Week of May 29, 2025 5qal
Week of May 29, 2025 5qal
Last Tuesday evening, the street leading to Seeley Lake's fire department was lined with cars. At the department, it was determined the quantity of people who showed up for the May fire district board meeting weren't going to fit in the standard meeting room, so the board and of the public, numbering around 50 compared to the 15 or so who normally attend, moved to the fire truck bays. Once the meeting got started, it was clear the intention of many gathered was to air grievances about...
When Mark Dunn and his wife, Susan, left their most recent home of New Braunfels, Texas, temperatures reached a high of 106. Lows were in the mid-seventies. Dunn said the snow doesn't scare them, though - he grew up in Milwaukee and the couple lived in Colorado for a stretch. But before March, the two hadn't stepped foot in Montana. It was in March that Dunn was interviewed for the pastor position at Mission Bible Fellowship. He was hired and led the Easter service in April. Now, the Dunns -...
On an open slice of Potomac Valley that becomes a blue-violet sea of native camas prairie in the spring, Penny Kukuk can often be found outside her log cabin, relocated from a local logging camp and refurbished by Kukuk herself, commanding sleek Australian kelpies across rolling pastures, as the agile working dogs expertly herd sheep and guide goats into pens and shelters. Sometimes, local 4H kids are also on site, to learn synchronized dog obedience and handling from the still-spry...
Hale Devins, a Seeley Lake Elementary School third grader, placed second in the statewide "Keep Montana Green" art contest. The Keep Montana Green Association is in its 75th year of operation, dedicated to the prevention of human-caused wildfires. As many as 75% of wildfires in Montana are human-caused. The art contest is in its 64th year, and schools across the state participate with submissions from kindergarteners to high school seniors. Last year, Hale placed first overall and in...
Seeley-Swan business students were recognized at a national conference and during a statewide pitching competition for their entrepreneurial skills and quality presentations. Seeley-Swan High School sent six students to the national conference in Orlando competing in Presentation Individual (James Hayhurst-Benassi), Podcast Production Team (Tyler Stevenson, Tallon Good and Tully Good), and Virtual Branding Team (Kendall Genson and Bella Dehm). Seeley-Swan High School was awarded a Quality...
St. John Paul II Parish in Bigfork has announced that there will be no Masses offered at Our Lady of Swan Valley Mission in Condon this summer. Summer Masses are normally offered from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. However, because of the lack of a priest for these summer months, the masses are suspended for the summer of 2025. Father Nicetus Msinge, the current pastor, will begin a new assignment in Conrad effective July 1. A new priest, Father Eric Gilbaugh, will begin his assignment as pastor of St. John Paul II Parish and Our...
Thursday May 17, 1990 It's TOSRV time again - expect 700 touring bicycle riders On May 19-20, TOSRV - West, the Northwest's bicycling classic, will once again be on the road. The Tour of the Swan Valley is held every year on the third full weekend of May. There will be 700 paying riders this year, plus numerous volunteers trying to feed, herd and otherwise the cyclists. The ride is a two-day, 225-mile tour of some of Montana's beautiful scenery. The route travels from te University of...
Graduation ceremonies at two of the Blackfoot Valley's rural schools celebrated eighth grade and kindergarten graduations at the end of May. Sunset School celebrated their graduation ceremony for eighth grader Val Hoppe and kindergarteners Wyatt Mann and Paisley Witt at the Lubrecht Forest Pavilion May 23. The entire school of 10 students paraded down to the pavilion and took their places with drums under the benches. The kindergarten graduation was first on the agenda. Rachel Estopare taught...
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks held three meetings in the Blackfoot and Clark Fork watersheds last week to introduce the implementation of the Milltown Water Right that was established in April 2015. Through the new system, many using the Blackfoot River for irrigation and angling will face changes when in-stream flows lessen in the summer. Although the water seems to run freely down creeks and rivers in Montana, its use became carefully monitored by the state starting in the late 1960s in order to protect fisheries, wildlife and water...
