Flathead Valley Main Street Wire: Kalispell, Montana News

The United Way is sponsoring a new grocery delivery service for low-income elderly and disabled people in Kalispell. Registered United Way volunteers will deliver groceries free of charge to eligible individuals.

Here's the information from the United Way:

The Kalispell Home Bound Grocery Delivery Service will deliver groceries once a week to people within the Kalispell City Limits. The service is available to low-income private individuals who are unable to drive and shop for themselves, primarily the elderly and people who are either temporarily or permanently disabled.

Groceries must be paid for by check or debit card number at the time of delivery. Orders can be called in on Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Orders will be filled on Friday mornings at Rosauer’s grocery store and will be delivered on Friday afternoons.

Good morning, everyone! Just a quick reminder to check out tonight's first-ever Thursday!Fest in downtown Kalispell.

The Kalispell Business Improvement District (BID) and Downtown Association is blocking off Third Street on either side of Main Street, leaving U.S. Highway 93 open for traffic. The festival will feature activities for children, local farmers selling produce and food, downtown businesses, a beer garden, live music acts and prepared food vendors. It runs from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Local band Smart Alex will provide the tunes tonight.

Kudos to the downtown business owners who put the event together for offering outdoor-food-and-music lovers an awesome opportunity!

Montana is the ninth-skinniest state in the country, according to the annual obesity rankings compiled by the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to the report, however, the nation continues get fatter, with obesity rates among adults rising in 23 states over the past year and not falling anywhere. Highlights from the Associated Press:

• Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.

• Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent.

• Colorado had the lowest rate of obese adults, at 18.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts, 21.2 percent; and Connecticut, 21.3 percent.

A list of state's obesity rankings after the jump.

Glacier National Park will offer three “Fee Free” weekends this summer as part of a National Park Service (NPS) program to encourage visits to national parks this summer.

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently announced that the NPS will offer three fee-free weekends this summer, “…to encourage Americans seeking affordable vacations to visit these national treasures.” Glacier National Park, one of 147 NPS sites across the country that charge entry fees, will waive entrance fees during the weekends of June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. These fee-free weekends will be in addition to other fee-free days on National Public Lands Day, Sept. 26, and Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Glacier National Park will also offer a separate “Fee Free” day in conjunction with the park’s Centennial Kick-Off Celebration Picnic in the Park on Sunday, Aug. 23 being held at Lake McDonald Lodge and Glacier Park Lodge.

Read on for concessionaire specials throughout the summer.

The Historic Film Club at the Museum at Central School kicks off its special summer series tonight with a screening of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." The club is showing films on the last Monday of June, July and August at 7 p.m. on a big screen with great sound.

All the shows are open to the public and free, though donations will be accepted to offset the costs of acquiring and showing the films. There is also free popcorn and beer, wine, pop and water for sale. Seating is available, but people are encouraged to bring along their own floor pillows, portable chairs, blankets or whatever is comfortable for viewing the films. The Museum at Central School is located at 124 2nd Ave E in Kalispell. Call 756-8381 for more information.

Read on for the full schedule of summer flicks.

Flathead Family Planning is participating in National HIV Testing Day by holding an HIV testing event on Monday, June 29. The event will include free and anonymous HIV testing, educational materials and opportunities to discuss questions and concerns related to HIV transmission and risk.

Of the more than a million Americans now estimated to be living with HIV, a quarter do not realize they are infected, according a release from the county health department. As a result, they do not receive medical care that could help them live fuller lives. And without knowing, they may also be transmitting HIV to others. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates the majority of sexually transmitted HIV infections is transmitted by people who are unaware of their infection, and encourages all people between the ages of 13 and 64 to be tested as a routine part of their health care.

Walk in testing is available from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on June 29 at the Flathead City-County Health Department Reproductive Health office (1035 1st Ave West, Kalispell). Appointments can be scheduled in advance by calling 751-8150.

Caitlin Sterchi, from Whitefish High School, has been selected as the grand prize winner of Montana’s Congressional Art Competition for 2009. Sterchi and her parents, Simon and Amy Sterchi, will join Congressman Denny Rehberg in a Capitol Hill ceremony where her artwork will be unveiled and displayed for one year in the Cannon Tunnel along with the artwork of winners from other congressional districts. The Cannon Tunnel is a pedestrian walkway, leading to the United States Capitol building. It is frequented by Members of Congress, staff, and the general public.

Sterchi recently graduated from Whitefish High School. Her painting title "Family Outing" is an artistic representation of a Canadian gose and her goslings. It was selected from among the entries submitted from all across state in the Congressional Art Competition, a U.S. House of Representatives contest which has been held annually since 1982. Sterchi's piece was also the top choice in public voting via the social networking Web site Facebook. It was the first time Rehberg had posted all the entries online for public review and voting to help select the finalists.

As the grand prize winner, Sterchi received airfare for her and a guest to attend the artwork’s unveiling ceremony in Washington D.C. She’ll also receive a $1,000 art scholarship offer from the University of Montana.

Runner-up artists were Thom Bridge, a senior at C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls, and Kinzi Anderson, a senior at Belt High School.

The Highway Patrol will be conducting safety spot checks in the Flathead Valley on Friday, June 26.

Officers will stop vehicles on the highway and check for driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, said Sgt. Steve Lavin.

"If something else came up, we'd handle it there," he said, referring to drunken driving incidents.

Lavin said the Highway Patrol performs spot checks two or three times per year, and they do not give out the location or time of day.