Flathead Beacon Podcasts
144 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratingsListen here for all the latest news and information from around the Flathead Valley. Each week the Flathead Beacon Podcast takes a deep dive into the biggest stories in Northwest Montana. To read all of our coverage, free of charge, visit flatheadbeacon.com. Support our work by joining the Beacon Editor's Club at beaconeditorsclub.com.
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Episodes
Held v. Montana — with Guest Host Kellyn Brown
June 09, 2023 11:02 - 16 minutes - 23.2 MBOn June 12, the lawsuit Held v. State of Montana will go to trial in Helena's district court. In the lawsuit, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs from across Montana, allege that Montana, through its executive agencies, has knowingly approved projects and implemented policies that support a fossil-fuel based energy system that adds dangerous levels of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, damaging Montana’s environment and harming the state’s youth. The laws...
Big Sky City Lights
May 05, 2023 09:30 - 21 minutes - 29.8 MBNorthwest Montana has produced its fair share of singers and songwriters, including the indie-folk duo Big Sky City Lights, made up of Whitefish's Nick Spear and New York City's Susan O'Dea. The two met more than a decade ago, and during the pandemic began remotely writing and recording together. That remote relationship eventually turned into a full length album in 2021 and the duo is hard at work developing a new body of work that will become a second album. In addition, Big Sky City Light...
Schoolhouse Votes with Denali Sagner
April 21, 2023 09:02 - 20 minutes - 28 MBSpring isn't normally thought of as election season, but in the education world it is. May 2 is election day for municipal elections in the Flathead Valley, including school board and school levy elections in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and several other districts around the valley. Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner joins host Micah to offer a preview of the various races that will show up on school ballots this spring. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED...
Montana's Constitution and the 68th Legislature: Observations with Lee Banville
April 07, 2023 09:31 - 22 minutes - 30.5 MBSince the Montana constitution was crafted in 1972, there have only been 34 changes made to the state’s governing document, a rate of less than one per year. However over the last three months of the 68th legislative session, Montana Republicans have introduced a record 67 constitutional amendments. This week, Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner wrote about the crossroads the state constitution is facing with multiple efforts, almost all unsuccessful, to alter it. To gain additional insig...
Rationing Recreation Access with Dr. Will Rice
March 31, 2023 09:50 - 21 minutes - 29.4 MBAt 8 a.m. on March 15, Glacier National Park’s advance online reservation window opened to a groundswell of prospective backpackers eager to nab a prized wilderness campground permit. Within 10 minutes, however, the park’s most coveted campsites had filled, and the reservation window slammed shut on a host of highly sought-after multi-day itineraries.The new online system is part of a nationwide shift toward online, contact-less reservations to access outdoor spaces. Will Rice, the head of...
The Next Chapter
March 24, 2023 11:05 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MBOn May 23, 2007, with the newspaper industry in steep decline, the Flathead Valley awoke to an unlikely new resident: a 24-page tabloid called the Flathead Beacon. The weekly paper, owned by television personality and part-time Bigfork resident Maury Povich, has produced 823 issues over the last 16 years, and on March 28th, the final print issue of the Beacon will hit newsstands in the Flathead Valley. However, the Flathead Beacon news organization isn't going away — it's shifting to a digi...
The Party Faithful
March 03, 2023 12:05 - 21 minutes - 29.3 MBRepublican Mark Racicot served as the 21st governor of Montana from 1993 to 2001 who then went on to lead the Republican National Committee and serve as chair of George W. Bush's reelection campaign in 2004. In recent years, however, Racicot has emerged as a vocal critic of the Republican Party's direction, and his opposition of Donald Trump and Trump-supporting Republicans, including U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke has drawn the ire of the Montana GOP. On Feb 16, the Montana Republican State...
Montana Legislature January Update
February 03, 2023 12:06 - 27 minutes - 38.2 MBThe 68th Montana legislature is in session planning out the budget for the next biennium and working to move of bills through the house and senate chambers each week. Today is the 25th day of this legislative cycle, with the session wrapping up at the beginning of May. Flathead Beacon reporters Denali Sagner, Mike Kordenbrock and Maggie Dresser joined host Micah Drew to to talk about legislation they've been tracking throughout January and share updates to their reporting. To find detaile...
