Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 295
WHITEFISH, MONTANA - Children can now learn about Greek and Roman mythology while learning their ABCs thanks to Cassidy Meade's new book, "A is for Athena: The ABCs of Greek and Roman Mythology." The paperback book is organized in an ABC format with every letter attached to a Greek or Roman mythological figure. Every page also contains an illustration representing the associated figure. Meade said it is targeted towards younger children mostly between the ages of five and eight. Her passion for...
SEELEY LAKE - Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual cross country skiing races Skiesta and the Biathlon have been postponed to next year while the 25k and 50k OSCR will take place unsupported. Seeley Lake Nordic Club organizes the Biathlon and OSCR while Seeley Lake Elementary organizes Skiesta. Lynn Carey, club vice president and race director, said the Biathlon had to be canceled because it required every shooting station to have a handler which would be impossible with social distancing....
MISSOULA COUNTY - Missoula County's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) announced their development of a Type III Incident Management Team to coordinate Phase 1b of the COVID-19 vaccine administration throughout the county during a press conference Thursday, Jan. 14. OEM Director Adriane Beck will oversee the effort. The Western Montana All Hazard Incident Management Team is comprised of members from local public agencies including fire and law enforcement. According to a press release, the... Full story
POWELL COUNTY - The Tri County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) voted to increase recreation site fees for 11 sites across the Lolo National Forest during a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Jan 12. Sites that saw increases were located in the Seeley Lake Ranger District (Powell County) as well as Missoula Ranger District (Granite County). Monture Guard Station Cabin's nightly fee increased from $60 to $75 while Big Nelson Campground went from no charge to $10. Jeff Ward, U.S. Forest Service...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Community Council listened to presentations from multiple community leaders during their virtual meeting Monday, Jan. 11. Speakers included Missoula District Administrator Bob Vosen who presented Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) projects expected to take place in the upcoming year; Claire Muller, Seeley Lake Community Foundation executive director, who presented the Foundation’s accomplishments in 2020 and their plans for 2021; and Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver who spoke about the U.S. Forest S...
POTOMAC - Members of the Potomac School Board discussed the continuation of their 1900 series policies which includes requiring masks in school facilities at their Jan. 11 meeting. The series also maintains student cohort groups throughout the school day and encourages social distancing as much as possible inside the buildings. Given Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s recent announcement of his intentions to remove the statewide mask mandate following vaccine distributions, Principal John Rouse recommended that the school maintain its current l...
LINCOLN - For the second time in its 36-year run, the annual mushing competition, Montana Race to the Sky, has been canceled. Pam Beckstrom, 35 year volunteer, said after much deliberation, the event's board decided on Jan. 10 that the event would be postponed to next year. They made the announcement the next day. Beckstrom said there were several reasons behind their decision. The biggest one was limited gathering size due to COVID-19. Restrictions prevent the event from not only having spectat...
MISSOULA - At a virtual public hearing Jan. 7, the Missoula County Commissioners unanimously voted to table a resolution outlining the need for safety while operating all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) until further discussions can take place among commissioners and dealers. If there are any modifications or amendments to it, a second hearing will be scheduled. Missoula County Chief Administrative Officer Chris Lounsbury presented the resolution before the Commissioners. He said it came at the request of the Montana Association of Counties where it...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Elementary School went into fully remote learning after a member of the school community tested positive for COVID-19. Staff received the news on Thursday, Jan. 7 and subsequently closed the school that morning. Students and staff are scheduled to return to in-person learning Tuesday, Jan. 19. Following notification of the positive test, students and staff were sent home with the intent to return on Monday after a deep clean of the school. However, after Principal Ralph King spoke with the school board over the weekend... Full story
MISSOULA COUNTY - The Seeley Lake Lions Club, Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS), Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake, and The Potomac-Greenough Community Center will all receive grants of various sizes following a Missoula County Commissioner meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7. Missoula County’s Parks, Trails and Open Lands Program distributed $46,000 in matching grants to organizations throughout the county with the intent of improving local communities. The Seeley Lake Lions Club will receive $16,988 to put in a p...
HELENA – During his first press conference of 2021 Tuesday, Jan. 5, newly elected Montana Governor Greg Gianforte announced his plan to eventually rescind the statewide mask mandate after vaccines are distributed. He said that he is also waiting to receive legislation that will protect businesses, schools, places of worship and nonprofits from lawsuits so long as they "make a good faith effort to protect individuals from the spread of the coronavirus and follow clear public health g... Full story
The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) sale of 12,039 acres of former industrial timber land to the U.S. Forest Service will allow for more public access according to a press release. The sold area was part of a 2014 purchase representing the last industrial timber land in the Blackfoot. The land partially covers the Seeley Lake Ranger District as well as the Missoula Ranger District. The map was previously characterized by a checkerboard-like pattern representing public-private ownership created over...
LAKE COUNTY - Lake County Commissioners unanimously voted to keep the Porcupine Dump site open for two days a week following recommendations from the Solid Waste Board during their Dec. 16 Commissioner meeting. The days in question have not been decided. Solid Waste Board Member Carol Field is canvassing area residents to determine which days are preferable. Once the days are determined, residents will be notified. The site will remain in its current location for the time being. Lake County’s Solid Waste Board originally recommended closing t...
