Just a month after the Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed by a forest fire in Glacier National Park, the top of Logan Pass has been temporarily shut down again, this time because of snow.

Glacier announced over the weekend that a section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road between Big Bend on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side is temporarily closed because of winter weather conditions.

Representatives from the park could not be reached on Sunday to give an estimate on when the road might reopen.

The park announced last week that the Logan Pass Visitor Center will remain open through Sept. 30 this year, and that the east side of the road will stay open through Oct. 4, two weeks longer than originally planned.

Eighteen miles of the Going-to-the-Sun road had been closed from July 21 to Aug. 7 because of the Reynolds Creek fire.

All of the travel restrictions on U.S. Highway 2 along the south edge of the park near Essex have been lifted. The road had been temporarily closed during August because of the Sheep fire, and even when it reopened, vehicles were being moved through by pilot cars.

The Thompson-Divide Complex, which is made up of the Thompson, Granite and Sheep fires, had more than an inch of rain and snow over the weekend.

MORE>>>Billings Gazette

Flathead Police Report

10:09 a.m. A complaint was made about defiant dump trucks on Trumble Creek Road.

10:27 a.m. A woman on Beartrap Road reported that a bat had been sitting outside on her tomato plant for the entire morning, refusing to leave. She decided to take matters into her own hands and put the bat in a jar.

11:03 a.m. A NASCAR themed man attempted to pawn some potentially stolen items. He and his friend fled on their bikes when they learned law enforcement was notified.

11:31 a.m. A local man claimed that his ex-girlfriend does not like him or his new girlfriend

12:47 p.m. A nervous looking horse was seen standing alongside Farm to Market Road.

12:49 p.m. An employee of a local car wash reported that an irate customer drove through the parking lot in a reckless, sideways fashion.

2:10 p.m. Someone driving down Highway 93 South reported that another driver flipped him off.

2:56 p.m. A golden retriever prone to excess is the primary suspect in an ongoing investigation regarding the disappearance of 22 ducks on Grand Fir Trail.

8:05 p.m. Reportedly, three kids racing ATVs through Lakeside nearly ran over a Blacktail Road resident.

8:59 p.m. A woman in Columbia Falls claimed that the people who had her stuff were being rude and weird. She was unable to elaborate on their weirdness.

Angela Jamison is a native Montanan and she grew up in beautiful Bozeman. I'm the mother of two girls and write a blog about our life here and taking in the simple pleasures of family and food.

I recently got back from a trip to Walla Walla Washington. A small town tucked in the southeast corner of the state. Golden wheat fields surround it and at first sight, I wasn’t too sure about it. Our reason for going was a music festival and upon checking the town out before we made the trip I found it had been named the “Friendliest Small Town”. Our very first interaction with a Walla Walla-ian and each one there after proved this to be true. Each local eager to tell us the best places in their town to go, which vineyards were a must do, how to get to the favorite breakfast joint and ending the conversation with well wishes to enjoy their town during our visit. There was a lot about this small college town that reminded me of Bozeman. The historic downtown, the influx of students, the beauty that surrounds it (ours mountains, theirs rolling vineyards and wheat fields) and the friendly community. It got me thinking about what I would name Bozeman. Of course our town has made many lists toting it’s greatness over the past few years. However, I wanted to think of what I personally would consider this town I’ve lived the majority of my life in.

Like Walla Walla, I think we could certainly be a contender for friendliest. There are no lack of friendly people here. Someone to hold the door open for you, wave you into the flow of traffic when things back up, chat with you at the grocery store or shovel your sidewalk after a snow storm. However, I do think as we’ve grown there’s a part of the small town friendliness that has faded. A bit more of a rush to keep up, a few more people who don’t go with the flow. We are a friendly group, but I’ll let Walla Walla keep the friendliest small town award.

Many people comment on what a healthy community we are and I definitely agree with that. Each morning I go out for a run I’m met with fellow runners and walkers out in the early mornings. Even in the middle of winter we are out…not missing an opportunity to get our hearts racing. In the summer the mountains are full of hikers and in the winter full of skiers. Each yoga class I go to is generally packed with yogi’s getting their zen on. Our farmer’s markets and the Food Co-op are full of healthy, local food to nourish our bodies and our kids fill the playgrounds and ball fields rather than staying inside. Yes, we are a healthy bunch around here and it shows. But, being known as the healthiest city isn’t that glamorous so I think I’ll keep brainstorming.

How about smartest? We are an educated bunch around here. With MSU graduates sticking around rather than fleeing after graduation whether they have a job or not the cliche is true that your local barista probably has their masters degree. I guess this makes sense…smart, educated people know what an awesome place this is compared to a lot of others so why leave? However, saying we’re the smartest town sounds a bit pompous so I don’t want to go with that.

