Ellington

Sonja “Marie” Kutch Fehrs Knerr, 84

Sonja “Marie” Kutch Fehrs Knerr, 84

Legals for September, 27 2023

Plains spikers sweep Darby

Sometimes, even if you are not successful to the full extent or your efforts and hopes, you still have to step back as an athlete and say “wow, what a game.”

Thousands race at Mountain West Classic

As cross country events go, this is second only perhaps to the Montana state championships.

Alberton volleyball falls in thriller with Lincoln

This Alberton volleyball team is making some waves as the season progresses.

St. Regis-Mullan co-op holds off Clark Fork, 20-12

Winning ain’t always pretty, but it’s spelled the same and it starts with a “W”.

Lady Bobcats volleyball looking for first win

Graduation was not good to the Superior Lady Bobcats volleyball team.

Bobcats fall to Arlee in Class B action

Moving up to Class B has proven to be a challenge for the Superior Bobcats football team, who were already challenged by some big losses through graduation last spring.

Hot Springs gets big wins at home

Six sets of volleyball equaled two match sweeps for the Hot Springs Lady Heat this past weekend.

Lady Hawks stay undefeated in conference action

Part of competing for a championship, coaches will tell you, is you need to win the games you are expected to win.

Plains girls place third at Thompson Falls Invite

On what was near ideal conditions, several hundred cross country runners converged on the Rivers’ Bend Golf Course for the annual Thompson Falls Invitational meet last week, with men’s and women’s teams from Columbia Falls taking home both team titles.

Depleted Panthers battle at White Sulphur Springs

As has been the norm when it comes to Alberton football this year, they were down to six players at one point in their game against 6-player conference foe White Sulphur Springs.

Hawks shut out Anaconda for homecoming win

Thompson Falls senior Max Hannum had a weekend fit for a king.

COLUMN: Amazing Alberton Panthers

It felt like I just watched a classic John Wayne movie, where he fights to the bitter end and is remembered as a hero.

PHOTO: Hot Springs homecoming royalty

PHOTO: Hot Springs homecoming royalty

PHOTOS: Thompson Falls homecoming parade and royalty

PHOTOS: Thompson Falls homecoming parade and royalty

Locals snag prize fish in Fall Mack Days

2023 Fall Mack Days anglers enjoyed the second good fishing weekend of the event on Flathead Lake.

PHOTO: Superior High School homecoming royalty

PHOTO: Superior High School homecoming royalty

Spotlight on the Arts: Alex Horodyski

Spotlight on the Arts by The Paradise Center honors and encourages students in the arts by highlighting their talent and acknowledging the support they receive through their schools and teachers.

Mineral County Public Library hosts Montana poet laureates

First of all, what exactly is a Poet Laureate, and what journey was taken to receive this esteemed honor?

Bridge work west of Alberton to begin this fall

The Montana Department of Transportation and Frontier West will be rehabilitating the westbound bridge that carries I-90 over the Clark Fork River, 8 miles west of Alberton.

Singer Ken Lavigne performs in Superior Oct. 7

Mineral County Performing Arts Council was formed in 2007 and sponsored a set of informal concerts, to immediate public enthusiasm.

New Alberton subdivision bustles with construction

Unless you’ve driven through Alberton lately, you are missing a housing boom on the east side of town that is only partially visible from I-90.

Community garden harvest party in St. Regis

As the days get shorter and temperatures begin to drop, the end of summer gives way to fall, the start of harvest time.

Tulloch leads Plains at Mission Invite

For local high school cross country runners, the recent Mission Invitational meet in St. Ignatius was a chance for the concept of quality over quantity to shine.

Mineral County to take part in grizzly bear project

The grizzly bear project description reads as such: The service will develop an Environmental Impact Statement that considers a reasonable range of alternatives that can accomplish the purpose and need of restoring grizzly bears to the Bitterroot ecosystem.

Longtime Superior barber hangs up her shears

For nearly 50 years, Becky Magone has been cutting hair. Her husband, Dale, cut hair with her for many years and they will have been married 48 years this November.

Project submission deadline looms for Resource Advisory Committee

The Mineral County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) of the Lolo National Forest works collaboratively to improve working relationships among community members and national forest employees.

