News
Stay current with top stories from Northwest Montana, including local government updates, education news, community issues, public safety, environmental reports, and regional developments.
Kalispell Middle School teacher wins History Teacher of the Year Award
All the work tanning hides, building log cabins, panning for gold and garnets, grinding wheat and churning butter,…
Whitefish establishes new buffering regulations for marijuana dispensaries
Whitefish City Council voted unanimously last week to adopt amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance regarding marijuana dispensaries.
Law roundup: What lies beneath, onlooker ponders
Spotting a woman covering herself in a blanket, an onlooker wondered what might be beneath the fabric.
County considers Lower Valley property again for septage plant
Flathead County is reconsidering a previously rejected Lower Valley property as the potential location for a regional septage treatment facility.
West Valley School Board appoints interim superintendent amid turmoil
Elementary Principal Richard Gross will serve as the 2023-24 interim superintendent of West Valley School District, pending approval of a contract, following a rift between administrators and members of the school …
City OK’s Boys and Girls Club project, RAISE project
Columbia Falls City Council last week approved two key infrastructure projects.
Investigators say poor track conditions caused a 2021 Amtrak derailment in Montana that killed three
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Poor track conditions that should have been flagged by a freight railroad company's inspectors caused the derailment of an Amtrak train in…
Flathead Valley's available housing supply continues to shrink, experts say
The available housing supply continues to dwindle in Flathead County while the unemployment rate remains low, according to a mid-year economic forecast present…
Arizona mom never stopped looking for her daughter. Alicia Navarro appeared 4 years later in Montana
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — When Alicia Navarro disappeared in 2019 from her home in a Phoenix suburb days before her 15th birthday, she left a signed note for her fam…
Man questioned in Montana after Arizona woman reappears following four years missing
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A man was detained and questioned by police and his Montana apartment searched as authorities tried to piece together the mysterious disapp…
Montana train derailment report renews calls for automated systems to detect track problems
Federal investigators renewed their recommendation that major freight railroads equip every locomotive with the kind of autonomous sensors that could have caught the track flaws that caused a fatal 2021 Amtrak dera…
More than 520 firefighters assigned to Seeley-Swan blaze
Firefighters on the Colt Fire near Seeley Lake hoped to take advantage of cooler weather Thursday in their efforts to build control lines around the state’s la…
Authorities investigate fatal shooting at Rexford Bench boat launch
Two men are dead after a shooting Wednesday afternoon at the Rexford Bench boat launch on Lake Koocanusa in Lincoln County.
Arizona teen Alicia Navarro missing for nearly 4 years shows up safe at Montana police station
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona teenager who disappeared nearly four years ago is safe after walking into a police station in Montana, authorities said.
Columbia Falls concert celebrates anniversary of trip to Europe
Some 53 years ago, 87 Columbia Falls High School band members and 22 chaperones departed for Europe to put on several concerts for largely adoring crowds.
Big Richard Band headlines Whitefish Hootenanny
The Whitefish Trail Hootenanny, considered the local’s finale event of the summer, is planned for Friday, Aug. 25 starting at 5 p.m. in Depot Park in downtown …