General

More than a dozen of the nation's 1.8 million Purple Heart recipients gathered with family and friends outside a popular brewery in downtown Missoula on Sunday to recognize the city as an official Purple Heart community; and while the recognition comes with little more than accolades, it notes Missoula's appreciation for its combat-wounded veterans and their dedication to service.

A former Hellgate High School athlete turned wildland firefighter was killed by a falling tree while working the Florence fire Wednesday afternoon north of Seeley Lake, the Lolo National Forest said.

Less than two years after being assaulted in a downtown park, Barb Jenkins launched Victim Services for Jane Doe. The nonprofit looks to give back to the organizations that work with sexual assault survivors while expanding services to secondary victims, like her husband and son.

Montana's rate of suicide remains among the highest in the nation and has been for 40 years, and Missoula County isn't much better. But a group of prevention experts and other community advocates are looking to bring down those numbers with new outreach efforts.

The historic Missoula County Courthouse entered the final phase of a multi-year renovation effort last week as arborists began removing the large trees lining the building's lawn; the outdoor restoration work marks the fifth and final phase of the $13 million project.

On Sunday morning, North Carolina native Laura King Edwards will run the Missoula Half-Marathon to bring awareness to rare diseases. Montana is the 18th stop on her campaign to run in all 50 states in honor of her little sister, Taylor King.

Fifty years ago today, three of the best-known, best-liked young athletes in Great Falls died in a head-on collision on Highway 2, near Hinsdale. Mary Sheehy Moe tells the story in heartbreaking detail because, as she says, "I don't want the stories to fade away with the voices and the memories of those who tell them. Because I want all this loss to matter."

Happy Independence Day to all our readers from all of us at Missoula Current! We hope your day is filled with family and friends, and a few fireworks in celebration of America's birthday. Enjoy!

What no photos can quite convey is how good it felt to be out in the wide-open country of central Montana on a perfect June morning; before I got back on a real highway and started barreling for home, I spent more than four hours driving at speeds that averaged 30 miles an hour.

Over the past five years, 330 babies across Montana died from sleep-related accidents, placing the state near the top in its rate of sudden unexpected infant deaths; Community Medical Center on Monday unveiled a new program intended to reduce those numbers.