Flathead Valley Feature: Kalispell, Montana News

Flathead County commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to pursue a settlement on the North Shore Ranch Subdivision lawsuit, with an amendment that provides for a 30-day deadline that allows various entities to purchase the entire property and make it protected land.

The commissioners also voted 3-0 to release all depositions related to the settlement to the public.

For the first time since Kalispell has had a two-high school format, both Flathead and Glacier are going to the Class AA boys state basketball tournament.

That’s the exciting news. The less exciting news is that they face the two best teams in the state right off the bat: Billings West and C.M. Russell, winners of the last three Class AA state championships.

The Class AA basketball tournament is held March 11-13 at the Billings MetraPark and Billings Skyview High School. Games begin at noon on Thursday and run until the championship game at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. It is a double-elimination tournament.

When he retires from Plum Creek Timber Co. at the end of the month, Hank Ricklefs will feel much better about stepping down from his position as vice president of northern resources and manufacturing than he would have a year ago at this time.

“It was absolute turmoil,” he said of 2009. “No one had a solid feeling for where the bottom was.”

Located about 90 minutes southwest of Kalispell, the tiny community of Hot Springs is a pretty great day trip for anyone feeling truly chilled to the bone by winter. Its natural mineral hot springs, prized by American Indians for hundreds of years, are considered among the most healing and therapeutic in the world.

But soaking isn’t the only reason to make the drive. You’ll also find a number of interesting shops and restaurants. On our short visit, we checked out Montana Movie Posters, which has an extraordinary number of original vintage movie posters, particularly those filmed in Montana (308 Main St., 406-741-5170).

The effects of an international mining and drilling ban in the Upper Flathead Valley are beginning to ripple on local and federal levels, with new limits on gravel extraction and production in the North Fork of the Flathead River and proposed legislation in Congress.

The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), agreed upon by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, stops all coal, oil and gas exploration and development upstream of Glacier National Park.

If there was ever a taboo at the library, it’s having a loud party. But that’s exactly what’s happening on March 18, as the Flathead County Library Foundation hosts the “Loud at the Library” fundraiser.

The event takes place at the Main Library in Kalispell and will raise money to support library programs all over the valley, according to Flathead County Library Director Kim Crowley.

HELENA – A bipartisan legislative panel agreed Friday that Gov. Brian Schweitzer should cut less from the state budget than he is currently considering if Congress sends more money to the state.

The move prompted Schweitzer, a Democrat, to pick on Republicans for being inconsistent on spending.

Schweitzer's budget director has recommended budget cuts that total about $40 million as a way to ensure that the state makes it through next year without hitting a deficit. The governor is mulling the proposal.

While art can take many forms, there is something extra special about art you can eat. The baristas at Colter Coffee Roasting have taken this theory to heart. They can whip up not only a custom drink, but also one with a special design on the top.

It’s called latte art, and it can take plenty of practice to master, as Colter Coffee Manager Heather Anderson will tell you. It takes her only seconds to create a perfect rosetta – a kind of leafy design – on a latte these days, but it comes after years of practice and attention to detail.