Greetings, Beacon nation! The Flathead Valley’s opening salvo to summer certainly delivered on its perennial promise of gardening and grilling, baseball and boating, croquet and campouts. But as we enter the final leg of a season that tends to get extra crispy right about now, we’re chasing precipitation totals that, at 1.63 inches, amounted to the most rain the region has recorded in July in more than 25 years. Building on that wetness, the first three days of August dropped nearly a half inch of rain in the Flathead, prompting the temporary closure on Friday of the Highline Trail along Glacier National Park’s Garden Wall due to extreme weather. But even if we’ve been treated to far more thunderheads than smoke plumes this summer, and even if we’ve survived the crucible of the Fourth of July and the stampede of music and arts festivals that followed, summertime in the Flathead Valley is still building to full froth, which means it’s almost time for … the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo.

Fortunately for fairgoers, the timing of this year’s event couldn’t be better as Flathead County prepares to unveil a brand new complex of bleachers located north of the covered grandstand. The completion of the $600,000 North Bleacher Replacement Project signals a major milestone for the local fairgrounds, according to county officials.

“For 122 years, the Flathead County Fairgrounds has served as a pivotal center for education, social activities, recreation, and commerce for residents of Flathead County and its neighbors,” according to Flathead County Fairgrounds Manager Sam Nunnally, who over the past decade said he’d come to recognize that the bleachers were visibly worn and, approaching their own centennial, in need of replacement.

It was during the initial phase of the project to replace the north bleachers that the extent of the grandstand deterioration came to light.

In February 2024, Flathead County launched an effort to design and build a new seating structure — complete with concessions and additional amenities — to replace the north bleachers adjacent to the larger covered grandstand. The following May, county officials announced the closure of the covered grandstand and the north bleachers after a preliminary safety inspection revealed significant deterioration of the wooden framing and beams. The 16,000-square-foot covered grandstands required immediate repairs to bring them into safety compliance, costing $15,485, while the project to demolish and rebuild the north bleachers got underway in earnest earlier this year. Although the closures impacted last year’s Flathead County fair proceedings, and forced the temporary relocation of the region’s signature Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competition in May, the covered grandstands received high marks in subsequent safety inspections.

On Tuesday, Aug. 5, Flathead County will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at the fairgrounds, located at 265 North Meridian Road, featuring remarks from Nunnally and Commissioner Pam Holmquist.

I’m Tristan Scott, here to deliver the rest of your Daily Roundup.

What You Can Buy for About $500,000: In Romy Caro’s latest real estate roundup, she features a Bigfork home on a private 0.81-acre lot; a split-level residence with an open floor plan in Kalispell; and a charming property nestled in the heart of Whitefish. See all the listings here.