Wednesday, March 30
Expanding rail service will create greater connectivity in Montana
For over a century, passenger rail has been part of Montana’s heritage, culture, and economy. It’s currently a lifeline for Hi-Line communities. And, without a doubt, it is part of Montana’s future.
T-Falls softball has deep pitching rotation
Good pitching and more good pitching are a fast pitch softball coaches dream.
Plains softball has high hopes
Hopes are running high that this year’s Plains High fast pitch softball team will be able to turn a blend of experience and youth into a winning product on the field.
Plains track banking on experience
A group of hard-working underclassmen is sparking hope the Plains High track and field team will grow and develop as the year goes by.
Youth to power St. Regis track and field
They are few in numbers but long in competitiveness.
T-Falls track teams ripe with potential
A good mix of experience and youth is being counted on this year to drive the Thompson Falls track and field teams throughout the 2022 season.
Superior track teams start up season
Host Beaverhead County piled up 101 points Saturday afternoon to win the girls team title at the Blue Devil Invitational track and field meet in Corvallis.
Thompson Falls boys second at Eureka track meet
It’s one of the rites of spring. As soon as the snow melts and often before it does, Montana high schoolers take to the running track, the jump pits and the weight throwing areas as track fever breaks out.
Norma L. McGuin
Norma L. McGuin
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Prom royalty in photos
Prom royalty in photos
Rough winter for semi wrecks on I-90
This has been a harsher winter with both snow accumulation and cold temperatures than the last few years. It has been especially noticeable when driving.
Hot Springs track has strong core
A solid core of experienced athletes will be counted on to lead the way for the Hot Springs High Savage Heat track and field team as the upcoming 2022 season is nearly at hand.
Heated exchanges at sewer board meeting
According to Webster’s New World dictionary, dysfunction (not to be confused with “dat-function”) is quite simply “abnormal or impaired functioning.”
Thompson Falls fundraiser to assist Ukrainians
If you, like many others around the world, have seen the many heart-wrenching images of the hardships thrust upon the people of Ukraine, and would like to do something from Montana, a man and a church in Thompson Falls have an excellent way to help.
Save all the pieces
“The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces,” advised wildlife biologist Aldo Leopold.
Q&A with Mineral County sheriff candidate Wayne Cashman
Q&A with Mineral County sheriff candidate Wayne Cashman
Vigil held for woman who went missing on river
March 22 marked eight months since Rebekah Barsotti went missing after seen on the Clark Fork River near mile marker 71 known as St. Johns that has a sandy beach enjoyed by many during the summer.
Legals for March, 30 2022
Spring burns planned on Lolo Forest
This spring, firefighters across the Lolo National Forest are preparing to conduct prescribed burning on days that maximize safety, minimize smoke impacts and restore healthy forest conditions and wildlife habitat.
Legals for March, 30 2022
Monday, March 28
I-90 road work to resume this month
The Montana Department of Transportation expects I-90 improvement work will resume the week of March 28 on the St. Regis West Project.
Wednesday, March 23
American Legion District 5 conference held in St. Regis
About 85 American Legionnaires and Axillary Legionnaires attended the District 5 Spring Conference at the St. Regis School Auditorium on Sunday, March 20.
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Decorated roadside signs can create hazards and will be removed
The American Legion Fatality Marker Program, formerly known as the White Cross Program, has operated under policies and procedures in place since 1952. Many of us grew up with the highway safety program and may have counted the “crosses” as we rode the bus to school.
Legals for March, 23 2022
Noxon High School track gears up for spring
As if an omen from above, the thick, moisture rich clouds parted revealing blue sky and piercing rays of Springs sunshine indicative of better weather days ahead.
Noxon's VanVleet signs with Tech
Good things, the saying goes, sometimes come in small packages. News flash — good things also often come in big packages.
Blue Hawks earn all-state honors
Good news and bad news for the Thompson Falls girls and boys basketball team.
