living semi-pro dream
Not Just a Young Man’s Game
Glacier Knights' Steve Biggs is team captain, father of quadruplets and a local chiropractor. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
A day after his quadruplets turned 2 years old, Steve Biggs threw on his football pads and led the Glacier Knights to their first victory since 2004, snapping a 33-game losing streak.
[read more]John Dunnigan
Strumming Heartstrings and Tickling Funny Bones
Steve Bodick, left, and Carmen Bellusci dance to the music of John Dunnigan at the Great Northern Bar and Grill in Whitefish. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
A 5-foot-something man with blond hair and a big grin strums his guitar for a cheering crowd. He wears a Rastafarian-style hat fitted with dreadlocks.
“I’m too white to sing reggae,” John Dunnigan croons. “I’m too white to sing blues. I’m too white to sing anything but Barry Manilow tunes!”
Official: No ‘Significant’ Changes
Conservation Group Probes Avalanche Prevention Plan
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe engine pulls cars from the Glacier National Park area under the North Fork Road overpass in Columbia Falls. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
A conservation group has filed a request for documents relating to the release of an upcoming decision by Glacier National Park regarding avalanche control on the railroad tracks that skirt the park’s southern border, out of concern that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway executives may have influenced the decision after the public comment period had closed.
[read more]Loans Safe This Year
Future of Student Loan Program Funding Disputed
Changing federal regulations and a collapse in the bond market have caused many national associations to pull out of college loan programs, limiting resources for students. The national woes have trickled down to Montana, where the state’s nonprofit lender cut staff and loan benefits in recent months, but is assuring borrowers that funding is secure for at least the next academic year.
[read more]Columbia Falls probable move a ‘bright spot’
Libraries Left in Limbo
While opportunities for new libraries in Kalispell and Bigfork were recently rejected, a possible new uptown location in Columbia Falls is a bright spot in what has been an otherwise tumultuous few months for the county library system.
[read more]One percent fees buoy marketing budget
Putting Whitefish on the Map
A pedestrian pulling a suitcase walks past the Whitefish Visitors Center entrance on West Second Street in downtown Whitefish. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
For city dwellers in need of a break from frenetic urban life, Montana seems like a grandiose getaway. Perhaps they’ve seen the movie “A River Runs Through It” or are familiar with John Steinbeck’s “Travels With Charley.”
[read more]Truckers: It Will Only Make Tough Times Worse
Fuel Spill Prompts Truck Traffic Scrutiny
A tractor-trailer travels north on MT Highway 35 toward Woods Bay along Flathead Lake. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
Residents of the five homes along Montana Highway 35 forced to evacuate after an April 2 fuel spill recently received a bit of good news: It could be a matter of months – not years as was initially thought – before these families can return home.
“Hopefully, within a few weeks we can start getting these folks back in,” said Carey Cooley, spokeswoman for Lake County’s office of emergency management.
Storage units steady as the market fluctuates
Recession-Proof Real Estate
Ole Nutteberg, with The Old World Cabinet Company, left, keeps a record of cabinetry pieces being moved off a truck by Curtis Cain into a storage unit at CJ's Storage on U.S. Highway 2. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
They’re often called recession-proof – steady investments that are inexpensive and easy to maintain with consistent profit margins.
Not to mention, they’re one area of real estate that seems mostly unaffected, if not helped, by current rough market conditions.
