ELSA ERICKSEN
Recent Stories
Historic guardians: Efforts work to preserve the story of Bigfork
As Denny Kellogg and Ed Gillenwater tell the story, though, Bigfork’s history actually began a little earlier: a modest 100 million years earlier, in fact. This was when the forces of nature conspired to carve the valleys and peaks that would one day come to define this scrappy little village on the shores of Flathead Lake.
Blue Cow Car Wash expands herd into Evergreen
With this new innovation, the Blue Calf is able to accommodate dually pickup trucks and vehicles up to 8 feet tall.
Flathead High graduate to perform at nation’s 250th jubilee
When Cole Knutson first joined choir at Kalispell Middle School, it was at the insistence of his mother. He loved piano, which he learned to play at the age of five, but wasn’t all that thrilled about singing.
Flathead Valley Rotary Clubs rally for EPIC Day of Service
While Rotary is perhaps best known in the Flathead Valley for youth football and volleyball programs, the international club numbers 1.25 million members committed to humanitarian service in 122 countries.
A mother’s heart forged by foster care
Stephanie Ford remembers the Mother’s Day weekend she said goodbye to her child.
Flathead County commissioners drop Sliter Park lease in “tough decision”
Flathead County commissioners voted unanimously last week against renewing the county’s lease on Sliter Park, a decision the park’s supporters described as disappointing but not unexpected.
Veterans help veterans as needs increase in the Flathead Valley
This is the paradox the Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry, housed in a sprawling building in Evergreen, seeks to answer. Veterans trained to rely on themselves and their fellow soldiers are reluctant to ask for help, even when they desperately need it.
An Evergreen chamber success story found in new president
Jessi Nelson was sworn in this January, and she brings a broad array of experiences to the position.
Kalispell motorist sentenced for fatal 2025 wreck near Bigfork
As officers led a weeping Kala Renee Knaus out of the packed Flathead County District Court courtroom Tuesday, she gazed at the father of the woman she killed in a drunken 2025 collision and nodded weakly.
Lakeside residents frustrated over hurried wastewater treatment project assessment
Many residents felt they did not have enough time to seek out independent professional assessments of the project and its impacts on Flathead Lake.
'In his blood': Bigfork graduate named Utah Soldier of the Year
Caden Leonard enlisted in the National Guard four years ago. A 2022 Bigfork High School graduate, he moved to Utah to study psychology and criminology at the University of Utah, where he balances his coursework with military commitments
Flathead cherry growers hope for some luck in 2026
All farmers count on a bad year every now and then. Two could be chalked up to bad luck. But a third bad year in a row might spell trouble for the cherry growers of the Flathead Valley.
Public hearing set for second phase of Lakeside wastewater treatment project
The state agency has set a public hearing on the draft environmental assessment for the second phase of the project for April 23
Sliter Park lease voted down by parks board
The Flathead County Weed/Parks and Recreation Board voted unanimously April 6 against recommending the renewal of the Sliter Park lease.
Look at Frosty go: Lakeside's winter decoration tradition melts away
For the first time in 26 years, the Lakeside “Frosties” will not be back again someday.
'It’s an experience’: 60th annual Creston Auction this weekend
In six decades, Creston Fire Chief Gary Mahugh has seen some strange items pass through the annual Creston Auction, but one in particular stands out: a live goose, painted red, white and blue.
A Life in Studio: The forgotten art of Marge Dodge
This was the pivotal moment Marge Dodge found herself in when she arrived in Montana in 1954. A prolific artist in her own right, Marge was drawn into this circle of visionary creatives. Yet while these artists would be remembered decades later as the foundation of the Montana Modernist movement, Marge’s work remained in obscurity.
Future of Sliter Park up in the air as county debates lease renewal
Flathead County commissioners are once again weighing whether to renew a lease for downtown Bigfork’s Everit L. Sliter Memorial Park.
Good Friday unites Bigfork area churches for more than six decades
The Bigfork Community Good Friday service hasn’t changed much since 1965, according to Ron Pierce.
Bigfork man accused of shooting gun in parking lot hit with felony charge
An 81-year-old man is facing a felony charge in Flathead County District Court for allegedly firing a gun in the Bigfork Harvest Foods parking lot in March.
Bigfork spreads love, one card at a time
The room is the unofficial Flathead Valley headquarters for People Spread Love, an organization dedicated to creating moments of human connection through handcrafted cards.
Bigfork enrollment decline will impact school budget, superintendent warns
Bigfork School District Superintendent Tom Stack warned educators to prepare for budget reductions beginning in the 2027-28 school year due to falling enrollment numbers during the March 11 school board meeting.