Keep Montana Green regional contest winners
Creative slogans and colorful artwork illustrate the importance of wildfire prevention in the 2022 Keep Montana Green art contest.
Sanders County Justice Court
Sanders County Justice Court
Denise Nygaard
Denise Nygaard
Paradise sewer board discusses $53k bill
They’ve already dealt with a revolving door when it comes to membership on the board.
Thompson Falls organizing neighborhood watch program
Concerned citizens of Thompson Falls met Tuesday evening at the Black Bear ballroom to discuss ways to continue the efforts of organizing a neighborhood watch program.
Plains 4-H Communication Days crowns winners
Plains 4-H Communications Days Finals was a big success, thanks in part to the hard work all the 4-H volunteers did, with special thanks to Juli Thurston.
Hot Springs Fire offers training for drug overdoses
The Hot Springs Fire Department sponsored a public training session recently for identifying and administering emergency treatment of suspected opioid overdoses.
Plains students perform 'The Emperor’s New Clothes'
Local students, in conjunction with the Missoula Children’s Theatre and sponsored by the Plains Women’s Club, performed the play "The Emperor’s New Clothes" in the Plains school gym.
From chiropractor to potter
Following a successful career as a doctor of chiropractic spanning two decades, Cynthia Luce of Superior, is now using her hands in an entirely new way.
Superior BPA Dodgeball tournament
Superior BPA Dodgeball tournament
Q&A with Mineral County sheriff candidate Ryan Funke
Q&A with Mineral County sheriff candidate Ryan Funke.
Mission West roundtable sparks grand ideas
Every five years, stakeholders in Mineral, Sanders and Lake counties gather to redevelop an overall plan addressing the main issues the counties face together.
Monday, March 21
Boy dies in ATV crash in Lake County
An 11-year-old boy from Missoula died in Lake County on Sunday when an ATV he was driving rolled over.
Man dies in crash near Hot Springs
Speed and alcohol are suspected factors in a fatal single-vehicle crash near Hot Springs early Monday morning.
Wednesday, March 16
Support for Ukraine and democracy must be bipartisan
As I watched Russian troops march across the Ukrainian border in an unprovoked war that immediately made the world less safe for our kids and grandkids, I thought about the words of a World War I veteran from Great Falls named Mike Mansfield, spoken in the days after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939:
Superior students excited for European tour
One really can’t refer to them as "field trips" when the kids are flying seven time zones from home to Europe.
Jazz, funk and soul: Darby-Duffin to perform in Superior
"Do you know how to tell the difference between an extraordinary singer and one who is mediocre? The “ugly” face. You know, the kind that Patti (LaBelle) and Aretha (Franklin) make when nothing matters in the world except the love affair between the artist and the song. That is Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin."
Search and rescue teams look for missing woman in Alberton Gorge
Search and rescue teams from Wisconsin and Oregon under the umbrella of Wings of Hope will be scouring the Clark Fork River from the Alberton Gorge to the dam in Thompson Falls looking for Rebekah Barsotti who went missing last July. Big Eddy Fishing Access is one of their rendezvous locations but over the next month, they may be seen anywhere on the nearly 60 miles of river they will be searching.
New hangar for Mineral County Airport
Mineral County Airport is eligible each year for roughly $150,000 in FAA funding that comes from aviation fuel sales.
Pandemic takes toll on Girl Scout participation
Samoa’s, Tag-alongs, Do-si-dos, and Thin Mints. Everyone’s got a favorite, but America’s long loved cookies have been seeing supply decreases in recent years, coinciding with declining troop numbers for the Girl Scouts of America.
Sanders County poacher still wanted on bear-baiting charges
Montana wildlife officials say a man who writes a muzzleloader hunting blog remains wanted on several Sanders County warrants for allegedly killing a third black bear over bait in the state.
