News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1136 - 1160 of 3210
Ever hear of Rudy Stanko, well-known in Montana two-plus years ago? Rudy “Stinko” you say? Well, maybe. Here’s the story. Rudy liked to speed, and it was easy for him to do so because from 1955-1974 and again from 1995-1999, the speed limit in our state was “reasonable and prudent” in the opinion of the arresting officer. This worked well enough when the spirit of the law was respected, but then along came Rudy. In one three-month period, he was clocked exceeding 100 mph three times. Our law enforcement and judicial...
America’s Founders regarded a free press as so vital to the new nation that they took care to include that right in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Founders spoke glowingly about the press as a pillar of democracy and guarantor of liberty. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, famously wrote in 1787 that “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” George Washington framed the issue of free...
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov — who has also been known to bust a move singing rap — has written a poem to honor Turkmenistan’s wheat and the farmers who grow it. “I wish success to the farmer, the whole world warms itself with wheat,” read the poem attributed to Berdymukhamedov in a June 30 Agence France Presse article, which was picked up by news agencies all over the world. Berdymukhamedov, who parlayed his early dental career into a presidency, told Turk...
The week has been filled with emails sailing back and forth between myself and my friends in the States and in Canada. We each are settling into a way of living that might be our new norm for months, even longer. It had been on my mind a long while, since I’m the only northerner on the rancho, to write a group letter lining out my own boundaries for safety during this COVID pandemic. Sooner or later, people will come filtering back. Rather than address them one at a time, I t...
Editor, Thank you to everyone who attended The Atrium Grand Reopening Celebration or purchased raffle tickets for the event. We at The Atrium had a great time hosting the event and seeing everyone having a good time. Hopefully, this event is only the beginning of The Atrium putting together a number of new events and activities for people in the community. The Atrium Mall is one of the oldest buildings in Havre, and we feel it is also an important landmark in our community. For that reason The Atrium should be a place to show...
The raven nest was the big news this spring. Our neighbor, Joe, who belongs to every social organization in town, found himself with very little to do. So, every afternoon, Joe parked himself in his Adirondack chair and watched the ravens — frequently with a cocktail. This pair of ravens got a late start, I thought. There was another pair I passed on my walk every day. They did some quick renovations on an existing nest and got right down to business. But this pair in our b...
The senseless death of a black American has ignited civil protests around the globe. We will always remember George Floyd’s name and the 8 minutes 46 seconds that Minneapolis police officers assisted a fellow officer in pinning Floyd’s neck to the ground until he remained motionless. While viewing current news coverage, it is evident that our nation is on the precipice of major societal change akin to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Only time will tell if our nation will build on the victories of that movement and...
Sworn law enforcement officers in Montana adhere to a high code of ethics which says, “As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice.” Officers we know in Montana would be the first to say that there is no room on their force for those who violate thi...
As the country celebrates its birth as a nation, one of the most patriotic things Montanans can do is stand up and be counted — in the 2020 Census. Or, more accurately, go online and be counted. Or mail in the census form. Or chat with a census worker. Every 10 years, the country counts how many people live in the United States of America. The stakes are large. Results of the census determine how much money Montana gets from the federal government. That’s about $2 billion a year now. The equation is simple. The more peo...
The annual migration of miller moths is officially in full swing, and researchers at Colorado State University have said we should expect to see abundant numbers this year. Unfortunately, their assessment is spot-on accurate. One night this week I even had to abandon my office to escape repeated onslaughts from these gray-brown nuisances — my metal-handled swatter no longer able to bear the strain of our dual. I could hear a few of them clamoring around the ceiling light t...
Life is such a mixed bag of tricks, isn’t it? In the morning we slide out of bed, make coffee, check the obits to see if we made headlines, put our two hands (some of us are greedy) in the bag and pull out the tricks of the day. Such a mix. Michelle from Oconahua up the road wrote, “Ana’s Mom was hilarious. Always cracking people up in town. She was quite the outspoken young person, the youngest and last of 18. She was the favorite of her father. He was a strict and hones...
I think my next-door neighbors might be superheroes. They both work with computers (at least that’s what they say) and then, every spare moment, they are off doing superhero-type things. My neighbor, Jason, runs 100-mile marathons. He’s even done a few 200-plus-mile marathons. These are held in the mountains. He starts running before the sun is up, runs up a mountain all day, then runs down a mountain all night, then runs up another mountain the next day. He wears a hea...
Police in their traditional role will always be necessary. But it’s time to consider options other than the police for many problems’ facing society where traditional policing is not needed. It’s time to “restructure” our approach to policing. Adaption is America’s strength, and organizations stuck in the past are left behind (remember Kodak?). Our public safety systems, including our police, also need to adapt and address change. This is not just a big-city issue. In our public services, Montana faces many of the same ch...
