For good reason, generations of Americans have called Montana “high, wide and handsome.” Our accessible public lands, big skies and clean water make our state a world-famous place to play. And that’s what makes it one of the best places on Earth to do business. That’s our shared belief at Business for Montana’s Outdoors: that […]

Lake Koocanusa is a large lake over 70 miles long, stretching from near Libby past Eureka to the north into Canada. It is a beautiful lake with much promise, but currently it seems to be a failed fishery forgotten by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. There are primarily three type fish in Koocanusa. There’s […]

Over 50 years ago I heard that our great country was divided by “Us” versus “Them.” At that time Us was 90 percent and Them was 10 percent. About 20 years ago it shifted to where Us was 95 percent and Them was 5 percent. In the past year or two it has become Us […]

When I’m on the road, I always take a look at tourism brochure racks. Take a look at this rack in the Havre Amtrak station. Click to view the entire image or see flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/tourismbrochurerack.jpg. It’s a typical floor-standing tourism brochure rack that you might see around your town or at the local chamber of commerce […]

By John Fuller The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is being criticized for implying that he would invoke the “Hastert Rule” before allowing a vote on the universal illegal-immigrant amnesty bill that Democrats are so anxious to pass. The Hastert Rule, named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert, requires that a “majority of the […]

Montana is ready, able, and eager to accept the challenges put forth by President Barack Obama in his recent speech at Georgetown University in which he announced aggressive new standards and goals for the reform and renewal of America’s energy production and consumption. Montana and states throughout the Rockies now have enormous opportunities to dramatically […]

Eighty-six-hundred bucks! That was the news a couple weeks ago, that fully 24 percent of Flathead County’s per capita income of $35,546 is thanks to 1.3 million acres of “protected public lands” – Glacier National Park and the wildernesses. Yay! We CAN eat the scenery! Um, where’s my check? This was all according to a […]

What did you learn from – and change in your business – after Amazon launched Amazon Prime? If you aren’t aware, Amazon Prime is a membership-based service that provides access to Amazon video-on-demand and free Kindle books from the Kindle lending library – but more importantly, it upgrades all purchases to from regular ground shipping […]

Congressman Steve Daines, I would like to thank you for your support of the North Fork Watershed Protection Act. As a Flathead Valley resident, I am encouraged by your bipartisan support of a bill that protects wildlife and our outdoor oriented way of life. This shows me that you are committed to acting in the […]

There’s nothing better than summer in Montana. Sweet Flathead cherries, fresh bread baked with Montana wheat, huckleberries and bison burgers on the grill. In Montana, we share our bounty. The main reason Montanans lock their doors in the summer? So their neighbors won’t drop off another bushel of zucchini or rhubarb. But for the one […]

By John Fuller As Congress debates the subject of what to do about more than 11 million foreign invaders (undocumented immigrants), the word reform is in the air. In this case, the synonym for reform is amnesty. No matter what anyone says, if a new immigration law is passed, it will include amnesty for millions […]

The Flathead Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited has long been committed to protecting the Flathead River system, one of the last best strongholds for native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. While the North Fork of the Flathead river corridor is protected by the Wild and Scenic river designation, the eastern tributaries and uplands are […]

The revelation that the National Security Agency has been gathering our private data is like a fantastical movie made believable. Remember “Mercury Rising,” “Enemy of the State” or the Bruce Willis action flick “Live Free or Die Hard?” Those were exciting, except I scoffed at the overall premises. My bad. We now know that programs […]

The price of a gallon of milk or a pound of sugar hinges on policies Congress enacts this summer in the five-year Farm Bill. The Senate passed its Farm Bill 66-27 with seven members choosing not to vote. Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester voted for the bill. Tea Party senators like Ted Cruz, […]

Have you ever received a new-customers-only offer from someone that you already do business with? In particular – Have you received one and found that the “new customer deal” in the ad is better than what you’re paying? As an existing customer of that business, how does that make you feel? To me, it devalues […]