Montana
Polebridge Mercantile owners bring store back to Kiowa Junction
There hasn’t been a business at Kiowa Junction in years, but the new Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile aims to fill that gap — including bringing back the junction’s famous fried chicken at the request of many locals.
Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is named after the Blackfeet word for bear (pronounced “key-eye-oh” k̇yīyō) That’s according to owner Will Hammerquist, who has also run the Polebridge Mercantile with his wife Katerina for nearly 10 years. He didn’t have plans to expand the business, but when the opportunity arose to build something at the Kiowa Junction, he decided to give it a shot.
“This was an opportunity to expand and do it in a way where I saw real need. We’re also kind of in a little bit of a food desert out here. There’s a lot of cars that go by and we’re at least 12 miles from the closest stores. And it’s a busy intersection, so we saw it as an opportunity to do something that people could really enjoy,” Hammerquist said.
Kiowa Junction is the area where Montana 49 (or Looking Glass Highway) meets U.S. 89 just west of Browning. The land was on the market for several years before Hammerquist purchased it after the start of the pandemic. There was a year of demo work, tearing down the dilapidated buildings that used to be a pit stop for many at the junction. The area was developed around the 70s or 80s and included a store where the current mercantile sits and a now defunct small amusement park across the street.
The store is now selling fried chicken, in addition to other deli items, to pay homage to the former store — cheekily referred to as Kiowa Fried Chicken on shirts and stickers at the mercantile.
Currently, Hammerquist and his team are building cabin rentals across from the mercantile, but remnants of the amusement park are still there, like a bumper boats pond where a beaver has now made a home.
Living with the flora and fauna at the Kiowa Junction is a goal for Hammerquist, and he doesn’t plan to develop the sites larger than what the original footprint encompassed. It’s one reason why he chose the name Kyiyo, because bears, along with moose, foxes, elk and deer frequent the area. He’s also heard wolves howling nearby.
The developed area of the property is around three acres, but the wild land of the property is over 100 acres. Eventually, he said nature trails will be created for people to enjoy.
“There’s an incredible diversity of wildflowers too, so it’s a really special place. This is definitely a wildlife corridor. The wildlife comes up off Two Medicine Ridge, out of Glacier Park, and they use this little area here to work their way out into the river bottoms,” Hammerquist said.
Working with members of the Blackfeet Nation was also a top priority, as the property is on the reservation and has historically served the community in and outside of Browning. The mercantile is selling Blackfeet made products, like bison jerky made from the tribe’s herd and jewelry made by local artisans.
The tribe’s cultural preservation office gave Hammerquist the go ahead to use the name Kyiyo — as a way to honor the bear and also the history of the Blackfeet people in the area.
“Working with the Blackfeet Nation on this project has been a real honor and having the support that they’ve given us has really been special,” Hammerquist said. “Hundreds of Montanans made this project happen. We had a lot of workers coming from Great Falls, we had a lot of guys come in from Kalispell. And so that’s really just been a neat thing to see, so many Montanans come together to make this project happen.”
Despite its distance from town, Kyiyo isn’t nearly as remote as Polebridge located on the west side of Glacier National Park. So, there are many aspects of running the east side business that Hammerquist said is much easier to contend with — like paved roads, easy connection to electricity and garbage service.
Hiring for the location has been a bit different from Polebridge, too. Hammerquist said since the mercantile is close to Browning and its surrounding communities, it has a local workforce to pull from. This differs from the North Fork, where Polebridge hires mostly seasonal workers from other places. He said some seasonal staff was still hired for Kyiyo, and he was able to offer housing by renovating an old motel on the property.
“It’s gonna be a good mix. I think part of the fun is that exchange of someone who might be in college who’s never been to Montana here, working with a cashier who’s lived on the Blackfeet Nation their whole life, you know, that’s a cultural exchange,” Hammerquist said. “We’re having a lot of laughs and we’re learning a lot. We’re making some mistakes, but we’re having fun while we’re doing it.”
Still, Hammerquist sees a lot in common with his two stores. Both are surrounded by wilderness and aim to make their visitors appreciate a slower pace of life, he said.
