Good morning, Kalispell.

The Gateway Community Center in Kalispell is now one of three clean air centers funded by a $20,000 grant to help residents escape wildfire smoke.

Whitefish Community Library will host an open house Thursday from 2-6 p.m. to showcase its improved air filtration system.

Glacier National Park will hold volunteer Hawk Watch training on Sept.

21 at Lake McDonald Lodge from noon to 4 p.m. plus an open house on Oct. 3 at Mount Brown from noon to 2 p.m., where live raptors and field counting are featured; volunteers should bring binoculars.

The Great Fish Community Challenge, underway at Glacier Bank Park since Aug.

11, has raised over $2 million from local donors as of Aug. 25, and organizers expect a final surge in giving before the challenge ends at 5 p.m. Sept. 11 with awards announced Oct. 22 at Wachholz College Center.

Girls on the Run Western Montana named Gerda Reeb as their new executive director on Monday, Aug.

25. Reeb (with over 20 years in nonprofit education at Flathead Valley Community College) will expand programs and school partnerships for young girls across the region.

Charlotte Housel became the new executive director at FVCC Foundation, where she will share college success stories with valley residents while longtime President Jane Karas departs at year-end.

Earlier this month, the Whitefish School Board approved the final 2026-27 budget of 31.5 million dollars, with elementary and high school funds increasing by 1.43 percent and 6.39 percent respectively as part of busy summer maintenance and high school expansion work.

FWP is hosting a fruit drive at 490 N.

Meridian Road in Kalispell from Tuesday, Sept. 8 to Friday, Sept. 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local landowners can drop off fruit to reduce bear attractants + support the Grizzly + Wolf Discovery Center.

Liquid Gold Well Service of Cut Bank capped one of the state's oldest oil wells along Kintla Lake in Glacier National Park last week after a gas leak was found, and crews built a wooden ramp to protect nearby vegetation.

Flathead County hired Helena-based Mosaic Architecture to reconstruct the nearly 120-year-old covered grandstands at the fairgrounds in Kalispell, citing the firm’s past Montana arena projects.

County officials will soon finalize the project’s scope, design, and timeline to preserve the historic venue for future generations.