Avalanche closes I-90 for 27 hours

While skiers at Lookout Pass Ski Area were enjoying nearly 50 inches of new snow last week, emergency crews were kept busy dealing with a series of avalanches along Interstate 90. The first two snow slides occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 13 — both in the westbound lanes. One was a mile east of the Montana/Idaho border and the other was at Mile Marker 33.5 around 2:40 p.m. By 4:30 p.m., Interstate 90 was closed at St. Regis, which stranded hundreds of vehicles.

Pickup struck my BNSF train west of Cyr Exit off I-90

A pickup truck was struck by a train just west of the Cyr Exit on Tuesday morning, Feb. 19. The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. at the railroad crossing off Daigle Lane. An unidentified male was driving a white pickup truck when he was struck dead center and dragged a half a mile down the tracks by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotive.

Seniors say goodbye to home court

St. Regis held Senior Night last Saturday to honor athletes and parents for their dedication to school sports. One senior from the boys team and three girls shared the honor on the court in between the varsity girls and boys basketball game against Lincoln. Where Lincoln seniors also received balloons from St. Regis.

Hot Springs put the heat on Horsemen, Devils

What is the hottest basketball team in Sanders County right now? It would be hard to argue that the Hot Springs boys have raised the temperature of their recent games. They are coming off a 2-0 weekend with impressive victories over county rivals Plains and Noxon.

Superior Junior High School demolished

It only took three days to tear down the aging Superior Junior High building located across the road from the Mineral County Fair Grounds. The demolition started on Tuesday, Jan. 29 and was completely gone and hauled away by Thursday.

Housing shortage continues to plague Mineral County

There was an open house in Superior at Maple Street Cottages last week. The two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath rental units are available for seniors who are 62 years of age and older, and are on a fixed income. The hallway that leads from the front sitting room and kitchen are wide enough for wheelchairs and the shower is equipped for handicapped individuals. “We call these ‘aging in place’ units,” said Jim Morton with the Human Resource Council and he oversees programs in Mineral, Missoula and Ravalli counties.

Modern medical rarity: Ronan teen contracts tetanus

Following what was initially a mysterious illness, one Ronan High School student is in the hospital due to a tetanus infection.

Robin Alexander

Robin Alexander, born to Jerald and Joyce Alexander on March 7, 1958, passed away in St. Pat’s Hospital, Missoula, Mont., on Jan. 27, 2019.

Cyr power outages due to faulty cable

Residents in the Cyr and Tarkio area near Alberton had been experiencing several power outages last weekend and early into the curerent week.

Battle over Cyr Road closure continues

Diane Magone has continued to pound the drum at a steady pace regarding the nearly 6-year-old closure of the Cyr Iron Mountain Road. During the January Mineral County Resource Coalition meeting, she once again was on the agenda to keep the coalition members up to date on what is happening with its public access.

Four Sanders County wrestlers titlists at Ted Kato Invite

Plains/Hot Springs fourth, T-Falls/Noxon fifth at 10-team tournament

A quartet of Sanders County wrestlers won individual titles at the 10-team annual Ted Kato Invitational held last Saturday at Thompson Falls High School.

RMEF marks growth

MISSOULA — Chalk it up as the 10th year in a row that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation registered record membership.

Farm and Ranch Management Workshop Feb. 12-13 in Plains

Plains will be the site of a Farm and Ranch Management Workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 12 and 13 in the 4-H Pavilion at the Sanders County Fairgrounds.

County hoop teams in action; Kovalsky, Green tourney titlists

Clark Fork played Thompson Falls last Friday, Jan. 18 in Superior. In the girls’ game, Thompson Falls beat the Lady Cats, 47-32. Sophia Krutilla paced Clark Fork with eight points. Megan Baxter had 20 and Jody Detlaff 18 for the Lady Hawks.

Sewer pipe breaks in Clark Fork River near St. Regis

A sewage pipe which crosses the Clark Fork River in St. Regis sprung a leak on Thursday, Jan. 10. Members of the St. Regis Sewer District immediately shut off the line with minimal spillage into the river. Chairman of the St. Regis Sewer District, Jerry Jones, said they acted as soon as they saw the pressure drop in the line and all responsible parties were notified immediately including the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Fish and Game; and the Montana Corps. Of Engineers.

MDT seeks comments on project near Trout Creek

TROUT CREEK — The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) would like to notify the public and seek comments on a proposal to resurface about 16.8 miles of Montana Highway 200 (MT-200) southeast of Trout Creek in Sanders County.

Historic Black Bear Inn awakens

“The Bear is coming out of hibernation,” says Daniel Mohr, owner of the National Historic Registry-listed Black Bear Inn in Thompson Falls.

Clark Fork, St. Regis athletes have busy week

Lady Tigers drop home game to Hot Springs

Superior senior hits the bull's-eye

Ever since grade school, Jonna Rae Warnken has had her eye on targets, both figuratively and as a fact of life. Now eight years later, she’s hit a big bulls-eye as she signed a letter to shoot for the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) division one team. Jonna is a senior at Superior High School and shooting for a college team has been her goal since she was nine-years-old. Now at 17, her dreams are coming true, “I’m so fortunate to have received a scholarship,” she said during an interview with the Mineral Independent. Her overall goal is to shoot for UTEP as All American for four years and to help get her team to the NCAA Championships.

CF wrestlers busy at Ronan Duals; Lady Cats top Victor

The 50th annual Dave Edington Western Montana Duals were held in Ronan on Jan. 4 and 5 where wrestlers from 19 teams participated, including the Clark Fork Mountain Cats (CF), Plains/Hot Springs, Polson, Corvallis, Glacier, Columbia Falls, Hamilton, Stevensville, Frenchtown and Townsend.