The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 173
*The headline of this story has been updated March 10, 2022 to better reflect the fact no revitalization plan exists. The original headline may have created or exacerbate that misperception. A Feb. 18 event aimed at re-introducing Envision Lincoln to the community and restarting conversations around downtown revitalization efforts drew a surprising turnout for a Tuesday gathering at mid-day, suggesting there is still significant interest in the economic and quality-of-life...
As Christians throughout much of the nation look ahead to a homebound Easter Sunday, separated from their fellow worshippers by coronavirus-related restrictions, those in the Upper Blackfoot Valley will be able to stay connected to the churches through the internet. Local churches have been streaming their services online for the past few weeks as a series of restrictions, which began with the March 16 Lewis and Clark Public Health order to close bars and restaurants and... Full story
Today marks the eighth year of our ownership of the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch, and we're hoping it won't be our last. No, that's not an April Fool's joke. Right now, things are tight for everyone, and we're no different. We haven't taken the straightforward hit from the COVID-19 restrictions that some local businesses have, thanks to our core advertisers who have stuck with us through the last three weeks. We can't thank them enough. But we're looking down the barrel of a... Full story
Governor Steve Bullock's stay at home order related to slowing the spread of COVID-19, lasting from March 28 through April 10, expanded on his March 20 order to close certain establishments and to enforce social distancing. Most businesses in the Upper Blackfoot that were open under the original order fall into the essential business category, but there are some exceptions and most that remain open are required to enforce social distancing requirements. The latest COVID-19 rel... Full story
The Montana History Foundation has awarded the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society a grant of $10,000 in support of the Matt King House Project. Carissa Beckwith, Grants Manager for the MHF, notified the UBVHS of the grant -- the maximum yearly amount awarded to any one project by the MHF -- in a March 18 e-mail. "I was sick with a head cold and didn't see the email until two days after it was sent," said acting UBVHS President Erin Dey. "I was so happy and excited and...
A 2015 discovery about the ownership of the original Mike Horse Creek Road has added a new wrinkle to the ongoing restoration of the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex. Steve Opp, the U.S. Forest Service coordinator for the UBMC cleanup project, attended the Jan. 21 meeting of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council to begin a discussion with the community on the future of the road. Opp explained that until 2015, the Forest Service was certain the road was part of the...
Envision Lincoln, the community revitalization effort begun in 2017, has been flying below the radar for the past several months, but organizers are working to invigorate the movement with an open house at the Lincoln Community Hall Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. "It will be an introduction to getting Envision Lincoln going again," lead organizer Karyn Good said at a Jan. 10 meeting of several of the core members of the Envision Lincoln group. "We had a break, but we...
With the filing deadline for Lewis and Clark County Boards approaching, a new law may come into play for Lincoln’s elected boards. All five elected boards in Lincoln will have positions up for election on May 5, 2020. The Lincoln Fire District is electing two trustees to three-year terms. The positions currently held by Richard Birkholz and Gary Weisner are up for election. The Lincoln Hospital District is electing five trustees (the entire board). There are two one-year terms, two two-year terms, and one three-year term u...
The Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council has been meeting in Lincoln for well over a decade. Composed of seven elected members, the Council serves in an advisory capacity to the County Commissioners, giving Lincoln residents an opportunity to bring their concerns and opinions to the county. Lincoln has had a community council since the early 1990s. The current council replaced the original Lincoln Community Council in 2007, which was suspended in 2006 following the resignation of most the board. It was reborn as the...
Editor's Note: In 1949, Robert Fisk of Lincoln produced a small pamphlet with a deep green cover, a greeting from the Blackfoot Valley for the holidays. Seventy years later, to bid farewell to 2019 and welcome 2020, we've reproduced it here in coordination with the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society. To recount the story of the Big Blackfoot, the chronicler would have to dig into many ponderous tomes in order to cull out the data both before and after the taking over...
An important portion of The Corps of Discovery's journey occurred in southwest Montana. On July 19, 1805, Lewis and his men were struggling up the Missouri between present-day Upper and Lower Holter lakes. "from the singular appearance of this place I called it the gates of the rocky mountains." The next day, searching for "the three forks of the Missouri," they entered the first of southwest Montana's big valleys – Helena's Prickly Pear Valley. Arriving at the meeting of t...
A suggestion by Lincoln's new librarian Kate Radford could improve the safety at the crosswalks near Lincoln School. At a meeting of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council two months ago, Radford suggested improving the school crosswalks with the use of a button that could activate the flashing warning lights as needed. The crosswalk lights are currently timed to activate at the start and end of the school days, when students are most likely to be crossing the highway....
The Lincoln Valley Public Lands Proposal took a step forward last week as the Lewis and Clark County Commission unanimously approved a resolution in support of the plan at their regular Dec. 5 meeting in Helena. Commission Chairman Jim McCormick applauded the community involvement in the proposal as he announced the board's action during the Dec. 6 Lincoln Government Day Meeting at the Lincoln Library. "The group of folks have been working for years to bring the whole Lincoln...
