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Bigfork Eagle
Bigfork revives community choir for the summer
Warm light fell through stained glass and poured over a dozen singers, some still in their work clothes, as the Bigfork Summer Community Choir filled Community United Methodist Church with music Monday night. The summer choir began June 10, resurrected after a near 23-year hiatus from the last Bigfork community choir. “There aren’t a lot of churches that have choirs anymore, and there’s lots of reasons for that,” Community United pastor Wendy Ochs said. “People enjoy choir music and people love to sing, so we just thought it would be fun to give an opportunity for anyone in the community...
Navigating local and national tensions
This week will mark one year since I moved to the Flathead. My friends came up from Wyoming for Under the Big Sky; six people and three dogs packed into our two-bedroom house with no AC over the course of the festival. I’m sitting in kind of an odd spot, where I’m not from here originally but interact with locals as a big part of my job. I go to local government meetings and try to keep up on social issues. I hear, and more often read on Facebook, the hateful comments about tourists and out-of-staters. At the same time,...
Black bear euthanized after breaking into vehicle at campground
State wildlife officials trapped and euthanized a black bear at a Northwest Montana campground on Monday after it broke a vehicle window to get food in a cooler. Montana Fish, Wildlife Parks received reports of the bear getting into unsecured food at the Flathead National Forest’s Emery Bay Campground and Goose Head dispersed camping site, also known as FK & L, on the north end of Hungry Horse Reservoir. Conflicts included breaking a window of a vehicle to access a cooler and getting into a tent at Emery Bay. A camper was cited for disobeying the Flathead Forest food storage order. Montana...
State wildlife agency gives boost to native rainbow trout species
Most rainbow trout swimming in Montana’s waters are not native to the state — with the singular exception of the redband trout in the Kootenai drainage. While common throughout most of Montana, rainbow trout largely exist in the Treasure State because of widespread stocking. The Columbia River interior redband trout, or redband trout, is native to Northwest Montana by contrast and lives primarily in disconnected streams across the Kootenai drainage. “Redbands are an interior rainbow trout that is native to Montana. It's something that makes them pretty unique that we want to protect because their populations are few,” said Dillon Tabish,...
Despite summer heat wave, 20,000 music fans attend Under the Big Sky
Fans and water misters were as ubiquitous as cowboy hats as concertgoers did their best to beat the sweltering heat during the opening day of the Under the Big Sky music festival Friday.The annual festival, now in its fifth year, has consistently featured some of the biggest acts in country and folk music on its stages, as well as some local favorites in Northwest Montana. Around 20,000 people were once again expected to flood into the Flathead Valley, according to organizers, which is on par for the last four festivals. Headliners like Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings and the Turnpike Troubadours...
Adaptive exercise in action: Chair yoga comes to Bigfork
Ten people sit in fold-out chairs, barefoot, in the Swan River Community Hall waiting for Krista Sanderson to start class on Thursday. Sanderson started chair yoga in March as a way for people with mobility limitations to get in a good stretch and work on balance, flexibility and core strength. The yoga teacher, artist and mother has been teaching yoga in the Flathead for 17 years, and practicing ever since she sustained a running injury training for the Chicago marathon. Her doctor told her to try yoga. “At the time, I was like, ‘I don’t want to do yoga!’ But...
Sportsman’s Bridge project will begin with new fishing access site
Montana Department of Transportation has announced significant progress on the Bigfork Sportsman’s Bridge project, with plans largely complete. The first step in the process will be construction of a new fishing access site on the west side of the Flathead River off Oldenberg Road. “After recent delays, we are excited to have this project moving forward,” Bob Vosen, MDT Missoula District Administrator, said in a press release. “Construction of the new bridge is anticipated to begin in 2025, once the new fishing access site has been built.” Once the FAS is operational, bridge construction will begin. This schedule is subject...
Bigfork School Board tables sports and activities cooperative agreement
Bigfork Public Schools Board of Trustees tabled a decision on their cooperative sports and activities agreement with Swan River School after a decision by the Swan River board to limit the time their teachers can be outside of the classroom to coach high school sports. “To me it’s always been collegial, a lot of their kids are coming from that school to this school. It might have more history to it, but to me, they’re fine with our staff missing time to coach their kids, but they don’t want their staff missing time from school to coach our kids, and...
Happenings: Vacation bible school
Bigfork Summer Community Choir welcomes all singers 15 and up to practices at the Community United Methodist Church Mondays at 5:30 p.m., directed by Dr. Art Crane and Dr. Jordan Neiman. Bigfork Community United Methodist Church hosts Vacation Bible School August 19-22, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Children ages three to twelve are invited for breakfast, bible stories, music, games, crafts, science, raptors and more. Register at bigforkumc.org/vacation-bible-school, call 406-837-4547 or email bigforkcumc@gmail.com for more info.
BLOTTER: Boat sinks in Echo Lake
Reports from Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, based in Bigfork. July 8 A rooster was reported found on the caller’s property. A 22-foot surfboat was reported fully submerged about 12 to 15 feet deep at a dock in Echo Lake overnight, Bigfork Fire Department was called to assist. July 9-10 No reports July 11 A car was reported broken into. A man was reported walking down the road for three hours with a backpack. July 12 No reports July 13 A verbal dispute between a husband and wife was reported. Teenagers were reported setting off fireworks. Several cars parked in a no parking area around a blind corner were issued citations. July 14 Trespassing was reported on private property.
