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Hungry Horse News
Public lands in public hands
As I kid I spent more time outdoors than in. I swear there isn’t an inch of the Whitefish and Flathead Rivers I didn’t row, a trail in Jewel Basin I didn’t hike, and a campground in Glacier I didn’t overnight. But today, it’s becoming more difficult to find a spot to camp, hike, fish or hunt – and that’s a problem.There is no doubt that Montana is a different place than the Montana I grew up. We have a quarter million more residents, sprawling housing developments, the economy is totally transformed, and millions of visitors flock to the...
Opinion: Slaking a thirst a growing challenge
Last week I had a story on Glacier National Park’s glaciers breaking up — a little less than half of the named glaciers in the park have broken into pieces and I suspect it’s even worse now, since the study was based on images taken a few years ago, and last I checked, summers weren’t getting any cooler. Last year was the warmest on record for good old planet Earth.Still, the reactions were what I would suspect on Fakebook. The tired old argument that the Earth has warmed before and this is just a cycle.That’s true, the Earth has been...
Montana rancher was trafficking, cross-breeding wild bighorn sheep, Justice Department says
A Montana man pleaded guilty March 12 to two felony wildlife crimes – a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act – as part of an almost decade-long effort to create giant sheep hybrids in the United States with an aim to sell the species to captive hunting facilities.Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, is the owner and operator of Sun River Enterprises LLC – also known as Schubarth Ranch – which is a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn. The Schubarth Ranch is engaged in the purchase, sale and breeding of “alternative livestock”...
City OK’s changes to water billing
Ordinance 829 to amend Title 13 of the city’s water and sewer utility account provisions unanimously passed on first reading after public comment at the city council meeting March 4. In the case of rental properties, the proposed change would require that water and sewer utility accounts be in the owner’s name, though the bill card will go to both owner and tenant. It will also eliminate the $250 deposit collected by the city, which the landlord can elect be obtained from tenant account holders under current provisions. The request for change comes as city staff have put in extra time...
Opinion: Daylight Saving
We went for a walk on Sunday evening after supper. It would have been easy to stay in the house — it was raining and cold and damp.But it was the first day of daylight savings time and since having my chest split open and my heart tinkered with a few weeks ago, I try to get out whenever I can. Walking is good for me, I figure, a lot better than sitting around a cold house. (I can’t split firewood yet, so alas, no woodstove. The furnace heats the house just fine, but anyone who has a woodstove knows,...
Columbia Falls Cloverfest this weekend
The annual Columbia Falls Cloverfest is March 16 in the parking lot of Super 1 Foods off Highway 2.The event features a 5K race starting at 11 a.m., followed by a fun run at 12:30 p.m.There will be a kids carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with games, crafts and free face painting. Kids 5 and under get in free to all events as well.From 1 to 1: 30 p.m. An Aire Daire Academy will perform Irish dancing and from 1:45 to 3 p.m. there will be live music from the Ol’ Grey Cats.There will also be beer and a cash bar in the big tent for sale as well as several vendors.Cost for the 5K is $30 and includes entry into post-race activities. The fun run is $15 and also includes entry into the events.The regular pricing is $10 per person or $30 for a family of four-plus. For more information visit the Columbia Falls Chamber Commerce website at: https://www.columbiafallschamber.org/
City will go ahead with affordable housing project
The Columbia Falls City Council last week decided to go ahead with an affordable housing project on Railroad Street on what is now a baseball field.City Manager Susan Nicosia presented options for a replacement ball field in cooperation with the school district. Land is available by the bus outlet at Columbia Falls Junior High School on Veterans Drive, previously used for gym, which already has a backstop. Other potential sites include the fields between the Junior High and Ruder Elementary or at the high school by the softball field or football concession stand. Parking would be available at all locations....
David J. “Rip” Van Winkle, 89
David died March 5, 2024 in Columbia Falls at the Veterans Home. David is survived by his wife Altagracia “Tita,” and daughters Myrah Bridwell and Sharon Van Winkle. David will be buried in the Veteran’s Home Cemetery. Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls is caring for David’s family.