Local veteran uses art to support Israeli veterans

A Navy veteran hailing from Sanders County has found a unique way to honor and support Israeli veterans through the power of art. David Williams, who served several years in the U.S. Navy, has embarked on a heartfelt mission to create artwork for veterans in Israel, forging a bond of camaraderie across borders.

Senate candidate Sheehy makes campaign stop in Mineral County

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy met with a couple dozen Mineral County residents in Durango’s on Monday. Sheehy is running to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. The Belgrade resident is a former Navy SEAL who owns the aerial firefighting company Bridger Aerospace. He told attendees that he decided to run for the Senate seat following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)

Superior celebrates Homecoming week

Superior celebrates Homecoming week

Fair Board gets earful of complaints

The Sanders County Fair Board took note of numerous complaints about this year’s event during their monthly meeting last Wednesday evening, among them the cost of carnival rides and a lack of maintenance at the fairgrounds.

Billings law firm seeks answer to how River Road East Fire started

Billings firm AVA Law Group organized an informal meeting last week in Paradise to discuss the impacts of this summer's River Road East Fire.

Plains fall cleanup day a success

Bright and early Saturday morning, volunteers from Plains and the surrounding area met at the Pool Park for the first fall Plains Cleanup Day.

Community Calendar

9/23 The 2nd annual Clark Fork River Clean Up. 10:00 am, Sanders County Fairgrounds in Plains. Info: Eastern Sanders County Conservation District, (406) 830-8687, easternsanderscd@macdnet.org

Zinke's fight against drugs

Zinke's fight against drugs

Clearwater Montana Properties makes $13k donation

Giving back to the community is a very real and active concept in Montana.

COLUMN: What's poppin?

It has become a tradition with me and I guess I’m hooked.

Horsemen thrash Troy for first win in 2 seasons

It was coming and anyone who is a football fan knew it would.

Hawks fall on road at Boulder

Sometimes you run into a team on a roll and a team with a history of football success.

Hot Springs rack up two more wins

It was a good, if not a dominating week for Hot Springs’ six-player football team.

Valley Christian spoils Superior homecoming

It was a classic confrontation between two Class B heavyweights as Superior entertained Valley Christian this past Friday night on Homecoming night in Superior.

Noxon stumbles against West Yellowstone

It was, to say the least, a big game in this year’s Western 6-player conference football action.

Lady Hawks sweep rival Plains

It was a good week for the Thompson Falls volleyballers, who split a pair of games, sweeping one and going five sets in the other before falling after an extremely hard fought match.

St. Regis-Mullan squad off to strong start

Perfect sounds pretty good. One might say it even sounds perfect.

Lady Savage Heat edge Alberton

It was a hard fought week of volleyball for the young and improving Hot Springs volleyball team.

Superior volleyball looks to find footing

It was not a good week for the young Superior volleyball team as they dropped a pair of games to St. Ignatius, 3-0 Thursday at home, then were swept by Seeley 3-0 on the road.

St. Regis sweeps Two Eagle River

In the wacky world that is the Western 14C volleyball conference life is, as has been said, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

Legals for September, 20 2023

Montana working on vaccine for fentanyl, heroin overdose

A vaccine to prevent overdosing on fentanyl and one for heroin are in the works at the University of Montana and partner institutions.

Trotters volleyball sweeps Lady Bobcats

Winning on the road is never easy, they say. By that way of thinking the Plains Trotters volleyball crew had a decent week.

Display raises awareness of veteran suicides

The scars of the battlefield are often readily recognizable and visible. Sometimes they are not.

Grant helps 4-H club with cooler purchase

Thanks to the generosity of an organization that helps farmers and ranchers with financial matters, the Sanders County 4-H club will gain a new cooler for their fairgrounds pavilion.

New subdivisions, city well and decay ordinance top council agenda

September’s Plains Town Council meeting convened Tuesday evening with a full agenda, covering items from new subdivisions to the controversial decay ordinance.

Support needed to restore Plains horse sculptures

Retired contractor Dick Blizzard attended the September town council meeting and addressed his concerns about saving the remaining horse sculptures along the Montana 200 greenway.

William (Bill) Newman

William (Bill) Newman

COLUMN: Put some respect on the harriers

In some ways, cross country runners are the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the sports world.

Lady Panthers volleyball tops St. Regis, 3-1

The Alberton Lady Panthers are on the prowl in Western 14C volleyball.

Injuries deplete Alberton football roster

It was a week like no other for Alberton football.