2022 Election Preview with Tristan Scott
November 04, 2022 11:08 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MBOn November 8, citizens across America will cast their ballots for local, state and national elections, except for those who have already voted by mail. In Flathead County, more than 22,000 voters have already submitted their ballots. Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott joined host Micah Drew to break down some of the races on the ballot and offer his insight into this year's midterm elections. To check your voter status, visit the Montana My Voter page, or visit the Flathead Cou...
A Quiet Park
September 10, 2022 02:31 - 30 minutes - 41.6 MBIn July, the nonprofit Quiet Parks International (QPI) acknowledged Glacier National Park with its Wilderness Quiet Park award, the first of its kind in North America. The award "reinforces the natural sounds educational efforts the park makes to distinguish the natural soundscape from noise, and the importance of the visitors' opportunity for that experience." Host Micah Drew reported on this award over the last few months, and brings together some excerpted conversations with QPI co-found...
Bloody Mary: A Blessing and a Curse with Mike Kordenbrock and Hunter D'Antuono
August 19, 2022 11:05 - 24 minutes - 33.6 MBThis week the Flathead Beacon published its annual Drinks Edition, where instead of a single in depth feature article, the staff brought together a package of thematically linked stories about various things that can be consumed via straw, glass or mug. Certainly the most striking piece was the subject of the Beacon's cover image: a bloody mary cocktail topped with a virtual bouquet of fried food. Micah Drew brings Beacon staff writer Mike Kordenbrock and media director Hunter D'Antuono up...
Tales from Glacier's Backcountry with Pete Heyboer and Colton Born
August 05, 2022 11:05 - 36 minutes - 49.8 MBThe weekend of July 22, three fatalities occurred in Glacier National Park. Two fatalities were 67-year-old Brian Kennedy and 67-year-old Jack Beard, who died in a climbing accident on Dusty Star Mountain. Both were long time climbers, adventurers and members of the Glacier Mountaineering Society. The third death was a hiker visiting from Florida. These tragedies, along with a fourth hiking death earlier this year, show the risks of being in the back country, whether hiking, climbing or ski...
A Brewery Born Again with Jeremiah Johnson
July 22, 2022 11:05 - 22 minutes - 30.4 MB"It has been in our hearts since we started that something would come to fruition in the Flathead, so it seems wild that everything fell together the way it did." ~Jeremiah Johnson Two and a half years ago, the Flathead Valley’s oldest craft beer establishment in downtown Whitefish closed its doors, The only thing brewing inside the iconic building since then has been rumors. Just this week however, the Blackstar Draught House reopened its doors in a new partnership with Jeremiah Johns...
Swinging Into Summer with Flathead Living Editor Justin Franz
July 08, 2022 11:05 - 25 minutes - 35.6 MBSummer is in full swing now that we’ve passed the Fourth of July holidays, and with that comes hordes of tourists, great weather for spending time on the lakes or hiking to a new mountaintop, and of course, the summer issue of Flathead Living Magazine. The new issue of the magazine hit stands June 28, and so host Micah Drew tracked down Flathead Living managing editor Justin Franz in his Columbia Falls home last week to talk to him about the new issue. The interview was recorded on June 30....
Twinterns: Part 2 with reporter Denali Sagner
June 17, 2022 11:05 - 11 minutes - 16.3 MBTemperatures are climbing back to a summer-like range after historic levels of rain and several inches of snow in the mountains earlier this week. With that summer feeling, host Micah Drew brings you the second part of our Meet the Intern series. Denali Sagner hit the ground running last week when she showed up in Kalispell freshly graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She got her first bylines in the Beacon writing about COVID restrictions in Glacier National Park and working w...
Twinterns: Part 1 with photojournalist Sarah Mosquera
June 03, 2022 11:05 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBIt’s the first week of June which means summer is fast approaching, and to steal a phrase from Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott, :The best sign in the Zodiac is alighting on the horizon… Internicus." This summer, the Beacon’s editorial team will be welcoming Twinterns, with both a print and a photojournalist set to join us in the newsroom. Thursday was day one for our photojournalist intern, Sarah Mosquera, and she spent it up the North Fork with Tristan shooting a Bear Awa...
