozuk’s charge of negligent homicide was dismissed as part of the deal, with the agreement that he would […]

Much like the “ah” that follows loosening the belt after Thanksgiving dinner, exercisers and employees at the Wave finally felt relief this week. After months of construction clamor and machines crammed into every cranny of the building, the $750,000 expansion of the aquatic and fitness center is finally finished. Staff members worked overtime last weekend […]

Whitefish a century ago was described by writer Dorothy Johnson as a place where “every adult there had been born somewhere else.” Kind of like today. Except now locals drive Subarus loaded with bikes, kayaks, skis, and at least one dog. I’m not sure where I fit into the scene, driving a Jeep and failing […]

Technology is breathing new life into journalism. The world is smaller and access to national news is easy. Consumers don’t just read news any more; they experience it with photographs, audio, video and interactive maps. With national and international coverage so readily available, local coverage has more of a responsibility to its constituents. With the […]

In the middle of a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks public information exchange earlier this month, a man held up a mounted 11-pound westslope cutthroat trout to remind everybody what was at stake. FWP officials put on the exchange to discuss details of their Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program, which will treat 21 mountain lakes […]

After spending seven years searching the Rocky Mountain Front from Durango to Canada, our family moved to Columbia Falls in mid-1999. Jacki and I sought the perfect small mountain town to raise our boys (Alex and Jonathan, now 18 and 15 respectively). We were looking for a place similar to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where I […]

Anglers are encouraged to comment early on a list of issues that could result in changes to the 2008-2011 fishing regulations. The early-stage comments will help Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks provide tentative regulations for the FWP Commission to consider in September and finally adopt in October. Some general statewide issues anglers can consider include: […]

The 18th Annual Forestry Expo concluded this past weekend at the Educational Forest near Stoltze Lumber. At right, Columbia Falls Troop 41 members Jon Riffey and Andrew West serve cobbler to a family of Expo visitors. The boys from Troop 41 served their dutch oven cobbler to over 100 “customers” looking to feed a sweet […]

If you’re looking to improve your whitewater safety skills, Wild River Adventures, in conjunction with Montana River Guides and Aerie Backcountry Medicine will offer River Rescue and Wilderness First Aid classes on June 2-5. The classes are designed for those who make their living in the wilderness as guides and outfitters as well as the […]

At next Monday’s (May 21, 2007) City Council meeting, the Columbia Falls Tennis Association (CFTA) will present proposals for a public-private refurb and maintenance project of the city tennis courts. At right, a pizza-sized patch of the court surface has disappeared, leaving a potential stumbling block for local tennis players. Below, a deep crack in […]

New longer summer hours begin June 1 at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., through August. The Hockaday is closed on Mondays. Current exhibits include Jeff Walker: An Etching Retrospective, until July 5; […]

A burned out house overlooking Flathead Lake is where I was born. Fortunately, we were out of there long before the fire, and since then I’ve hiked, skied, boated and lived all over Western Montana, the country, and the world. Now I’m back in my hometown of Bigfork, and writing like crazy. I graduated from […]

A burned out house overlooking Flathead Lake is where I was born. Fortunately, we were out of there long before the fire, and since then I’ve hiked, skied, boated and lived all over Western Montana, the country, and the world. Now I’m back in my hometown of Bigfork, and writing like crazy. I graduated from […]