SERVING THE BITTERROOT VALLEY SINCE 1889 RAVALLI REPUBLIC
Trump sERVING THE BITTERROOT VALLEY SINCE 1889 RAVALLI REPUBLIC CORVALLIS DARBY FLORENCE HAMILTON STEVENSVILLE VICTOR Idaho Vandals to visit Missoula for second straight year. Spooky reads UNDEAD for kids, adults as fall chill FOREST hits the air. FOX.
WASHINGTON D.C. — SERVING THE BITTERROOT VALLEY SINCE 1889 RAVALLI REPUBLIC CORVALLIS DARBY FLORENCE HAMILTON STEVENSVILLE VICTOR Idaho Vandals to visit Missoula for second straight year. Donald J. Trump campaigned in Kalispell to boost Republican turnout in Montana’s highly competitive western congressional district. The open seat race between Republican Aaron Flint and Democrat Sam Forstag has shifted to a toss-up following Representative Ryan Zinke’s retirement. The outcome of the tight race could help decide control of the U.S. House. SERVING THE BITTERROOT VALLEY SINCE 1889 RAVALLI REPUBLIC CORVALLIS DARBY FLORENCE HAMILTON STEVENSVILLE VICTOR Idaho Vandals to visit Missoula for second straight year. Spooky reads UNDEAD for kids, adults as fall chill FOREST hits the air. FOX DEADWOOD PAGE BI A Lee Enterprises, Incorporated Newspaper-Majority shareholder, David Hoffmann, Hoffmann Media Group Thursday, October 15, 2026 Ravalli Republic.com Judge halts Forest Service reshuffle SAM WILSON sam.wilson@missoulian.com The ongoing reshuffling of the For- est Service, along with much of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was paused Tuesday after a federal judge in Northern California found the reorganization was “almost certainly” violating federal law by diverting funds without congressional approval. U.S.
District Court Judge Vince Chhab ria granted a temporary stay that bars the department and many of its agencies from closing any more offices or relocating employees, pending action by Congress. “Congress did not contemplate USDA using its appropriated funds to shut down offices or relocate employees,” wrote Chhabria, with the U.S. District Court of Northern California. “To the contrary, Congress was actively working to restrict the agency’s ability to do so.” The USDA announced a sweeping plan in 2025 to reorganize the massive depart- ment, with an eye toward reducing its footprint in Washington, D.C., and staff- ing up regional hubs across the country. The USDA employs 3,100 full-time workers in Montana, according to the federal Office of Personnel Management. Of those employees, 2,700 work for the Forest Service. Forest Service officials are planning to eliminate the agency’s longstanding Please see USFS, Page A2 TRUMP IN KALISPELL “WE LOVE TRUMP” BEN ALLAN SMITH, MISSOULIAN Hundreds of attendees line up outside Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell ahead of the rally hosted by Trump on Wednesday. Big crowd turns out for rally in GOP stronghold SEABORN LARSON, CARLY GRAF, GRIFFEN SMITH AND BEN ALLAN SMITH A star-spangled spectacle was brewing in the Flathead Valley on Wednesday afternoon as thousands descended on Majestic Valley Arena to see Trump. Trump was in Montana to cam paign for GOP candidates, namely conservative radio host Aaron Flint, who is running to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke as the representa- tive in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Democrat Sam Forstag is running a tight race against Flint; polling has shown the race in a sta- tistical tie for the last several weeks. Those in line to see the president on Wednesday came from nearby communities and from as far as California. At least eight sitting or hopeful legislators had been spotted at the rally as of 2 p.m. “I’ve been to over 30 of these Please see TRUMP, Page A4 Feds, wolf advocates duel over species’ future SAM WILSON sam.wilson@missoulian.com When is a gray wolf ”significant” enough to earn federal protections? And after a decades-long recovery returned the species to one-third of its historic range, is it time to remove the protections that brought them back? A panel of three appeals court judges visited Missoula’s federal courthouse Tuesday, attempting to get to the bot- tom of those questions-along with a multitude of others – in a trio of law- suits that could shape the future of the iconic species in the contiguous United States. In one case, the Center for Wildlife Biology, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other environmental groups are suing to overturn the federal govern- ment’s rejection of their petition to relist wolves under the Endangered Species Act across the entire Lower 48 states. The lawsuit previously played out in the same courtroom in Missoula’s Rus- sell Smith Federal Courthouse, where District Judge Donald Molloy last year ruled against the Fish and Wildlife Service and found the agency failed to apply the best available science in its analysis and ignored the predators’ his- toric range. Wolves once roamed across most of the North American continent, but were nearly eliminated south of Canada Please see WOLVES, Page A3 Stevi scholar drums up success Svaren is Bitterroot’s only National Merit semifinalist NICOLE GIRTEN nicole.girten ravallirepublic.com Stevensville senior Zane Sva- ren’s ultimate dream is to be a rock star, drumming on the big- gest stages. So far, though, one of Svaren’s biggest accomplishments is being the only student in the Bit- terroot named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. He will compete with about 16,000 other kids around the country next spring for 6,700 merit scholarships worth about $24 million.
Hundreds of attendees line up outside Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell on 10/14/2026. The rally was held by President Donald J.
© copyright Zenger.News
like maybe it’s a “big fish, little pond” thing because our school’s kind of underfunded,“ he said. To qualify to be a semifinalist, applicants have to first score high on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Applicants also need an ”out- He said it “feels cool” to be standing academic record“ among such an elite few. and to submit an application ”Sometimes going to a school like Stevensville, it almost feels Please see SCHOLAR, Page AS YELLOWJACKETS Stevensville senior Zane Svaren is the Bitterroot’s only Merit Scholar semifinalist in the 2027 cohort. He will go on to compete for one of more than 6,000 scholarships totaling more than $24 million. NICOLE GIRTEN RAVALLIREPUBLIC. COM GET THE Activate your digital account to get updated stories, FULL BENEFITS videos, and hundreds of additional puzzles and comics. OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION! Visit ravallirepublic.com/activate and download our app for the E-edition and breaking news on the go! Weather Mostly sunny, nice High: 59 Low: 29 Forecast: A10 Inside Opinion Nation/World $2.50 TTS Volume 137, Issue 288 Copyright 2026 A6 Sports A7 Classified Follow us online: Republic Raval Republic
Zenger analysis
Photo by Zenger analysis
Protomaps / Natural Earth – Washington, D.C.
President Trump is the author of The Art of the Deal, Think Like a Billionaire, and Think Big. Analyst and Trump supporter Rod Martin points to The Art of the Deal, Trump's 1987 book, as an explanation of his deal-making philosophy: making big announcements, pivoting often in public statements and, Martin says, ultimately getting what he wanted all along. Critics contend that Trump's books were published decades ago or were aimed at making money, not shedding light. "Generally," Martin said, "critics don't read The Art of the Deal. If they did, they would understand."