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  • The Postscript: The two women told me about the bear when I was on my hike

    Carrie Classon|Updated Sep 2, 2020

    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...

  • Coronavirus council came together to reinvigorate Montana's economy

    Updated Sep 1, 2020

    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...

  • Biden climate plan benefits ag and consumers alike

    Updated Sep 1, 2020

    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...

  • Ammon Bundy pushing People's Rights groups

    Updated Aug 31, 2020

    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...

  • View from the North 40: It's about words, all the way down

    Pam Burke|Updated Aug 28, 2020

    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...

  • Library book sale canceled but services still available

    Updated Aug 28, 2020

    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...

  • Looking out my backdoor - Monsters in the night

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Aug 27, 2020

    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...

  • The Postscript: Reading to Lori

    Carrie Classon|Updated Aug 26, 2020

    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...

  • Wishing all students and faculty a healthy 2020-21 school year

    Updated Aug 25, 2020

    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...

  • Why don't we just be nice to each other?

    Rachel Jamieson|Updated Aug 24, 2020

    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...

  • From the Chancellor's Office

    Updated Aug 24, 2020

    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...

  • Some things don't need too much innovation

    Pam Burke|Updated Aug 21, 2020

    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...

  • How to stop a pandemic in three short weeks

    Updated Aug 21, 2020

    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...

  • Looking out my Backdoor: A rendezvous with death

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Aug 20, 2020

    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...

  • The Postscript: More dog stories

    Carrie Classon|Updated Aug 19, 2020

    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...

  • Show appreciation to our public health professionals

    Updated Aug 18, 2020

    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...

  • No statewide sales tax. Not today. Not ever.

    Updated Aug 14, 2020

    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...

  • Show some love, would you?

    Updated Aug 14, 2020

    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...

  • View from the North 40: Misappropriation is a global issue

    Pam Burke|Updated Aug 14, 2020

    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...

  • Looking out my backdoor: Greetings from Gringolandia

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Aug 13, 2020

    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...

  • The Postscript: Summer storm

    Carrie Classon|Updated Aug 12, 2020

    I was headed out for my daily hike. There was thunder in the distance. “It’s getting lighter,” my husband, Peter, said. “I don’t think we’re going to get any rain.” The air smelled like a storm to me, but what do I know? If my dog, Milo, were still alive, I would have asked him. Milo would huddle in the corner of the kitchen when a thunderstorm approached. “There’s no storm on the radar,” Peter would tell him. Milo didn’t care what the radar said. We called him “Doppler D...

  • Flattening the curve on chronic wasting disease

    Updated Aug 11, 2020

    It’s cool this morning. There is a different feel to the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, my bird dogs are getting restless and I am listening for that first bugle of a bull elk down in the river bottom. It’s that time when I, and all hunters, anxiously prepare for the glorious days we spend pursuing our quarry in the forests and uplands of our Montana. But this year things are different, and as we take to the field we must acknowledge that difference and change our behavior for the sake of the hunt, our wil...

  • More - not less - Amtrak service is needed

    Updated Aug 11, 2020

    Thanks to the Havre Daily News for its coverage of “all things Amtrak” over the past three years including the destaffing of the local station and the pending threat to reduce service from daily to three days per week beginning Oct. 1. Interestingly, as of Aug. 7, the Amtrak website still allows passengers to book travel on the Empire Builder any day of the week after Oct. 1. Since it is unlikely that Amtrak will actually save money by reducing service due to the continuation of its fixed costs to operate the services, man...

  • People's Rights responds to HDN stories

    Updated Aug 10, 2020

    We are honored Havre Daily News thought the local People’s Rights group significant enough to deserve back-to-back stories. But we’re also discouraged. Much ink was dedicated to someone who doesn’t live in Montana, much less in Hill County, as well as flat-out unsupported speculation about the group’s underlying goals. Travis McAdam said the Montana Human Rights Network “believes” the group is an attempt to create a network of militias. Mr. McAdam cited no evidence, not even a statement from the purported architect o...

  • View from the North 40: Pauline and the strange and perfect beauty in imperfection

    Pam Burke|Updated Aug 7, 2020

    An Austrian tourist in Italy is facing the ire of museum officials and possible charges after damaging a 200-year-old plaster sculpture while taking a selfie with it at the Gipsoteca Museum in Possagno, Italy. The unnamed culprit broke two toes off the Venus Victrix statue by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. The Venus in this statue is actually Pauline Bonaparte, a sister to Napoleon Bonaparte. In her lifetime spanning from 1780 to 1825, Pauline was a celebrated beauty, which...

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