Return of the Buffalo
May 27, 2022 11:05 - 10 minutes - 14.8 MBIn 2020, legislation to return an 18,524-acre parcel of land in the middle of the Flathead Indian Reservation to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) was signed into law. Just over a year later, the Bison Range, along with the herd of 455 buffalo, returned to tribal management after 112 years. The tribes held a three day celebration to commemorate the restoration of the land and animals to their people. Host Micah Drew spent two days at the celebrations listening to speech...
County at a Crossroads
May 13, 2022 11:05 - 17 minutes - 23.7 MBThe old Flathead County Courthouse is the most iconic building in Kalispell, if for no other reason than everyone passing through the center of town has to drive in a circle around it. The courthouse building was constructed in 1905, and originally was built with an odd feature: the prominent clocktower never held a clock, just four blank holes, until 2015. On the third floor of the courthouse lie the commissioners chambers and offices. Three commissioners, Pam Holmquist, Randy Brodehl ...
Running the Roads with Pro Runners Makena Morley and Jenn Lichter
May 06, 2022 11:04 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBHost Micah spend last weekend in Spokane Washington, where the Bloomsday run was returning to the streets after two years off due to the pandemic. Bloomsday, a 7.4 mile road race, is one of the largest events in the country, averaging more than 40,000 runners in pre-pandemic years. In addition to getting to run himself, Micah was there to watch several runners from the Flathead compete in the elite division, including Bigfork High School graduate Makena Morley (2nd overall female, first ...
Primary Colors with Managing Editor Tristan Scott
April 29, 2022 11:05 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBIt’s an even numbered year this year, which means the election season in the fall will feature 435 races for the U.S. House of Representatives. Unique this year is that our state will play host to two different Congressional races, as Montana gained a U.S. House seat following the 2020 census. The new open seat has launched crowded primaries as both major parties seek the best candidate to send to the general election. Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott attended both the Repub...
Confessions of a Serial Songwriter with Izaak Opatz
April 22, 2022 11:03 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBThis week the Flathead Beacon's annual music issue hit the stands. The featured stories focused on musical threads from a guide to Montana’s summer concerts and festivals to musician profiles to looking at Flathead high school’s new marching band uniforms. One profile, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter, was written by Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott and delved into the career of Whitefish-born singer-songwriter Izaak Opatz. Izaak will be playing a release party for his new...
The Spaces Between with FWP's Jim Williams
April 15, 2022 11:02 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBListening note: There were some technical difficulties near the middle of the show, so forgive the clipped audio transition. "I realized really quickly that a mountain lion, the issues and the fear about them was a surrogate for human coexistence. That's where it was at. The science is fun and you get to be in discovery mode, but to move the needle on acceptance and coexistence... that's all about relationships." ~ JimWilliams, biologist/wildlife manager/regional supervisor with Montana Fi...
Best of Preps: Photons and Prisms
March 25, 2022 11:05 - 11 minutes - 16.4 MBThree times a year, reporter and podcast host Micah Drew teams up with media director and photographer Hunter D'Antuono to produce the Best of Preps issue of the Beacon. The issue identifies some of the top athlete's from across the Flathead Valley and combines short vignettes about their accolades with "sportraiture" — artsy, creative studio photos imagined and executed by Hunter. For the winter Preps issue, Hunter ordered several glass prisms to try and see how he could bend light and ca...
Making 'Ted K'
March 18, 2022 11:05 - 21 minutes - 29.4 MBTed Kacynski, known as the Unabomber, brought a lot of attention to the small town of Lincoln Montana during his high profile arrest in 1996 following a spree of bombings. Several documentaries, TV movies and shows have been inspired by Kazynski, but the latest film, 'Ted K', which had its North American premiere in Missoula in February, takes a different lens to the main character. Tony Stone wrote, directed and produced Ted K, and earlier this week host Micah Drew spoke with him about ...
