Flathead Beacon

In 1994, Katherine “Kitty” Curtis ran for a seat on the bench as a Flathead County district court judge. Then the Columbia Falls city attorney, Curtis recalled knocking on 6,000 doors during the campaign, having conversations with voters about her qualifications, her experience as a lawyer and her views on how a judge should carry themselves.

Beef is expensive. Shoppers see it every time they walk past the meat counter. Washington has responded with a band-aid solution by opening the door to more imported beef. While that may provide some short-term appeal to consumers, it does nothing to address the underlying domestic supply problem that has led to high prices in the first place.

Carlos Florey has volunteered for the Nate Chute Classic most years since the races began 27 years ago. The series of banked slalom and boardercross races at Whitefish Mountain Resort benefits the Nate Chute Foundation (NCF). Chute grew up spending time at Florey’s house, snowboarding with Florey’s son Canyon, before Chute died by suicide in 1999. The nonprofit has worked to raise suicide awareness and support mental health initiatives in Flathead County ever since.

If you are pleased with the way things are going in our nation, then keep voting the same tired “party-line” vote. That is, if you are pleased with the undeclared war, the steady rise in the cost of everything from gas to food, and the way our Congress has failed to provide a counterbalance to the executive branch, then keep voting a party line.

Flathead Electric Cooperative has awarded $30,834 in grants to nine nonprofits through its Roundup for Safety program. The projects range from bear resistant garbage cans to a shade canopy for the Kalispell Senior Center, and all aim to improve public safety in the Flathead Valley and Libby. Founded in 1997, Roundup for Safety is a voluntary program in which Cooperative members can round up their monthly electric bills to the nearest dollar.

Politics has become very good at telling us what divides us. I believe leadership begins somewhere else: with listening, integrity, accountability and a willingness to solve the real problems affecting the people we serve. That is why I support Derek Peachey for Montana House District 3. Derek brings more than 25 years of experience in business and technology, including building and leading businesses.

Glacier Park The alpine section closes at 7 p.m. Friday between Avalanche and Jackson Glacier Overlook as snow and a hard freeze move into the region By Beacon Staff October 9, 2026 Folds of fog drift down the Garden Wall as viewed from Going-to-the-Sun Road on June 22, 2026. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon Glacier National Park will close the alpine section of Going-to-the-Sun Road at 7 p.m. Friday due to incoming winter weather.

Glacier Park The park’s official fundraising partner outlines progress on supported projects and set goals for the year ahead By Jules Lingenfelter October 9, 2026 A mountain goat crosses Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road’s at Logan Pass. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon Amid unprecedented visitation numbers and staffing cuts removing nearly a quarter of the park’s workforce, Glacier National Park’s fundraising arm is working to meet the park’s growing demands.

Weather Snow levels are expected to drop to the valley floors by Sunday, and gusts could cause power outages and dock damage on Flathead and Swan lakes, the National Weather Service says By Beacon Staff October 9, 2026 A powerful windstorm with gusts around 70mph produced massive waves on Flathead Lake at Wayfarers State Park in Bigfork on Dec. 17, 2025.

Progressives continue to advocate for some type of single-payer health care system in the United States. The euphemistic catchphrase is “Medicare for All,” which sounds like a simple expansion of the existing government-controlled health insurance plan for seniors. A recent opinion article in The Wall Street Journal, however, explained exactly why a single-payer government-controlled health care system would not be financially viable.