The Lincoln Branch of the Lewis & Clark Library is teaming up with Story Corps to bring awareness and provide resources for The Great Thanksgiving Listen. According to the Story Corps website, the Great Thanksgiving Listen is "a national movement that empowers young people-and people of all ages-to create an oral history of the contemporary United States by recording an interview with an elder, mentor, friend, or someone they admire using the free StoryCorps App." "It's a way...
The Lincon Valley Chamber of Commerce Hosted the 45th Annual Lincoln Community Benefit at the community hall Saturday Nov. 2. This year's benefit featured the annual performance by the Lincon Community Players, who put on their version of the TV classic western Gunsmoke. 'Gunsmoke: A Fractured Fairy Tale' was a mashup of Gunsmoke and Snow White tells the tale of a group of gold mining dwarves and their money-hungry boss, Snow White, upsetting the peace in old Lincoln. Stu...
After two months as the new executive Director of the Blackfoot Challenge, Seth Wilson is settling into the role that brought him back to the Blackfoot Valley. Wilson, who served as the first Wildlife Coordinator for the Blackfoot Challenge from 2001 to 2014, took over the position Sept. 3 and has been re-acquainting himself with the watershed and the organization's partners. "As I get a bit more settled in as executive director, I am grateful to our amazing Board of...
The early winter storm that brought heavy snow to the much of Montana Saturday and Sunday prompted visiting Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild artists Stuart Ian Frost and Alison Stigora to head out a day early to beat the weather and nearly led to the cancellation of the official launch of the new work. But a handful of locals braved the cold and showed up Saturday afternoon to check it out regardless. BPSW President Becky Garland and Artistic Director Kevin O'Dwyer le...
Stuart Ian Frost's inspiration for his yet-to-be-named piece at Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild, came from a trip to Garnet Ghost town last year. During his visit, he photographed various artifacts and the two things seemed to stand out to him: a crosscut saw blade with an intricate design and a small metal canister in the shape of a house, which he later learned was used to dispense maple syrup. During that site visit, he also toured the Upper Blackfoot Valley...
At the beginning of September, The Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society officially took ownership of property along Highway 200 in Lincoln that will become the new home for the historic Matt King House and the Historical Society. The property will allow the UBVHS to move forward with efforts to reconstruct the building, which was taken down in 2015 and moved from its original location west of Sucker Creek Road. For the last five years, the disassembled structure has been...
The Lewis and Clark County Heritage Tourism Council held their August meeting in Lincoln, with members taking the opportunity to visit the historic Lincoln Gulch Cemetery and meet with the newly established Lincoln Cemetery District Board of Trustees. The Lewis and Clark County Commission approved a resolution April 20 to formally create the administrative board for Lincoln's two cemeteries, a decision that ended a process begun in 2016 with the transfer of the old Lincoln Gul...
The Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society celebrated Heritage Days Saturday, Aug. 17. The event celebrates the history of Lincoln and crafts and skills used by early settlers. Heritage Days is a fundraising event for the UBVHS, which is raising money for the purchase of property and the reconstruction of the Historic Matt King House....
For the first time in nearly four decades, the Lincoln Library has a new librarian handling the literary needs of the community. Kate Radford took her new post as the Lincoln Library Branch Manager July 31, after a couple days of training at the main Lewis and Clark County Library in Helena, and has been busy getting to know both the library and the community. "Everybody has been super kind and friendly and supportive," Radford said. "but I have heard a number of times what...
From downtown Lincoln you can now head for miles in any direction and still say you're within the Crown of the Continent, thanks to the work done by University of Montana Geography Professor Rick Graetz and his former graduate student Katie Shank. Last Friday, Graetz and Shank unveiled a new southern boundary for the Crown, which highlights the region around Lincoln and adds about 275,000 acres and 87 miles of the Continental Divide to the 13-million-acre ecosystem. Over the...
Whether it's hiking, horseback riding or off-highway vehicles, information on the various public trails around Lincoln can be hard to come by, for both visitors and locals alike. This year, an effort to raise awareness of the public trail system around the Upper Blackfoot Valley is underway, with the ultimate goal of developing a website specifically for Lincoln-area trails. Montana Conservation Corps intern Paige Havener began working on that task in June, and for the past...
Two days of hot rods and rock & roll are coming to Lincoln this weekend as Rev Mountain Entertainment presents the Rev Mountain Car and Bike Show, July 26 and 27 at the Lincoln Rodeo Grounds. Event Promoter Shelby Brookie said the event came about to bring additional attention to Lincoln as a destination and to help the towns economy boom, with an event the locals should appreciate. "We realized there are a lot of cool cars here; there are a lot of people who love their...
