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Floyd Steig, 84
Floyd Steig, 84, went to be with his wife, Betty Jane Steig on May 23, 2024, with a quick battle of cancer. Floyd was born in Bowman, North Dakota, to Gilbert (Junior) and Maye Steig on April 10, 1940, oldest of three children. Floyd attended school in Bowman and graduated in 1958, he worked on the family dairy and was active in FFA. After graduation he attended trade school in Wahpeton, North Dakota, for auto mechanics.In 1959 he joined the Navy and was aboard ship on the USS Rockbridge during the Cuban missile crisis and was mostly stationed in Puerto...
Whitefish's Heavirland makes Olympic rugby squad
Whitefish native Nicole Heavirland is off to Paris as a part of the U.S. women’s rugby team, for what will be her third Olympic showing. “I’m looking forward to the whole experience – traveling with the team, being in the Olympic village – just being a part of this journey,” Heavirland said. Heavirland went to the 2016 Rio Summer Games as a reserve. In 2021, she played for every minute of the Tokyo Games where the team placed sixth. This year, Heavirland has been selected as a reserve.“I’m a reserve in case anyone gets injured, but I represent the team...
Music festival makes public safety a priority
The “watering hole” was a popular spot at the Under the Big Sky music festival last weekend in Whitefish as temperatures soared amid a summer heat wave.Emergency medics on site said that they were staying busy caring for some of the estimated 20,000 concertgoers who gathered at Big Mountain Ranch for the fifth annual festival. Many Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies were working, in addition to security guards, festival staff and volunteers. Law enforcement said that the Outriders Present production crew did a great job executing the three-day event that featured headline artists Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings and Turnpike Troubadours.“Every year,...
Archertown evolves with Under the Big Sky
Under the big sky music festival 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. Headliners like Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings and the Turnpike Troubadours drew in music lovers from across the country. Two stages were erected for attendees along with space for a rodeo interlude, all hemmed in by Montana’s natural beauty. Put on by Outriders Presents, this year’s event featured a variety of vendors, including big brand names like Tito’s Vodka and Pit Vipers, the latter’s attire well-represented among festival attendees. In...
Nonprofits selected for Great Fish Community Challenge
Eighty Flathead Valley nonprofit organizations will participate in the 10th annual Great Fish Community Challenge hosted by Whitefish Community Foundation Aug. 8 to Sept. 13. The Great Fish Community Challenge is a charitable giving campaign in which donors can choose to give to multiple nonprofit organizations with a single transaction. At the campaign's end, Whitefish Community Foundation will award a percentage match on the first $25,000 raised by each participating organization. The match is made possible by Whitefish Community Foundation’s Circle of Giving donors and donors who designate their gift to the Great Fish Match Fund. In honor of the 10th anniversary...
Last Best Ride returns for fourth edition
In just four years, Whitefish’s Last Best Ride has quickly become one of Montana's premier gravel cycling events. “The first year, gravel cycling was still gaining momentum. But now folks know what it is, and the event has transformed the community, and not just the cycling community, but Whitefish as a whole,” said co-director and event founder Jess Cerra. “I feel really proud of the impact we’ve had on the local high schools and outdoor circles.” This year, Stella Hobbs, co-owner of Great Northern Cycle and Ski, has teamed up with Cerra as co-director for the event. The race, a 501c(3) non-profit...
Northwest Montana duo creates ‘sister harmonies’ as Denim Gold
If Americana country singer and songwriters Hannah King and Michelle Rivers have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to “make it” as independent artists. But that didn’t stop them from teaming as an official duo dubbed Denim Gold, whose first big performance together will be at the Under the Big Sky Music Festival on Saturday. “We have a song on our new record called ‘Make It.’ It’s a tongue-and-cheek song about people who give you career advice... the heart of the song is about our music being authentic to who we are and what we value,”...
Plein air oil painter Lori Putnam featured at Cawdrey Gallery
Lori Putnam lives in Central Tennessee near Nashville, but she is truly a resident of the world, having painted in more than 30 different countries. Putnam paints en plein air, painting outdoors, on-site, creating sketches and studies in oil, gouache or pencil. These studies are her “notes” that she takes back to her Tennessee studio to use as references for large-format oil paintings. Putnam’s style is impressionistic. Big impasto brushstrokes sweep across the canvas creating a dynamic dance of color and texture. When seen up close, the composition feels abstract, and the subject only comes into focus as the paintings are...
Co-op’s annual fundraiser for local food banks underway
Over the last eight years, food banks in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside and Libby have shared in over $70,000 in cash and 7,000 pounds of meat donated through Flathead Electric Cooperative’s annual Ribeye Raffle. Tickets for this year’s raffle are on sale now. As part of its commitment to the community members who own the not-for-profit electric utility, Flathead Electric Co-op purchases beef, lamb, and hogs each year during the 4-H and FFA Market Sale at the Northwest Montana Fair. Most of the meat, and all the cash, goes to the local food banks, except for the prime steak cuts, which are raffled off. The raffle winners each take home approximately 60 one-inch-thick premium t-bone and ribeye steaks, valued at over $500. Tickets are $1 each or $5 for six and are available through August 18. To purchase raffle tickets: Navigate to flatheadelectric.com/ribeyeraffle Stop by the Co-op’s Kalispell or Libby offices Visit the Co-op's booth during the Northwest Montana Fair Winners are announced the week of August 20.
