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Valley Press - Mineral Independent
Veto override push on long-debated marijuana money bill falls short
A veto override effort on a much-debated marijuana revenue bill that initially passed the Montana Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support last year has failed, according to poll results released Friday afternoon.The override poll, conducted by a mail ballot by the Montana secretary of state’s office over the last month, attracted only 41 “yes” votes from state representatives and 24 from state senators — well short of the 67-vote and 34-vote two-thirds margins required for a successful veto override.An additional 14 representatives and 2 senators voted against an override. The state’s remaining lawmakers didn’t respond to the poll, which has been...
Lincoln County jury finds Montana Highway Patrol trooper's assailant guilty on all counts
A Lincoln County jury found the Eureka man accused of trying to kill Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Lewis Johnson in 2023 guilty on all counts Friday afternoon.Jason Allen Miller, 42, was convicted of felony attempted deliberate homicide, criminal endangerment, aggravated kidnapping, possession of dangerous drugs and criminal mischief.Johnson suffered life-threatening injuries in the Feb. 16, 2023 incident near Rexford and is still recovering.Jurors began deliberating late Friday morning and returned with a verdict after about two total hours.Flathead County District Court Judge Danni Coffman, hearing the case in place of Lincoln County District Court Judge Matt Cuffe, scheduled sentencing for...
Ranchland conserved near National Bison Range
Landowner and retired conservation biologist John Weaver, with the help of the Flathead Land Trust, just placed his 122-acre Mission Valley property under a conservation easement.“Dr. John Weaver's stunning 122-acre property just east of the [National] Bison Range, previously platted for development, will now be permanently protected for agriculture, wildlife, and open space,” said Jen Guse, the land trust’s communications, outreach and special projects coordinator in an email.A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that limits development on the land to protect its conservation values. Weaver put the first half of his ranch, 159 acres, under an easement in...
Mack Days angler lands, releases bull trout
Spring Mack Days, sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, is moving into week number six in the nine-week long event. Entries continue to be taken until 3 p.m. Saturday, May 11.Up to $225,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded by CSKT to anglers who have been participating in this management program to reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and increase populations of native bull trout and westslope cutthroat.Catching a bull trout is an experience, as angler Dan Deuschman of Missoula can attest. He was out with his...
Lady Cats tennis back on the court
For tennis fans in Superior and around the area, it was a welcome site indeed.Not just the fact that the Lady Bobcats were on the home courts, outdoors, and it was a sunny day, but the fact that Lanie Crabb was swatting tennis ball across the net.Out for a year with a knee injury that sidelined one of the best tennis players in the region, not to mention kept an outstanding volleyball and basketball player on the sidelines, Crabb was back in action this past Saturday at a multi-school tournament on the Superior High tennis courts.As the only tennis playing...
Noxon-Thompson Falls co-op baseball home opener
This was a scene worthy of an advertisement for America.A bright sunny day, with a hint of a chill in the air.Baseball players warming up on a field worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting.Que the bald eagles for the fly by. There they are.Play ball.With that, the Noxon-Thompson Falls co-op baseball team took to the field for the first high school baseball game in Noxon. It was held at the mountain and forest encircling Pilgrim Creek Park. Where else?Polson, the defending state champions who came to town with a 7-1 season record, their only loss to Columbia Falls, a class...
Lady Hawks take on top softball teams at Missoula tourney
A couple of things are certain about the Thompson Falls softball team.They are competitors with high expectations that have produced a very good team.They can compete with the best in the state of Montana.They have one of the best, if not the best, players in this neck of the woods, Sarah Koskela.To wit, seven games into the season, the Lady Hawks emerged from a major tournament in Missoula this past weekend where an impressive assemblage of teams were gathered.And they came home nearing the halfway point of the 2024 fastpitch softball season with a team that will be a factor...
Rintz takes posts as Lolo Forest district ranger
The Lolo National Forest has named Curtis Rintz as the new district ranger for the Plains-Thompson Ranger District. Rintz started at the end of February.“We are excited to welcome Curtis to Montana and our Forest,” said Carolyn Upton. “His background, skills and experiences will be a tremendous asset to the work we do and the Plains and Thompson Falls communities.”Rintz came to the Forest Service from the National Park Service where he served as the chief of facility management and engineering at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada. He has more than 20 years of federal service and...
Local teams post solid results at Libby Invite
Bigfork boys and girls pretty much dominated the Libby Invitational track and field meet this past week at Logger Stadium on a blustery Tuesday afternoon.Thompson Falls and Noxon were the only two local teams (Sanders County) to take part in the meet, which attracted athletes from eight area schools.Bigfork won the men’s varsity competition with 117 points, while Browning’s boys finished second with 108 team points. In the girl’s competition, Lincoln County (Eureka) won the women’s varsity team title, amassing 114.5 points while Bigfork’s girls were the runners up with 100.Thompson Falls women were fifth with 64.5 points, while the...
Trotters finish second at Dave Tripp Memorial
There’s a new player in the local track and field game, new contender that is, as evident by the results of this past weekend’s Dave Tripp Memorial Track meet in Polson.The Plains women, led by junior reigning state champion discus thrower Alexis Demming, who won the discus event Saturday and added the meet shot put title to her medal haul, helped the Trotters place second in a field of 15 local B-C track and field teams.And as the Trotters rose to near the top of the pile, Superior’s boys and girls continued their strong Spring with a pair of third...
Amateur radio club collaborates to help during emergencies
Each month a group of dedicated Ham radio operators with the Clark Fork Valley Amateur Radio Club meet at Church on the Move in Plains. Ham radios, owned by thousands around the world, communicate on radio frequencies assigned by the FCC dedicated for the use by amateur radio enthusiasts. Radios range from small handheld units costing under 30 to elaborate base stations costing thousands of dollars, allowing the owners to communicate from mountain tops, in a car or in a home, all without relying on the internet or cellphone networks.Ham operators have been a vital part of emergency response teams...
