News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1842 - 1866 of 3218
Over 100 years ago, my great-great grandmother homesteaded 23 miles east of Conrad and that’s how my family made it to Montana. As a fifth-generation Montanan, I didn’t have to choose Montana — Montana chose me. And I’ll be forever thankful for that. Thanksgiving is a holiday that belongs exclusively to Americans. As far back as 1621, we have gathered with our families, friends and neighbors to thank God for all that He has given us. But it wasn’t until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday...
After going through the 2017 Special Session, all I can say is, “Wow!” It was good to see everyone and work toward a fix for the budget shortfall. As things turned out, the legislature was able to work with the governor cooperatively to balance the budget. The governor had what was called the “Governor’s Bucket List.” Not all his cuts were maybe the best, but they were his cuts. So, we Republicans agreed to go along with them, in exchange for allowing some transfer from low-priority programs to what the Republican party consi...
The Havre High Spanish Club continues to work toward its educational goal of traveling to Puerto Rico in June of 2018. Club members Alex Barkus, Ashlin Rosgaard, Camryn Huston, Bailey Miller, Mercedes Springer, Mckenzie Walker, Sydney Scheresky-O’Neil, Kadyn Acor, Isabel Nogales-Romero, Junia Holland, Savannah Dawson, Jake Huston, Grace Loftus, Hailey Harkins, Talia Ralph, Ivy Thomas, Jaclyn Waldron, and Katie Wirtzberger, along with their advisors Marie Deegan and Diana Coy, have a number of fundraisers planned. Their f...
The problem is that, and this needs explaining, I come from a long line of pile-makers on the maternal side of my family. Not hoarders — we’re pilers, like hoarders-lite. We don’t save bizarre stuff like stacks of every McDonald’s french fry holder we’ve ever gotten with a meal or all the hairballs brushed off the dogs. We don’t have to negotiate a maze of newspaper towers to get down the hallway to the bathroom. We don’t have one room of the house set aside just to hold...
Q: Does that mean I’m crazier some days than others or does it mean that I’m crazier than other people? A: Yes I dread to tell this story on myself. I could keep it secret. I’m committed to honesty in my writing. So here’s today’s story, warts and all. My day began peacefully. I felt tranquil. Almost blissful. I had decided to write about how crazed we Americanos become when things do not go our way, based on my observations — which I felt to be valid because after four...
Hello constituents of Montana Semate District 17, from your state capitol in Helena. The special session, called by the Governor, of the 65th Legislature will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Our local papers will be printed after this letter was written. I trust we will be able to patch the revenue holes to our state budget. Five things are presently known: 1) Republicans do not want to raise taxes or revenue enhancements as they are being called; 2) Democrats do not want to reduce the bureaucracy of the government; 3) the governo...
The average adult takes 15 to 20 breaths a minute — more than 20,000 per day, according to the American Lung Association. Healthy lungs are important to deliver clean air to our bodies’ organs and tissues, which convert oxygen into fuel to support vital body functions. When a smoker lights up, it affects not only the health of the lungs, but also the body structures that depend on the lungs for oxygen. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, claiming the lives of more than 440,000 adults in America eac...
I had planned a follow-up on the fun times Judy and I have had in the last little bit. But, as you have heard and read, Montana’s Governor has called for a Special Session, which is set to start Nov. 14. The scope he proposed is limited to what was suggested to fix the $228M budget shortfall, which came about, in part, from the most expensive fire season in Montana state history. Some of the proposed cuts to departments are from 4.5 percent to 10 percent, depending on the Governor’s priority. The Republican leadership has als...
Andrea Schmunk, a 28-year-old mother in Wisconsin, has been arrested on a felony charge of recklessly endangering safety after she allegedly used her 9-year-old son to help weigh down a plastic pool she had strapped to the top of a minivan. Yes, the article in the Ozaukee Press says, Schmunk reportedly tied her son and the plastic pool to the top of a minivan that she then drove down streets. At some point, though, she stopped and put the kid and the pool in the vehicle. Witne...
I know it. Most Montanans know it. At its core, the strength of Montana’s economy and our way of life relies on the power of a strong public education system. Nowhere is that more clear than on a road trip in Montana. Here is my most recent road trip story. At Miles Community College, I heard story after story of students attending agriculture programs and then going back to the family farm to substantially increase the farm’s productivity through techniques learned in school. Young Montanans can earn two-year degree by age...
I’m not sure when that vague wisp of an idea began to seem do-able. What I can tell you with certainty, though, is that once “vague wisp” grows to “might be do-able” and then morphs into “desire,” I’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Care and feeding of an idea is important. Some of my best ideas never grow past the embryo stage. Getting outside information is important. Some of my best ideas won’t work. It helps to know that before I sink money, time, blood, sweat and tea...
Many of us are keeping an eye on tax reform legislation and considering how federal changes could impact our livelihoods here at home. I want to help make Montanans aware of one federal program that has been working under the radar for the past 10 years to improve local economies, create good jobs and stimulate growth in large and small communities across our state. The tax bill’s proposed repeal of this program would deprive our communities — and the hardworking people who live here — of crucial funds needed to revitalize an...