Paradise sewer board reviews new proposal
Programs at the door may be a wise expenditure as the battle for the Paradise sewer heats up amid leadership and money challenges for the beleaguered Sewer Board and its members.
Plains council discusses fees for fiber optics installation
Members of the Plains council met together Monday evening with the public filling all available seats.
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Gina Landa
Gina Landa died on Feb. 16, 2022 in Plains. She was born Aug. 9, 1936 in Cut Bank.
Harris Wiltzen
Harris Wiltzen
Thompson Falls students study ancient civilizations
Thompson Falls Elementary School teacher Jessica Lewis is teaching history to sixth-graders in unique ways.
Community Calendar
Community Calendar
American energy dominance makes the world safer
I have no doubt that we are all watching the the events unfold in Ukraine with heartbreak and horror.
Wild pig reports on the rise in Montana
Feral swine appear to be rooting up in Montana — and invasive species officials say they will be ramping up Big Sky’s “Squeal on Pigs!” campaign in the Flathead Valley and surrounding area.
Gianforte solicits applications for judicial vacancy in Lake and Sanders
Gov. Greg Gianforte is soliciting judicial applications for a newly vacated bench spot in the Twentieth Judicial District, which encompasses Lake and Sanders counties.
Northwest Montana snowpack holds steady
With its northwestern river basins still making par for snowpack by the start of March, natural resource officials say last month overall proved “disappointingly dry” elsewhere for Montana.
Lady Hawks cap successful season
"In tournaments anything can happen, and it usually does,” Thompson Falls girls basketball coach Chadd Laws said just days before his Lady Hawks traveled to Bozeman for the this past weekend’s State Class C basketball tournament.
Mountain lions likely trimmed island sheep herd to lowest number in decades
Three now-dead cougars that found their way onto Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island handily hunted down its bighorn sheep herd to as few as 35 of the prized Rocky Mountain ungulates.
Grab your gear; Spring Mack Days are nearly here
While winter struggles to hang on, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are preparing to launch the 40th Mack Days fishing event on Flathead Lake, which begins Thursday, March 17 and runs through May 15.
Gary Robert Sheehan
Gary Robert Sheehan
Legals for March, 16 2022
Wednesday, March 9
Trout Creek seventh-grader wins county bee
The Sanders County Spelling Bee took place at the Sanders County courthouse on Friday, March 4.
Nurse Sara Nestor earns hospital honor
Sara Nestor, RN and OB Coordinator at Clark Fork Valley Hospital said she was surprised and honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses at a reception that was held for her at the hospital in Plains on Feb. 23. Homemade cinnamon rolls were served to Nestor and her surprise guests of family members and co-workers.
John Dwight Day
There will be a memorial service March 12 at 1 p.m. for Mr. John Dwight Day who went to be with Jesus Feb. 17, 2022. The service will be held at the Plains Bible Chapel, 8 Combust Creek Road in Plains, and all members of the community are invited to come and celebrate the life of this amazing man.
I-90 rivals take the court for annual donkey basketball game
No one wanted to make an “ass” out of themselves. Except for the stars of the show who are used to such descriptions.
T-Falls girls ramp up for state tourney
One thing you can’t help but notice when entering the gym at Thompson Falls High School for a girls basketball game or practice.
Local standouts earn All-State honors
Let the accolades roll.
Fundraiser benefits Plains softball program
One of the great things about small-town living, most folks agree, is the generosity and hospitality that is often in abundance.
Building Community Through Adventure: St. Patrick's gathering supports new nonprofit
In the centuries following Saint Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture.
Locals gather along I-90 to support Freedom Convoy
“I’m here in support of the truckers, as well as for America,” said Frank Magee of DeBorgia. “After hearing [President] Biden’s [State of the Union] speech last night, we have to have solidarity and bring everybody together.”
St. Regis seventh-grader wins county spelling bee
On Feb.28, local students gathered at the St. Regis gymnasium to flex their letter arranging skills during the 2022 Mineral County Spelling Bee.
