News you can use
News you can use
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The latest surge of COVID-19 continues with daily new cases in the U.S. far surpassing records set in pervious surges as the hospitalization rate among young children increases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in an update Friday that the U.S. saw 705,264 new cases Jan. 5, more than doubling the January 2021 peak. The entire U.S., along with its territories, is experiencing high levels of community transmission, driven by the omicron variant of the virus...
The latest surge of COVID-19 is having a direct impact on local entertainment, as, once again, the pandemic has thrown a wrench into the works for Montana Actors' Theatre. The acting troupe has had to delay its opening of "Monty Python's Spamalot." MAT Artistic Director Grant Olson said one cast member tested positive for COVID-19, so they've pushed back the opening for the play, originally opening next weekend, until Jan. 20 for the sake of public safety. Olson said the cast...
In their weekly business meeting Thursday, the Hill County Commission unanimously approved a request from the Hill County attorney for prosecutorial assistance in the case of the State v. Alex, as well as establishing hours of operation for the courthouse and a number of board reappointments. The request from Hill County Attorney Lacey Lincoln would allow for the appointment of a special deputy county attorney to assist in the prosecution of the case. Daniel Alex, a Hingham man, was being held in the Hill County Detention...
Havre will be hosting the Montana Class A eastern speech, drama and debate divisional tournament in two weeks and the Havre High team is inviting people interested in judging to sign up. Havre High School speech and debate head coach Tim Leeds said the event, Saturday, Jan. 22, will bring more than 150 students from eight schools and Havre to compete against each other to qualify for state, so it’s a big deal. “It’s a major event,” Leeds said. “It’s the top Class A competitors from the eastern half of the state coming to Havr...
During a public meeting held by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Tuesday night Fort Belknap officials and community members universally opposed attempts to explore for potential new mining opportunities in the Little Rocky Mountains The meeting was an effort to gather public comment on a draft environmental assessment for Luke Ployhar’s proposed exploration project in the location of the former Zortman Mine. Those who spoke at the meeting largely pointed to the damage inflicted on the area in 1980s and ...
City finance clerk Doug Kaercher was sworn in to a new office Monday at Havre City Council's meeting, taking his new position as the mayor of Havre. Kaercher then swore in the newly elected members of the city council and the city judge. Among those sworn in were City Judge Janie M. Hedstrom, Ward 1 Councilperson Kimberly Bolta, Ward 2 Councilperson Heather Parker, Ward 3 Councilperson Lindsey Ratliff, Ward 3 Councilperson Andrew Brekke and Ward 4 Councilperson Sarah...
At its monthly meeting Monday night the Hill County Park Board heard a request from Debbie and Ray Kallenberger that they be given access to grazing land they allege was improperly given to area grazers when they were given no chance to apply to use. Debbie Kallenberger said in 2009 her family sold the cattle they had grazing on the park after a cancer diagnosis, and they requested that the board’s grazing committee let them keep the lease but let someone else use it. Kallenberger said the committee allowed this, but after t...
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Montana, and Hill and Blaine counties are two in which the drug is now purchasable for anyone 21 years or older. Montanans approved the legalization in a ballot initiative in 2020, but the Legislature passed more regulations, including that it only could be sold in counties that voted to approve Initiative 190 in November 2020. Hill and Blaine counties did approve the initiative, while Liberty and Chouteau counties did not. Despite the le...
Havre Ford, in conjunction with the Hill County DUI Task Force and the Substance Abuse and Misuse Coalition, will once again be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve to and from the area’s bars and taverns, and local law enforcement is encouraging people to use the service if they need it. The service will run from 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve to 2:30 a.m. New Year’s Day, and will take people to and from local bars or parties and home. Steve Steinmetz of Havre Ford, who’s been involved with the program for years, said people ca...
Despite the hopes of public health, government officials at every level and just about everyone else, the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and, for the second year in a row, was the biggest story in the region and around the globe. The virus, despite efforts on the part of public health to vaccinate as many people as possible, killed almost as many people this year as last year in Hill County, and hospitalized dozens locally, but beyond the direct impact of the virus, it and the...
In September of this year the area saw the derailment of an Amtrak train near Joplin that killed three and injured dozens of others. Though the story of the derailment itself was one of tragic loss and injury, the response to the accident and outpouring of support from the local communities was a story of hope. Saturday, Sept. 25, around 4 p.m. an Empire Builder train derailed just outside of Joplin killing Marjorie and Donald Varnadoe of Georgia, 72 and 74 respectively, and Z...
After a year of difficulty filling positions the Hill County Commission is still trying to find members to fill 16 seats on various boards. The most dramatic case of intermittently empty board seats this year was on the Great Northern Fair Board, which had three members including then-Board Chair Bobbie Dolphay, then-Vice-Chair Chelby Gooch and Ray Kallenberger resign in March of this year. These members were replaced, but Lex Keller resigned from the board just after this year’s fair and a shake-up shortly after in A...