Donald Lawrence, 94
Donald Jesse Lawrence was born in Loomis, South Dakota on Dec. 27th, 1929 to Marie Susan Wagner and Jesse Orville Lawrence. The family moved to Kalispell, Montana when Don was still very young. There he grew up with brother Paul and sister Shirley.In 1947 Don graduated from Flathead High School. Music was a big part of Don’s life, so after graduation he joined the Air Force Band. He was stationed in Texas where he met Barbara Knecht. They married just six weeks after they met and remained married for 69 years until Barbara’s death in October 2021. After leaving the Air...
Gary Lee Lapka
Gary Lee Lapka was born in Veblen, South Dakota on April 30, 1940, to George and Leona (Kallas) Lapka. The oldest of five children, Gary had a strong work ethic. He went to work for his father at a young age, driving cattle to market. Never one to pass up fun, Gary learned to carve out time for fishing and hunting rabbits when he wasn’t working or in school. By the time he graduated high school from Leola School in 1959, Gary had developed the art of balancing responsibilities with fun, which enabled him to buy his first love, a...
Mountainfilm Tour to benefit Bob Marshall Foundation
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is hitting the road, bringing their annual film festival to five different cities around the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Mountainfilm on Tour features a selection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and incredibly inspiring documentary films curated from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado.The tour will end with two events in the Flathead Valley: first in Whitefish at the O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center on Thursday, March 21st, and then in Bigfork at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, March 22nd. Both evenings will feature the same set of films that explore themes connected to...
Glacier National Park's glaciers are falling to pieces, study finds
A study by the U.S. Geological Survey last fall found that 11 glaciers in Glacier National Park have broken into pieces, as climate change continues to warm the planet and the park.It’s been expected for years that the Glacier Park’s namesake glaciers would melt to a fraction of their former selves and eventually disappear altogether.The study by Andrew Fountain, Bryce Glenn and Christopher Mcneil found that glaciers continue to disappear across the West and Glacier Park is no exception. The team used high resolution aerial photos taken from 2016 to 2020 and other imaging to complete the study.Fountain said in...
Lambrecht resigns as CEO of Logan Health
Logan Health-Billings Clinic CEO Craig Lambrecht resigned Monday, making way for new co-leadership roles atop the state’s largest hospital system.Lambrecht had led the Kalispell-based hospital system for five years. When Billings Clinic and Logan Health formally merged last September, he was named CEO of the combined entity. In a statement, Lambrecht did not indicate a reason for stepping down.“It has been my distinct privilege to work with staff in service to patients and their families,” Lambrecht said in a letter announcing his resignation. “Both Logan Health and Billings Clinic have strong roots across this region. As I enter my next chapter,...
Kehr named All-Frontier
A Columbia Falls native was recently announced to the All-Frontier basketball team. MSU Northern guard Ryley Kehr, a senior, is a second-team pick for the 2023-24 season.Kehr, a 5-foot-10 forward, averaged 12.6 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Lights. She scored a career-high 32 points in Northern’s 86-81 loss to Rocky Mountain College at last week’s Frontier Conference tournament.
All-State, All-Conference announced
The all-state and all-conference basketball selections have been announced. For Columbia Falls, Taryn Borgen was named first team all-conference; Hope McAtee second team all-conference; Ellie Stutsman and Onnika Lawrence were both honorable mentions.For the Columbia Falls boys, Jace Hill was named all-state, first team all-conference and co-MVP; Cody Schweikert was all-state and first team all-conference.Mark Robison was an honorable mention.
Cats battle back to take third at state
The Columbia Falls boys battled back through the consolation bracket to take third at the state A basketball tournament in Butte Saturday afternoon, beating Butte Central 58-53 in a game that came down to the wire.Junior Reggie Sapa came off the bench to score 16 points and was 6 of 9 from the line, including hitting some key free throws in the last minute or so to ice the game against the Maroons.Jace Hill and Cody Schweikert had 10 apiece and Dayne Tu had 9 in the victory.Butte shot out to a 15-9 lead in the first, but the Wildcats...
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The Hungry Horse News has been in publication since 1946. It is the only weekly newspaper in Montana to win a Pulitzer Prize and has a reputation for fine photography of the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park. It is housed in a log cabin in Columbia Falls. Visitors with story ideas are always welcome to stop by.
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