KRISTI NIEMEYER
Kristi Niemeyer is editor of the Lake County Leader. She learned her newspaper licks at the Mission Valley News and honed them at the helm of the Ronan Pioneer and, eventually, as co-editor of the Leader until 1993. She later launched and published Lively Times, a statewide arts and entertainment monthly (she still publishes the digital version), and produced and edited State of the Arts for the Montana Arts Council and Heart to Heart for St. Luke Community Healthcare. Reach her at editor@leaderadvertiser.com or 406-883-4343.
Recent Stories
Band Tin Finley brings strong melodies to Polson theater performance
For Polson native Kati O’Toole, the concert April 20 at the Theatre on the Lake in Polson marks a musical homecoming. The Polson High School grad joins another alum, bassist Eric Hogenson, and friends and bandmates Annette Strean and Kirk Cornelius in Tin Finley – a band named after Nashville’s famed Tin Angel restaurant (where three of the four members either met or worked) and inspired by the quartet’s Montana roots.
John Mercer applies to fill judicial vacancy
Longtime Polson attorney and former state legislator and Speaker of the House John Mercer has applied to fill the remaining office term of former District Court Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher, who resigned from the bench effective April 5.
Judge Christopher announces resignation, effective April 5
In a letter dated March 15, District Court Judge Kim Christopher informed Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath that she is officially stepping down from her duties April 5. She calls the decision to resign “especially bittersweet,” given her family’s long history in Lake and Sanders counties.
Lake County officials look for answers on Public Law 28 withdrawal from U.S. Attorney
Frustration seemed to be the tenor this week at the Lake County Courthouse as public officials contemplate their withdrawal from Public Law 280, which has given the county felony jurisdiction over tribal members on the Flathead Reservation for nearly 60 years.
Gianforte addresses Lake County's withdrawal from Public Law 280
In a long-awaited letter, Gov. Greg Gianforte informed the Lake County Commissioners March 1 that his administration had no intention of allocating “current resources to assist with law enforcement in Lake County” after May 20, when the county officially pulls out of Public Law 280.
Attorney files for embattled judge's seat in 20th Judicial District
Local attorney Britt Cotter filed last week for the Lake and Sanders counties District Court seat held by embattled Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher.
Jury finds Craig McCrea guilty of two counts of felony arson
Former firefighter Craig McCrea was found guilty Feb. 8 on two of four counts of arson after a dramatic four-day trial at the Lake County Courthouse.
Lake County jury deliberates on complex arson case
“In Montana, smoke on the air means a lot of different things to a lot of different people,” Assistant Attorney General Thorin Geist told jurors Monday morning at the Lake County Courthouse. “But in the summer of 2021, that smell meant one thing to the defendant, Craig McCrea. The evidence in this case will show that for Craig McCrea, that smell meant one more fix, one more opportunity to use fentanyl.”
Montana Supreme Court removes Lake County judge from child-custody case
In a 5-0 opinion, the Montana Supreme Court took what justices describe as “an extraordinary remedy” of asserting “supervisory control” over a Lake County child-custody case.
Resurrection: Three Chiefs Cultural Center returns to Pablo
For Marie Torosian, director of Three Chiefs Cultural Center in Pablo, hope rises from ashes. It lives in every moccasin, headdress, beaded bag or vest that survived the arson-caused fire that demolished the People’s Center Sept. 6, 2020.