“I always tell my employees at Polebridge that our customers are having the best day of their life and you’re a part of that experience, right?” Hammerquist said. “To have a bakery where you don’t have a rush of people who are late for work at 7 a.m. is a very unique thing. So, none of this would be possible without our customers and their support.”
The long-term vision for Kyiyo Mercantile is to have it become a destination for families, he said. Eventually, he wants to build a playground and put in picnic tables around the store, creating a place where both visitors and locals know they can make an enjoyable pit stop.
“I kind of feel it’s a special area, when you look down you see the aspen grove, and it’s always just been its very shaded spot. It’s pretty protected from the wind, it’s still windy, but it’s not as windy as it can be in other places. So, it just sort of came to me that this could be a great place for people to come again,” Hammerquist said.
Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is now open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find more information at www.kyiyomerc.com.
Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.
A young woman from Pennsylvania died at Glacier National Park after she was swept over a waterfall, park officials say.
The 26-year-old fell into the water near St. Mary Falls at around 5:20 p.m. on Sunday, according to officials. The waterfall, which is located in Glacier County, Montana, is around 35 feet tall.
After falling, the woman was washed over the waterfall and was trapped underwater for several minutes.
Bystanders at the park quickly assisted and brought the woman out of the water before first responders arrived. Bystanders also administered CPR on the woman before park rangers and ambulance personnel took over.
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A young woman from Pennsylvania died after falling into a creek near St. Mary Falls in Montana. (iStock)
The Pennsylvania resident was declared dead at around 7 p.m. that night. Glacier National Park says that the woman’s death is being investigated.
“The park extends their deepest condolences to family and friends of the woman and asks that the public respect their privacy,” the park’s statement added.
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St. Mary Falls, located in Glacier National Park, has a height of around 35 feet. (iStock)
Drowning and falls are top causes of death at Glacier National Park. Last year, a 28-year-old woman from Kansas died after falling into one of the park’s creeks.
In 2017, a visitor taking photos fell into a creek at the park and was swept off a steep cliff. The 26-year-old man, who fell around 100 feet, was pronounced dead.
Glacier National Park is located in Montana. (Getty Images)
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Authorities are actively investigating the incident. There is no additional information at this time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Montana Supreme Court in a decision earlier this month upheld a Flathead County District Court ruling that shuttered a property on the west shore of Lake Five, known as the Whistle Stop Retreat, in 2022.
The latest decision in the lawsuit, first filed in 2020, affirmed the district court’s ruling that Flathead County erroneously granted a Major Land-Use Permit for a guest cabin development off Grizzly Spur Road in West Glacier.
“The County abused its discretion by failing to consider the restrictive easements on Grizzly Spur Road as required,” according to the opinion.
The 23.1-acre lakeshore property, owned by Susan Dietz and operated as G&M Trust, has several buildings spread across two tracts of land, including a single-family home, three guest cabins, a replica train caboose and fire watchtower. The retreat was operated as a short-term rental business, with several buildings listed on AirBnB.
Dietz requested the permit to construct a barn with living quarters, a pavilion and several additional guest rental cabins. Despite the Middle Canyon Land Use Advisory Committee recommendation that the permit be denied due to concerns over legal access to the property, the Flathead County planning board and county commission approved the application.
A nonprofit group, Friends of Lake Five Inc. (FLFI), sued the county in district court alleging the permit was in violation of Montana Administrative Procedure Act, the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act, the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act and the Montana Constitution. The neighborhood group noted that several buildings on the property had already been constructed or renovated without proper permitting, and easement restrictions on the access road prevented commercial use of the land.
A primary point of contention with the permit revolved around whether Grizzly Spur Road provided legal access for nonresidents to use the property. Under the Canyon Area Land Use Regulatory System (CALURS), which regulates land use near West Glacier, the County Commission must consider whether developments comply with all access and road standards. Grizzly Spur Road is subject to several private easements dating back to the 1990s which limit access to residential use.
