This Week’s Weather Forecast

Courts ......................... 8 Valley Views ............... 10 STEM van ................... 14 Ronan brewfest .......... 16 Seniors ....................... 18 MV Choral Society .... 21 Calendar ................... 26 Classifieds ................. 30 MARTY HENSEL PHOTO camera-friendly trio contact

Kathi Beeks

Boone Goddard

Advertising Sales, Owner (406) 249-1728 boone@valleyjournal.net

Summer Goddard Publisher, Owner (406) 249-1793 summer@valleyjournal.net

Office Manager, Copy Editor (406) 676-8989 vjmail@valleyjournal.net news@valleyjournal.net

Taylor Davison Editor (406) 676-8989 vjeditor@valleyjournal.net

Jerry Beeks

Advertising Sales (406) 207-4641 jbeeks@ronan.net

2023

The Valley Journal newspaper (PE 23-190) is published weekly by Valley Journal LLC. Periodicals postage paid at Ronan, MT.

Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Distribution is by mail subscription ($59 per year in Lake County, MT; $74 per year elsewhere in U.S.) and by newsstand sales. Postmaster: send address changes to Valley Journal, P.O. Box 326, Ronan, MT. 59864.

Your homegrown newspaper serves residents of Lake

County and the Flathead Indian Reservation. Deadline for display advertising is 2 p.m. Thursday. Deadline for news submissions, calendar items, classifieds and legal advertising is noon Friday, for the following week’s newspaper.

News, letters to the editor and calendar submissions may be sent by email to: vjeditor@valleyjournal.net. Classified and legal advertisements requests should be emailed to: vjmail@valleyjournal.net.

All print subscriptions include full access to online news, archives. Sign up online at: www.valleyjournal.net/ subscribe from page 2

“The script is so beautiful, it really touches our hearts,” Hurd commented. “And what’s such a beautiful gift to me is I said yes to this film and I came here and I experienced this beautiful place that you guys have, this heaven on Earth –Polson, Montana, – and it has changed my life. Thank you so much for welcoming us.”

The premiere was open to the public and quickly sold out of tickets, but those still interested in seeing the film can find out more about when and where it’ll be showing by going online to: NovaVento.com

Better Newspaper Contest announces award winners

MONTANA — The Montana Newspaper Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest announced its award winners last week.

Lake County’s own Valley Journal took away three awards: First place in Best Niche Publication for the Montana Summer Guide magazine, first place in Best Special Section for the Farm & Ranch publication, and third place in Best Editorial for a column written by editor Taylor Davison.

Other winners included General Excellence Awards for the Boulder Monitor, Choteau Acantha, Belgrade News, Havre Daily News, and the Billings Gazette. The Sam Gilluly Award for Best Montana Daily Newspaper went to the Billings Gazette. The Thomas Dimsdale Award for Best Montana Weekly Newspaper went to Belgrade News. The Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year went to Amy Nelson of the Billings Gazette.