Maybe best community spirit? One of the things I love so much about Bozeman is our feeling of community. There are many non-profits here all thriving with volunteers and donations from people in our community wanting to help others. Not only in the giving aspect, but in the support of the town. From the Christmas Stroll to Sweet Pea to Bobcat football games, this town has it going on. Live music, local food, events, festivals…so much to do all year round. This makes Bozeman very cool so I supposed we could be considered the most community minded town. Kind of a mouthful though.

Each of the above and many other things embody what Bozeman is, but if I had to pick just one thing that encompasses it all I would have to say Bozeman is a very happy town. A place where we combine friendly, healthy and smart all into one beautiful community. A place where we are kind to others simply because we are happy to be here. Even when it’s the fifth day of below zero temps, most around here are still smiling. A wonderful town for families, retirees, students. Yes, this is what Bozeman would be if I got to give it a nick name…”Bozeman, The Happiest Small Town”.

Kathleen Clary Miller has written 300+ columns and stories for periodicals both local and national, and has authored three books. She lives in the woods of the Ninemile Valley, thirty miles west of Missoula.

As I parked my car outside the Missoula Public Library I had to wonder: How many people actually use the library anymore? What with Kindle e-books and Amazon and The Book Exchange, where you can trade, sell, and buy for a lower price than even Costco, does anyone bother to burn the gasoline and drive to the library, pay for a parking meter if there is no spot in the small parking lot, and check out a book, knowing there is a time constraint: due date come rain, snow, sleet or dead of night?

Yet here it is, if you are willing, with books entirely yours for the reading.

Indeed, one must organize in order to make optimal use of the facility I’ve always considered a minor miracle. You have to get a card, keep it in your wallet so that you have your member number handy, and together with the memory of your pin code, you can then place a hold on any new bestseller or classic if it is not in stock that day, as long as you are willing to wait to be notified that your ship has come in.

Ever since I could walk well enough to toddle on down the street to our local library, I ranked the experience of bringing home a bag filled with books and plenty of time to read them right up there with a bonanza birthday party. Where else do you garner a variety of entertainment scot-free?

These days I keep a list and on the same day I check out my read that has just come available I place a hold on the next entry. So far, I’ve managed a fairly steady turnover without too much stress about due date crossover. Whenever my husband boasts about his reasonably priced and easily accessible Kindle library, I point out that although he may rollover titles for a pittance, so can I never be without a book, and without adding a penny to the VISA balance.

While walking up the stairs into the Missoula Library main room, I recollected that I have a cousin who has been a California librarian all her life, and recently she told me that the advent of technological reading sources has caused her branch the need to discover other uses for former reading rooms, other avenues of income such as renting out to meeting groups and gatherings.

On this particular lazy Montana summer afternoon I was drawn to the selection of “New Fiction”, an array of books that is displayed for all to see before entering the stacks. As my eye raced over titles, a pleasant looking silver-haired gentleman spoke.

“Have you read anything lately that you’d recommend?”

As a matter of fact, I had, and so I began to offer titles and brief summaries in case one or the other might match his taste in genre. We talked favorite authors (shared a few) and right in the middle of my praiseworthy commentary on Richard Ford’s recent novel Canada he smiled.

“Do you ever notice that since the arrival of computers, people like us don’t gather like this in libraries anymore?” he asked. I told him I’d just been internally debating the very same question.

“We rely on everything by computer now, especially communication,” I added.

“And have you noticed that people don’t have impromptu conversations like this as much as they used to—just start chatting together? Everyone is so guarded and password protected.” Such an interesting man, I thought, as I absorbed his meaning.

We thanked each other for willingness to speak without hesitation, for recommendations to add to our reading lists, and pure and simple, for exchange. There is the pleasure of the written word and then…there is the exhilaration of the spoken, especially from a stranger.

Well worth the fifty cents I’d cranked into the Main Street parking meter.

According to the 2015 Kauffman Index, Montana ranks as the state with the highest level of startup activity—the third straight year it has topped the rankings. However, how sustainable is its recent entrepreneurial success?

The Treasure State—its official nickname, although lesser known than Big Sky Country—is not new to tech startups. It is home to Schedulicity, an app for finding and booking local services; Wisetail, a social media e-learning platform; and TechRanch, an advisory organization that helps tech startups get off the ground. It has enjoyed high rates of economic growth and a development frenzy that has driven real estate prices up. Most impressive was the fact that in the 2015 Kauffman Index, Montana’s rate of new entrepreneurs was 0.54 percent – meaning 540 entrepreneurs per month for every 100,000 adults – nearly twice the national average. A further look at the other facts the Index took into account reveals the following:

Opportunity share: Montana had a 74 percent opportunity share of new entrepreneurs, which means that approximately three in 10 new Montana entrepreneurs came directly from unemployment. On the high end, nearby Idaho had a 90.3 percent opportunity share, or just one in 10 new entrepreneurs starting their businesses when they were unemployed.

Density: Montana’ startup density range was 195.7 startups per 100,000 people—topping the 184.7 from the previous year.

MORE>>>Kaufman.org