Plains freshman runner Marina Tulloch finishes in top-5

Plains boys and girls cross country teams are continuing to grow a young program on the rise.

T-Falls posts fast times at Canal Run

On a day that was seemingly crafted for cross country running, harriers from both the men’s and women’s Thompson Falls High teams turned in solid performances.

Lady Hawks ready to soar as season takes off

After a bit of a bump in the volleyball road, the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks had a week that showed the young team is getting ready to take flight.

Manhattan gets best of Hawks

It was a match up between two physically fit teams who look like they are no strangers to the weight room.

Noxon netters top rival Troy

In the ultra-competitive thing called the Western 14C volleyball conference, winning two out of three is a good thing.

Hot Springs upsets tough Seeley squad

If this keeps up the rest of the Montana High School volleyball season, surprises will be so common we won’t be able to call them “surprises” any more.

Plains falls to Park City on neutral turf

When two evenly matched teams meet on the football field, the winner is often determined by who makes the fewest mistakes.

Legals for September, 13 2023

Freedom Fest at Alberton Orchards

Freedom Fest was held last weekend at the Alberton Orchards celebrating the Constitution and freedom with non-partisan residents of Mineral County.

Pool in the Park makes fundraising push

The old saying goes, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." A colossal task was recognized by the Pool in the Park Committee (PIP) when they banded together a few years ago.

Meeting to discuss state fishery management plan

A tremendous amount of attention has been zeroed in on the fisheries in Montana as some areas are experiencing diseased fish, others have been overtaken by non-native species and overall, the native populations appear to be declining.

County encourages residents to enroll in Smart 911

Last year using Covid money, then Mineral County Sheriff Mike Toth purchased Smart 911 (aka Reverse 911) and residents were urged to enroll.

Community Calendar

Community Calendar

Superior woman reflects on a century of life

Nyla Prosser, of Superior, is known for having a melodious singing voice, her even sweeter disposition, and an ever-ready willingness to help others.

Olympic javelin thrower Todd Riech inducted into Fresno Hall of Fame

He is arguably the best athlete ever from Hot Springs.

Superior football back on track with win over Horsemen

Good coaches in any sport know when to brush off a defeat and when to light the proverbial fire under their team that lost a game they could have won.

Noxon romps over Twin Bridges, 38-6

There’s something brewing in Noxon and it could be terrifying to a lot of six-player high school football teams in Montana.

Plains harriers in the mix at stacked Flathead Invite

In a sea of big fish, Plains at least had some fish in the ocean.

Plains Trotters fall to Loyloa, 3-1

This was quite possibly a match up of two of the best teams in the Western B volleyball conference this year.

Deer Lodge locks down Superior volleyball

The Lady Wardens closed the door and locked em up Thursday night during a high school volleyball game in Superior.

Janice Drye

Janice Drye

Lady Hawks take two tough losses

The not so good news, it was a tough week for the young Thompson Falls Lady Hawks volleyball team.

St. Regis topples Hot Springs 3-1

After the first game of this unofficial rivalry clash, it looked like it was going to be one of those matches.

Lady Devils netters roar back against Troy

At first it looked like the home-standing Troy Lady Trojans were going to hold serve.

COLUMN: Dig, set, spike

As anyone who knows me can tell you, sports are a big part of my goofy life!

Town Pump plans new store and casino in Thompson Falls

One of the largest and most iconic businesses in Montana is set to become bigger and more iconic in Thompson Falls.

Impressive entries at Sanders County Fair

Sanders County Fair judges had their work cut out for them this year with the many outstanding entries.

Hunters have many choices for game processing

With archery season starting and the general rifle season opening day on Saturday, Oct. 21, for so many people, the best season of the year is almost here.

Cedar Creek history tour in photos

Cedar Creek Tour photos

Mouth of Swamp Project takes shape

The good news is that people genuinely enjoy the site. They enjoy it so much that it is now time for the Forest Service to step in and make the location much safer and accessible for the public to use.

Legals for September, 6 2023

Richard 'Rich Minch

Richard 'Rich Minch

Joliet nips Blue Hawks in football thriller

Football is sometimes not for the faint of heart.

Man jailed after two killed in Superior bar shooting

Kraig Benson is alleged to have shot two Superior residents, 49-year-old Jennifer Savage Benson and 43-year-old Logan Gardner, before fleeing.