Herberger's: A downtown anchor

The expansion of Herberger’s, which is being celebrated today with a grand opening, is a vote of confidence in downtown Kalispell.

The department store, which has been a tenant of Kalispell Center Mall since it was built in the 1980s, has been a key player in the downtown for years and has actually talked about expanding to meet the needs of customers since the mid-1990s. A Flathead Business Journal story from 1997 said that Herberger’s was negotiating to increase its space in 1998, but there were powerful reasons not to risk an expansion. For one thing, the railroad tracks north of the mall and Herberger’s had been an impediment to growth downtown for years, but now, thanks to the concerted work of literally generations of Kalispell civic leaders, the tracks will soon be removed and a neighborhood renaissance is expected to follow.

Herberger’s is a true leader for the Kalispell economy. We are grateful to them for remaining downtown to the benefit of the mall and other downtown businesses, and we wish them every success in their expansion.

Celebrate the store’s expansion at a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m. this morning.

The Flathead High School marching band will perform for guests and lead customers into the store following the ribbon-cutting, and the first 500 customers will receive a special free gift.

For more information about the grand re-opening celebration and a detailed list of events and in-store activities this week, visit www.herbergers.com/Kalispell.

Kudos to Sparrow’s Nest

Estevon Torres is now a Montana State University freshman with a bright future ahead of him, and Sparrow’s Nest played a big role in getting this young man off and running.

We’re fortunate to have a nonprofit organization like Sparrow’s Nest in the Flathead Valley, providing safe housing and a supportive environment to unaccompanied, homeless high-school students. By offering shelter, Torres said he was able to focus on his school work. The Columbia Falls youth struggled when his father died a few years ago. He chose to stay in his hometown and finish high school when his mother opted to relocate, but lodging arrangements made with one of his friend’s families didn’t work out. Torres said without Sparrow’s Nest it’s doubtful he would have graduated from high school.

There are sure to be many more success stories from students who have found stability and regained self-confidence simply by having a safe place to live. Kudos to all of the people who made Sparrow’s Nest a reality.