Middle America knows it is getting squeezed. A decade after the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act, greedy Wall Street firms made too many irresponsible bets that collapsed the housing market, sending unemployment skyrocketing. Plenty of politicians insist that government should not create jobs by spending public money to fix bridges, hire teachers, rebuild roads, […]

What Whitefish city officials know is that they will have millions of tax increment finance dollars available for infrastructure projects in the coming years. What they don’t know is exactly how to spend those millions. And at the heart of that question, especially in recent months, is how much can and should be divvied out […]

It’s never too early to start talking basketball. The first practices are still more than three weeks away but I’m already excited for this upcoming prep season. As usual, there appears to be a lot of great storylines involving our local teams. A cool website was brought to my attention recently called FiveStarBasketball.com. The site […]

BUTTE — State Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say Montana hunters have killed 44 wolves, including 33 since the Oct. 22 start of the statewide deer and elk rifle season. Montana’s first wolf hunt, held in 2009, netted 73 wolves. This year’s quota is 220. FWP Region 2 wildlife manager Mike Thompson tells The Montana […]

MISSOULA — The sister of a veteran Whitefish skydiver who suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries when he crashed outside Washington Grizzly Stadium before a Montana football game says he faces several operations. But many people are calling 53-year-old Blaine Wright courageous because when he realized he was not going to make it to […]

Just when hope had started to fade and the season seemed lost, that Bigfork magic returned. The defending champs are not done yet. Led by senior running back Cody Dopps, the fourth-ranked Vikings rallied in the second half from 20 points down to stun Florence 35-26 in the first round of the Class B playoffs […]

The Somers Post Office recently turned 110 years old, and a group of citizens celebrated the event with a special emphasis on promoting the town’s history. The Somers Company Town Project is an effort by Flathead Valley residents interested in historic preservation activities. In honor of the post office’s anniversary, the SCTP commissioned a stamp, […]

A man accused of kidnapping charges stemming from a New Year’s Eve standoff with Kalispell police changed his plea last week. Thomas Mulligan, 36, was charged with felony kidnapping and criminal endangerment after his arrest last December. Mulligan originally pleaded not guilty, but entered a guilty plea by way of Alford plea in Flathead District […]

BILLINGS – A central Montana precious metals mine was under a partial closure order Tuesday as authorities investigated the death of a worker who crashed while driving a piece of equipment 1,200 feet underground. The victim was identified by Stillwater Mining Company as Dale Alan Madson, 42, a lead equipment operator who lived in Bearcreek […]

HELENA – A judge allowed a lawsuit filed by Montana against oil giant BP to go ahead but cautioned the state has a long way to go to prove its claims that the company committed fraud in collecting money to clean up spills from leaky storage tanks beneath its service stations. Montana has accused the […]

Thursday 10/27 11:34 a.m. A man on Shady Lane has been accused of using an elderly woman’s money for purposes other than paying her bills. 11:55 a.m. A Kalipell man believes he’s being poisoned by devious criminals. 1:12 p.m. A Kalispell woman called a local bar numerous times to complain that she was too weak […]

It’s a rare opportunity to end the season with a victory. But the Whitefish boys soccer team did just that last weekend, winning the Class A boys state championship. Sam Donaldson, the state’s leading scorer, and Sean Janni each had a goal and assist and the Bulldogs shut out Polson 3-0 at Smith Fields to […]

MISSOULA — The season premiere of “America’s Most Wanted” brought in more than a dozen tips on Montana fugitive David Burgert, including six that officers in Missoula County consider “very interesting.” Saturday’s two-hour episode highlighted the most dangerous fugitives in each of the 50 states, beginning with Burgert, a former militia leader who has been […]

The body of a 47-year-old Kalispell woman was found in an abandoned building west of town on Oct. 30. According to a statement from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a report of a deceased person on Oct. 30 at 11:19 a.m. Responding deputies located the body and identified the deceased as Cynthia Buck. […]

HELENA — Groups seeking to undo many of Montana’s restrictions on political donations and spending want to “inject unlimited amounts of money into Montana’s state and local elections,” the state’s Democratic attorney general said in a court filing. Hoping to beat back the most expansive of several lawsuits attacking Montana campaign finance laws, Steve Bullock […]