Electric fencing for bear attractants garners 50% reimbursement program
Here in Montana, many of us live, travel and recreate in bear country. Being “bear aware” here is more a requirement than a recommendation. However, it can be easy to overlook the common bear attractants in our backyards that can become sources of human-bear conflict, especially if you are new to living in landscapes populated by bears. As grizzly populations slowly return to their historic range, people are encountering them in some areas for the first time in decades. In other areas like Bigfork and the Swan Valley, they’ve never left, along with robust black bear populations. In both cases,...
Tester, Daines split on abortion bill
Montana’s senators split last Wednesday on whether to proceed with a bill that would have expressed support for abortion access. Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat up for reelection this year in one of the Senate’s most contested races, and a cosponsor on the bill, voted in favor of the legislation. Republican Sen. Steve Daines voted against it. The procedural vote was 49-44, falling short of the majority needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. “Montanans of all stripes believe in the right to privacy, so much so that we enshrined it in our Constitution — and that includes ensuring...
Montana lawmakers want answers from Secret Service
Montana’s representatives in Congress, many of whom have shared a stage with Donald Trump, pivoted Sunday to toning down political rhetoric and investigating how a would-be assassin came within 140 yards of the former president at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday.The assassination attempt, which killed a bystander and injured two others and resulted in the death of the shooter, was the latest in a string of violent threats and incidents against elected office holders. Members of Montana’s delegation have dealt with threats of violence in recent years.“How did the shooter climb up there without being stopped? And why was...
PHOTOS: Bigfork Summer Rodeo
Photos from the Bigfork Summer Rodeo on Friday, July 5. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) Blackfeet dancers welcome horses to the arena Friday during the opening processions. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) A mutton-buster and their sheep take a tumble on Friday. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) Bart Slaney of Whitefish steer wrestles on Friday. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle) A young rodeo-goer gets hoisted above the crowd. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle photo) Tim Bagnell of Polson ropes in the Bigfork Rodeo Friday. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle)
The sky’s the limit: 50 years of flying in local author’s new book
Third generation Montanan, Robert Combs of Bigfork has published a book, “The Wings of Men,” covering his 50 years of flying hang gliders and light sport trikes around the world and featuring an introduction from Darlene Cecil, managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake in the early 1980s. A highlight of Combs’s career was being selected as the star of a series of Wrigley’s Gum commercials. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Combs was selected out of hundreds of pilots to star in the TV commercials. The first one, filmed in Hawaii, was so successful that the Chicago advertising...
Co-op seeks photo submissions for calendar
Photo submissions for the 2025 Flathead Electric Cooperative Members’ Calendar opened July 1. Submissions are considered through August 31. Winners receive $25 and are notified in late September. Calendars are typically printed and available for members in November. Photos submitted should depict wildlife, scenery, people, activities, or anything that represents our unique lifestyle and special corner of Northwest Montana. The photographer’s name is used wherever the Co-op uses the photo, which is typically in the calendar, on the Co-op’s Facebook page as the monthly header photo, and in the Light Reading monthly newsletter. To enter, you must be a member of Flathead Electric Co-op and a non-professional photographer. Each member may submit up to six horizontal, high-quality photos for consideration at flatheadelectric.com/calendar.
Blotter: Tailgate stolen at rodeo
Reports from Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, based in Bigfork. July 4 A dog was reported tied to a truck overnight, barking. A person reported their neighbor was drunk and setting off fireworks. A vehicle was reported trying to cut through a crowd of people. July 5 Two dogs were reported left in a car with the windows rolled up. A woman reported her husband was intoxicated and trying to leave with their kids. A man reported that his wife hit him and ruined his car. An unattended smoldering campfire was reported and extinguished. July 6 A man was found breathing but unconscious in a porta potty, first responders were dispatched. A tailgate was reported stolen from a truck at the Bigfork Rodeo.
Federal judge stops Forest Service plan for Flathead Forest over endangered species
Federal Judge Dana Christensen has stopped the Flathead National Forest from implementing its forest plan for the 2.4 million acres because the U.S. Forest Service ignored the impact of roads on the endangered grizzly bear and bull trout populations. In his decision, which mostly upheld federal magistrate Kathleen DeSoto’s initial ruling, he said that the Forest Service continues to ignore the impacts of closed roads and unauthorized motor vehicle use on roads in grizzly bear and bull trout habit. The case is similar to many which have centered on grizzly bears and roads recently. The U.S. Forest Service, which doesn’t comment...
What Montanans lose with each APR land acquisition
American Prairie Reserve has been crowing about their recent ranch purchases in Phillips County. What they won’t tell you is those acquisitions come at a cost to you and every other Montanan.It’s important to reflect on what we’re losing when APR removes land from agricultural production. Most regretfully we’re losing the next generation of family ranchers whose job it is to grow food. The dangerous decline in American agricultural production over the last few decades is accelerated if we allow nonprofit groups to buy up prime Montana ranch land. It’s no wonder we’re seeing such increases in food prices.Our communities...
Democratic candidate support
Our nation is at a point of desperation. We could be losing our democracy, our personal freedoms, and our country’s values. We are facing the possibility of falling under a dictatorial form of government. As I write this, Donald Trump seems to be the Republican candidate for president who will be on the ticket. Our nation needs one focus and one focus only because of this man. This focus and work needs to be promoting and encouraging voting for the Democratic candidate whomever it happens to be. We must save our democracy and avoid a political disaster. Then, after we have voted and have a Democratic leadership, we can face the challenges such as reviving the Supreme Court. This court has become divided, disjointed and dangerous to our democracy. This can all be handled effectively through a democratic process and leadership. It is my firm belief that we each need to, in our own way, take immediate action to help save our democracy.— Bob McClellan, Missoula
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