City administrators distributed surveys to 1,200 random residents earlier this month as a way to engage community members and gauge their perception of Kalispell.

Feedback is trickling in leading up to the May 21 deadline and City Manager Doug Russell plans to give an extensive presentation to the city council after the responses are compiled.

The questionnaire covers broad aspects of city life and the perceived quality of local services, operations, amenities and infrastructure.

 

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COLUMBIA FALLS – With the assistance of a tractor and many helping hands, students and staff planted six trees at Columbia Falls High School on May 14 to remember Taylor Peterson, who died of cancer in December. The trees are part of a memorial garden and mural being built on the side of the school.

Peterson, 17, was an honor roll student and standout volleyball player. She returned to Columbia Falls last autumn for her senior year, after enduring 18 months of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. In late November, doctors diagnosed Peterson’s cancer as terminal and she died three weeks later.

“Today is bittersweet,” said English teacher Alyson Dorr. “We have much to celebrate and much to reflect on.”

 

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Construction crews are back at work on Glacier National Park’s iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road and officials hope to finish the massive $150 to $170 million project by early 2017. National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration officials were in Kalispell on May 15 to give an update to Sun Road’s progress.

This year, crews will be working on a three-and-a-half mile stretch of road between Avalanche Creek and Logan Pit on the west side and a nine-mile stretch of road between Siyeh Bend and Rising Sun on the east side.

 

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For the better part of last decade, the summer months were marked with the large presence of tourists and bulldozers, tokens of two vital industries in the Flathead Valley. Tourism and construction provided jobs, an infusion of outside money and fuel for other growth. And then in 2008, construction dwindled to historic lows in the economic hub of Flathead County and the largest marketplace in Northwest Montana.

But the city of Kalispell and surrounding communities appear to be rebounding from the Great Recession and poised for a busy summer reminiscent of the past.

 

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EUREKA – In the back of Chris Neill’s workshop, tanks, kegs and fermenters are stashed in corners waiting for the day Homestead Ales opens. Power tools used to build the taproom are out with thermometers used to make the beer. And hanging from a chalkboard is a small cardboard sign that reads, “Will Work For Beer.”

Across the United States, Montana and the Flathead Valley, brewers are doing just that.

In 2012, there were 2,403 breweries operating in the United States, the highest total since the 1880s. According to the Brewers Association, the craft beer industry in America produced 1.7 million more barrels of beer in 2012 than it did in 2011. Some of those barrels came from Montana, which is ranked second in the nation for breweries per capita and could claim the No. 1 spot by the end of the year.

 

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After Gov. Steve Bullock’s final veto tally came in at 71 bills, just seven shy of the record for a Montana governor, GOP lawmakers wasted no time in publicly voicing their displeasure.

Kalispell Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, who worked with Democrats on a number of issues during the Legislature, said he expected Bullock to exhibit a less “aggressive” governing style than former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and was upset by what he perceived as the governor’s heavy veto hand. Schweitzer holds the record for vetoes in a single session at 78 in 2011.

“At least we knew with Schweitzer that he didn't respect us,” Tutvedt told the Associated Press. “And while there was never a quid pro quo with this governor, we were working with him to deliver good responsible legislation and now when it was his turn to do the right thing for the right reasons it appears he took a very partisan attitude.”

 

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Libby voters turned down a $350,000 operations levy last week and now School District 4 will face about a $700,000 budget shortfall. After the vote, Superintendent K.W. Maki said there was a “strong possibility” that some classes would lose state accreditation next year.

On May 7, election officials counted 936 votes for the levy and 1,149 votes against it. Voters also elected John Carlson and Leslie Nelson to three-year terms on the school board of trustees.

“I’m pretty well frustrated,” Maki said. “But I’ve been here for 15 years and we’ve only passed one levy before… (These cuts) will be difficult for us.”

 

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The North Valley Food Bank has come a long way since 1977 when it started up in June Munski-Feenan’s garage, adapting and expanding along with the community it serves. Now it needs a new home, and it’s getting one that will make Munski-Feenan proud.

After moving out of Munski-Feenan’s garage in its infancy, the North Valley Food Bank has been in its current location on East First Street since 1985. While the facility has ably served the community, it is no longer large enough to accommodate the needs of a growing population base, even after multiple additions over the years.

 

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