Swope leads Lady Bobcats with medal in javelin
The Superior boys and girls track and field teams are emerging as a Class B Montana high school state contender, early results continue to show.The Bobcats and Lady Bobcats both had strong team showings and some outstanding individual efforts in the Florence/Darby Invitational meet last week at the Corvallis Sports Complex.The women, with multiple individuals placing high in several different events finished sixth in the meet’s team standings, while the Bobcats boys were seventh.Meet host Corvallis won both the men’s and women’s team titles, with the women narrowly edging out second-place Twin Bridges by three points, 92-89. The Corvallis men...
High school soccer coming to Thompson Falls and Plains
Soccer fans, velcro down.The sport, often described as the number one spectator sport in the world based on the number of fans who watch and follow it across the globe, is coming to Sanders County and beyond this fall as a high school sport.That announcement was made this past week by Clark Fork Soccer Alliance spokesman Nick Lawyer, who said the CFSA is going to be presenting financial support to a proposed co-op team that will feature players from both Thompson Falls and Plains beginning this coming Fall. The CFSA organization also has players and supporters in Mineral County.“Clark Fork...
COLUMN: Iron Mike back in the ring
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the arena, Tyson is being served.Not Tyson as in chicken tenders, but Tyson as in Iron Mike Tyson, he of ear-biting fame and brute power.Sometime, presumably this summer, Iron Mike will step into the ring against a 27-year-old dude named Jake Paul in what is being promoted as an “exhibition” bout. The match, or mismatch, will be carried live on Netflix, with the key promotion words “pay-per-view” in bold. Texas billionaire Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and AT&T stadium where the bout is scheduled to be held...
Crescent Ridge ramps up for spring produce
From being a fisheries biologist to a commercial farmer, Michael Davidson has enjoyed the journey immensely.He cut his teeth helping a buddy in St. Ignatius with his garden, and eight years ago he purchased 23 acres in Alberton. Crescent Ridge Farm has been a thriving business and Davidsson has become the unofficial president of the farmers market on Thursday afternoons. The farm is operated as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where the recipients of the yet-to-come-vegetables pre-pay Davidson earlier in the year which he uses for capital for seed, fencing, diesel and employees, so the sting of operational costs are not...
Mack Days anglers lauded as relentless
How to describe those anglers who put in countless hours, dollars, sweat, and a little bit of blood out on Flathead Lake during the Mack Days fishing events? They are the best of the best when it comes to lake trout fishing, a sport that they love.The Mack Days staff described them as relentless, resilient, competitive, respectful, consistent, enthusiastic and tough. Part of the lure of fishing must be that every bite or hit on the line is a surprise – not knowing what is on the line is part of the draw. Landing the fish is the next step...
Road resurfacing project planned for Rock Creek Road
The Lolo National Forest will begin a large road improvement project in July on Rock Creek Road, Forest Road 102.This $1.8 million project, funded by the Legacy Restoration Fund established by the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, will address the condition of the road by resurfacing it with new gravel and improving drainage features. These changes will benefit forest visitors and Rock Creek residents and business patrons, as well as reduce sediment transport and improve stream conditions for aquatic species, including threatened bull trout.The work will take place along the entire length of the Forest Service portion of the road...
Spring break for a cause: Florida woman organizes clothing drive for Superior thrift
Spring break for college students is typically mid to late March. For the most part, it’s the disreputable week of jet-setting to warm weather locations, for young adults to decompress from their bookwork by engaging in some risky and questionable behavior.Most of these activities take place in locations like Florida. So, it came as quite a surprise when one undergraduate from the Sunshine State opted to spend her spring break traveling to Montana instead with very a generous load of winter clothing for the Women in Timber Thrift Store in Superior.Lauren Widman attends Northwest Florida State College, and though she...
Plains bowling scores
Week of 4/02/2024: Tuesday Senior Mixed StandingTeam Standings: 1. Strikers 2. Craiger’s Firearms 3.McGowan 4.Plains Travel Plaza1. High Series - Craiger’s Firearms 1779, Craig Fowler 466, Janice Arnold 3932. High Series - Strikers 1773, Randy Arnold 456, Sheryl Denson 3633. High Series - McGowan 1747, Jamie French 455, Dianne Berg 3161. High Game -Craiger’s Firearms 620, Randy Arnold 171, Janice Arnold 1492. High Game - Strikers 604, Jamie French 165, Sheryl Denson 1383. High Game - Plains Travel Plaza 603, Leonard Larson 163, Janice Arnold 132Wednesday Night Mixed Weekly StandingApril 3, 2024Team Standings: 1.Farmers Union Ins. 2. Revier Transportation 3. Gary’s Auto 4. Slinging Balls.5. Dirty Balls 6. Spare Me1. High Series - Farmers Union Ins. 2290, Larry Revier 573, Lisa French 4902. High Series - Slinging Balls 2260, Craig Fowler 461, Michelle Sturm 4593. High Series - Revier Transportation 2242, Jamie French 414, Victoria Westhoven 4091. High Game- Slinging Balls 801, Larry Revier 218, Lisa French 1872. High Game - Revier Transportation 785, Larry Revier 183, Michelle Sturm 1713. High Game - Farmers Union Ins. 782, Larry Revier 171, Ccindy Arnold 163
Valley Press - Mineral Independent
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We are the local newspapers for Sanders & Mineral Counties in Montana. The Clark Fork Valley Press is published in Plains, and the Mineral Independent is based in Superior. Both papers are published weekly on Wednesdays. Our office (at 105 W. Lynch St., Plains MT 59859) is open Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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