Waterton-Glacier Peace Park hosting science and history day
The 21st annual Waterton-Glacier Science and History Day, hosted by Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, returns for its first in-person event since 2019 on Tuesday, July 23. The event is 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Community Building on Albright Circle, West Glacier, Montana, and is free and open to the public. Participants will learn from scientists and historians about current research and historical topics related to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park through a unique look at the partnership, insights and latest findings. Presentations are grouped into four themes: wildlife, visitor use management, co-stewardship, and cultural and historical resources. Topics include efforts to vaccinate...
Police Calls: Not going to work due to bear
The police calls section is presented for entertainment purposes and does not reflect the nature or the volume of the calls received by local law enforcement.June 14There was a bear in a tree in front of a house on Meadowlark Lane at 7:35 a.m. and the caller was too afraid to go to work.A suspicious male was seen in the Marina Crest Lane area and it was thought he was squatting in a house there.The caller wanted law enforcement to know that Antifa is in the area.A property manager believed guests who just checked out left drugs and several other...
PHOTOS: The 45th annual Whitefish Arts Festival
The 45th annual Whitefish Arts Festival brought artists from around the country to Depot Park this weekend. Underwater trout photography by Lisa Savard of Rock Creek, MT. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) Fishing nets and fly boxes by Mike Avery of Idaho Falls. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) Enrique R. De Los Angeles' of Yuma, Arizona and his loom-hand spun yarn. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) Sharon Seals of Lincoln, MT (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) Lazy Bear Metal Works of Rexford, MT (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) A visitor takes in high altitude photography by Colorado based Jason Weiss. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot) Chris Rasmussen based in Southwest Montana with cedar rose woodworking. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Looking Back: Fireworks barge catches fire twice
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler50 Years AgoJuly 11, 1974Pacific Power and Light Company filed an application with the Montana Public Service Commission asking approval of electric rate increases averaging about 27% for its service area in Montana. It estimated the rate increase proposal would bring, based on 1973 data, additional revenues of $1.3 million on an annual basis. PP&L also estimated that residential customers would experience increases ranging from six to 23 cents per day depending on the level of household power usage. A household using 500 KW hours a month would pay an additional...
Efforts persist to rebuild wildlife connectivity with highway crossings
For humans, roads are more than infrastructure. They can be cultural phenoms or a symbol of freedom. But for all the freedom they provide, they create a “deadly ecological divide ... that denies animals the ability to move freely and safely around the environment,” said author Ben Goldfarb during a presentation June 26 at the Whitefish Community Center.Goldfarb was the key speaker at a community discussion on wildlife crossings hosted by Glacier Two-Medicine Alliance.“Between Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park and Bob Marshall Wilderness, there’s a crucial highway area dividing core habitats,” said Peter Metcalf, executive director of Glacier Two-Medicine...
Upcoming Whitefish School District informational sessions on school bonds
The Whitefish School District invites families and community members to attend informational sessions regarding two school bonds that will appear on the ballot in September. These sessions will provide an opportunity to learn about and ask questions concerning the WHS Academic Expansion and WHS Athletic Improvement proposals.The next informational session occurs on Monday, July 15, at 5:30 p.m. at Whitefish High School. Additional sessions will be held at the same time and location on Aug. 5, Aug. 19, and Sept. 5.WHS Academic Expansion Bond:The WHS Academic Expansion Bond will provide additional classrooms and labs to support increased enrollment and enhance...
Repeat dock offenses rile councilors; viaduct upgrades move ahead
The Whitefish City Council last week considered a request for lakeshore variances, approval to get bids for the viaduct improvement project and direction for building the Whitefish Yards trails.Two variances to the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Regulations for a dock at 727 LM Beach Lane were requested. One request was for a variance to the riparian setback because the property does not have enough lake frontage to meet the 20-foot minimum setback. The second was a variance to the dock size regulations, to install a 380-square-foot dock, which would be about 190 square feet more than what is allowed, given the...
Whitefish's Lee Walburn eyes comeback after ruptured Achilles ends his Olympics bid
Whitefish High School alum and decathlete Lee Warburn graduated from Washington State University in May with a degree in humanities – although if you ask his parents, Janis and David, they’ll say he earned his degree in track and field.In early June, Walburn placed seventh in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, earned first team All-America honors and raised his rank to eighth in the nation. Just two weeks later, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials held in the same stadium. “It was definitely … the most excited I've ever been...
Stumptown Art Studio painting out plans for growth
A collaborative effort of dozens of Whitefish artists to capture the quintessential beauty of Whitefish will support fundraising efforts for a new Stumptown Art Studio building that is planned adjacent to the current location downtown.On Saturday, July 13, over 25 Whitefish artists will spread out across the city for Stumptown Art Studio’s first ever Whitefish Paint Out event. People are invited to visit the artists to watch them create local masterpieces from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “We wanted to get a variety of locations that were diverse in representing Whitefish. So we put a list together of iconic places and...
Public invited to Going Batty field trip in Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park’s Going Batty field trip will be held on Thursday, July 18, in West Glacier from 8 to 11:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public but participation is limited and requires advance registration.Glacier National Park’s biologist Lisa Bate and her staff, along with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, will lead participants on this late-evening field trip to a site with known bat activity. Wildlife staff will set up mist nets to capture and process bats and use acoustic detectors to detect the ultrasonic calls of bats flying overhead. These monitoring efforts are critical as...
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The first edition of the Whitefish Pilot rolled off the press Jan. 23, 1904. For more than 100 years, the Pilot has provided Whitefish with local news, sports and features, and has played an integral role in documenting the city's transformation from a railroad town to a bustling resort community.
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