News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1725 - 1749 of 3225
Have you ever woken up with a sense of impending doom — for no apparent reason? That’s my story today. Could be I’m asking for trouble. Could be the shadows I sense hovering around the edges of my life are tricks of light. Could be I’m just an old woman with old woman worries. I cannot put my finger on a thing that is wrong. So why this niggling anxiety? My awareness seems heightened. I strongly sense the incredible beauty which surrounds me. I am in awe of the idyllic...
It was recently announced by the leadership at Amtrak that they will be eliminating ticket agent positions in Montana at both Havre and Shelby, citing budget problems and the proliferation of online ticket sales. This move is short-sighted, will further erode customer satisfaction with our nation’s passenger rail service and disproportionately impact senior citizens, the disabled and those in rural areas without access to reliable, high-speed internet. Amtrak’s long-distance routes, including Montana’s Empire Builder, provi...
For the past 70 years, Montanans have supported our state’s public colleges and universities by voting “yes” to renew the 6-Mill Levy that appears on the voting ballot every ten years. This small portion of our state property tax bill currently keeps higher education affordable for all Montana residents and supports a stable Montana workforce and economy. For a Montana family owning a $200,000 home, the 6-Mill Levy costs about $24/year. The 6-Mill Levy will be up for renewal again this fall, and it’s important for voters...
The recent decision to close Shelby and Havre’s Amtrak ticket counter will have huge impacts not only on the passengers that board in Havre, but the Havre and Hi-Line economy. Many people come from all over the region to board Amtrak in Havre. They spend their money in our restaurants, stay in our hotels, and visit our unique attractions and shops. Many of these folks purchase tickets with cash at the ticket counter — often to receive the best deal — or call the agent in the office. The Amtrak spokesperson claims that “90 p...
Unlike most government agencies, which are funded by tax dollars, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is funded almost entirely by a combination of hunter and angler license sales and federal excise tax dollars on guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and related gear. While complicated, this system, which is over 80 years old, has been responsible for the recovery and management of our state’s unmatched wildlife resources. The federal funds that support wildlife management programs within Fish, Wildlife and Parks are a...
Vegetation management for me is almost like the old adage “it’s a blessing and a curse,” but more like both a curse and a curse. If I apply the full weight of my efforts, I cannot get the good grasses and plants to grow, and I can’t get the bad ones to die either. This is both a shame and a frustration, especially on my 60 acres of gravel and gumbo, with little to no topsoil and a tendency toward saline seep, 60 acres that have been used and abused over the last 100-plu...
The delightful musical comedy by the above name is about people in love. It’s not quite the same thing, but my perfect love is my garden. Not a month ago, I said to Leo, my garden helper, “I’ve now done everything I want to do with my garden. It is perfect.” It is. Truly. Leo rolled his eyes and grinned. Last week I met a couple from Seattle at the nearby campground. They wanted to know which house is mine. When I described my location, she said, “Oh, you are the garden....
This November, I will be voting to reauthorize the six-mill levy. The six-mill levy makes higher education more affordable for Montana citizens throughout the state. Students are footing nearly two- thirds of the cost of Montana’s institutions of higher education through tuition, compared to my grandparents only having to cover a third of the cost. When my colleagues voted to slash the budget, higher education took a major hit. For the first time in a decade, institutions had to raise tuition. Many institutions were reluctant...
Do you ever read or hear some news on an obscure topic about which you know a thing or two because, hey, life can take you in strange directions, but you hear the thing and you know some stuff and you wonder how did those people come out of that intact? Three well-meaning people from San Antonio, Texas, sustained bite injuries from kittens they rescued from an alley, an Associated Press article from Wednesday says, and the kittens turned out to be bobcat cubs. The trio, who...
I’m angry. It’s selfish of me, but I worked myself up into a right little snit when I heard Amtrak is cutting service in Havre. Please, no, not an unmanned station. Selfish, I admit. In my personal phone and address book, yes, I have one of those old-fashioned black books, under “A” for Amtrak is the number for ticketing at the Havre station. I can phone that number from anywhere, talk to a real person, one with a welcoming voice, make my travel arrangements and know that I...
