People are always on the search for certain things when they come to the Big Sky State.

Huckleberries, secret hiking trails, and…flathead cherries.

This year, we celebrate the 25th annual Flathead Cherry Festival. So if anyone starts asking you about the delicacy, just tell them they can go to this annual event. It will help get them off your back.

The festival is full of so many “Montana things”! Vendors from all over the state will have some of the best baked good you will ever taste, for sale.

Art work from talented local artists will be displayed for you look at and purchase. Imagine how great it will look in your family room.

Shopping, food, local Montana made products, what else could you possibly want?

The festival is July 27th and 28th and goes from 9 AM to 5 PM both days. The main street of Polson is going to be jam packed with Montana loving folks just like you and I.

There are certain events/festivals that you will forget about or miss during the summer, especially since there are so many great ones to attend, but the Flathead Cherry Festival is one you want to mark on your calendars early so you don’t have any regrets.

WHAT: Flathead Cherry Festival

WHEN: July 27th and July 28th (starts at 9 AM)

WHERE: Polson, MT (4 hours from Bozeman)

Make it a weekend getaway. Here are some places to stay if you are like me a love a good girls weekend.

HOTELS IN POLSON

AIRBNB IN POLSON

cc: Flathead Cherry Festival

WASHINGTON D.C. (KOLO) – Nearly $1.8 million for clean energy projects will be coming to the state of Nevada.

The funds come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and are awarded to the Silver State to provide grants to local governments for clean energy projects.

U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, who voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, had this to say about the funds:

“As Nevada continues to experience the effects of the climate crisis, it’s critical that we invest in clean energy projects that reduce our emissions and lower energy costs for Nevadans,” said Senator Rosen. “I was proud to secure this funding to increase energy efficiency in our state and create clean energy jobs thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law I helped write and pass. I’ll always fight to deliver federal investments for our state’s booming clean energy economy.”

“Nevada is paving the path to our country’s clean energy future, and this grant will help us grow our clean energy economy,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I will continue working to support energy efficiency, bring down costs for Nevada families, and combat climate change.”

Copyright 2024 KOLO. All rights reserved.

In the years prior to the boy’s death, state investigators with the Children, Youth, and Families Department had responded to at least four reports of neglect involving the child.

A New Mexico mother has been arrested after authorities say she is suspected of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly die by starvation.

Marecella Vasquez Montelongo, 23, was arrested in late February months after her son, who had Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities, was found in July unconscious and not breathing at her Albuquerque home. The boy was pronounced dead and an autopsy later determined that he died of starvation and dehydration due to neglect, according to a criminal complaint provided to USA TODAY.

In the years prior to the boy’s death, state investigators with the Children, Youth, and Families Department had responded to at least four reports of neglect involving the child, according to the complaint.

Montelongo had her first court appearance Wednesday in a Bernalillo County court room on a charge of child abuse resulting in death. A judge ruled that Montelongo must remain in custody until the start of her trial and complete an addiction treatment program, according to KOAT-TV, which was the first to report on the case.

Philadelphia: Body found in duffel bag identified as 4-year-old reported missing in December

Child appeared to be ‘skin and bones’ at his death

Albuquerque police were dispatched to Montelongo’s home on July 16 after receiving a report of the unresponsive child. While paramedics attempted life-saving measures, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint, dated Feb. 26.

Montelongo told police at the scene that she had fed her son but that he had vomited. Shortly after, she noticed he was not breathing and called 911, the complaint states.

At the time of his death, the boy appeared as “skin and bones,” with his hip bones clearly defined and open ulcers on his tailbone, according to the complaint. When medical examiners conducted a preliminary autopsy, they discovered that the boy had dropped to a weight of about 13.6 pounds.

The final autopsy, which was completed in October, concluded that Montelongo’s son had died from starvation and dehydration, and ruled that the manner of death was a homicide.

‘Red flags’ surfaced before boy’s July death

The boy was nonverbal, blind, used a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care, according to investigators. Montelongo was required to give her son medication three times a day through a gastrostomy tube, otherwise known as a G-tube.

However, Montelongo routinely missed her son’s doctor’s appointments, including five since December 2022. While she noticed her son was losing weight, she told investigators that she did not think it was a concern, the complaint states.

Since the boy’s birth, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department received four reports of medical neglect, including one report that was substantiated, according to the complaint.

Though the child was enrolled at he New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, records provided to investigators showed that he only reported for on day of school in September 2022 and never showed up again.

“This defendant made efforts to hide the abuse and this child’s demise from medical advisors and the school,” Bernalillo County Judge David Murphy said at Montelongo’s hearing, according to video aired by KOAT-TV.

Some advocates went so far as to question how Montelongo was able to retain custody of her son following the series of red flags.

“We had medical providers, educational providers, service providers and family members raising flags,” Maralyn Beck, founder and executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Child Network told KOAT-TV. “Yet here we are.”

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com