Stevensville
Stevensville, MT · Municipal
NBCMontana
Lake County Leader
Former Rollins fire chief raises concern over proposed levy allocating nearly two-thirds towards full-time chief position
Former Rollins Fire Department chief and assistant chief Peggy Baird, who volunteered for 21 years, is raising concerns about the proposed levy, which would allocate two-thirds of the permanent increase to fund a full-time chief position. Baird said she is not opposed to the levy increase but believes it is premature, given the department recently completed a new facility. She believes it may raise insurance and utility costs that the department has not accounted for. The proposed permanent levy increase is $91,000 annually, which breaks down to $60,000 for a full-time chief, $20,000 for a vehicle and equipment reserve and $11,000 for operations, PPE, and training. For a market-value home at $100,000, the levy would cost $11.96 per year; for $300,000, $35.88 per year; and for a $600,000 market-value home, $85.92 per year. Baird said funding this position immediately after completing the building is “kind of crazy.” “I'm not against a levy. I just think that the community needs to be involved, and let's see what happens the first year with the new fire department, where we actually get some solid cost figures,” Baird said. “Because I think it's going to surprise them.” However, department officer and treasurer Greg LeFevre
Whitefish Pilot
Guest opinion: Interlocal agreement would preserve Whitefish Lake
Work still continues on the “cabin” on Whitefish Lake, commonly referred to as the concrete house, where I believe the impact on the shore is synonymous with poor stewardship of the land. The property came to the attention of the public and neighbors in 2024 when the contractor's excavation expert blew rock and rubble into the lake with a miscalculated explosion. There was considerable outcry from the neighbors and residents of Whitefish concerned about the damage that was done, the distressing look of the construction site and overall welfare of the lake and shoreline. As this portion of Whitefish Lake is in the county, nothing could be done because the county has no building codes or permits required other than electrical and water. The county also has limited inspection and enforcement of any work done along Whitefish Lake. Along this same line of atrocity on Whitefish Lake, another property on Rest Haven Drive includes construction of a retaining wall at the water line and a house constructed to within 10 feet of that wall. Additional stonework along the landscape adjacent and leading to the site further scar the view from the lake and along the shoreline. For the future, an
NBCMontana
Kalispell leaf collection program underway
KALISPELL, Mont. — Fall cleanup is underway in Kalispell, and city crews are helping residents clear out leaves before winter sets in. The city’s annual leaf collection program is in progress until Nov. 20, weather permitting. City officials ask residents to rake leaves from their lawns into the...
The Western News
Libby man prefers Flint over Forstag
Every fall, my family fills our freezer with what we hunt. So on November 3, I’m voting for Aaron Flint, the candidate who will protect our right to keep our tradition alive. Aaron, a fifth-generation Montanan and combat veteran, earned the NRA’s top rating and the endorsement of Gun Owners of America and the MT Shooting Sports Association. He didn’t hedge or dodge. Aaron told gun owners and hunters exactly where he stands. Sam Forstag took a different path. When the NRA sent him its candidate questionnaire, he didn’t even fill it out. Not to mention, the Gun Owners of America gave him an F. For a candidate who calls himself a gun-rights champion, that’s an odd way to prove it. It’s also important to look at the company Forstag keeps. He has Bernie Sanders and AOC’s endorsement Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two national figures who have spent years pushing sweeping gun control. Those aren’t Montana values, and they sure aren’t hunting-camp values. Montana hunters and gun owners need a congressman who will stand up for them in Washington without being asked twice. Aaron Flint is that man. - Vince Backen, Libby
Daily Montanan
Forstag holds flurry of events in Flathead as VP stumps in Belgrade
Before the sun crested the Swan Mountains on Monday, Democratic candidate Sam Forstag was meeting with a group of small business owners in a Whitefish bagel shop. Sesame seeds, a topping of one of the best selling bagels, are more expensive these days, said Dan Moe, owner of Cutthroat Bagel Company, as are paper products […]
Bigfork Eagle
Lakeside pauses out-of-district sewer hookups
With much of its excess capacity committed to future development projects, the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District board of directors voted last week to place a temporary moratorium on the annexation of new properties into the district for sewer hookups. The moratorium only applies to out-of-district properties seeking to join the district, not to properties within the district that have not yet hooked up to the district's water and sewer services, General Manager Rodney Olson clarified. "We want to protect the capacity we do have for our in-district people," Olson said. The board still reserves discretion to annex properties into the district on a case-by-case basis, in scenarios like a leaking septic near the lake, but any property owner wishing to be annexed into the district would submit an application that would then be considered and voted on by the directors. The moratorium comes as the district navigates several changes looming on the horizon: it is in the midst of expanding its wastewater treatment facility to meet increased demand within the district and has at the same time committed to serve the proposed Territory 1889 subdivision south of Lakeside, which will bring more than 350 homes under the district's
Hungry Horse News
Whitefish Pilot
Whitefish Democratic candidate for Flathead County commissioner outlines plans for the position
Nathan Dugan, 36, planned to step out of the public eye after his second unsuccessful bid for Whitefish City Council in 2025. "I wasn't really planning to run for anything, any time soon," said Dugan, who moved to Whitefish from northeast Ohio in 2015 after earning a doctorate in physical therapy from Columbia University. But when he skimmed this year's candidate list for Flathead County Commissioner District 1, he felt solid about his chances of winning the Democratic primary — especially since Whitefish developer Casey Malmquist filed to run as an independent. "I wouldn't have run if Casey Malmquist had decided to run as a Democrat," Dugan said. "He probably would have beat me in the primary." Dugan handily defeated his eventual Democratic opponent, Colton Little, in the June primary with 66% of the vote. And Malmquist dropped from the race after he failed to file the necessary paperwork. That left Dugan as the sole challenger to incumbent Republican County Commissioner Brad Abell, 67, in the Nov. 3 election. The Democrat said the county's all-Republican board of commissioners could benefit from a little diversity. "They're thinking about things the same way," Dugan said. "Nobody's asking those questions or maybe pointing