Columbia Falls is looking at an ordinance to ban the use of handheld cellular phones while driving and a public hearing has been set for June 18. City Manager Susan Nicosia said a series of recent close calls and one accident where a man drove into the Flathead River while texting prompted a discussion about […]

WOODS BAY – Even if the weather wasn’t perfect, cars were lined along Montana Highway 35 in Woods Bay and patrons packed The Raven to support Kheri Bilal. The popular bartender at The Raven and the Whistling Andy Distillery was critically injured after a fall in Mexico and is now in a Phoenix, Ariz. hospital. […]

Mixed martial arts return to the Flathead County Fairgrounds this weekend with eight fights scheduled, including a pro featherweight championship bout. The event, put on by Kayla Ditmer and Absolute Fight Factory in Kalispell, begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 9. Doors open at 6 p.m. Here’s the fight card below, provided by Rob McCaskill, […]

Anyone who has driven on U.S. Highway 93 through Lakeside and Somers knows “Lucky,” the decoy cruiser that patrols the area for speeders. Now you can have a beer in support of the “hardest working resident on the West Shore” on Wednesday, June 13 at the Tamarack Brewing Company. “Lucky” is a plastic mannequin who […]

Super Late Model racing will be showcased as the main event Saturday at Montana Raceway Park. Local drivers Wrango West, Bodie Morton, Alex Lessor and Corey Wolfe will return to the asphalt and be joined by a talented field from across the Northwest. Time trials begin at 6 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. […]

The day after the June 5 primary elections, American Tradition Partnership sent out a press release declaring: “Montana’s American Tradition Partnership Sweeps State Legislative Elections.” The sub-head clarified that it wasn’t a clean sweep: “ATP-led grassroots coalition paves way for victory in 12 of 14 targeted districts.” The press release stated that “ATP-Montana members and […]

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about a series of suspicious structure and vehicle fires in the Pablo and St. Ignatius area to come forward. Over the past few months, eight reported fires have been ruled suspicious by authorities. The most recent blaze occurred on Tuesday morning and took out an […]

When the Flathead Youth Home began holding a multi-sport relay as a fundraiser 10 years ago, it was a slightly offbeat idea at the time. And that was exactly the point for Jenae Schmautz, who worked at the emergency youth shelter and came up with the idea of the Glacier Challenge with her husband Will. […]

HELENA – Former House Speaker Scott Sales of Bozeman cleared his Republican primary, paving the way for his return to the Legislature, but the GOP’s legislative incumbents faced mixed results after Tuesday’s vote. Sales won a three-way primary for a Gallatin County Senate seat that came despite his wife’s legal problems. She has pleaded guilty […]

BILLINGS – New claims of sexual and physical abuse by Roman Catholic clerics and nuns spanning decades in eastern Montana have been lodged in state court in Great Falls. The allegations were detailed in court documents filed Tuesday in a lawsuit pending since December against the Great Falls-Billings Diocese. They recount abuses against eleven youths […]

HELENA – A judge ruled that a legislative referendum calling for income tax credits if state revenue comes in higher than lawmakers expected is unconstitutional and cannot appear on the November ballot. District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock made the determination Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by four labor unions and another group seeking to have Legislative […]

When she was 16, Alexa Schnee decided to write a book. It’s an ambitious undertaking by most standards, and she admits now her age probably shielded her from being intimidated by her protagonist: William Shakespeare’s secret lover. Schnee, who grew up in Kalispell and now attends college at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, held […]

BOZEMAN – Gallatin County officials say a 21-year-old Montana State University student has died in a kayaking accident on the Gallatin River. Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Harold Vaughan of Madison County died Wednesday evening. Gootkin says Vaughan’s kayaking partner called 911 at about 5:30 p.m. to report Vaughan was upside down in his kayak headed […]

Tuesday 6/4 7:42 a.m. Someone saw a turquoise convertible driving too fast down Highway 2 East. 9:34 a.m. Free range dogs have caused problems for someone trying to sell a home on Chinook Court in Columbia Falls. 12:15 p.m. Two “hunting dogs” were found roaming near the cross-country ski trails Round Meadow. 12:51 p.m. A […]

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer told the Defense Department on Thursday that he will sue to block any plans to take the state’s Air National Guard mission without a suitable replacement. The Air Force has said it is moving F-15 fighter jets currently stationed in Great Falls to California. The Air Force has said they […]