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Bigfork Eagle
Local dinosaur hunters bring bones back to the Flathead
Aamon Jaeger’s friends and family tried to dissuade him when he started buying land in Arizona, site-unseen, off of eBay in the hopes of finding petrified wood.“It was cheap kind of desert land, but there’s fossils. So for someone like us, it could be a gold mine, it could be really fun,” Jaeger said. Jaeger started out as a tattoo artist at Tree of Life Tattoo in Whitefish with a fossil-hunting passion. A decade ago, he started with 10 acres of unfarmable, dry land with hardly a road to it in Arizona. Now, after years of digging and the purchase of...
Chip sealing on Highway 83 begins
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and LHC Inc. expect to seal and cover (chip seal) the north and south segments of Montana Highway 83 (MT 83) the week of June 17, weather dependent.The week of June 17, travelers can expect chip sealing on both segments, delays up to 25-30-minutes due to increased traffic volumes and traffic control in place. Anticipate single-lane closures, temporary traffic lights, and pilot cars. Typical working hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.Be prepared for delays before you leave, download MDT’s mobile app “MDT 511” or visit 511mt.net [511mt.net] and check your route. If you’re driving and want to check in, pull safely off the road and dial 511. Tune in to local radio stations and watch for variable message signs along the route.
Bigfork High School Class of 2024
The Bigfork High School Class of 2024 graduated 71 students on Saturday, June 1. Valecitorians were Danika Bucklin, Erika Dowling, Wyatt Johnson, Piper Linson, Abigail Pilskalns, Zander TIllman and Evelyn Vigil, with Johnson also speaking as class president. English teacher Caleb Seeton gave the commencement address. Class president Wyatt Johnson demonstrates his grad cap catapult during the graduation ceremony Saturday, June 1. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) Hailee Elwell sings the national anthem at graduation. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) English teacher Caleb Seeton gives the commencement address. Piper Linson receives her diploma from principal Mark Hansen. Afton Lambrecht shows off her new diploma. Evelyn Vigil receives her diploma. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) Erika Dowling gives her valedictorian speech. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle photos) Abigail Pilskalns gives her valedictorian speech. Wyatt Johnson swaps his cap for a feathered hat to perform Shakespeare as a last-minute assignment during his valedictorian speech at graduation Saturday, June 1. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle photos)
Glacier crews grapple with deepest snow in more than a decade
It’s feeling like spring in the valley, but at Logan Pass, Glacier National Park road crews are still in the thick of winter snowpack — the deepest seen in more than a decade, according to officials.“There’s still a lot of work to do up here,” Glacier National Park Roads Supervisor Brian Paul said as he looked over a buried Logan Pass Visitor Center and plows working their way through deep snowpack just beyond the parking lot exit on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. It’s the deepest snow they’ve measured at the pass in the early spring since 2011, he said. Warmer spring conditions...
Gianforte tours Creston fire mitigation site
Gov. Greg Gianforte emphasized the state’s commitment to aggressively preventing wildfires while visiting a fire mitigations site in the Flathead Valley.As part of his 56 county tour, Gianforte stopped at a forest restoration project east of Creston on May 30, meeting with forestry officials with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. “I think we have a forest health crisis in the state,” Gianforte said. “Every summer Montana catches on fire. And it’s a concern to many Montanans … we want to get back to a place where we have healthy forests.”The tract of land — which will see nearly...
Bigfork Piecemakers Quilt Show
Bigfork Piecemakers Quilt Guild Annual Show will take place Friday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 5.pm. and Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bigfork Elementary School, 600 Commerce St, Bigfork.Admission is $5, or bring non-perishable donation for the food bank, collected at the door. Raffle Tickets are available for $1, or 5 for $6. Quilt raffle will be held June 22.
Do you ride your horse to school?
Six Swan River School eighth graders took advantage of an old Montana law still on the books May 16, riding their horses to school for administrators to care for over the course of the day. While some horses were taken home after the ride, a couple actually stayed the day.
BLUAC requests traffic study on Highway 83 before allowing youth rec facility
The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee saw a request from Paul Henion for a conditional use permit allowing for a recreational facility at his property off of Highway 83 during their May 30 meeting. Henion intended to build a 150 by 72-foot indoor youth sports training facility on his property, which is zoned SAG-5, Suburban Agricultural. Access to Highway 83 would come from an existing private road easement, which would be widened to 20 feet to accommodate two-way traffic. The site plan includes turf training and a court that could accommodate basketball, volleyball, baseball and futsall, an indoor-modified form of...
Construction underway on Highways 83, 82
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and LHC Inc. experienced delays in sign installation on the northern segment of the Swan Lake Pavement Preservation project on Montana Highway 83 (MT 83). This week travelers can expect signage installation between mile markers 70 and 78, traffic control in place, single-lane closures, 10 to 15-minute delays, temporary traffic lights, and pilot cars. Typical working hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.MDT will be replacing a traffic signal box at the intersection of US Highway 93 (US 93) with Montana Highway 82 (MT 82). MDT is working to reduce traffic impacts so this...
School board moves funds toward facility maintenance and upgrades; elementary test scores above state average
Bigfork Elementary Principal Brenda Clarke presented standardized testing data to the Bigfork Public Schools Board of Trustees at the Monday, June 3 meeting. Across the entire elementary school, 52% of students were at benchmark or above at the beginning of the school year for reading. Over the course of the year, that number rose to 68%, with the number of students below benchmark in the intensive category decreasing from 23% to 14%. Bigfork’s numbers remained slightly better than state averages. Math scores also saw improvement across grades. “We have had groups of teachers come from Columbia Falls to see how...