SEELEY LAKE - Runners will be able to run the 42nd annual Snow Joke Half Marathon on their own terms this upcoming February. Run Wild Missoula helps put on the event. Interim Executive Director Ashley Cossairt said their decision to make the race virtual instead of in-person was so that they could avoid spreading COVID-19. "Given the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of active cases in the state of Montana, we determined it was better to take a more cautious approach and offer...
MISSOULA COUNTY – Missoula County Commissioners approved distributing almost $625,000 from the COVID-19 Small Business Job Retention Fund to 27 businesses impacted by the pandemic. The funding is intended to help businesses retain jobs for low- and moderate-income employees. Of the awarded grants, 58% went to food and drink industry businesses for a total of $365,000. Retailers received 12%, professional services got 10%, preschool and childcare employers received 10%, transportation services r...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley-Swan High School's basketball teams played their first games this past weekend. To prevent players and fans from contracting coronavirus, organizers had to make certain adaptations during games. SSHS Athletic Director Shawn Holmes said the biggest change they had to make was having the boys and girls teams play in separate locations. They would still be able to play on the same night but the varsity and junior varsity teams for one gender would play a home game while the...
The holiday season is such a grand phenomenon in American culture that in the last century a movie subgenre has evolved out of its existence and aesthetic. Over the years this subgenre has culminated its own characters, tropes and cliches. Despite the similarities in themes however, directors and writers over the years have found ways to be creative with the Christmas aesthetic and have created movies that will remain relevant for decades. “Babes in Toyland,” also known as “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” is a 1934 black and white movie starrin...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board unanimously voted to use the remaining $13,000 the school received in CARES Act money towards purchasing new security cameras during their Dec. 21 meeting. The board also received updates on the Student Improvement Plan, COVID and discussed how homeschooled children could engage with the school. SLE Superintendent Josh Gibbs said the school’s CARES Act money must be spent before Dec. 30, otherwise it goes back to the state. The camera company the school is using is Verkada which Gibbs has d...
BILLINGS, MONTANA - "We have more ICU patients than we have ICU beds available," Respiratory Therapist Michael Biggins said in an email. "This has led to converting offices, staff break rooms and closets into hospital rooms to accomodate for the surge. We have even had to double up two related COVID-19 patients to share one ICU room to save on resources." Biggins, who was raised in Seeley Lake, has been a Respiratory Therapist at both major hospitals in Billings since 2012. He graduated from...
SALMON PRAIRIE - Salmon Prairie Elementary School students braved the winter night as they acted out their modern reinterpretation of "A Christmas Carol" called "Scrooge" on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Supervising teacher Holl Hubbard said he had the students perform the program outside to be in compliance with Lake County COVID regulations. "We realized that with the students and myself, we would be at [capacity]," he said. "As far as the COVID ... this was completely out of the box. One of our board...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake residents literally lit up the pavement on Saturday, Dec. 19 when they participated in the first ever Christmas Caravan of Lights. Attendees gathered their vehicles, trailers, UTVs and ATVs and left from the Seeley Lake Chicken Coop and Lounge at dusk. Mike Williams, Mike Weigel, Trevor Crofutt and Chicken Coop owner Mike Layman coordinated the event. Weigel said they did not want to be overly formal with the set up so they just went for it. "We sat down once and said,...
In 2020, Montana State Parks saw an increase of almost 25% in the number of visitors compared to the same time period last year. Parks experienced around 3,000,000 visitors between January and September. Around 80% of Montana State Parks saw increased visitation throughout the year with eight parks exceeding 100,000 visitors. "These visitation increases represent the busiest summer on record for the State Park system," FWP Director Martha Williams said in a press release. "FWP staff,...
MISSOULA COUNTY - Missoula Aging Services (MAS) is introducing a new program called Lifelong Connections which will provide low-income, older adults with tablets, two years of Wi-Fi and training at no cost. The overall goal of the program is to train 100 older adults on how to use technology in order to access telehealth, reduce social isolation, continue to volunteer and to take advantage of services available online like grocery shopping. Those enrolled in the program will receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab A. Rob Edwards, MAS community services...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Department started up their ambulance and fire truck engines and shined their lights for something other than an emergency on Saturday, Dec. 19. The six attending personnel instead volunteered to venture out into the chilly climate in order to deliver gifts to 10 families as part of the third annual Angel Tree. Fire Chief Dave Lane said the Foundation organizes the event while the Fire District supports it. This is the first year Auxiliary Member Tabitha B...
POTOMAC - The Potomac School Board unanimously approved the Revised Return to School Plan with an amendment during their monthly meeting on Monday, Dec. 14. In their discussion, the board talked about the transition process into online learning if an outbreak were to take place at the school. They decided that if the school hits its “trigger point,” then it would go online. The trigger point is when two teachers have to quarantine or 33% of students test positive. In addition, board members unanimously voted to revise the Family Onsite Ins...
