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Hungry Horse News
Bipartisan support for public lands
In my family there is a wide swath of political views and when you are in the same room as we were for the holidays, the juvenile name calling stops and thoughtful discussions can occur. What these discussions revealed was that while we have many differences, there is also agreement. Well, if I’m being honest, there was some juvenile name calling too, we are family after all. But back to my point, I wonder then, why don’t we at least have the things we all agree on? For example, we all agree that we want more public land; we want that...
Local entrepreneurs find fortune in gold... prospecting equipment
David Bjelland sat transfixed in front of the TV screen, cake in hand, shooing off his relatives as they tried to wish him a happy birthday. Recovering from throat cancer, he was not in the mood for a party. His nephew, Dave Peterson, sat down beside him and asked what he was watching. It was the season finale of the first season of “Gold Rush.”“I haven’t been prospecting all year and this is my prospecting,” Bjelland told Peterson. “This is it, this is the finale, and I can’t hear!”Peterson settled down and watched the show with him. As he watched, his...
Yesterdays: Housing was a problem in the Flathead 70 years ago, too
70 years agoFeb. 19, 1954Columbia Falls was dealing with a housing problem due to the new Anaconda Aluminum Plant. It was estimated about 575 new residences would be needed in the Flathead to accommodate 450 plant workers and 450 people with jobs created in service and supply trades as a result of the increased population.60 years agoFeb. 14, 1964Columbia Falls school enrollment increases were anticipated due to an Anaconda Aluminum Plant expansion. Seven to ten additional classrooms were needed. Debate was ongoing whether to spend $30,000 to rehabilitate the dorms and Talbott annex or have the children attend school in...
Happenings: Community Events Feb. 14
Democratic candidate for the Montana House of Representatives House District 4 Lindsey Jordan’s launch party is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Backslope Brewing from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.Flathead Avalanche Friends Fest, a four-day event to spread avalanche awareness, raise funds for Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center’s snow safety programs, and build community among winter recreationists will take place Feb. 21-24. Schedule available at https://flatheadavalanche.org/event/friendsfest/Columbia Falls Women’s Connection will host a luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church located at 827 Ninth St West in Columbia Falls. Guest speakers, Alicia Gower will share...
The Blotter: Nucleus Avenue coyote
Jan. 22A woman called police after she sold a rig and forgot to take the plates. The new owner had racked up $1,000 in toll fees in Washington. Shoplifting reported at Super 1 Foods. A business had a water leak and water was flowing out of the door.Jan. 23A person reported another person went into his building, stole $7,000 worth of snowboard stuff and used Fentanyl. Police are investigating. Complaint of a “ditch dong” at Eddy Court.Jan. 24A Jeep was driving recklessly. A man called police claiming his wife was missing and was in a hospital in Montana, as she...
113-pounder Fainter earns state wrestling championship
The Wildcats boys wrestling team took fifth at state in Billings this weekend, with senior Traic Fainter (113) earning an individual state champion title. Fainter started out wrestling with the Wildcats his sophomore year, taking fourth that season, then moving up to third his junior year, and now, a champion. “He came out hungry this year,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said. “He’s very disciplined.”Teammates Dylan Delorme (145), Blaise Cronk (160) and Rowdy Crump (182) took second and Winslow Peters (152) fourth.When it was all said and done, Schaeffer was proud of how they represented the program. On the girls’ side, sophomore Jaelynn Nace (100) was on the podium for the second time in two years with fourth place. “She’s on track to accomplish a pretty big feat for our program with two more seasons,” coach Ben Schaeffer said. Teammates Samantha Larsen (152) and Jaici Watt-Duran (145) were close to the podium with 4-2 and 2-2 records for the tournament, respectively. The boys program will hopefully see the return of Delorme, Cronk and Crump next season along with their underclassmen teammates, and the girls are looking at a mix of younger wrestlers on the mat, with upcoming freshmen and a few returning.
