Flathead Beacon

Established in 2007 and located in the charming downtown area of Kalispell, the Flathead Beacon is a distinguished newspaper recognized for its insightful journalism and commentary focused on Northwest Montana. It publishes weekly and provides daily updates on its website, flatheadbeacon.com. The Beacon invites its audience to engage in meaningful conversations about their community.

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Runway Project to Limit Glacier Park Airport Operations in July 2026

3 days ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Dresser

Transportation GPIA will be closed from Monday evening to Friday morning over four consecutive weeks next July as crews rehabilitate the main airport runway By Maggie Dresser June 24, 2025 Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) officials announced today that there will be limited aircraft operations in July 2026 to complete a critical rehabilitation project, an infrastructure improvement that local business leaders say will disrupt tourism during peak visitation in northwest Montana....
Big, Beautiful Public Land

3 days ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Rob Breeding |Kellyn Brown

Out of Bounds Mike Lee is a worthy pantomime villain for this One Big Beautiful failure of an idea By Rob Breeding June 24, 2025 The One Big Beautiful Bill ran headlong into our love for Big, Beautiful America, and once again a bipartisan movement is telling the politicians, “Hands off our public lands!” We can hope they’ll listen this time, but if you’ve committed yourself to holding your breath until they do, make sure you’re surrounded by plenty of pillows to break your fall when you pass...
Broken Promise: Selling Our Public Lands

5 days ago | flatheadbeacon.com | John L. Santa

Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have proposed an amendment as part of the Budget Reconciliation process that would sell off 40 percent of all public lands. The amendment authorizes the sale of 258 million acres of BLM and National Forest land across 10 western states and Alaska. This bill includes a process for selling off tracts of public lands within 30 to 60 days without hearings, debates or public input to raise objections.
Two Local Veterans Honored by Gov. Greg Gianforte for Service to Country, Community

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Mariah Thomas

Government Both are 2024 honorees of the Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation program By Mariah Thomas June 18, 2025 Terri Klepper-Speasl didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life when she walked into Kalispell’s military recruitment office as a young woman in the 70s. She said that office used to sit on the corner of First and Main, where a Chinese restaurant stands now.
Beginning of the End?

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Rob Breeding

I don’t want to get too dramatic here, but I have glimpsed the end of my fly fishing career. It’s not imminent, but surgery may be required to forestall it. After 40 years of fly fishing, I’ve finally given my casting-arm rotator cuff all it could handle. It’s torn and will likely take more than rest and recovery to get me back on the water. It’s only a week out from the injury, though, so I don’t know for sure.
Flathead Dredging Leads to Funky Feet

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | John McCaslin

Every day in my previous life I would duck into the basement of the U.S. Capitol to anxiously await a freshly bound copy of the Congressional Record, the daily chronicle of legislative proceedings published since 1873. More often than not the ink was still wet. These days, with everything appearing online, political geeks from Washington to Whitefish can merely click into the Record’s pages to learn what lawmakers accomplish when Congress is in session.
Bigfork Man Sentenced to 100 Years for Murdering Mother’s Boyfriend

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Dresser

Courts A Flathead County jury in April convicted 39-year-old Derrick James Jackson of murdering his mother's boyfriend at the family's Bigfork residence in 2022, but acquitted him in the death of his 62-year-old mother By Maggie Dresser June 17, 2025 A 39-year-old man convicted of fatally shooting his mother’s boyfriend in their Bigfork home was sentenced Tuesday to 100 years in the Montana State Prison, a punishment the judge said accounts for the defendant’s lengthy criminal history, drug...
Kalispell Joins National 'No Kings' Protests

1 week ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Mariah Thomas

Government Hundreds gather in Depot Park in protest against the Trump administration, echoing thousands of other events across the country By Mariah Thomas June 15, 2025 As soldiers, tanks and helicopters took over the streets and skies in the nation’s capital Saturday for the country’s first military parade in more than 30 years, protesters took over Kalispell’s downtown, marching from the old courthouse and gathering at Depot Park.
Interior Secretary Allows Dam Operators to Taper Flows to Buoy Flathead Lake Levels in July

2 weeks ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Maggie Dresser

Environment Séliš Ksanka Ql’ispé (SKQ) Dam in Polson plans to reduce its outflows by 45%, a tradeoff that will limit water to the lower river's fisheries and reduce electricity production By Maggie Dresser June 13, 2025 As water levels on Flathead Lake are projected to reach historic lows, the U.S. Secretary of Interior today approved a plan allowing operators at the Séliš Ksanka Ql’ispé (SKQ) Dam in Polson to implement a 45% reduction in minimum outflows, a stopgap measure that will keep...
Terran Last Gun Returns to Kalispell with Solo Exhibition

2 weeks ago | flatheadbeacon.com | Mike Kordenbrock

Artist The ledger paper used for the drawings ranges from the early 1900s up to 1913, and draws from sources including cattle records, veterinarian records, and journal day book entries By Mike Kordenbrock June 13, 2025 It’s been a busy year for the Piikani artist Terran Last Gun, but he’s excited to be back in Montana showcasing his work at Good Luck Gallery in downtown Kalispell, where a new solo exhibition of ink and colored pencil ledger drawings will run through mid-August. Originally...