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Fire season forecast for the Flathead
Fire experts and officials with state and federal agencies expect an average fire season in the Flathead Valley this year, although they said that June’s weather and precipitation will be telling.“When you look at the national forecast, the outlook for the Northern Rockies is probably an average season,” said Rick Connell, a fire management officer for the U.S. Forest Service, at a press briefing Tuesday organized by the Forest Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and National Park Service.Last year, according to Connell, the valley saw above-average rainfall in May, but the precipitation rate dropped throughout the summer....
No drama, just llamas — new competition showcases camelids
“Llama shows, who knew?” Nancy Carpenter said with a laugh.She’s been a llama owner for more than a decade but is more excited than ever to have a llama exposition in Northwest Montana. Carpenter owns Stillwater Ranch with her husband Bruce Gist and has three llamas: Tomahawk, Echo and Jackson. She takes them to shows on occasion, but they mostly live a leisurely life by the Stillwater River. Carpenter is one of many llama enthusiasts in the area to help establish the new Glacier Classic Llama Show taking place at the Majestic Valley Arena on June 22 and 23. What...
Bigfork Fire Department receives $8,000 Roundup for Safety grant
On June 13, Flathead Electric Cooperative’s Roundup for Safety program approved $18,500 in grants supporting community safety projects proposed by local nonprofits. Friends of the Bigfork Fire Department requested funding for swift water and rope rescue equipment. The Bigfork Fire Department is expanding its ability to respond to water emergencies and has worked with the Flathead County Sherriff’s Department and local Search & Rescue teams to coordinate those future efforts. Bigfork Fire Chief Jeremy Patton noted, “Bigfork Fire Department responds to the Bigfork Fire District and provides mutual aid to other districts in Flathead and Lake Counties. Some rescue calls...
Bigfork among 44 Montana community event grant awardees
The Montana Department of Commerce announced June 11 that over $750,000 of grant funding will be shared by 44 destination events to help grow Montana’s economy through tourism. The grant funding is provided through Commerce’s Economic Impact and Destination Event Grant Program.“The economic impact of visitation and events is important for communities across Montana,” said Paul Green, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. “Funding through the Economic Impact and Destination Event Grant Program helps communities by supporting destination events to increase regional, national and international tourism while promoting Montana’s unique attributes and generating additional community revenue.”Over 60 Economic Impact...
Piecemakers stitch community together
The Bigfork Piecemaker’s Annual Quilt Show will take place Friday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m and Saturday, June 22 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bigfork Elementary School. The guild’s 40-some quilters range in age from their 20s to their 90s, but are all able to come together for their craft and their community. “Quilting just really brings people together, and it creates tradition, and it definitely is a symbol of comfort,” said Piecemakers president Amber Lawrence. “I think there’s just a community that naturally builds from that. I think by promoting that and teaching the next generation,...
You go to your church, I’ll go to mine
A few years ago I was talking with a man who raised an interesting question; “There’s only one God, why do we need so many different churches?” I let that one slide right by because I like to limit my controversial discussions to politics, for better or worse. But I was curious as to why he belonged to the church he did and not another one of the some 200 Christian denominations in America. I didn’t raise that point, either.Religion is a serious topic in America and has been ever since the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in their...
Fund the Fork launches first free shuttle
After Bigfork’s downtown bridge closure, some local businesses began to think about a shuttle service. With the help of the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce’s Fund the Fork initiative, a six-seat electric Ryd shuttle launched this June. “Having connectivity between Bigfork and Woods Bay is huge for guests and for residents… there’s no safe place to walk,” said chamber executive director Rebekah King. The shuttle is free for all users, running every day but Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is available on-demand by texting the driver, who will arrive in around ten minutes....
State environmental agency halts rewrite of water quality standards
Three years into a legislatively mandated effort to adopt looser standards for two nutrients abundant in Montana waterways, the state has halted rulemaking on the contentious effort.Following a hearing on Monday, June 10 at which stakeholders on multiple sides of the issue expressed displeasure with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s proposal, the agency announced it has no immediate plans to advance new water quality standards as required by a bill the Republican-controlled Legislature passed in 2021. Environmentalists described DEQ’s proposed rules as unscientific and unprotective, while sewer operators and industrial dischargers deemed them difficult to understand and financially and...
The 2024 election will pit ‘geezer’ against ‘sleazer’
Having lost an election, I know it hurts to lose. I know, too, that there is a good life beyond losing because I’ve been living it for the past twenty years.I know that the people’s will in a democracy can only be determined by a process of elections; American democracy has successfully functioned on that model since George Washington.When the people lose their faith in elections, democracy is finished. There have been as many losers as winners in our legacy of elections extending back over 230 years. By their respect for the will of the people in elections, those who...
