Mission Valley Calendar

Upcoming events and meetings in the Mission Valley

Volunteer firefighters gather for spring training

Around 100 volunteer firefighters convened at the CSKT Division of Fire headquarters last Friday and Saturday for the Lake County Fire Association Spring Training.

Time Capsule: From the archives of local weeklies

Stories harvested from the Flathead Courier, May 10, 1984

Garden of the Rockies Museum reopens in June

The Garden of the Rockies Museum in Ronan provides a place where the essential connections between generations, represented by the materials, images, and stories of local history can be protected, shared and used as educational tools.

Legals for May, 21 2025

Jury finds Ailport guilty of attempted homicide, arson

Paul Ailport, accused of setting his truck on fire and intentionally driving into his neighbor’s home, was convicted by a Lake County jury on felony charges of attempted deliberate homicide with use of weapon, criminal mischief and arson.

Polson Seniors: Birthday dinner next Friday

Birthday Dinner on May 23 brings the good stuff: roast beef and cake!

Lawrence Ruffatto, 93

Larry Pete Ruffatto, 93 of Ronan, was born Nov. 18, 1931, in Corvallis, and went to rest on April 29, 2025, after a long battle with cancer. He passed peacefully.

Casino construction gets underway

Kraus-Anderson (KA) recently began construction on 400 Horses Casino, located west of Polson on tribal land and managed by S&K Gaming for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

View from the Library: A summer preview

Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe we’re already gearing up for another Summer Reading Program here at the library. The “Color Our World” program runs from June 9 through Aug. 7 and we’re bringing back the beloved Bug Race.

Births at the Nesting Place

The following babies were recently welcomed at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center’s Nesting Place in Polson:

Freedom Caucus fought against property tax reform

This session a group of Montanans – Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals – came together to deliver meaningful property tax relief. Unfortunately, a group of Montana lawmakers stood in the way and are now actively campaigning to get Governor Gianforte to veto meaningful property tax reform for you.

Lake County athletes punch tickets to Divisionals

Athletes from Arlee, Charlo, and Two Eagle River turned in strong performances at the District 6B and 13C meet May 9-10 at MCPS Stadium in Missoula, with several finishing in the top three and advancing to the divisional meet.

Ronan holds off late rally to top Noxon/Thompson Falls

A strong outing on the mound from Liam Jackson and timely hitting helped lift the Ronan Chiefs to a 4-2 victory over the Noxon/Thompson Falls Red Devils on Thursday evening.

How can you not be romantic about softball?

Jesse Nesper, the head coach of the Mission-Arlee-Charlo softball team, turned the phrase just slightly as he watched his team practice from the dugout. “How can you not be romantic about softball?”

Registration open for drug awareness presentations

Registration is now open for a free Drug Awareness and Community presentation by the Polson Police Department and the Flathead Tribal Police on Wednesday, June 19, at the library in Polson.

Spring Mack Days sets a new record

Spring Mack Days on Flathead Lake, sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, wrapped up Saturday, May 10, breaking the 2019 Spring Event record of 40,362 lake trout with a total of 60,138 entries turned in over the nine weeks of fishing.

Polson Boxing Club member competes at Golden Gloves

Polson Boxing Club athlete Oziah HeavyRunner represented Montana at the Rocky Mountain Regional Golden Gloves Tournament, held April 12-13 in Salt Lake City.

Polson Baseball picks up two victories

The Polson Pirates continued their impressive run through the spring season, going 3-1 over a busy stretch of games and improving to 12-5 on the year. Polson earned wins over Ronan, Plains-Hot Springs, and Frenchtown before falling to a red-hot Columbia Falls team on May 12.

River Honoring celebrates elders, educators

With the Flathead River flowing behind him, Elder Johnny Arlee opened the 38th annual River Honoring on Monday night with a prayer in Salish and some special words for the gathering. This year’s River Honorees are elders Violet Trahan and Germaine White and educators Nicole Camel, Polson, and Jennifer Jilot and Bill Stockton, Arlee.