The Sentencing of Matt Marshall
March 11, 2022 16:42 - 14 minutes - 19.4 MBFlathead Beacon Managing Editor Tristan Scott was in Missoula last week reporting on the sentencing of Matt Marshall, the CEO of Whitefish securities firm Amyntor Group, who conned venture capitalist Michael Goguen out of millions of dollars. Marshall pretended to be a former CIA agent engaged in covert missions around the world in order to convince Goguen to fund secret operations, but in reality ended up pocketing the money. On March 3, Marshall was sentenced to six years in prison and ord...
Springtime Flathead Living... Behind the Scenes with Justin Franz
March 04, 2022 12:05 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MBJustin Franz, former Flathead Beacon intern, whose old desk host Micah now stands at, took over as editor of Flathead Living for the winter issue. He’s been in the Beacon office all week scribbling on printed pages, working with designers and overall haranguing staffers over their work. Franz took a few moments to pop into the podcast studio to chat about the process of producing a magazine, what some of his highlights are for the upcoming issue and whether the magazine will arrive in a ti...
The Rippling Effects of Flathead's High Housing Costs
February 25, 2022 12:05 - 19 minutes - 27.1 MB"There’s so many things in our society that have gotten homogenized. We eat the same French Fries, we drink the same Starbucks coffee exactly the same. We’re even starting to talk the same as you go to different parts of the country but housing is totally unique. The prices are different, the taxes are different, the style and availability are different and people don’t realize that until you start researching it." ~ Pat Barkey For years, residents of the Flathead Valley have seen rising ho...
A New Wave Goodbye
February 18, 2022 12:05 - 22 minutes - 31 MBResidents of the Flathead Valley have been treated to a decade of live New Wave 80s cover music performed on the regular by the band New Wave Time Trippers. Earlier this month, the band played their last public show in Whitefish as part of the festivities for this year’s Winter Carnival parade, which an aptly 80s themed affair. The now former lead singer of the Time Trippers, Nick Spear, took some time out of his week to reminisce about the early days of the band and how they managed to ...
Programming Note
February 16, 2022 12:03 - 1 minute - 1.75 MBJust dropping by to let you know that starting this week, the Flathead Beacon Podcast will come out on Friday mornings. That just means you have an extra two days to read the print issue of the Flathead Beacon, on stands today, and as always, keep up to date on the latest news from Northwest Montana at www.flatheadbeacon.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mountain Gateway Development
February 09, 2022 12:05 - 20 minutes - 28.1 MBThe intersection of Big Mountain Road and East Lakeshore drive north of Whitefish has long been a staple in conversations about the city’s future. The intersection takes locals and visitors too and from Whitefish mountain Resort, and during ski season, the single blinking light often backs up traffic for hours. Discussions over the intersection itself, as well as the surrounding land, have been at the heart of a months-long debate in the community over a large proposed development called th...
Reading Between the Lines Plus Weekly News Roundup
February 02, 2022 12:04 - 6 minutes - 8.62 MBFor months, the ImagineIF Library board of trustees have been stirring up emotional responses from library staff and the public with a series of controversial votes that have lowered staff salaries, hired an unqualified new director and discussed changing library policies to facilitate the removal of a queer-themed book. These moves have led to lowered staff moral, the departure of three senior librarians including two directors, a loss of state funding and discussions over litigation. Due...
An Omicron Wave
January 26, 2022 12:05 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MBAcross the country there have been winter surges in COVID-19 cases, most related to the Omicron variant, and Montana is not immune. Flathead County is seeing the highest levels of hospitalizations and case numbers since the height of the delta-variant surge last fall and hospital staff are close to being overwhelmed. On Monday, the county health department's last situation update reported 222 new cases, 2701 active cases and 55 hospitalizations. Reporter Mike Kordenbrock joins host Micah Dr...
An End of Prohibition
January 19, 2022 12:05 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBAfter an unexpected week off, host Micah Drew is back to discuss the new landscape of legal marijuana in Montana. After voters approved a measure to legalize the recreational drug in 2020, local dispensaries have been working on scaling up operations in anticipation of the increased market share. On New Year's Day, the first day of legal sales, local shops saw a 500% increase in traffic. Reporter Maggie Dresser rehashes some of her reporting on the rollout of legal marijuana sales from las...
