Maggie Doherty

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Kellyn Brown |Maggie Doherty

Two nights ago, I dashed off a text to my husband, who was likely putting our two kids to bed while I made my way to my seat in the crowded Mclaren Hall to listen to acclaimed bestselling author and notable physician Dr. Abraham Verghese speak, writing, “Sometimes I can’t believe how good our life is.” In a space of five deliriously beautiful spring days, I’ve had one of those weeks in the Flathead Valley where I can’t believe how robust, generous, and creative our community is.

3 weeks ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Doherty

When the Kalispell Public School’s (KPS) levy passes on May 6, 2025, I imagine the 2,971 currently enrolled high students might hoot and holler, but their celebratory yelps will likely be drowned out by the educators, parents, and community members who’ve waited 18 long years for voters in the district to approve a levy for area’s three public high schools.

1 month ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Doherty

When I was a girl, I knew libraries were an imaginative and fun place. As I grew older, I was able to channel so much of my middle school angst through the various novels the librarians suggested to me, a girl with long bangs trying to cover up the explosion of zits across her forehead. I could hardly manage the crowded school hallways without some sort of taunt or jeer, but I felt less alone when I returned home with my book and curled on the couch and read until dinnertime.

1 month ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Doherty

It’s been quite a long time since I sat in a middle school classroom, but what I learned in my sixth-grade social studies class will never leave me. That year, thanks to the lessons on civic engagement from our soon-to-be-retired teacher, I learned how to use my civic powers for good and how to engage in collective action. The cause? Chocolate chip cookies, a beloved treat especially among middle schoolers.

2 months ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Doherty

Five years ago this month I was very, very scared. My daughter was 3 months old, my son in preschool, and the world as we knew it was about to irrevocably change. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus as global pandemic and before the month ended, Montana went into lockdown. When we received the news that schools and nonessential businesses would be closed, I remember waiting until we put our kids to bed to explode into tears.