News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1077 - 1101 of 3212
Here in Montana, production agriculture is a way of life. From Sidney to Havre, folks all across our state make a living working the land day-in and day-out to support their families and put food on our tables. My great-grandfather was one of those men — a rancher, he registered the very first brand in the Montana system, the square and compass. Scratching out a living in production agriculture back then wasn’t easy, and it still isn’t today. But between a changing climate, low commodity prices, and a disastrous trade war,...
Contrary to my grade school learnin’, Europeans of the Middle Ages did not think that Earth was flat only to be proven wrong by one Christopher Columbus, no, the Flat Earthers didn’t really get going until the 1900s. In 400-something BC, just prior to my birth, some Greek scientists, tired of looking at statues of perfect people, sat down and figured out the whole Earth-is-round thing. The problem was mapping that world accurately. Sure, a map works great if you’re looki...
I don’t know why so many of my life’s lessons seem to require humiliation. Learning has always come easily to me, book learning, that is. And in the grand scheme of things, I don’t think book learning counts for all that much. My school reports consistently lined out the A’s and the comportment side matched. Yes, I was one of those. I’ll not soon forget my dad’s disappointment at my first B+ in freshman high school algebra. I was pleased and relieved with that B+. It could ha...
Heads up Montanans, we’ve got a multimillionaire developer from Maryland trying to sell our hunting and fishing spots so that he and his buddies can turn a quick profit. Maryland Matt Rosendale is back for another try at elected office — his sixth in nine years – but the poor guy still can’t help himself from bragging to his friends about his extreme anti-public lands beliefs. “I have long been an advocate for the transfer of federal public land,” he proudly proclaimed just a few years ago. And just so his developer buddies c...
I know we can all agree that 2020 has been a challenging year — perhaps the most challenging year in a long time for many of us. This year is also important for many reasons, including that the federal government is conducting the 2020 decennial Census. This once-a-decade event is critically important for those of us who live in Montana, including here on the Hi-Line. As mandated in the Constitution, the Census works to count every resident of the United States and is used to determine representation in Congress as well as h...
They were on trail bikes and saw the bear in the direction I was headed. “It was scary!” one of the women said. We were all a little nervous. There had been a bear attack just a few weeks earlier up on the ski hill. A couple had gone up to see the comet. They didn’t bring food. There were no bear cubs. There was no reason to think they were in any danger. They were just sitting and watching the sky when a bear attacked, seriously injuring the woman. Their dog ran away, and f...
They say, “Don’t always trust what you see on TV,” and in our case, that’s true. Recently, there have been claims that the makeup of the Coronavirus Relief Fund Advisory Council was politically motivated. As members of the advisory council, we want to set the record straight. The effort we undertook to set out a roadmap for how to best deploy CARES Act money was undertaken without consideration of politics. It is unfortunate to now see it being used for politics, especially in such a misleading way. Of the 24-member council...
Many do not realize that reliable green electrons are now up to 4½ cents a kilowatt hour — kWh — cheaper than fossil fuel generated electricity in most places; that LA’s municipal utility buys solar power with battery backup at 2.9 cents/kWh. This disconnect is why Vice President Pence was misleading the Republican Convention, saying: “Joe Biden would abolish fossil fuels … and impose a regime of climate change regulations that would drastically increase the cost of living for working families.” Pence and Sen. Joni Ernst a...
Local chapters of “People’s Rights” are popping up in Montana communities. We’ve sounded the alarm that the person behind creating People’s Rights is Ammon Bundy, a member of the insurrectionist family that orchestrated armed standoffs in both Nevada and Oregon. He was arrested recently for leading an armed mob into the Idaho State Capitol to disrupt and intimidate lawmakers during a special legislative session. Some local People’s Rights activists argue Bundy has nothing to do with their groups. On social media, Bundy has d...
I stumbled across an old bookmark on my web browser to a 2014 article about 69 words and phrases General Motors executives told employees not to use in descriptions of GM automobiles, which were experiencing undisclosed problems due to a faulty ignition switch which ended up causing vehicle crashes for more than a decade – serious crashes, causing life-threatening and permanent injuries and even deaths. Corporate scandal, a language ban that includes the words “always,” “chao...
As September and cooler weather (hopefully) near, we at the Havre-Hill County Library would usually be preparing for the Friends of the Library Book Sale. This year the Friends have made the difficult decision to cancel the book sale for the safety of the community. The book sale will be rescheduled when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we appreciate your continued patronage of the Library during these difficult and uncertain times. As a reminder, here are the steps we are taking to keep the library a safe place for ever...
I crawled into bed early, barely darkish. Wasn’t feeling great. My stomach/intestines were slightly crampy, nothing dire, just not my usual cast-iron gut. Went to sleep with clear conscience. Woke up to wind that sounded like a freight train going through a tunnel at mach one speed, bending trees, flattening crops. Lightning flashed messages of doom across the black sky. I got up and closed my last open window, grabbed another blanket and tried to curl back into sleep. The h...