PHOTOS: Night at the Movies raises $6,000 for NYC trip
At the Night at the Movies concert Tuesday, Jan. 30, audience members were invited to listen to music from popular movies and participate in a silent auction, the proceeds of which will go toward the choir’s trip to New York City in March. Choir director Emily Hackethorn estimated the concert earned over $6,000. “I am still working through all the proceeds but it was a very successful event with tons of generous businesses and individuals pitching in,” Hackethorn said. Emery "Ren" Duran sings “She Used to be Mine” from Waitress at the Little Theater Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo) Lucas Counts Audrey Hanley sing “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Little Theater Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo) Quinn Clark sings “Agony” from “Into the Woods” at the Night at the Movies concert, Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo) Ryan Mee sings and dances as Willy Wonka at the Little Theater Tuesday, Jan. 30. Amanda Fitch sings “God Help the Outcasts” from Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at the Little Theater Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Avery Howe photo)
Kats earn three conference wins
The first Cat-Dog game of the season ended with a resounding victory for Columbia Falls, as the Wildkats downed the Lady Bulldogs 55-14 in Northwest A Conference action on Tuesday, Jan. 30.Columbia Falls led 25-12 at halftime and then held Whitefish to two points in the second half. The Wildkats went on a 17-0 run in the third quarter and never looked back.Taryn Borgen led Columbia Falls with 14 points while Onnika Lawrence added nine.The Wildkats swept the regular season series against their Cat-Dog rival Whitefish, winning Columbia Falls 48-23 on Friday, Feb. 2. Columbia Falls took advantage of a...
Local man’s death linked to vaping
On Jan. 6 Sabine Samuell of Columbia Falls took her husband Jude to the emergency room at Logan Health in Whitefish.The man had been suffering from a cold and now had shallow breathing. Over the course of a few hours, his condition worsened greatly. He was transferred to the intensive care unit at Logan Health in Kalispell. He was intubated and by 8 p.m. he was life flighted to a hospital in Spokane.Jude Samuell’s lungs were failing, and as the days passed it became clear that they would never get better. Mr. Samuell, whose life was now supported by a...
Swimmers set for state
An update on Columbia Falls High School’s swim team, headed to state Feb. 8-10 in Great Falls.Sophomore Teagan Bates is seeded fifth in the 200 Freestyle.Junior Connor Keith is seeded first in the 200 Individual Medley and second in the 100 breaststroke. Senior Jolie Friar is seeded eighth and seventh respectively in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Fly, looking to make her first ever finals. Senior Quinn Clark is seeded third in the 100 Fly and fifth in the 500 Freestyle. Junior Sadie Cheff is seeded third in the 100 freestyle and third in the 100 Breaststroke Freshman Kensley Cheff is seeded seventh in the 500 Freestyle. Senior Thane Borgen is seeded seventh in the 100 Freestyle and second in the 100 backstroke The state team includes Molly Bagley, Maya Badger, Sadie Cheff, Friar, Lucy Hiner, Elanie Martindale, Kensley Cheff, Jackson Schubert, Bates, Zachary Pierce, Borgen, Clark, Keith and Tristan Victor. “Our boys relays, 200 Medley, 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle relay are slated to place within the top three, coach Amy Caudill said. “Our girls relays will have to fight hard for a third place finish.”
Wildcats wallop Whitefish twice in one week
Columbia Falls is firmly in first place of the Northwest A Conference after their Cat-Dog victory over Whitefish by a score of 58-48 on Friday, Feb. 2. The Wildcats — winners of eight straight — improved to 8-1 in conference play and 10-5 overall.“During our winning streak, we’ve been getting healthy and getting our basketball legs under us,” Columbia Falls Head Coach Chris Finberg said. “A lot of our guys played football that made that run to the state championship game. Some guys we’re banged up from that season, so we’re now getting healthy and playing good basketball.”Jace Hill scored...
Cronk, Crump and Fainter Divisional Champs
Fifteen total Columbia Falls wrestlers will head to the State Tournament in Billings this weekend after qualifying in Western Divisionals Feb. 2-3. The boys team was third overall, with Traic Fainter (113), Blaise Cronk (160) and Rowdy Crump (182) earning first place for their weight classes. Joining them at state will be Dylan Delorme (145) and Winslow Peters (152) who took second place, Blake Hoerner (132) and Billy Gustafson (152) in third, Bradley Beck (120) fourth, Cash Byrd (126) sixth and Adam Lolli (205) eighth. “Ultimately we wrestled where we were expected to,” coach Jessie Schaeffer said. There were no real...
Can Trump return to power post-insurrection?
The Constitution (Section 3, 14th Amendment) explicitly prohibits anyone who has taken the oath of office as an officer of government, and then participated in an insurrection, “may not hold any office thereafter.”There have been several arguments debating this. For one: It is not the Constitution, it is the Democrats trying to keep Trump off the ballot. Naturally, Trump and supporters are incensed believing Democrats are playing dirty tricks by trying to prevent his election to a second term, or it’s the corrupt “Deep State.” Other arguments include: The President is not an officer of the United States, Trump is...
