O’Brien Byrd will find himself in an odd situation on July 1. The longtime Whitefish High School boys head soccer coach will return to his roots and coach the Columbia Falls alumni team in the first annual North Valley Cup in Whitefish. Twenty years of soccer tradition will converge at Grouse Mountain Field when former […]

BILLINGS – Congressman Denny Rehberg sailed past token opposition to claim the Republican U.S Senate nomination in Montana Tuesday. He now turns his focus to the general election battle against incumbent Democrat Jon Tester. In the presidential primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept to an easy victory in the Treasure State, further cementing his […]

HELENA – Former congressman Rick Hill has won Montana’s Republican nomination for governor and will face Democrat Steve Bullock in the general election. Hill topped state Sens. Corey Stapleton of Billings, Ken Miller of Laurel and Choteau County Commissioner James O’Hara. With 35 percent of the projected vote counted, Hill led Stapleton 35-18 percent. Miller […]

HELENA – State Sen. Kim Gillan of Billings prevailed in Tuesday’s crowded Democratic congressional primary and will face Bozeman businessman Steve Daines in Montana’s general election. With 74 percent of the projected vote counted, Gillan led state Rep. Franke Wilmer of Bozeman 31-19 percent. Whitefish businesswoman Diane Smith had 16 percent and Missoula City Councilman […]

The race for Flathead County Commission District 3 came down to the wire, as Gary Krueger and Gerald “Jay” Scott ran within 1 percent of each other throughout the night. With all precincts reporting, Krueger led the Republican nomination by 15 votes over Scott, with a final tally of 3,636 to 3,621. It is undetermined […]

Throughout the last four years at Flathead High School, Natalie Griffin dreamed of attending Wheaton College, an out-of-state private school where she could study to become a doctor. She took honors classes, almost earned a perfect grade-point average and applied for numerous scholarships. After years of hard work, an acceptance letter with financial aid arrived […]

BILLINGS — Helena attorney Pam Bucy emerged as the winner in the Democratic primary for Montana attorney general on Wednesday, managing a slim victory over former state lawmaker Jesse Laslovich. Bucy now faces Republican Tim Fox, an attorney, in November. The closely-watched Democratic contest remained in doubt long after the polls closed Tuesday night. With […]

HELENA — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Republican challenger Denny Rehberg are starting off their hot election battle with two quick debates. Tester, the Democrat, confirmed Wednesday he will debate Rehberg June 16 at the Montana Newspaper Association convention in Big Sky. The announcement comes a day after Rehberg easily cleared his GOP primary, as […]

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.” We can’t know for certain who was the wise one who first put beer and fishing together. I’d like take credit for it if I could, […]

Monday 6/4 9:52 a.m. A Whitefish man claimed that he had been threatened by an unwelcome visitor. 9:54 a.m. A man called in to report that a drill bit fell out of his vehicle on Conrad Drive. According to an eyewitness, a thief found it and stole it. 11:33 a.m. According to one resident on […]

COLUMBIA FALLS – Paul McKenzie stood near a doorway at F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Company’s sawmill and offered an observation. “It doesn’t look like much from the outside,” McKenzie said, “but inside it’s really state of the art.” For an outsider, a tour through Stoltze’s sawmill is revealing if not surprising. Computer monitors display […]

Last week, I got to do one of my favorite things: Road Trip, to one of my favorite parts of Montana. The weather was, um, sideways. Going east, I set a personal best for fuel mileage. The wind was blowing so hard, the grass was whipping, not waving. It wasn’t long before I relearned three […]

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness on June 14. The event will take place at the Mission Dam Recreation Area near St. Ignatius from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guest speakers have been invited and a light lunch will be served and all are […]

Kheri Bilal, a bartender at The Raven in Woods Bay and Whistling Andy Distillery in Bigfork, has been described as the embodiment of fun and good times. But last weekend, Bilal and his wife, Valentina, were celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary in Cabo San Lucas when Bilal slipped and fell from a balcony. He incurred […]

BUTTE — Pistol shooter Nick Mowrer of Butte has earned a spot on the U.S. shooting team competing in the 2012 Olympics in London this summer. The Montana Standard reports the 2007 Butte High graduate finished second in the Olympic Trials for 50-meter free pistol on Saturday in Fort Benning, Ga. Mowrer edged out 2008 […]