History day returns to Bigfork after six-year hiatus
Local judges gathered in the Bigfork High School library to observe the National History Day projects created by the junior class on Wednesday, May 22. Promoted by history and English teachers Cynthia Wilondek and Annmari Sikon, respectively, this assignment was designed to encourage students to find a fun way of interacting with history.NHD is a competition throughout the United States. This year’s theme is “Turning Points In History” and the students were directed to center their exhibits, documentaries, websites, or papers around it.NHD provides all kinds of opportunities for the students who participate in it.“National History Day is celebrating its...
Grizzly hunting is trophy hunting
A final decision on the petitions to remove the grizzly bear from the list of threatened species and the protections of the Endangered Species Act (delisting) may come in June or early July. Currently, authority over grizzly bear management is vested in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the petitions are approved, management will be turned over to the states.Both Montana and Wyoming would have trophy hunts for grizzly bears. Wyoming would begin immediately and Montana in five years. But what would stop the politicians once they’ve achieved control over the bears?Keep in mind that all grizzly bear hunting...
State of the Lake Report shows consistent water quality
Since 1977, the Flathead Monitoring Program at the Flathead Lake Biological Station has used standardized scientific methods to collect fundamental physical, chemical, and biological data on Flathead Lake and its main inflows. To assess water quality, FLBS scientists can assess water quality by analyzing key monitoring variables.These variables include water clarity, abundance of planktonic algae, oxygen levels in the lake’s bottom waters, and the supply of key nutrients, especially phosphorus (P), that can drive increases in algae that degrade water clarity and deplete deep water oxygen.The FLBS Flathead Monitoring Program conducts year-round sampling at a fixed sampling site called Midlake...
Bigfork Whitewater Festival
Photos from the Bigfork Whitewater Festival on the Wild Mile of the Swan River Sunday, May 26. A raft flips in the second heat of head-to-head competition at the Bigfork Whitewater Festival Sunday, May 26. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) A rafter works to right an upside down raft in the Bigfork Whitewater Festival Sunday, May 26. (Avery Howe photo) A kayaker competes in giant slalom at the Bigfork Whitewater Festival Sunday, May 26. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) \ A kayaker competes in giant slalom at the Bigfork Whitewater Festival Sunday, May 26. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) A kayaker competes in giant slalom at the Bigfork Whitewater Festival Sunday, May 26. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle)
Mothers vouch for Tracy
The most valuable gifts in our lifetime are those we love. As mothers, ours are our children. Their health, happiness, education, and safety are of high importance. When they are out of our care, and in the care of their school, we place all our trust in the individuals the school has entrusted them to.Living in a more rural area of Montana, school bus transportation to and from school is valuable. There is always concern whenever anyone travels the highways of Montana, including via the school bus. As first year bus riders, our children have been blessed with a superb...
In support of the Montana Great Outdoors Project
As Republican legislators representing Northwest Montana and the western edge of our state, we write to express our full support for the Montana Great Outdoors Project. The draft environmental assessment for Phase 1 of the conservation easement clearly illustrates not only that this proposal is the right move for conservation and the environment, but it’s also essential to protect good jobs and the Montana way of life, as well as preserve the very character of Northwest Montana. Much of the land between Kalispell and Libby has been owned by a rotating set of timber companies for generations. Those companies have been...
Jensen wins 800-meter, boys sixth at state
When it comes to two laps, Bigfork has the best in the business.The Bigfork boys track team took sixth at state after having one state champion and eight other placers at the MHSA State Track and Field Championships on May 23-25 in Laurel.Jack Jensen placed first in the 800-meter run (1:54.42), and fifth in the 1,600-meter run (4:24.25).In the 100-meter run, Robert Merchant was sixth (11.23), while Wyatt Johnson was third in the 110-meter hurdles (15.04). Austin Savik was seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (15.81).In the 300-meter hurdles, Johnson was third (40.64). In the field events, Tamret Savik was fourth in the high jump and third in the triple jump (44-1.75) and Wyatt Barnes was fifth in the same event (43-4.75)Corvallis won the state title as a boys team, edging out second-place Columbia Falls 68.8-67 points. It was the second straight year that Corvallis won the boys and girls team state titles. It was the ninth state title in Corvallis’ girls track history and the eighth Corvallis boys state title.On the girls side, Bigfork’s Callie Gembala placed eighth in the discus (105-07) while Zoe Guffin was eighth in the javelin (109-05).
Paul Strong, 79
Paul L. Strong passed away Saturday May 11, 2024. Paul was born and raised in Indiana where he attended Purdue University. After completing his M.S. in Biological Science he visited Montana for a summer before attending the University of Iowa for a doctoral program. Whenever he was asked where he was from, he answered, “Montana!” Paul soon returned to the Flathead Valley where he lived for over 50 years. He would happily tell folks, “I have done about everything to survive in this valley. That includes gut boy in a slaughter house, substitute teacher, truck driver, crane operator, furniture mover...
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The Bigfork Eagle – established in 1976 – provides the community of Bigfork with news, sports and entertainment coverage through our regularly updated news website and weekly print edition. Reinvented in 2019 after a few years hiatus, the Eagle has come back to serve the community with strong local news.
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