Legal limbo continues in the Ambler inholding case
The Flathead Conservation District says a couple that it claims illegally built a home along the banks of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park is, in essence, trying to have its cake and it eat it too.“The plaintiffs complaint relies on the assumption that their private inholding within Glacier National Park is essentially unregulated property — subject to no state or federal laws or regulations,” the Conservation District argued in a recently filed answer to John and Stacy Ambler’s lawsuit in United States District Court in Missoula.In late 2022 and early 2023 the Amblers built a home on the banks...
Krueger bids Ruder goodbye after 15 years
“I always say I kind of did a full circle, it just took me 35 years to make the circle,” Ruder Elementary School Principal Brenda Krueger said. Born in Kalispell and starting out school in Kila, Krueger would return to the Flathead years later to become a teacher and principal. And now, after 20 years of service to local schools, she will retire at the end of this school year. After completing her degree at the University of Montana in 1994, Krueger drew a line down the middle of the state. “I said I would teach anything in the west and...
Sign the CFAC petition
Some may and have been asking, “What’s the big deal about the CFAC clean up?” I am hoping to give just some bullet points on the importance of this issue before us as a community and Valley. 1. CFAC site is on 960 acres below the Cedar Flats well site. 2. There are numerous toxic well sites on the CFAC site that have extremely high levels of toxins, far above safe drinking water levels, some dump sites identified some not. 3. There is an estimated 1.2 million cubic yards of toxic contaminated soils, equivalent to 5 football fields 50 yards deep.4. Cyanide,...
Restoration over ‘clean up’
Like many residents of Columbia Falls and the Flathead Valley, I am deeply opposed to the EPA’s preferred plan to clean up toxic waste at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) site. In fact, it shouldn’t be considered a clean-up at all. Rather than remove the waste and restore the site, the EPA plans to simply bury 1.2 million cubic yards of dangerous contaminants like cyanide, fluoride, and arsenic, on site. This would effectively render the 960-acre site off-limits from most human uses forever, as well as pose a continuous threat to local water wells and to the health of...
CFAC concerns from C-Falls citizens
The proposed cleanup plan for the CFAC Superfund site is unacceptable.The CFAC property is a beautiful 960 acres of land along the Flathead River and below Teakettle Mountain – it’s the true Gateway to Glacier. Our community should be dreaming big about how that land will be used in the future – open space, light manufacturing, community gathering place, commercial use, wildlife corridor, affordable housing, trail network, concert venue – there are countless possibilities to consider. We can look to the successful cleanup and redevelopment of the Milltown Superfund site near Missoula as an inspiring example of what is possible. For...
Opinion: A call for love stories
“What’s that noise?” my friend asked as we cruised down Highway 2. “I don’t know, I’ve been turning the music up,” I said, and I did. That noise was the CV axle, an expensive fix. Pops is a car guy, he called when he heard my problem. “Want me to come get it?” he asked as soon as I picked up. He left the next morning, a nine-hour trip from Wyoming. I’m driving his car while he fixes mine at a sub-mechanic rate. Every time I buckle up, I’m grateful someone’s there to save me when I can’t save myself. ˜˜˜That’s my 100-word love story. The New York Times has a series of them, “Tiny Love Stories,” and I would invite you to look them up. This Valentine’s Day, I’d like to hear some from our readers – when did you know you loved your spouse, how did you meet your best friend, how do you know your dog loves you back – the only limit is the word count. If you submit them to editor@hungryhorsenews.com, we will run them for our Feb. 14 issue. Let’s spread some love in the Flathead.
Huckleberry Patch remodeled with 'modern cabin' style
Hungry Horse’s Huckleberry Patch is growing.The little red building off of U.S. 2 has been under construction this winter, with plans to open up the restaurant and gift shop, modernizing the whole property. “I wouldn’t call it an expansion, but kind of like a facelift,” The Huckleberry Patch’s manager Sky Duncan said. “It’s going to keep that rustic country feel and everything, but just kind of bring it into the 21st century.” The ceilings will be higher, and the red exterior will be exchanged for a wood and dark metal and trim, sort of a “modern cabin” look. The front facade and...
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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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