Sanders County Ledger - Your Best Source For Sanders County News

It makes me so proud to watch our democracy in action. Last Tuesday on election night, the lower courtroom at the Sanders County Courthouse was a flurry of activity. But it wasn’t the chaos and mayhem that some believe is happening with elections i...

Just when I thought everyone would be complaining about the time change Monday morning, there was something else on peoples' minds — the winter storm. In recent weeks it's been in the back of my mind to drag up the shovel and ice melt from the b...

Tuesday is Election Day. We get to go to the polls and submit our choices for elected officials and initiatives. We get to choose, as a county, who our leaders will be. We get to choose, as a group, whether or not we will collect a county tax on...

Last week's Question of the Week in The Ledger was "who is your role model?" A young man named Nathan Stevens answered, "Superman." It made me chuckle, but it also made me think of a recent conversation about the wonder and innocence of the minds of...

This weekend we were sharing first hunt stories. My first year of hunting, my dad was so excited that he bought me an Elmer Fudd-looking orange hat complete with the fuzzy ear flaps. I wore that thing every day we went out because he was so proud of...

The Deer Lodge football coach was recently suspended pending an investigation after he recently switched sidelines during a home football game. The school board voted Monday to keep Coach Andrew Verlanic. In an interview with the Deer Lodge News...

Each spring, Thompson Falls hosts Beautification Days as a way to do some spring cleaning. It's a great community wide effort to keep Thompson Falls beautiful. It's worth mentioning, however, the ongoing efforts of residents and business owners who...

At Harvest Foods recently, I saw something I’d never seen before – Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. I couldn’t believe it. Before I moved back to Montana, I remember the start of the pumpkin spice craze. What’s better than pumpkin pie on Thanksg...

I'm definitely one of those people who rises with the sun. In the summer, I'm up early. Now that the sun is rising later, I'm wanting to rise later as well. People are putting their gardens to bed, putting away lawn mowers and getting out their fall...

Fall is in the air. Leaves are turning, the mornings are cooler, and the sun is setting earlier. The kids are back in the routine of school, and people are putting their gardens to bed for the winter. It’s time to start thinking about the other big a...

Since the pandemic, there has been this shift in the labor market. There are consistently dozens of job openings listed with Job Service. It seems as almost every business in the county is constantly looking for help. Then comes the dilemma of how...

I've always commented that if I had to go back and live in a different time period, I'd live in pioneer days. I could grow and harvest my own food. I could wash clothes in the river. I could write by candlelight. I reread the Little House on the Prai...

I remember my first day of kindergarten very well. I remember very distinctly not wanting my mom to leave. I remember standing outside Mrs. Garrison's kindergarten classroom at Thompson Falls Elementary and not wanting to go in. I think my mom finall...

Each year, a backpacking trip into a nearby wilderness is undertaken by certain artistic types (ATs), most often plein air painters. ATs follow “guide” Bearly-Seen Svensson (not his real name, for legal reasons) into the wild, stopping often to art...

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said “the only constant in life is change.” He sure was right. Everything changes, as history has proven. Sanders County is in a unique situation this fall. All but two of our elected officials are up for ele...

I’ve known Sam and Teri Burt since they moved to Trout Creek. I went to school with their kids. My dad was a volunteer fireman with Sam at the Trout Creek Rural Fire District. I’ve always known they are good people and known that they were inv...

When I describe Sanders County to people who have never been here or are just visiting, I often relay the fact that the county is 100 miles long and has no stop lights. Some might argue the flashing light at the corner of Highways 77 and 28 counts,...

I met someone recently and after striking up a conversation, quickly found out that she had moved to the area about a year ago. Being the curious person that I am, I asked about her background. I always like hearing people’s stories of how they f...

You may have heard someone say, “That person is a real character,” generally in reference to a guy or gal who is somewhat, or very — ummm — unique. Some folks achieve status as a real character without even thinking about it, but should you yoursel...

Hospitals. Schools. Churches. Museums. All valuable buildings that should always be protected. Let’s add libraries to that list. It should come as no surprise that as the owner of a newspaper, I value reading. I love holding a book in my hands, l...