Wayfarers seeks volunteers for invasive plant removal
As the temperatures rise, the need to manage invasive weeds around Flathead Lake is higher than ever to prevent their seed release and continued spread into next year. At Wayfarers State Park, there is an infestation of cheatgrass, a nonnative plant notorious for outcompeting native plants and affecting agricultural land in the Flathead Valley, along with spotted knapweed, orange hawkweed and other noxious species. Saturday, June 22, Montana FWP will host a campground-wide weed-pulling and shoreline cleanup project at the Wayfarers Unit of Flathead Lake State Park. Event start time will be 8 a.m. due to temperatures likely peaking in late morning and early afternoon. Work as long as you wish and then enjoy all the beauty that Wayfarers has to offer! Tools, garbage bags, water, and extra snacks will be provided.Call 406-837-3041 to register for the event, additional questions can be addressed to land improvement specialist Kalle Fox, kalle.fox@mt.gov.
Flathead cabins part of $26 million to improve access and recreation opportunities
The USDA Forest Service Northern Region is investing over $26 million from the Great American Outdoors Act to enhance recreation opportunities for thousands of residents and visitors across Northern Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. “Across the Northern Region, we are working hand in hand with our partners and local communities to improve our infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation,” said Regional Forester Leanne Marten. “The projects address critical maintenance needs and improve access for all visitors.”Forty-one projects in the Northern Region will receive funding to help address the backlog of needed maintenance to meet the public...
Board of Adjustment approves youth rec facility without traffic study
Paul Henion spoke to the Flathead County Board of Adjustment during their June 4 meeting, rebutting a condition set by the Bigfork Land Advisory and Use Commission that would require he conduct a traffic survey at the intersection of his private road easement and Highway 83 in order to build a youth recreation facility on his property outside of Bigfork. “I do not believe this burdensome task should be attached to my property and tabling my application. Even at full capacity in the parking lot for an 8-hour period, the [average daily traffic] numbers do not trigger the threshold to require...
Riverbend Concert Series set up for summer
The Riverbend Concert Series will kick off Sunday, June 23 at Everit L. Sliter Memorial Park in Bigfork. The series has run for over 40 years, with this year’s lineup including tributes to the concerts’ past supporters. A total of 10 local artists will play each Sunday at 7 p.m. through August 25.June 23First on the docket is John Dunnigan, who has been playing in the Flathead for around 40 years. The folksy, guitar-centric style of Dunnigan has heavy local flavor, and the artist is always the entertainer, with music designed you make you laugh and think. June 30John Catmull is...
Blotter: Neighbors stealing cat
Reports from Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, based in Bigfork. June 1A large piece of metal was removed from the roadway. June 2A caller reported their neighbor stealing their cat by luring it over the fence with treats and locking it inside. A bear was reported trying to get a bag of garbage out of the caller’s car, causing damage to the interior and exterior. A transient was reported looking into the windows of a house with a “for sale” sign, no suspicious activity was found by law enforcement. Suspicious activity was reported on a man sitting in a parking lot, who allegedly told the caller he was a store employee and then sped off in his car. June 3While doing laundry, a walked outside and locked his wife in the building. The couple found a way to open the door before help arrived. A suspicious group of people was reported in a parking lot by a store employee.
Summer Choir starts practice
Bigfork Summer Community Choir began its practices on June 10, with meetings continued each Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Community United Methodist Church in Bigfork, 720 Electric Avenue. Any community member age 15 and up who loves to sing is welcome, with instruction by Dr. Art Crane and Dr. Jordan Neiman. More information can be found at www.bigforkumc.org.
Playhouse presents ‘Footloose’
Bigfork Summer Playhouse continues its 65th season with the ‘80s Pop classic ‘Footloose,’ live on stage, beginning June 19 and continuing through the summer. Based on the 1984 movie of the same name, ‘Footloose’ tells the story of ‘Chicagoan’ Ren McCormick and his mother Ethel. When Ren and his mother move to a small farming town they are not prepared to deal with the laws of no dancing and no rock music laws set by the town council and the Reverend Shaw. The heartfelt story that emerges is that of a father grieving over a son he lost and the...
Flathead County Library begins summer reading program
The Summer Reading Experience at Flathead County Library launched on June 10 and encourages children and teens to enjoy books, explore science, and discover new adventures all summer long. There is no cost to participate. Beginning June 10, children and teens can sign-up and pick up a game board at any library location that offers reading and learning challenges, as well as a list of summer programming at the library.The library will be celebrating by hosting a Play Expo at the Kalispell library on June 11 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and at the Columbia Falls library on June 13 from...
USDA invests in meat processing facility for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
USDA Rural Development Montana State Director Kathleen Williams announced the agency is awarding a $7.7 million grant to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to expand food processing opportunities on the Flathead Indian Reservation.“Diversifying the meat processing sector benefits consumers, producers, and communities,” said Williams. “We at USDA Rural Development are proud to invest in Tribal communities and their work to advance food sovereignty for their Nations, as well as regional economic opportunities more broadly.”The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in Pablo, Montana, will use a $7.7 million grant to build a meat processing facility on the Flathead Indian...
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.
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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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