In recent years, how we deliver and receive health care in Montana has been transformed. You may not see this if you don’t use a lot of medical care, but, it is happening every day in hospitals and doctors’ offices around our state. As a result, the quality of the medical care we receive, the safety of the patients we serve and the value of the health care dollars we spend are all much improved. One major reason for this was legislative action in 2015. Until then, far too many Montanans went to work every day with the kno...
In this troublesome era of anger, violence and blame, it's well to look back to a kinder time, and the good and heart-warming story of a remarkable Montana character. Dorothy Johnson grew up in poverty in Whitefish, and despite a life of crushing adversity, her achievement as a writer has been compared by some critics to that of Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Mary Austin, Willa Cather and Mari Sandoz. She has been described as possibly the greatest writer of western fiction...
The benefits promised by technology have always lagged a bit behind in rural America. While most urban areas have a profusion of choices for broadband access, people in many parts of Montana are lucky if they have even a single option for high-speed internet. It doesn’t have to be this way — the technology exists that would open up new opportunities to rural Americans who now have limited broadband access. But as often happens, technology moves at a much faster pace than regulators. Today, one of the biggest impediments to...
One of the greatest privileges of serving Montana in Washington, D.C., has been hearing the most admirable stories of Montanans who have fought for our nation all across the globe. Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow served as an Army scout during WWII and fulfilled the requirements to become a war chief. Ben Steele served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was captured by the Japanese — he was a prisoner of war for 1,244 days during WWII. David Thatcher took part in the Doolittle Raid and was awarded the Silver Star. If you’ve ever seen th...
The Montana Economic Developers Association, representing professional economic and community development practitioners across Montana, is deeply concerned about Montana’s biennial budget situation. Our concerns are diverse, but center around the adverse impact that proposed budget cuts would have on the communities we serve. Economically vibrant communities, be they large or small, depend on a genuine, reliable partnership with state government. This partnership is essential to assure that adequate investment in public r...
I am drawn to useful people, and somewhere along the line I realized that it’s as if — on some subconscious level — my brain is working to assemble a zombie apocalypse team. A team that could save the world. If it comes that we survive fire and ice, gale-force winds, floods and earth-shattering quakes only to be overrun by gruesome, brain-crazed half-humans gone overripe, I have this crisis covered with my peeps by my side. Sure, our collective skills set includes plent...
With a looming budget crisis, state leaders are proposing deep budget cuts, which could result in a significant loss of funding for senior services. Not only are programs like hospice and home care services in jeopardy, but Big Sky Rx is on the chopping block as well. In a time of skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, now is not the time to eliminate Big Sky Rx. We need Montanans from across the state to send a message to Gov. Bullock and their legislators that this is not a good idea. Prices for brand name drugs are...
Back when I was young and filled with angst and drama, certain my life would end if I didn’t get what I wanted or if the heartache of the day didn’t cease or if I thought you looked at me critically, I had a good friend who didn’t mince words. Gino laughed at me, a lot. He often said, “Don’t worry. Tomorrow will be different. It may not be better but it will be different.” Generally he told me this over gallons of coffee, sitting around a table in a restaurant that didn’t...
I would like to give an update on what has been happening in my life. As you know, I was appointed to the Senate last December and spent the next four months in Helena at session. A retirement trip for January that I planned had to be put on hold. After my commissioner retirement, my plan was to go south to visit my brothers in Nevada and Oklahoma. So, Judy and I skipped the going south idea and decided instead to plan a trip to visit friends and family in south Germany in September. In the past, my German family and a...
As Montanans, American Indians, and members of the Montana Legislature, we share the frustration of people all across Montana. As the potentially devastating effects of these cuts have become clear over the past few weeks, Montana’s elected leaders must continue working to ensure that critical government services remain available and effective, eliminate unnecessary spending, and discuss ways to increase revenue. We stand ready to join our colleagues from both parties to do our job. However, some of our colleagues in the R...
Sugar is evil, the article said. Give up the nectar of Satan, the research told me. Feel like you have an alert, newly minted brain, the health food zealots said. What fresh level of hell is this, my body is asking. I’m old enough to be born in the day when no advertising bragged that a product contained all-natural sugar because everything had sugar, or you added sugar. Sugar advertisements targeted children, moms wanted to have those toothsome, smiling, singing children f...
Many years ago, I took oil painting classes with Julanne Campbell in Suquamish, Washington. I like everything about painting. Oil painting, water colors, painting the walls of my house. I like the smells of paints and turpentine. I like the feel of the brush stroke against a blank surface. I’m a tactile painter; my fingers often ignore the brush and create a smooth stroke here or a smudge there. I don’t spend enough time drawing to be good. But in any endeavor, there are the...
Dear Montana Head Start Programs: I am pleased to recognize October 2017 as “Head Start Awareness Month” in the state of Montana. I believe it takes a village to raise a child and we should recognize Head Start’s critically important work for nearly 5,000 Montana children and their families not just this month but every month. Head Start not only provides preschool for 3-5 year old children, they also prepare families for newborns and help those just beginning their journey as parents to access the resources needed to assis...
