Montana
Female Area Athlete of the Week: Carsten hitting and pitching for Wolverines
WADENA — There is not much Montana Carsten can’t do on the softball field.
The Wadena-Deer Creek junior captain has been dynamite in the pitching circle and at the plate through the first seven games for the Wolverines.
Last week, Carsten recorded three wins in the circle for the Wolverines. She scored nine runs and drove in five runs in six games — all WDC wins.
“When we started practices this year, we kind of saw this new Montana that was ready to go the entire time,” WDC head coach Brooke Umland said. “She was named one of the team captains and she’s really taken on that role for us. She has a seriousness about her and she’s constantly lifting up her teammates. We expected big things from her and she hasn’t disappointed.”
Carsten earned the win in the circle in WDC’s 3-2 victory over Menahga to start the week Tuesday, April 9.
In two games Thursday, April 11, Carsten recorded five hits, scored six runs and drove in two runs as the Wolverines beat Pine River-Backus 14-1 and Staples-Motley 11-1.
“When I get in the box, I just try to hit the ball,” Carsten said. “I try my best to swing at strikes and just get on base as much as I can and score.”
Carsten earned the win in the circle against PRB. In a doubleheader sweep of the Pillager Huskies Friday, April 12, Carsten allowed two hits in a complete-game Game One shutout. Carsten also went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored for the Wolverines in a 12-0 win.
Carsten finished the week by allowing one earned run in a 10-6 win against Parkers Prairie Monday, April 15.
“I was just throwing strikes and just trying to be consistent,” Carsten said. “I know my defense will make plays behind me.”
Carsten holds a 1.03 ERA in the circle and a .637 batting average at the plate.
“Her confidence, whether it’s in the circle or in the box, she expects to do well,” Umland said. “She goes up there and she’s producing for us in all aspects of her game.”
Carsten slots in as the No. 2 hitter in W-DC’s batting order.
“She’s one of our leaders in RBIs because our leadoff hitter is doing a great job of getting on ahead of Montana,” Umland said. “She is doing a great job at the No. 2 spot.”
Hitting at the top of the lineup helps Carsten with her confidence.
“I know there are some big hitters behind me that I know can drive me and my teammates in,” Carsten said.
In the circle, Umland is impressed most by Carsten’s control. In five games, Carsten has walked two batters.
“Even when she is down in the count she can come back and strikout out a batter,” Umland said. “When she’s throwing well, she is pretty much unstoppable with the defense behind her. She trusts them and they trust her.”
Carsten added she tries to aim for the catcher’s glove when pitching — nothing fancy.
“I’ll start with a couple of fastballs and then try to throw either a drop ball or change-up,” Carsten said. “The fastball is probably my best pitch. I feel like I’ve improved on being really consistent and not walking many girls. I just try to get them to hit, so we can get the outs.”
Having Carsten in the circle gives Umland all the confidence in the world as a coach, too.
“When someone commands the strike zone like she is right now you have to go with her,” Umland said. “When you have someone throwing like that our confidence gains more and more every game. She is definitely a tone-setter for us.”
Other notable performances:
Softball: Keira Bertram, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale, went 6-9 with two doubles.
Kendra Melby, Pierz, 6-8 with three doubles and seven RBIs in two games last week.
Abby Palm, Aitkin, went 6-7 with five RBIs.
Jada Dykhoff, Wadena-Deer Creek, blasted a grand slam against Pillager.
Golf: Genevieve Birkeland, Pequot Lakes, was the medalist for the Granite Ridge Conference meet at Stone Creek Golf Course.
Year: Junior
School: Wadena-Deer Creek
Sport: Softball
Position: Pitcher
Highlights: Montana Carsten recorded eight hits, nine runs and five RBIs across six games. She picked up four wins in the circle.
The journey toward longer days continues as we move from the spring equinox to the summer solstice. Due to the Earth’s tilt, the Northern Hemisphere is now experiencing more direct sunlight, allowing many areas across western Montana to see light well past 9 p.m.
We’re also not far from 9 p.m. sunsets, with the Flathead Valley expected to see them as early as later this week.
Daylight Tracker – Kalispell, Mont.
