Once again, Lake County brimmed with news in 2025. Here are some of the stories that stand out:

POLSON ATTORNEY BRITT COTTER was elected in November 2024 to take the District Court seat formerly held by Deborah “Kim” Christopher, who had resigned the previous spring. In a surprising development, the judge-elect resigned Dec. 22, just two days before he was charged on Christmas Eve with one count of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and two counts of possession of dangerous drugs.

Cotter pled guilty to the charges Nov.  11, 2025, before District Court Judge Jennifer Lent, as part of a plea agreement that calls for three-year deferred sentences for each count, to run concurrently.

Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. next Friday, Jan. 9.

POLSON ATTORNEY JOHN MERCER, who was appointed to fill the Dept. 2 20th Judicial District Court seat vacated in April 2024 by long-serving Deborah “Kim” Christopher, reapplied for the post left vacant by Britt Cotter’s resignation.

Mercer, who has a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, legislator and member of the Montana Board of Regents, was among five candidates for the two-year term. His appointment was announced in late April by Gov. Gianforte, after applications and public comments were reviewed by a 10-member advisory committee.

Mercer called the appointment “an honor,” and said he plans to run for election to the remaining four-year term in 2026.

THE FIRST CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE on the Flathead Indian Reservation was identified last January in a mule deer harvested northeast of Elmo. A second case was found in November in a white-tailed deer harvested north of St. Ignatius.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have since increased hunter check stations across the reservation to better understand how prevalent the disease is.

Additionally, tribal biologists have identified cases of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) killing off some of the deer population. EHD is caused by midge bites, while CWD is passed through soil, water and food that’s been contaminated by the prions shed in bodily fluids of infected animals.

IN MARCH, THE POLSON CITY COMMISSION revisited the notion of imposing a three-percent resort tax to raise funds for infrastructure improvements. This would have marked Polson’s third run at the measure.

However, the effort was put to rest in July when the Department of Commerce ruled that the city’s businesses don’t derive enough revenue from tourists to qualify Polson as a resort community.

THANKS TO A $12.9 MILLION GRANT from the American Infrstructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, Lake County launched three road projects last spring, and by the end of November had rebuilt the entire lengths of Dublin Gulch and North Reservoir Road (which also gained a bike/pedestrian path), plus 1.3 miles of Moiese Valley Road.

THE POLSON COMMISSION HIRED GREAT FALLS ATTORNEY Jordan Crosby in April to help sort out issues related to the position of city judge and to recommend a path forward in what had become a fraught relationship between Judge Mike Larson and City Manager Ed Meece. Ultimately, when Larson’s term expired June 30, the commission chose to replace him with Joseph May, a former deputy police chief from Simi Valley, Calif.

Following her recommendation, the commission decided to place the non-partisan position of city judge before voters in 2027.

RONAN SCHOOL DISTRICT was among five districts across the state to open charter schools under a law passed by the Legislature in 2023, and approved by the Montana Board of Public Education.

The Ronan Charter Academy offers online education and more flexible learning environments for students in grades 7-12 from both in and outside the school district and awards accredited diplomas. Josh Illig is director.

JOHNNY LAPOTKA, 10, finally finagled some ducks of his own, after persistently showing up a Polson Commission meetings to ask for a rewrite of the city’s chicken ordinance, which forbade ducks. He began his quest June 2, and it ended in early December, when the commission unanimously updated the chicken ordinance, adding ducks to the list of allowable fowl.

WITH LITTLE SNOWPACK REMAINING, hotter-than-normal temperatures and low rainfall, boat owners were girding themselves for diminished Flathead Lake levels in 2025 – comparable to those experienced in the fractious season of 2023. Instead, Energy Keepers, which operates SKQ Dam, announced a partial remedy that sustained lake levels at within one foot of full pool through July.

To keep water in the lake, Energy Keepers – in concert with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Natural Resource Department – crafted a plan to cut flows in the Flathead River below the dam by 55 percent of normal for a few months, allowing more water to remain in the lake. Aided by some surprising summer precipitation, the lake stayed within 12 inches of full pool through August.

