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The Kootenai Business Park is getting a boost. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced on Friday that a $750,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration is being awarded to the 418-acre park, which is located south of Libby town limits. The funds will be used to rehabilitate the existing 3,070-foot rail spur line and connect it to the BNSF main line. Tina Oliphant, executive director of the Lincoln County Port Authority, said that bringing the rail spur online is the group’s top strategic priority. It was shut down 1-1/2 years ago for safety reasons because the curvature of the line

Bataan Death March survivor, artist and educator Ben Steele will be remembered for his heroism and his warm, caring personality. He died Sunday at age 98 with his wife Shirley and daughters Julie Jorgenson and Rosemarie Steele at his side. A memorial service is pending. “Everyone knows his war stories and what he went through as a POW, but it’s his personality, his warm caring personality that made people love him,” Jorgenson said. “His students would come up to me and say, ‘Ben and I have a special bond.’ But he made everyone feel special; every student had that special

Ben Steele, who survived the Bataan Death March during World War II, has died. He was 98. His wife, Shirley Steele, said Ben died at about 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Steele’s book, “Tears in the Darkness – The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath,” chronicled his experience during the war and he became well-known for his art depicting his time as a prisoner of war. A new Billings middle school currently under construction was named in his honor. Steele’s ordeal as a survivor of the Bataan Death March made him a local hero. His sketches that he drew while a prisoner of war also

I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love.” Lisa Diekmann remembers John Steinbeck’s quote about Montana from his travelogue, “Adventures with Charley: In Search of America,” when she thinks about the state where she and her late husband Alex Diekmann raised their sons, Logan and Liam. Before he passed away in February after a battle with cancer, Alex worked with the Trust for Public Land to head projects that conserved more than 125,000 acres of land and contributed to the conservation of hundreds of thousands more.

Cattle prices were losing value faster than autumn sheds daylight when the unexpected happened. China announced it was lifting its 13-year ban on U.S. beef. If you don’t think a cowboy or two cried with joy, think again. China is the second largest beef customer in the world. It’s expected to import 825,000 tons of beef this year. That’s the kind of shopper that could turn current prices around. “The beef industry has suffered huge losses in the last 12 to 14 months,” said Jim Peterson, who ranches near Buffalo. “There are a lot of ag producers in both cattle

The Kootenai Business Park is getting a boost. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced on Friday that $750,000 from the federal Economic Development Administration is being awarded to the 400-acre Kootenai Business Park, which is located south of town limits. The grant will be used to fund development of a railroad, according to a press release from Daines’ office. “The investment will support the creation of additional wood product manufacturing jobs in the distressed region of Lincoln County and will help the Lincoln County Port Authority to redevelop its defunct rail spur, which serves the business park,” the release states. “Completion