Having documented policies is a clear showing of intent, purpose, commitment and accountability, and builds trust with owners, managers, partners and others. Recent reluctance of the Hill County Park Board to explain, develop and document policies is eroding trust in managing our Beaver Creek Park. Some feel they should not be confined by policies. Some are afraid of being accused of violating policy and, therefore, it is better to not have policies. Without rules, regulations or policies, some folks that cut hay in the park...
To my fellow hunters and anglers, there are people trying to lock you out of your favorite spots. In November it’s time to vote like your access depends on it. Montana Republicans have nominated the most anti-public lands, anti-conservation slate of candidates in modern Montana history. Led by Greg Gianforte, who sued you and me, the Montana taxpayers, to block our public fishing access on a beloved Montana river. The threat he poses to our public lands cannot be overstated. Make no mistake about it — our fishing and hun...
When I say that I’m a simple person, I mean I’m just a step or two upslope of simpleton-simple. I like things to be straight forward in simple terms. Complicated things are best dealt with if they are easily related to stuff I already understand so I can grasp the big picture and the nuts and bolts of a thing at the same time. I am here to say that this week has failed me miserably. It started with me wanting some beef and my week somehow turned into a lesson on but...
Spring is the time of abundant water. Westslope cutthroat, Montana’s state fish, sense rising flows and commence their age-old spawning migrations upstream to tributaries across Montana. It may seem like an odd time to think about water scarcity and demands, but there are important discussions happening in Washington, D.C., that should concern all Montana anglers and those who care about our world-class fisheries. The Flathead Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited was founded in 1972, dedicated to conserving, protecting, and rest...
Unless the political winds in Washington change quickly, Congress will soon send the Great American Outdoors Act — GAOA — to President Trump’s desk. Trump has assured he’ll sign it into law. This legislation represents a dramatic win for Montana’s public lands, its watersheds and wildlife. The bill mandates full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund — LWCF — a funding mechanism for conservation derived from royalties from offshore gas and oil drilling. Fully funded, the LWCF drops $900 million into wildlife habi...
In quiet desperation, this morning I joined the ranks of those who cut their own hair. Using nail scissors. I do not recommend it. If anyone should ask, I’ll say my favorite hairdresser trimmed it — she’s blind and used a machete. Wind sifts a daily cup of dust through the screens into my casita during these dry days. I scan the sky for clouds, an exercise in futility, while grabbing the mop for the frequent cleanup. I vigorously shake the mop before I take it inside the h...
Editor, Thank you Tammy Walters, owner of The Golden Spike, for not bowing down to Governor Bullock’s unconstitutional and illegal mandates, and Hill County Health Department’s attempt to enforce them. It is sad that fellow business owners and residents in Havre are falling in line to track and rat on their fellow entrepreneurs and neighbors for not falling in line with draconian “recommendations.” America has a republic form of government which means the power of government is held by its people; the people give power t...
I don’t think it’s my imagination that Father’s Day seems like a last-minute add-on. “Oh! We have Mother’s Day. We probably should do something for fathers … ” On Mother’s Day, a bouquet of flowers or brunch seems to do nicely every year. There isn’t an equivalent gesture for Father’s Day. The gift suggestions now being advertised all seem a little desperate. A watch? A wallet? A gas grill? A “whiskey set?” Since my dad’s watch and wallet are with him 90 percent of his waking life, I’m thinking he’d rather choose his own....
In a recent U.S. District Court ruling by Judge Brian Morris, the American public heard loud and clear that the federal administration broke the law when it offered leases on public lands in critical Sage grouse habitat. This court decision speaks volumes about how public lands should be managed, with certainty, and in a manner that considers true multiple use — including maintaining wildlife populations. The Department of Interior was found to have violated the law by issuing an instructional memorandum that abandoned the bi...
America has some reconciling to do with white supremacy, not just the guys in white hoods, but the structures and practices that have kept white people in power and disproportionately hurt people of color. The social movement for Black Lives Matter is making its mark and having a definitive impact, even here in Montana. The people of color leaders in this state have excelled at educating, mobilizing and fundamentally changing the conversations across the state. With every social movement of this scale, there are naysayers...
COIVD-19 is the greatest health crisis our state and nation has faced in over a century. As of the time of this writing, nearly 2 million Americans have become infected and 115,000 people have lost their lives. In Montana, we have benefitted from Gov. Steve Bullock’s vigilant and decisive response. Despite seeing fewer infections than our neighboring states, the virus’s economic impact has been crippling: more than 104,000 people have filed unemployment claims since late March. As our country moves into a new stage of the...
This has been a completely weird decade so far this year, even if you only look at what nature has given us: A viral pandemic, murder hornets, 18 inches of snow in June, a major waterway failure in our state, a broken dam elsewhere, a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse coming, some sort of alignment with the moon, and a couple planets or with its reiki chakrahs in the seventh house or something, killer tornadoes and several earthquakes centered in Yellowstone. I was trying to...