Last year, the collapse of Drop 5 of the St. Mary Diversion and the coordinated effort to fix it was one of the biggest stories of of the year, and this year the ongoing efforts — and finally some success — to fund long-overdue repairs to the Diversion was one of the biggest ongoing stories. Local irrigators and residents had been warning for more than two decades that the diversion and conveyance system, which provides much of the water in the Milk River each year, was on the verge of collapse after many decades of rep...
Havre, along with most of the northern tier of Montana, is in for some frigid weather this week, with local temperatures this morning as low as negative 24 degrees and a wind chill warning in effect until Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service issued the warning which will last until 11 a.m. Tuesday for Hays, Harlem, Marias Pass, Rocky Boy, Brady, Shelby, Browning, Rudyard, Heart Butte, Logan Pass, Whitlash, Havre, Cut Bank, Chester, Chinook, Conrad and Sunburst. The agency warns that dangerously cold wind chills as...
Hill County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to dissolve the Meadowlark Estates Water and Sewer District at the request of the state after residents of the area voted 22 to 3 to do so. In October, Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said Meadowlark Estates, many years ago, had planned to put in a water and sewer system and applied to become a district, but later decided against creating the system, making the district inactive. He said because the district was inactive it was not reporting anything to the state...
It's been a rough year for Havre Public Schools, with the complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior prank that lead to over $1,000 in property damage and a pair of shooting threats just last week. However, perhaps the biggest story of the year was one that happened in the closing months of 2021, when Havre High School Principal Ed Norman resigned. The resignation came after complaints about the handling of an incident involving a Halloween costume at Havre High S...
This year, the city of Havre and the Rural Fire District 1 board spent nearly a year fighting over a contract that allows the city of Havre to provide fire suppression services outside of the city, a fight that ended up being one of the year’s biggest stories. The city fire department provides services in the district, basically a ring around the city limits. The conflict has been years in the making, with the city repeatedly asking for changes to the agreement that would s...
After months without a quorum the Great Northern Fair Board, including its two newest members, Kaleb Fisher and Ken Erickson, met Tuesday night and heard an update on the myriad events set up for next year's fair. Great Northern Fairgrounds Manager Frank English said he's lined up 44 entertainment events for next year's fair, double that of this year's 22, including a mechanical bull ride, a petting zoo, magicians and hypnotists, clowns and a number of live music events....
The Havre Eagles Club is set to host the annual Community Christmas Dinner Saturday, Dec. 25, and is still looking for volunteers. Eagles Auxiliary President Candace Dess said they won’t turn anyone who wants to help away and there’s plenty to do, but they are looking for people to box up and deliver meals so people with vehicles are preferable. People interested can call 406-265-9551. Dess said, the dinner will be more normal than last year, when the club was operating exclusively by delivery due to the COVID-19 pan...
Editor’s note: This version corrects the spelling of Great Northern Fair Board member Kaleb Fisher. The Hill County Commission appointed Ken Erickson and Kaleb Fisher to the Great Northern Fair Board at its weekly business meeting Thursday, allowing the board to have a quorum for the first time since August. The commission has been searching for new board members to form a quorum since the resignation of then-board chair Josh Heitzenroder and the removal of then-board member Bob Sivertsen earlier this year. The board still h...
Havre Public Schools is putting out a call for donations in the wake of Montana House Bill 279, which authorized enhanced tax credit opportunities for people looking to finically support their public schools. A release from Havre Public Schools says starting Jan. 3, 2022, people making cash donations directly to HPS can get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their state tax bill. The release says donations would fund transformational and advanced learning opportunities for students, services and equipment for students with...
Triple Dog Brewing Company played host to this year's Pray for Snow event, put on by the volunteers who run the Bear Paw Ski Bowl who also took the opportunity to honor "Big" Dave Martens for his 45 years of service to the ski bowl and the National Ski Patrol. National Ski Patrol Chief Outdoor Emergency Care Instructor Byron Ophus said Martens has been a constant and positive presence at the Ski Bowl as a volunteer, hill manager and primary lift operator. "In all the years I'v...
The Havre/Hill County Preservation Commission is still selling its 2021 Christmas ornaments, this year honoring the Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump. Every year, the commission honors a historic building or location in the area, having a Christmas ornament designed to commemorate it and its historic and cultural importance to the area. Wahkpa Chu'gn is a prehistoric bison kill site and camp used by Native American people for more than 2,000 years. Peoples of the Besant, Avonlea,...
The omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 has still not been confirmed in Montana, but the variant is rapidly spreading across the U.S. and is surging in other parts of the world, especially Europe. On the federal level, the U.S.' messaging on the new variant has remained consistent: people should continue to try to avoid spreading or catching the virus by wearing masks in public places, avoiding large gatherings, regularly washing hands and, most importantly,...
The Rural Fire District 1 Board held their monthly meeting Tuesday where they unanimously approved a number of measures regarding vehicle storage, payments on their contract with the city of Havre and the development of contracts with local rural fire departments. RFD1 Board Chair Steve Jamruszka said the three vehicles the board has access to including a 2013 Dodge flatbed, a 1967 International Fire Truck, and an International semi Tractor, need to be moved from their current locations. As all three vehicles have not been...