2022 Outlooks
January 05, 2022 12:03 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MBToday host Micah Drew chats with several members of the Flathead Beacon about the upcoming year. Starting next week, the Flathead Beacon Podcast will return to its usual format of bringing an in depth view of the latest news from around the Flathead V alley. Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at flatheadbeacon.com and sign up for our new daily newsletter at flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter. RELATED LINKS January 5 E-Edition Flathead Beacon Flathead...
2021 in Review and a Look Towards 2022
December 22, 2021 12:05 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBToday host Micah Drew chats with Flathead Beacon Editor-in-Chief about the biggest trends affecting northwest Montana in 2021 and what stories he'll be paying attention to in the new year. Later, Micah eschews the news of the week to read a collection of entries from the infamous Flathead Beacon Police Blotter. There's a good chance this will become a regular segment on the podcast next year. There will be no new episode next week, but from everyone here at the Flathead Beacon have a fun, ...
Updates to Glacier's Ticketed Entry
December 15, 2021 12:02 - 12 minutes - 17.8 MBToday host Micah Drew shares a brief conversation with Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott about the latest changes announced for next summer's ticketed reservation entry system at Glacier National Park. Tristan has been covering the effects of the system since it was implemented this year, including overcrowding at lesser visited corners of the park, which officials hope to remedy next year. Later, Micah runs through the latest stories from the last week including the retirement...
Flathead Living Winter Edition 2021
December 08, 2021 12:05 - 16 minutes - 23 MBOnce again another issue of Flathead Living Magazine, the new winter edition, is on its way from the printer and will be hitting stands soon. The magazine, which was helmed by former Flathead Beacon managing editor Myers Reece for a number of years, has a new editor, former Beacon staff writer Justin Franz. As the winter issue is almost ready for reading, Justin joins the podcast to talk about his years working on the magazine as a writer, why he loves the magazine format and some of the hig...
The Last One with Myers Reece
December 01, 2021 12:02 - 20 minutes - 27.6 MBSeveral weeks ago, host Micah Drew sat down with founding Flathead Beacon member and former managing editor Myers Reece to talk about his departure from the paper, memories from his nearly 14 year tenure with the paper and his next career move to Portland, Oregon. Later, Micah runs through the latest stories from the last week including the end of the hunting season, an effort to change derogatory place names across the country and a tease of the winter issue of Flathead Living Magazine. R...
Meet Mike Kordenbrock
November 24, 2021 12:03 - 13 minutes - 19 MBThe Flathead Beacon has welcomed a new staff reporter, Mike Kordenbrock, who joins the newsroom after a seven-year stint with the Billings Gazette. Mike joins podcast host Micah Drew to chat about his start as a journalist, the transition from a daily to a weekly paper and what' he's excited about as a member of the Beacon newsroom. Later, Micah runs through the latest stories from the last week including the end of the football season, increased needs at local food banks and the vote that ...
Battle over Access
November 17, 2021 12:05 - 12 minutes - 16.7 MBThe fight over abortion access has been playing out in statehouses and courts across the country in recent months, including high profile cases such as a Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks while letting regular citizens carry out enforcement. Here in Montana, the Republican controlled legislature held its first session in 16 years without the threat of a Democratic governor’s veto, and passed several laws restricting abortion access in the state. Beacon Staff Writer Maggie Dre...
Farewell Intern Skye
November 10, 2021 12:06 - 10 minutes - 15 MB“Stories are everywhere and we have two ears so I’m plugged into what's happening and helping people share their stories.” ~ Skye Lucas Every year the Flathead Beacon gets to work with a bright young student from the University of Pennsylvania, part of a program our owner, Maury Povich, began with his alma mater. This summer we were joined by the recently graduated Skye Lucas. Following her initial three months at the Beacon, Skye stayed on to work with us for the fall but will be le...