I’ve been reading to Lori. Lori is my husband, Peter’s, older sister. She has cancer and has been battling it for a while now. She uses oxygen to help out and catching this virus would be terrible for her, so Peter and I are extra careful, in large part because I’d like to keep reading to Lori. I’ve been writing a novel. It’s the first time I’ve written fiction, so I honestly don’t have any idea what I’m doing. It’s the sort of thing a person learns how to do by doing — and so...
During this trying, stressful, yet exciting time of year, we must pause to take a moment and appreciate what we have and what has been done in our community to help us all succeed and stay healthy. Back in March, none of us envisioned still being in this situation come August. We thought the hot weather and people being able to get outside would help push this virus back to where it came from and allow us to get on with our “normal” lives. When that situation never came to light, it forced many businesses and individuals to...
These are interesting times, to say the least, but I don’t need to tell you that. What I don’t understand about these interesting times is the reason people are attacking one another in their posts and comments online, in person. I’m not saying you don’t have a right to your own opinion, which you do as do I. But what is the intention behind sharing your opinion? Is it to educate people reading it? Is it your ego that you think you are right? What is your intention? A lot of comments I have been reading from people have ju...
Dear Northern fans, For years, I have envisioned Game Day on Northern’s campus: All of us together, enjoying the crisp fall weather and cheering for the Northern Lights. I have been watching our new football field’s progress for the last six months, looking forward to the day when I would look out my window and see the team practicing on it. This week, the turf will be finished, and over the next month we will put the final touches on the landscaping. By October, we will be game ready — but the games will have to wait. The d...
I’ve never been there, but I always imagine Tokyo to be a classy city, but I have to say that the city planners have come up with possibly the worst idea in modern history: re-imagined public restrooms: The Tokyo Toilet Project. Apparently, though Tokyo is known for its cleanliness, its residents don’t like to use the public restrooms, wrote Hannah Frishberg for the New York Post, so the solution was to get known designers to design public restrooms to get people to take a c...
Editor’s note: The wrong version of this editorial ran in Wednesday’s edition of The Havre Daily News due to an error at the newspaper. There has been a new proposal for testing to control the COVID-19 pandemic recently offered by Dr. Michael Mina, who is an assistant professor of epidemiology at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This is a game-changing, breakthrough proposal that can stop this pandemic in its tracks. I will summarize Mina’s findings here. So far, the CDC’s...
I woke in the night reciting lines from WWI poet Alan Seeger’s, “I Have a Rendezvous with Death.” Where did that come from? “At some disputed barricade, When spring comes back with rustling shade, And apple blossoms fill the air … .” I haven’t heard that poem since high school. How could I have remembered? Ironically, I’ve never felt more intensively alive than today. Getting a new hip last winter literally gave me a new life. I’ve always liked the rain but this morning when...
It seems I have acquired a reputation. I have been handing out dog treats for three months. Every day, I take the same trail and every day, I meet many of the same customers. Dogs have an amazing memory when it comes to getting a treat — particularly from a stranger. One dog is not allowed treats. “No treats!” his owner says. Before I knew her better, I suggested, “Maybe he’d like a treat?” “Wouldn’t we all?!” she said. That lady sounded like she could really use a trea...
As the Hill County Board of Health, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and recognize the tireless efforts and commitment of our dedicated public health professionals at the Hill County Health Department. During a time when tensions are running high due to the stress and uncertainty, we face every day as a result of the novel coronavirus and its impact on our community, our public health professionals remain steadfast in their commitment to keep our families safe. Much of the work of our dedicated public...
I’m running for governor to protect and defend our Montana way of life. As a fourth-generation Montanan who raised his kids here, that means fighting back against out-of-state special interests who want to block our access and sell off our land to the highest bidder, so that families are still able to make lifelong memories, hunting and fishing, hiking and camping on our pristine public lands. That means continuing to work to protect and expand quality, affordable health care for all, and making sure our public schools are p...
It’s been a tough year for everyone — and it is just August. Plague. Politics. Unemployment. Uncertainty. A year ago, this very week, I started my job here at the Montana State Univeristy-Northern Foundation and I couldn’t have known how my first year would unfold. My first day was the same day as the start of student orientation and, in truth, I was going through just as many life changes as the students around me. As the year progressed and we entered the spring semester, probably a lot like the students, I felt I was i...
Canada, land of polite people and popular beer, among other magical things, has for the past two years also been home to one of the most unfortunately and rudely named beers on the market. HuruHuru Pale Ale brewed by Hell’s Basement Brewery of Alberta, was released on the market two years ago. The beer was both proudly promoted by the brewery and a success with customers. But the custom brewed beer has fallen on complicated times. Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, the brewery’s fou...
Michelle and Ana, up the road in Oconahua, tagged the name “Gringolandia” onto our enclave and it stuck. Though there has never been a dozen of us in residence at any one time, we are the closest thing to a North American colony in the greater Etzatlan municipality. As of Friday, there are now three of us pale-faces in residence in Gringolandia. Lani has returned from four-and-a-half months up north. I won’t see her until she has hidden away for the requisite two weeks. Janet...
