EPA says it would be tough to remove all of the waste at CFAC
The Environmental Protection Agency made its strongest case yet for a “waste in place” solution for the cleanup of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Superfund site during a public meeting last week.
Apgar Lookout: Early season jaunt a great way to get in hiking shape
The Apgar Mountain Lookout Trail is one of those trails to hike first thing in the season because it’s easy to get to and it’s a good conditioning trail, which is to say it exposes you to elevation gain in a hurry over its 3.5 miles.
Vandals ransack Columbia Falls wrestling academy over weekend
Vandals struck the Boys and Girls Club and the Ruis Wrestling Academy over the weekend, doing thousands of dollars in damage.
Columbia Falls city manager candidate had ethics issue at previous job
Columbia Falls city manager candidate Dennis Stark was the subject of an ethics investigation while serving as county manager for Lyon County, Nevada and ultimately was sanctioned $1,000 by the Nevada Commission on Ethics in 2012.
Columbia Falls School District seeks support for roof replacement levy
Columbia Falls Public Schools will make a public push to inform voters about an upcoming building reserve levy request to fix the roof on the classroom wing of its high school.
Columbia Falls will continue to explore affordable housing at Railroad Street
Columbia Falls City Council earlier this month gave the nod to moving forward with an affordable housing project at Railroad Street after hearing some assurances from a Habitat for Humanity representative that the houses would be affordable and would remain that way through their lifespan.
Columbia Falls Boys and Girls Club moves into former school
The Boys and Girls Club in Columbia Falls has moved into a new location at the former Glacier Gateway Elementary School.
Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis to buy CFAC site
The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. has agreed to sell 2,400 acres of land it owns to Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis.
Glacier National Park crews plowing Two Medicine Road
It’s that time of year again — Glacier National Park has started plowing the Two Medicine Road and will begin plowing the Camas Road Monday, April 1.
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.
Columbia Falls outfitter testifies on impacts of climate change to business
Columbia Falls outfitter and guide Hilary Hutcheson testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee last week on the effects of climate change to the outdoor industry.
Cost to remove CFAC waste could be more than $1 billion, EPA estimates
Responding to calls to remove toxic waste from the former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant, the Environmental Protection Agency said it estimates it would cost anywhere from $624 million to $1.4 billion to haul the waste away from the Superfund site.
Columbia Falls School District sending more levy requests to voters
Looking down the barrel of some significant operating deficits in both the elementary and high school budgets, the Columbia Falls School District 6 Trustee Board unanimously approved bringing two levy requests to voters last week.
Musician Don Lawrence dies at age 94
From 1959 to 1984 Don Lawrence was the band director at Columbia Falls High School. He left a legacy not only at the school but with his musical arrangements he performed with the DLO and other groups. He was 94.
Columbia Falls teen is dead in Kentucky; man arrested on murder charge
An 18-year-old Columbia Falls man is dead and a 21-year-old suspect has been arrested, according to NBC News in Kentucky.
Conservation district responds to couple behind McDonald Creek home in Glacier National Park
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 trying to have its cake and it eat it too.
At Logan Pass, endangered insect presents a quandary for flush toilets
An endangered insect could impact future water use at Glacier National Park’s Logan Pass Visitor Center.
Memorial rodeo planned for Columbia Falls man who died tending to horses during blizzard
Cody Sorenson and Dakota Pearle went into the Bob Marshall Wilderness on a September elk hunt. The trip went south almost immediately. They got a late start and it was pouring rain. Still, they packed up Sorenson’s blind Spotted Leopard Appaloosa horse Outlaw and headed to Basin in the heart of the Bob Marshall.
Forest Service extends public comment on outfitter permits
After some feedback, the U.S. Forest Service has extended the deadline to comment on renewing the outfitter and guide permits for the next 10 years until Feb. 16.
Aging Columbia Falls high school needs a new roof over classrooms
The Columbia Falls School District 6 Board recently voted to bring an emergency bond measure to fix the failing roof at the high school.
Columbia Falls city manager set to retire
After a 40-year career in government, including more than 25 years in Columbia Falls, City Manager Susan Nicosia tendered her resignation to the City Council.
Climbers raise red flags over proposed anchor rules for national parks
The mountain climbing community is concerned that new rules being proposed by the National Park Service and Forest Service could hinder their sport, making some mountains impossible to scale.
Plenty of concerns about CFAC cleanup plan raised by public, ARCO
The Environmental Protection Agency has released a slew of comments to the Proposed Action for cleanup of the Columbia Falls Superfund site that totals 715 pages.
Columbia Falls will examine short-term rentals laws in January
The Columbia Falls City Council will hold a meeting on short term rentals during a workshop at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22.
Couple behind McDonald Creek home takes fight to federal court
A California couple is taking a two-pronged legal approach to fight the ordered removal of their house along the banks of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park.