Dietz argued, however, that a 2019 amendment to CALURS redefined “residential use” to include short-term rentals, therefore allowing her to continue to operate Whistle Stop Retreat. The district court disagreed, stating “G&M provides no evidence or argument that would indicate that the drafters of the 1997 easement agreements understood the term “residential” to include short-term rentals,” and that under CALURS, “the provision setting the greater restriction or higher standard shall apply.”
District Court Judge Amy Eddy revoked the permit in a March 2022 ruling, which Dietz subsequently appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.
In addition to revoking the permit, Eddy granted a permanent injunction preventing any future construction or expansion of the property, any commercial use including overnight resort accommodations without “obtaining legal access and compliance” with state and local regulation, and required Dietz to restore the property to its “previous unaltered condition.”
In their opinion, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed Eddy’s order revoking the permit, granting the permanent injunction and awarding attorneys’ fees. However, the court reversed the requirement that G&M Trust restore the property to its previous unaltered condition.
“Although the District Court was correct in its determination that the G&M Property may not be used for commercial purposes, the authority upon which the District Court relied for ordering restoration of the property to its original condition is not readily apparent … Accordingly, we hold that the District Court erred,” according to the opinion.
The attorneys’ fees and general costs Dietz owes FLFI amount to $43,053 and $1,878, respectively, according to court filings. Flathead County settled with FLFI over attorneys fees in May 2022, paying the group $47,000.
Montana
Bozeman's Duncan Hamilton surges to sixth-place finish in 3,000-meter steeplechase at U.S. Olympic Trials
EUGENE, Ore. — Bozeman’s Duncan Hamilton surged over the final 1,000 meters Sunday to run to a sixth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field.
Hamilton, a Montana State alum now with the Nike/Bowerman Track Club, finished the race in 8:29.20 to finish just outside the top five.
He stayed near the back of a tight pack throughout much of the race and entered the final 1,000 meters in 13th place. But he was one of only four racers — joining winner Kenneth Rooks, second-place Matthew Wilkinson and third-place James Corrigan — to run the final 1,000 meters in less than 2:40. Hamilton ran the final 1,000 meters in 2:39.06 to climb seven places.
Rooks, running for Nike, pulled away on the final lap to win in 8:21.92, running the final 1,000 meters in 2:33.63. Wilkinson, an Under Armour/Dark Sky Distance runner, was second at 8:23.00, and Corrigan, who just completed his sophomore year at BYU, was third at 8:26.78.
Hamilton qualified for the steeplechase finals by placing eighth in his heat and 13th overall in Friday’s prelims.
Here is a schedule of events still remaining for Montana athletes (* indicates athletes must qualify):
Monday, June 24
Men’s 110-meter hurdles, first round, 6:05 p.m. — Derrick Olsen, Helena (Montana State)
Thursday, June 27
*Men’s 110-meter hurdles, semifinals, 6:01 p.m. — Derrick Olsen, Helena (Montana State)
Women’s 1,500-meter run, first round, 6:23 p.m. — Dani Aragon, Billings (Notre Dame), and Christina Aragon, Billings (Stanford)
Men’s 400-meter hurdles, first round, 7:20 p.m. — Drake Schneider, Eau Claire, Wis. (Montana State)
Friday, June 28
Women’s javelin, quarterfinals, 5 p.m. — Alysa Keller, Billings (BYU)
*Women’s 1,500-meter run, semifinals, 6:58 p.m. — Dani Aragon, Billings (Notre Dame), and Christina Aragon, Billings (Stanford)
*Men’s 400-meter hurdles, semifinals, 7:21 p.m. — Drake Schneider, Eau Claire, Wis. (Montana State)
*Men’s 110-meter hurdles, finals, 8:50 p.m. — Derrick Olsen, Helena (Montana State)
Sunday, June 30
*Women’s javelin, finals, 5:10 p.m. — Alysa Keller, Billings (BYU)
*Women’s 1,500-meter run, finals, 6:09 p.m. — Dani Aragon, Billings (Notre Dame), and Christina Aragon, Billings (Stanford)
*Men’s 400-meter hurdles, finals, 6:20 p.m. — Drake Schneider, Eau Claire, Wis. (Montana State)
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