99 Minutes From First Place
November 03, 2021 11:04 - 28 minutes - 39.1 MB“It’s just the game you know. It can be so cruel sometimes. It’s a beautiful struggle and we love the game because it tests you on so many different levels. The game itself, the sport, the season, this journey teaches these kids so much about the things they’ll be facing in life.” ~ Glacier soccer coach Ryan Billiet. Last weekend saw the culmination of yet another fall sports season as the state soccer championships played out across the state. The Class A and Class AA Boys both featured...
Born to Climb
October 27, 2021 11:02 - 15 minutes - 21 MBNorthwest Montana is full of outdoor adventurers taking on all sorts of endeavors through the mountains in all seasons. Among the myriad of stories swapped over brews or coffee, some just happen to stand out, such as those told about alpinist Jason Robertson. Over the last 25 years, Jason has been quietly pursuing the most challenging routes up all 234 of Glacier National Park’s listed summits, ascending many of them solo and in winter. Flathead Beacon managing editor Tristan Scott spent...
2021 Kalispell City Elections
October 20, 2021 11:06 - 13 minutes - 18.2 MBHalloween is looming at the end of the calendar month which means it’s almost time for the 2021 election cycle. As an off- off year in elections, it’s easy to overlook this year’s vote without a presidential candidate, congressional candidates or state legislators on the ballot, but municipal races throughout the county will directly shape policies in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and the surrounding areas as the county continues to grow. Staff reporter Maggie Dresser joins the po...
Fall Arts and News Roundup
October 13, 2021 11:01 - 8 minutes - 11.7 MBThis week the Flathead Beacon staff put together an issue dedicated to the arts, focusing on stories about artists, musicians and writers in the Flathead Valley. Host Micah Drew takes some time to run through several of the features of the issue before rounding up the latest stories from the last seven days including the vote on the Whitefish resort tax, the closure of Going-to-the-Sun Road and Kalispell's rules on marijuana dispensaries. Coming up, be on the lookout for a bonus episode of...
An Apple a Day
October 06, 2021 11:05 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MBMontana is home to a number of heritage apple orchards that have been producing fruit for decades, even going back to the early 1900s. Many of the oldest orchards are remnants of old homesteads when trees were planted for sustenance, while some go back to early commercial operations. The Kalispell orchard planted by Rod McIver is only 23 years old, but is the largest collection of fruit trees and apple varieties in the state. Rod started his home orchard project in 1997 to feed his love ...
Selling the Farm
September 29, 2021 11:07 - 11 minutes - 16.4 MBAt the end of each month, the Flathead Beacon runs a series of business pieces focusing on a different economic sector each month. For September, Flathead Beacon business reporter Maggie Dresser dove into the agricultural community in the Flathead Valley to examine how the selloff of farmland to developers is impacting the rural economy, as well as what the hot summer meant for crops in the area. Later, Micah runs through the biggest stories from the last seven days, including a proposed ho...
Learning Through Loss
September 22, 2021 11:10 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MBThe Flathead Valley has been rocked by the deaths by suicide of two high school aged kids that were reported in the last two weeks. These marked the seventh and eighth deaths by suicide in the high school age group in the area in the last year and a half. Flathead Beacon assistant managing editor Tristan Scott joins host Micah Drew to talk about his coverage of the recent tragedies and how the community is working to enhance suicide prevention awareness. Later, Micah runs through the bigge...
Flathead Living Preview: Fall 2021
September 15, 2021 11:05 - 11 minutes - 16.3 MBIt's once again time for another issue of Flathead Living to hit the stands. After a hectic week of compiling and editing the latest issue, magazine editor Myers Reece joins host Micah Drew to give an overview of the fall issue and highlight some of his favorite features readers can dig their teeth into this season. Later, Micah runs through the biggest stories from the last seven days, including a growing number of bear conflicts in the area, valley-wide bus driver shortages, and a plan ...
Back to School with Superintendent Micah Hill
September 08, 2021 11:06 - 22 minutes - 30.6 MBThe 2021-22 school year has started and Flathead Valley public school districts have been solidifying their COVID-19 policies for months in preparation. By Federal law, students in all districts are required, whether vaccinated or not, to wear face coverings on public transportation, which includes school and activity buses. Beyond that, however, districts have some leeway to draft their own policies which has led to a patchwork of guidelines across the valley. All districts are encouraging,...