While March and April saw larger increases in daylight, May still packs a punch. Many areas will continue to gain more than an hour of extra light by the end of the month, with sunsets between 9:30 and 10 p.m. by May 31.
Daylight Gained – Western Montana
Don’t think I forgot our early birds, though. Bozeman will enjoy extra sunlight in the early morning hours, with twilight beginning as early as 5 a.m. and sunrises around 5:45 in the Garden City.
Twilight/Sunrise Times – May 31
It’s quite beautiful to see Montana waking up from winter, and the extra sunlight certainly adds to the energy. Whether it’s taking a walk or having dinner on the patio, enjoy the extra daylight this month!
HAMILTON, Mont. — By the turn of the 20th century elk populations in North America were at desperately low levels.
Years of unregulated hunting had decimated elk numbers.
But there was a healthy population of elk in Yellowstone National Park.
In 1912, a herd of elk from Yellowstone were transported to Hamilton.
Now mounts believed to be from the original Yellowstone elk are being celebrated at the new fire hall.
Taxidermist Kurt Kohn has restored the mounts of two of Hamilton’s most famous bull elk.
NBC Montana met the taxidermist at his shop where he showed us his work.
He restored one of the trophies in 1998.
He just completed the restoration of the second one.
Both bulls are believed to be important touchstones in modern elk populations.
“The elk were hunted to near extinction at the turn of the century,” said Kurt. “I had the rare privilege to restore one of the most historic elk in the United States, certainly in Montana but probably the United States as well. This is believed to be one of the original elk that were reintroduced to the Bitterroot Valley in 1912.”
To restock elk numbers in the valley, sportsmen and supporters initiated an ambitious effort in 1912 to transport dozens of elk from the park to Hamilton by train.
The first transport ended tragically when curious crowds stressed the already nervous elk.
“The first one was a failure,” said Kurt. ” A lot of the elk were killed due to a stampede and a crowd that was in Hamilton, Montana. It became a public spectacle.”
The next transport was successful.
“They let them go in the middle of the night,” said Kurt. ” Nobody else knew that it was happening other than the people involved in the reintroduction.”
The elk were held in an enclosure at the Bitter Root Stock Farm to become acclimated,” said Kurt, “before being released into the wild.”
The animals dispersed to the east in the Sapphire Mountains and propagated new generations of elk.
Kurt said it’s believed the elk he remounted are likely forebears of the elk we see today.
Pointing to the new mount he said, “this elk is important because it’s a piece of history. Generally, all the elk in Montana are probably related to this elk in some way.”
“There’s likely to be a strong connection to this elk,” he said,” and the elk introduced in the Bitterroot to all of the elk in Montana, and around the United States.”
The trophies had been mounted at Hamilton’s old fire hall for as long as anyone can remember.
Those mounts were treasured by generations of firefighters.
But the force outgrew the historic building downtown, and moved to a new location across town.
Since then, both mounts have been in Kurt’s taxidermy shop, waiting for transport to the new fire hall.
Hamilton Fire Captain Travis Walker helped Kurt move the mounts from Kurt’s shop to their new home in the new fire hall.
Travis calls the mounts a “memento to the fire department.”
Moving the bulls from the taxidermy shop was a delicate process.
The men had to be careful to make sure the elk’s racks were protected.
They loaded both mounts into the pickup, securing the elk so they wouldn’t be jarred on the trip.
After arriving at the hall, Kurt wrote a dedication on the back of a mount.
“That will be here for the next hundred years,” he said.
The mounts were installed on the kitchen wall, where crews spend a lot of time.
The elk have been mascots to fire crews for well over a hundred years.
“The Bitterroot is known for its big game species of hunting and most of the guys on the fire department are big hunters as well,” said Travis. “They would be our mascots. They’re part of our heritage of being firemen and the hunting part of the Bitterroot. “
Kurt said we don’t know exactly what happened to these elk, whether they were harvested in a hunt or died by other means.
The only parts of the mount that are original are the antlers and the skull plate.
Kurt’s son Kameron Kohn provided the cape for one of the elk.
It came from his successful bow hunting trip.
“I think it’s a really cool way to be able to honor the history of elk in the Bitterroot Valley,” said Kameron. ” It’s a great way to honor the memory of that hunt with me and my wife. It came from a similar sized bull and it’s a beautiful cape.”