Kalispell, Mont., May 23, 2025 — The Flathead National Forest announced today that the decision has been made to issue a special use authorization for Holland Lake Lodge, authorizing Eric Jacobsen and Thomas Knowles of Holland Peak, LLC to operate the lodge within the existing footprint and facilities. The application was determined to meet the screening criteria and the owners have the financial and technical capabilities to operate the lodge. The proposed activities were analyzed for potential effects according to the NEPA environmental...
Alongside the horses, fire trucks and motorcycles there will be of the University of Montana Marching Band alongside the Friday Clubbers Marching Band in this year’s parade. During Friday Club this spring our baton twirlers, drum majors and recorder musicians have practiced and marched and twirled, and we are ready! After the parade at the Friday Clubs’ booth there will be dueling tubas and recorders playing songs against each other in playful tunes. Grant monies for this club are provided to SMAAART by Alpine Artisans. On another...
After I graduated with my master’s in journalism, my boyfriend now fiancé and I went on a journalism-themed movie watching spree. All the Presidents’ Men. The Paper. The Post. Shattered Glass. It felt like a good wrap up of two years diving deeper into the industry. The title of this letter is from a George Clooney-directed, and now George Clooney on Broadway, film of the same title. I honestly can’t if we watched Goodnight, and Good Luck. Its focus is the television broadcaster, Edward R. Murrow, and the 1950s themes of...
There's not a whole lot I'd rather have been doing. The weather was perfect, with just a slight breeze and enough cloud cover to break up the mid-afternoon glare. The four of us could have stayed in the coffee shop where we met and continued telling stories, but the day was too nice for that. Besides, they had come on an errand. One of my friends had never cast my new fly rod, a CF Burkheimer eight-foot, nine-inch five weight. We met, in part, so I could show him the new Burkie. The notion of...
The monthly book club discussions continue to be lively and engaging. This group of locals from very different backgrounds and opinions have wonderful conversations. Though they don't all agree, they all share their thoughts and ideas with respect, honoring the dignity of each participant. The current book is called "The Lost Family-How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are," by Libby Copeland. From the back cover: In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates the culture of genealogy...
The cool, mild spring has most of us longing for more outdoor time, and Seeley Lake ROCKS is focused on helping everyone do just that. As much as we enjoy ing outdoor cold weather sports like skating and cross-country skiing, the brief and gorgeous Montana summer is just around the corner. If you are looking for something fun and constructive to do outdoors, you are welcome to help our ROCKS crew get the Lakeview Trails at Placid Lake in great shape for summer hikers. Winter takes a toll on the trails, so a work crew will be clearing...
Seeley-Swan spring sports have wound down, with state track and field last weekend and state golf last week. Mia Nicholas, of Seeley-Swan High School's girls' golf team, won the state championship in Sidney. According to reporting from Montana Sports, after five top five finishes in class C state tournaments, Nicholas finally got her victory. Her two-day total was 164 strokes. Aiden Posthumus, on the Seeley-Swan High School boys' golf team, scored in the boys top ten with strokes of 91 and 85....
Dan Larson, 75, of Seeley Lake, Montana, died of natural causes after an extended illness. Dan was born to Robert and Wilma Larson in Thompson Falls in 1950. He schooled in Bonner, Missoula and Thompson Falls. While in high school and living in Missoula, he started his own lawn care business, before graduating from high school in Thompson Falls in 1970. After graduation, he ed the Montana National Guard and worked in construction, over-the-road trucking and mining. After moving to Seeley...
Jean Maclean Snyder ed away peacefully at her home on April 27 at the age of 83 in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois. Jean was a loved grandmother, mother, wife, friend and colleague, a ionate lawyer advocate and a lover of animals and nature. Jean was born Jan. 26, 1942 in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago and lived there her entire life. Her father, Norman Maclean, was an English professor at the University of Chicago and her mother, Jessie Burns Maclean worked at the University of...