Glacier Park inholders file suit against Conservation District
The owners of a house along the banks of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park have filed an amended complaint in Flathead County District Court challenging the Flathead Conservation District’s recent ruling that the house be removed by April 1.
Columbia Falls considering converting baseball field into housing
Columbia Falls will look at possibly partnering with Habitat for Humanity and the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust on converting a parcel of city-owned land off Railroad Street into affordable housing.
Feds pass on funding North Fork Road paving study
Flathead County did not receive federal funding for an environmental analysis to look at paving a portion of the North Fork Road, county Public Works Director Dave Prunty confirmed last week.
Former Spotted Bear District Ranger says he was ousted
The former Spotted Bear District ranger claims he was removed from his post last spring in part for trying to protect the Bob Marshall Wilderness’ natural values.
Columbia Falls will lose ‘doughnut’ planning under new state law
Columbia Falls will soon lose its “doughnut," an extraterritorial planning jurisdiction that gives the municipality say in developments outside the city limits.
Dillon clips Columbia Falls in OT for State A championship
After roaring back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to tie it, Columbia Falls fell just short in overtime at Dillon in the State A championship football game Saturday, 36-35.
Conservation board orders removal of home on McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park
Flathead Conservation District Hearing Officer Laurie Zeller on Nov. 13 found that the district has jurisdiction over a house allegedly built illegally on the banks of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park.
For Glacier’s iconic goats, snow proves solace from bugs
A big snowfield in Glacier National Park might look like a great place to cool off in the heat of summer, and plenty of mountain goats are drawn to them.
Swan View Coalition questions Forest Service road closure methods
A study done earlier this year by the Swan View Coalition claims that the Forest Service is overstating the effectiveness of of road closure devices on the Flathead National Forest.
North Fork area on alert for aggressive grizzly
A grizzly bear with a taste for dogs has the North Fork community on alert, though the bruin may have died after a landowner reportedly shot and wounded it.
Visitation to Glacier National Park up over last year
Despite an even broader reservation system in 2023, visitation to Glacier National Park is up slightly over last year through August, according to the National Park Service.
Old bell from Talbott School returned, on display at Gateway
In 1973 the Talbott School, first built in 1909, was torn down on Fourth Avenue West in Columbia Falls after it was deemed too expensive to repair, rather than replace.
Couple allowed to winterize disputed home in Glacier National Park
The Flathead Conservation District last week voted to allow a couple to winterize a home that it believes was built illegally in Glacier National Park.
Fence aside, Riverside Park retains access to prime fishing hole
A settlement over a city park in Columbia Falls doesn’t impact access to a good fishing hole on the Flathead River, provided anglers stay in the Red Bridge right of way.
Welcome To America
Naturalization ceremony held in Glacier National Park
On a gorgeous afternoon, 15 people from 10 different countries were naturalized as U.S. Citizens during a ceremony Friday in Glacier National Park.
Plenty of variables if EV buses come to Glacier
Co-op will get a taste of serving EV buses, as Bigfork will soon have an EV rig
As Glacier National Park examines ways to manage crowds into the future, one suggestion by Congressman Ryan Zinke has been a more robust shuttle system, possibly with clean running electric vehicles.
Weather closes vehicle access to Glacier's Logan Pass
Glacier National Park announced late Thursday that the Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed to motor vehicles between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Overlook because of the weather.
In Glacier National Park, this toilet melds into the landscape
Over the years, Glacier Park has added a host of bathrooms along the Going-to-the-Sun Road at several pullouts.
Ridge Fire estimated cost just under $21 million
No structures were lost and no one was seriously injured in the Ridge Fire above Martin City. But it was an expensive fire to fight.
Emails show Forest Service hoped to keep Columbia Mountain tram plans quiet
Newly revealed emails show that the Flathead National Forest under then supervisor Kurt Steele looked to keep a proposal of a tram up Columbia Mountain from public view for more than year prior to it being first proposed.
Hearing held on Glacier National Park house while a lawsuit waits in the wings
The owners of a house in Glacier National Park made their case as to why it should be allowed to remain on the banks of McDonald Creek during a hearing last week in front of the Flathead Conservation Board and hearing officer Laurie Zeller.
Hearing could decide fate of house in Glacier
The Flathead Conservation District will hold a hearing Aug. 25 on a home it argues was built illegally on the bank of McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park.
Historic clock donated to Columbia Falls Museum
Karl Sorenson recently donated a vintage clock from the old Gaylord Hotel, which burned down in the mid-1920s. The hotel was a landmark on Nucleus Avenue prior to the fire.
C-Falls settles lawsuit with Kreck Riverside Park neighbors
The Columbia Falls City Council approved a settlement with Mark and Inge Cahill over Kreck Riverside Park on Monday night.
Tester wary of defunding Glacier's entry system
Montana Sen. Jon Tester said last week that he didn’t think defunding Glacier National Park’s reservation system was a good idea.