Sanders County’s unemployment rate currently ranks as the fifth highest in the state. While Montana has seen a drop in unemployment since January of this year, Sanders County sits at a rate of 6.2%. According to Jessica Nelson, Montana Department o...

The filing deadline for local school board elections closed last week. Candidates had until 5 p.m. Thursday to file for positions in Dixon, Hot Springs, Noxon, Plains, Thompson Falls and Trout Creek school districts. In Dixon School District, three c...

In a moment of passion, it's difficult to keep emotions and reactions in check, especially when the topic is personal. By now, everyone has heard the jab that comedian Chris Rock took at Will Smith's wife, Jada, at the Oscars on Sunday. We watched...

Dear Editor, What is the economy for? Rich stock traders make money on money without creating anything tangible for society. Grocery store chains raise prices, don’t pay a living wage, and give big bonuses to CEO’s. Meatpacking monopolies sho...

On September 13, 2001, two days after the incredibly horrific destruction at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the loss of thousands of lives taken by aircraft commandeered by Muslim terrorists, President George W. Bush met with congressional...

6 YEARS AGO • MARCH 29, 1917 ICE MELTS IN LAKE During the past week the ice that has covered the lake above the dam to a depth of more than a foot has practically disappeared. Only a few small pieces remain along the shore. The warm weather r...

Beau Mccormick, Thompson Falls - “My best prank is putting a video on YouTube of a screen breaking paused on the new TV and letting my parents walk in and see it.” Virgil Holtrop, Thompson Falls - “We were tricked into getting up an hour earli...

Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Jennifer Bakke, 22, speeding in restricted zone, $55; driving while privilege suspended or revoked, 2nd offense, $285. Nona Kay, 51, speeding in restricted zone, $55. Karen Bennett, 53, day speeding, $20. Archie Knerr,...

Ambulance: Plains, 1; Trout Creek, 1; Heron, 1; T. Falls, 5; Noxon, 1. Monday, March 21 Property damage/criminal mischief, Plains. Civil standby, Plains. Animal bite, T. Falls. Welfare check, T. Falls. Person missing, T. Falls. Suspicious activity,...

A Trout Creek woman convicted of embezzling more than $650,000 while working for a Trout Creek company was sentenced today to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. Tina Rae...

Water Service, Inc., the non-profit corporation that manages the water system in Trout Creek, has been planning for improvements to the system for years. With the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), those plans are being put...

Hecla is taking a different path with its operations in Montana. The mining company has withdrawn its plans of operation for the proposed Rock Creek and Montanore mines in Northwest Montana and is focusing more on exploration. The company has...

Chuck Sterns of Thompson Falls passed away March 25, 2022. A full obituary and memorial details will be published at a later date.... Full story

Julian Lofthus, 101 years old, passed away on Friday, March 10, 2022, at Hot Springs Health and Rehab Center. Julian was born on January 5, 1921, in Deer Park, Minnesota, one of the 11 children born to Oscar and Signie Lofthus. Induction into the... Full story

One thing I have not done a lot of is ice fishing. As the year warms up, I find myself wanting to learn more about how to be successful next year. Just getting into it, I’m learning that it is like an extreme version of ordinary fishing in the s...

Several local wrestlers competed in the Montana Open last weekend in Billings. Lilly MacDonald, a junior from Plains High School who finished second at state last month, earned second place at the Open, winning one and losing one. David Schulze, a...