Dr. Seuss Day at Noxon Schools
Dr. Seuss Day at Noxon School.
Lloyd W. Austin
Lloyd W. Austin, 87, of Whitepine, passed away on Feb. 28, 2022.
Ann Marie Ebelt
Ann Marie Ebelt was born on April 18 1934. She passed away on Feb. 11, 2022.
Tuesday, March 8
Whitefish man sent to prison for fraud scheme
A Whitefish man who admitted to defrauding wealthy Whitefish businessman Michael Goguen out of millions of dollars was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday.
Wednesday, March 2
Bill Tompkins
Bill Tompkins
Lady Hawks earn No. 2 seed at state
It was only fitting and proper, one might say, that the two teams who met in the Western B Girls Divisional final were Bigfork and Thompson Falls.
William Reid Thomas
William Reid Thomas
Winter still hanging on in Western Montana
Winter still hanging on in Western Montana
Mineral County auto auction slated for Saturday
On Saturday, March 5 at 11 a.m. on the Mineral County Courthouse steps, there will be an auction of six vehicles, four of which are former patrol vehicles that were used until the new patrol units were purchased and placed into service last year.
Applications for Youth Conservation Corps due March 11
The Youth Conservation Corps is a summer employment program for young men and women ages 15 through 18, who work, learn and earn together for eight weeks on projects that help conserve the natural resources of the U.S.
The Lady Eclectic: Local artist launches online store
The development of online craft marketplaces like Etsy has served a unique role in establishing up-and-coming entrepreneurs, small businesses and artisans that otherwise wouldn’t have the means or opportunity to sell their one-of-a-kind creations.
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Mineral County Sheriff's Office logs
Hiawatha rail line to be part of federal study
Officials are confident that the long-defunct Amtrak line that once snaked through Montana’s southern tier en route to the West Coast will be part of a forthcoming federal study into discontinued intercity passenger rail lines — an important step in the mission to restore Amtrak service between the state’s most populous cities.
Legals for March, 2 2022
St. Regis just misses state berth
It's a long held, often mumbled under the breath complaint common to Western C Divisional basketball fans and coaches: the “tournament” is really about who’s going to finish second.
Lady Bobcats cap impressive season
Most coaches will agree the ideal situation during a basketball season is that the team gets better as the season goes on.
Thompson Falls boys finish 4th at divisional tourney
If the roller coaster ride ends with fans thinking it was worth the price of a ticket, most would call that a successful run.
Officials say hunting wolves from aircraft prohibited
Despite a recent interpretation of Montana state law that aerial hunting of wolves is not prohibited, doing so runs afoul of federal law.
Noxon High School National Honor Society
Noxon High School National Honor Society
Chaos and disrespect
Utter chaos and confusion is what engulfed the meeting room of the Republican Party when they met last week.
Snowplows get green light
As a result of legislation requested from the Montana Department of Transportation, House Bill 56 allowed the department to use alternate colored lights on their snowplows.
Thomas Basil Doyle
Thomas Basil Doyle
John Dwight Day
John Dwight Day
Ruth Ann Juris
Ruth Ann Juris
Tina Irene Hoover
Tina Irene Hoover
CSKT increases recreation fees, closes areas for tribal use only
Skyward recreation pressures have helped spawn a hike in camping and use fees — and a handful of public closures — on Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal lands.
CSKT secures $1B-plus allocation this year to settle water rights
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are set to receive more than $1 billion this year to settle water rights claims through the newly signed bipartisan infrastructure bill.
New quilt shop opens in Plains
A new store has opened up in Plains and the community of home quilters and crafters have kept business owner Melissa Compton very busy.
What to know about big horn sheep in Sanders County
Along the rocky ridges and the winding roads of Sanders County, locals are blessed to experience the beauty of the snowcapped peaks, the winding rivers and creeks and the chance to explore what is around the next bend in the road.
