Warm summer days ripened a variety of local cherries just in time for the Cherry Festival this year, allowing growers and vendors to sell a portion of their crop downtown last weekend. Bruce Johnson, president of Flathead Lake Cherry Growers, a Montana Agricultural Cooperative, said that the growers were on track this year to have a pretty normal crop, volume-wise, and perhaps a little higher than last year. “We’re getting into the one and a half to two million pounds,” Johnson said. “The average is a little more than that, but with the cold winter we were holding our breath for a while for a good crop of fruit.” Cherries grow well in the Flat...
Tucked away behind a Main Street sidewalk, a bit off the beaten path, young entrepreneur Lexie Gauthier and her friend Anna Vert enticed thirsty Cherry Festival visitors to buy their lemonade. The homemade stand was somewhat shaded by an umbrella turned inside-out by Saturday’s wind gusts. The breez...
Triathlete Rob LaBair slogged through last years inaugural mud run for a first-place finish. He had so much fun that he chose to help plan this year’s race. He collaborated with event organizer Lowell Tyler, and together they invented harder obstacles that mirror the Montana Spartan Sprint race the fri...
ELMO — “It’s a day for the kids of Elmo,” Pearl Yellowman-Caye said. “… It’s a good way to transition into the powwow. We’ve honored our kids first.” Yellowman-Caye was talking about Strengthen My Nation Youth Day held July 17. On top o...
ELMO — Campers, tents and a few tipis took over the powwow grounds in Elmo for the Standing Arrow Powwow July 18 to 20. Dancers and drummers from around the state, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho and Canada turned up for the Kootenai tribe’s gathering. Jordan Stasso and Eddie Spears,...
ARLEE – The Arlee warehouse for health supplement company Ashley Martin Manufacturing will soon see one production line outsourced to Nevada, but a company official said the move is not expected to lead to layoffs. “We are growing very rapidly as a company and we have outstripped our cap...
RONAN – Members of the Flathead Joint Board of Control nearly doubled the administrative assessments of irrigators last week, saying the increase was necessary to build a war chest to fund specialized legal services required in several lawsuits the board is pursuing, and potential action in regards to ...
ELMO — It wasn’t just the usual bus ride into town for Sharon Lee Buckskin last week. Nine months pregnant, she got on the DHRD Transit bus in Elmo on July 15 to go to Polson for some appointments, and when she got off the bus she had her newborn baby with her. Sharon’s baby, due July 22...
RONAN – Members of the Ronan City Council and Ronan Police Commission have narrowed the number of candidates for police chief from seven applicants to two finalists, though some city councilmembers expressed doubt the two finalists would be willing to move to the area for the small salary the position ...
RONAN – The traditionally family-friendly Pioneer Days street dance in Ronan might become an event for people age 21 or older only, if this year’s enhanced security measures don’t cut down on problem behaviors. “We’ll try it one more year as a family thing and if things...
