A selection of the Beacon's best news, sports and feature images from the past year

Moments after a 26-year-old hockey novice’s proudest sporting moment materialized with a game-defining goal in Whitefish’s adult hockey league, he was on his knees saving the life of a 67-year-old local legend

Towering Whitefish tree once brought outsized Christmas joy to Viking Lodge

Highlighting the best Flathead Valley athletes from the fall sports seasons

Olympic skiing silver medalist Hilary Lindh takes the helm as Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation's head coach and program director at Whitefish Mountain Resort, following a successful career in downhill racing for the U.S. Ski Team

Local chef who learned about pies from grandmother shares a deep dish apple pie recipe

Having elected its first anti-abortion governor in 16 years, Montana has joined other states in passing laws to restrict abortion access while courts decide if they violate the Constitution

As local public school boards become ground zero for contentious battles over masking policies and teaching curriculum, some longtime leaders in education are leaving their communities

Bulldogs avoided overtime with a last minute goal by Gabe Menicke and last second penalty save by Will Peppmeier

For 25 years, Jason Robertson has been quietly pursuing the most challenging routes to Glacier National Park’s 234 listed summits, ascending many of them solo and in winter. Yet amid the bluster of ‘peak-braggers’ on social media, his unparalleled feats have largely flown under the radar.

Recent bequest of six paintings from private collection to the Hockaday includes a piece believed to be the final one the legendary artist completed

Rod McIver, a modern Johnny Appleseed, spends his days among the hundreds of apple trees he’s been cultivating for decades, searching for the perfect fruit to share with the world

The agricultural community is shrinking in the Flathead Valley as landowners sell to developers, impacting the farming culture and rural economy

Following the deaths by suicide of eight teenagers in 16 months, prevention leaders, educators and mental health experts seek solutions in the Flathead Valley

Prospects for bagging game in Northwest Montana are looking up as the season kicks off with more hunters heading afield