Kalispell Montana

Parts of Montana are about to get a winter blast the likes of which hasn’t been seen in over a decade. Northwest Montana could get intense snowfall, but everyone can expect drastically colder temperatures for the foreseeable future.

A fake bomb threat at the Kalispell Walmart Wednesday was initially labeled by law enforcement as swatting incident, where pranksters hijack phone numbers in order to report fake threats to police. But the bomb threat was actually part of a scam to extort money out of a Montana correctional officer.

After a rash of white supremacist activity in the Flathead Valley this fall, a community organization wants to create a coordinated response with the City of Kalispell and other stakeholders. The request for a new communication network is similar to one set up in Whitefish following a 2016 internet trolling campaign by white supremacists.

A new business coming to Kalispell says it intends to hire up to 100 people during its first year of operations. More than twice that number may eventually be hired on.

A Whitefish-based ministry that runs a popular burger chain is shutting its doors amid allegations that its leaders used threats of physical violence, verbal and psychological abuse to coerce workers.

Potter’s Field is now sending most of its staff and program participants home in the wake of those allegations, and locals are raising money to help some get there.

On Tuesday, grizzly bear managers announced that a representative from Montana’s Department of Transportation will be joining their committee in hopes of reducing a growing number of bear deaths on highways.

Three years after a successful bond request to expand schools, Kalispell Public Schools are asking voters to upgrade technology and programming at the district’s high schools for the first time in more than a decade.

Ballots for the levy were sent Monday, asking for $1.2 million to benefit 2,900 high school students taking classes at Flathead and Glacier High Schools, the Linderman Education Center, and the Agricultural Education Center.