“I think they needed to move with their fire people,” said Travis of the mounts, “They were lonely.”
Now, the Yellowstone bull elk are finally home, to be cherished at Hamilton Fire Department headquarters.
Imagine a long expanse of pristine sand slipping into calm, lapping, crystal-clear waters. The occasional chunk of driftwood juts out as mountains cut an elegant outline in the distance. Forced to guess which state you’re in, you might draw a blank — the mountains are a bit of an anomaly. Yet such a place exists in Montana. It’s called Somers Beach State Park, an underrated gem sitting on the northwest shore of Flathead Lake. Its sandy shorelines and wide-open space provide plenty of room for swimming, birding, and a few trails.
The 106-acre beach rests along Flathead Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the U.S. The 200-square-mile blue gem has been lauded by visitors and sites like Lake.com as being the 10th-cleanest lake in the country, earning a spot on the list of U.S. lakes that are unbelievably clean and clear. The surroundings aren’t that bad either. Visitors who hit the beach often relish its view of the Swan Mountains stretching across the horizon. The park is still evolving: Montana acquired the property in 2021, opened the beach a year later, and has been building up its facilities and amenities ever since.
The key to visiting Somers Beach State Park is timing. Because its size changes with Flathead Lake’s water levels, many visitors have come away confused, underwhelmed, or plain old angry to find a rocky, windy stretch of shoreline. Fair enough, since Somers Beach’s sandy shores have a knack for disappearing in the summer. Instead, they emerge when Flathead Lake’s water dips between fall and spring, only to rise up with the temperatures.
Swim, hike, bird, and scope out the surroundings
For those looking to take a dip in Somers Beach’s waters, there comes a compromise. You can have warm waters — or you can have a sandy shore. You can’t have both. How much swimming you actually get done while there will depend on when you visit. During the summer, the shallow portion of the beach can stretch for several hundred yards, leaving you wading through waist-deep water for an interminably long time. “It’s fun because the lake isn’t as high and there’s quite a long stretch of beach to play in the water or just bask in the sun,” one local wrote in a Google review. “It’s a beautiful place to see Flathead Lake and the mountains.” Visiting outside the summer carries its own set of issues, as Flathead Lake’s water temperature tends to plummet. Bring hiking boots and binoculars instead.
As a relatively young state park, Somers Beach doesn’t have a formal trail system. All the better, as you then have a chance to just wander about. The nearby town of Somers contains plenty to see to the west, while to the east are wetlands and a grassy area north of the shore. Birders will have plenty to enjoy as well. The Flathead Lake Waterfowl Production Area east of the beach provides habitat for over 200 species of birds. (Authorities close off access to the area during nesting season, between March and July.) If you time your visit right, you can spend a day with sand between your toes. The drop in water level creates a half-mile expanse of sandy shoreline worthy of a peaceful stroll.
The logistics of visiting Somers Beach State Park
Flathead Lake’s proximity to Glacier National Park makes Somers Beach accessible by several modes of transportation. Glacier Park International Airport is only half an hour’s drive away. While the beach alone may not justify a long-haul flight, it pairs well with other destinations around the lake. That includes Yellow Bay State Park, a crowd-free paradise surrounded by cherry orchards. Together, they can fill an entire weekend with adventure.
Unfortunately, you can’t pitch a tent right on the beach; the state park is day-use only. Fortunately, finding a place to sleep nearby isn’t much of a hassle. A ring of accommodations orbits Flathead Lake, including luxury cabins costing several hundred dollars per night. The highly-rated Somers Bay Cabin Lodging is minutes away as well, with log cabins that have lake views, ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom units. Despite the rustic exterior, the interiors still have all the modern conveniences you’d expect, from Wi-Fi to heating.
The beach’s home alongside Flathead Lake makes it adjacent to several must-see areas, chief among them Flathead Valley. The unexpectedly up-and-coming wine region — yes, a wine region in Montana — with its excellent wineries and nearby orchards, provides an ideal bookend for a trip to Somers Beach. If you visit during the warmer months, be sure to bring bug spray to keep the mosquitoes at bay. If you plan on hauling a boatload of supplies with you — inflatables, coolers, or chairs — bring a wagon. The jaunt from the parking area to the beach can be longer than it looks.
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