A “NO KINGS” PROTEST held June 14 to oppose what participants decry as the autocratic leanings of President Donald Trump drew an estimated 325 people to the intersection of Highways 93 and 35. A second event, held Oct. 18, drew a smaller but still vocal crowd of protesters.

BIG ARM RESIDENT KYLE GEYER spent hours trapped beneath her riding lawnmower June 27, before two teenagers rescued her. Geyer, who spent a few days recovering in St. Joseph Hospital, credited Billings teens Danny Fehr and Channing Thompson with saving her life,

The duo was putting by her home on Meadowlark Lane on a jet ski, looking for fish, when one of them saw her waving from beneath the mower. They hustled up the embankment while calling 911. It took a crew from Polson Rural Fire District to heave the machine off her.

“I feel like I’m the luckiest woman on Earth,” she said.

PROVIDENCE ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER BROKE GROUND on a new rural health clinic July 14, thanks to a fundraising campaign that raised more than $14 million in just a year to finance the 12,000-square-foot facility.

Fundraising co-chairs Blair Sprunk and Diane Long (and their “wingmen,” former Nike COO Eric Sprunk and pro-football defensive end Howie Long) were credited with firing up the remarkable fundraising effort.

The clinic is well on its way, with completion slated for next fall. Providence administrators anticipate that the new space will allow St. Joe’s to double the number of family practitioners. A major expansion and update to the emergency area is also in the works.

THE SANDPIPER ART GALLERY continues to adorn Polson with murals thanks to its Art4Polson initiative. This year’s projects have brought vibrant paintings to Boettcher Park, Sacajawea Park, the golf course, and a dog-themed creation to the alley wall next to The Barking Lot.

The initiative is funded through donations, raffles, collaborations and grants. Learn more at www.sandpiperartgalleryandgifts.com/art4polson.

IN AUGUST, TRIBAL OFFICIALS LEARNED that funding for reconstruction of Highway 93 from Eagle Pass Trail to Brooks Lane was jeopardized by the “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by Congress and signed by President Trump July 4. Approximately $63 million in grant funding, awarded to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2024, had been rescinded as part of the bill. The project was expected to begin in 2027, and much of the design work is completed.

A second grant-funded project from Dublin Gulch to McDonald/Leon Road, including a bridge over Post Creek and a passing lane up Post Creek Hill, is still on the books for 2026, although it has been shortened by half a mile.

LOCAL LOW-INCOME FAMILIES RECEIVING Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were also affected by House Resolution 1, which changed eligibility requirements. According to the Montana Food Bank Network, around 12,000 Montanans were a “immediate risk” of losing benefits in August.

Administrators at the Polson Loaves and Fish Pantry and Ronan Bread Basket told the Leader that they had seen an uptick in clients since the beginning of the year and worried that loss of SNAP benefits would further stress the system. Around 17 percent of Lake County households receive SNAP benefits according to the Food Research and Action Center.

The safety net was impacted again when delivery of SNAP benefits was delayed during shutdown of the federal government that lasted from Oct. 1-Nov. 12.

FARMERS MARKET VENDORS and community members turned out in force at a Polson Commission meeting Aug. 4 to show support for keeping the Polson Farmers Market in its existing location on Third Ave. W.

A second meeting, convened Oct. 28 by outgoing Polson Mayor Eric Huffine to consider a location on Salish Point, yielded a similar response and seemed to quash further efforts to move the market.

ALTHOUGH MARRED BY WIND AND RAIN, Flathead cherry growers shipped more than 1.6 million pounds of cherries in 2025.

According to local grower Brian Campbell, wind can bruise the crop, while rain can cause cherries to split, and last summer brought both. “We had just about everything you can throw at the cherries,” he said.

THE WESTERN MONTANA MUSICIAN’S CO-OP moved to the former Entertainer Theater in Ronan, which had remained closed since the COVID pandemic.

The co-op, founded in 2019 and located in the Red Poppy building, offers space for musicians to play, with instruments and a sound system already set up. The theater’s new 18-by-25-foot state “was built with acoustics in mind,” says co-founder Doug Ruhman.

“We’re just happy to support them and have the building have some life back in it,” said Becky Dupuis of Polson Theatres Inc., which owns the building.

LAKE COUNTY CELEBRATED THE OPENING of the new Dave Stipe Annex with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 9. The three-story, 15,828-square-foot building houses several county offices, including elections, planning, environmental health, information technology, GIS and the Lake County Superintendent of Schools. Space is also leased to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

The price tag was $7 million.

A TUITION BILL PASSED BY THE 2023 LEGISLATURE could threaten Lake County’s rural school districts. The bill forces districts where students reside to pay tuition when they attend school in another district. For larger school districts like Polson and Ronan, it amounts to a money swap, but for K-6 rural districts – like Dayton and Valley View – it could be a death knell.

St. Ignatius Superintendent calls the legislation “ludicrous,” while Lake County Superintendent Caroly Hall believes legislators didn’t understand “the full ramifications.”

IN POLSON, ANDY FOHRS stepped into his first year as superintendent with two more building projects underway at the high school and middle school that forced a tardy start to the school year. This marks the third year of significant construction projects in the district, thanks to bond levies passed by voters in 2023.

The district also reduced staff by seven teachers this year and dropped one-and-a-half administrative positions due to a tight budget, largely caused by inflation and higher operational costs and shifts in the student population.

AN ESTIMATED 400 PEOPLE attended a prayer vigil for right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, held Sept. 18 on the Lake County Courthouse lawn.

Kirk was gunned down Sept. 10 will giving a speech at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk’s murder.

INVASIVE AMERICAN BULLFROGS have infiltrated Mission Valley, and members of the Montana Conservation Corps are trying to rebuff their attack. The frogs, known for their high rate of reproduction and predatory nature, devour “literally anything that fits in their mouth,” according to CSKT biologist Cara Thompson. “They can really take a toll on biodiversity.”

Frog gigs are the most effective means of catching these unwelcome amphibians, who are easier to find at night.

A MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT is underway on the Jocko K Canal, an important part of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project. The project puts almost 18 miles of pipe, ranging from eight-to-48 inches in diameter, into the ground to help rehabilitate and modernize water delivery to the Jocko Service Area.

The area was identified as a high priority and is a collaborative effort between Morrison-Maierle engineering firm, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Flathead Indian Irrigation Project staff and contractors. Prospect Construction and Knife River Corporation were contracted to complete the first four phases of the project prior to the next irrigation season.

RESPONDING TO A TOUGH MARKET and President Trump’s move to import beef from South America in order to bring down beef prices, local cattle ranchers say the government should instead focus on the oversize impact of meat packers. They argue that the four conglomerates that control the packing industry set the prices consumers pay.

Ranchers also say beef prices are at an all-time high due to inflation and high demand.

POLSON AND RONAN BEGIN THE NEW YEAR with new mayors, while St. Ignatius has two new council members.

Polson city commissioner Laura Dever bested Marlo (Phil) Thelan, and takes the gavel from outgoing mayor Eric Huffine. New to the commission are Lori Schrader-Young, who replaces Dever in Ward 2, and Tracy McDonald, replacing Brodie Moll, who opted not to run for a third term in Ward 3.

In Ronan, councilman Ryan Corum won the race for mayor against Wendy Davis; he replaces Chris Adler. Lindsay Meyers was unopposed in Ward 2, and Micah Robertson replaces Marlene Melton, who stepped down from Ward 3. The council will need to appoint someone for the remainder of Corum’s term in Ward 1.

Two-term incumbent Chris Heffern and former mayor Steve McCollum won a four-way race for two open seats on the St. Ignatius council.

THE CSKT TRIBAL COUNCIL will also see some new faces in 2026. While incumbents Tom McDonald, Len TwoTeeth and Carol Depoe Lankford were returned to office during the general election Dec. 13, Jennifer Finley lost her Polson seat to Jami Pluff, and Jim Malatare of Arlee was ousted by Greg Dumontier.