In an article about the closing of the Amtrak ticket offices in Havre and Shelby in the May 7 Great Falls Tribune, Havre city councilwoman Sarah McKinney is quoted as saying that if Amtrak can justify the savings, it is “probably OK,” and added, “but I could be wrong.” Let me erase any doubt Ms. McKinney has. She is wrong. Here is what Havre will lose when the Amtrak ticket office is shuttered: 1. A wage and benefit loss of over $200,000 annually to the Havre community. 2. Loss of checked baggage service. This will result...
Of all the special interests I have pursued over the years, I think it’s a fair and honest assessment to say that food is by far my favorite and longest-lasting hobby. Not only do I love food, I love all kinds of foods from cheap, highly processed, empty-calorie foods to healthy, home-cooked-with-fresh-ingredient dishes. And from a simple roast beef and potato staple to a spicy, hot Thai dish. I’ll try almost anything. Imagine my joy, then, to see a food trend in this week’s news. First off, you should know that if you ever...
Broken bones. Missing parts. Titanium joints. Scraped eyeballs. A gimp, a limp and a cane. Moving more slowly every day. “Pain is a brute dictator,” said Dr. Backman, the quiropractico I saw this week in Mazatlan. “The more we hurt, the less we move.” He didn’t say — and — the less we move, the more we hurt. But I got it. And, yes, that is his real name. Dr. Backman, the man who works with backs. To my shame, I put myself in the shape I’m in today. After hip replacement, th...
Did you ever hear the joke about the Army Ranger, the Recon Marine, a Navy SEAL, and a Delta Force member sitting around the campfire? If not, we’ll have to save that one for another day. Instead, let’s say it’s an Army Ranger, a Navy SEAL and the United States’ Secretary of Interior sitting around a campfire in the Flathead National Forest. That’s actually not that hard to imagine, since our current Secretary of Interior is Whitefish’s own Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL. And I’m a former Army Ranger living in the Flathead...
We can’t have a competitive workforce without a healthy workforce. And a healthy workforce depends on the individual health of each of its citizens. Until recently, too many of our fellow Montanans lived each day knowing that access to health care was beyond their reach. They avoided regular checkups and screenings, and instead, were forced to the emergency room to access expensive, difficult to treat care. When you’re not healthy, it’s difficult to stay on the job and be a productive member of the workforce. Thank...
Some moments, those profound life moments, come at you like a truck wreck in the making, in slow motion, from a few miles out. You always knew that the road would be slick ahead, but you thought it wouldn’t happen for many miles. You thought maybe, when you got there, you’d spin out a bit or take out a reflector or dent a guardrail or some equivalent mishap. But you assumed you would drive away from the crisis relatively unscathed, maybe have to fill out an accident rep...
The Montana Food Bank Network is extremely disappointed that the House Agriculture Committee made no changes to Chairman Conaway’s harmful restrictions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) in his Farm Bill (H.R. 2). They advanced the bill closer to a full House vote, despite projections that millions will lose SNAP benefits with the proposed punitive barriers. Because SNAP helps 121,000 Montanans keep food on the table and provides food assistance to 1 in 5 Montana children, MFBN r...
My friend Dick is gone from our lives. We feel sad. We feel relieved he no longer suffers. We feel guilty we couldn’t take away his pain and confusion. We will miss him, his kindness, his motorcycle rides to Malta for lunch, his incredible stories. Dick and Jane. Who would have thought I’d have ready-made such good friends when I moved from Washington to Montana. Dick and I were in the same class in school but we didn’t hang out together. We’d reconnected when I visited...
Montana is at a crossroads. Will we continue to preserve and protect our access to public lands and waterways? Or, will we allow wealthy corporations and ultra-rich individuals pick apart our access to hiking, biking, fishing, hunting and enjoying the rights we have today? The strength and resilience of Montana’s economy is largely dependent upon the wild attractions of our beautiful state. Yellowstone Park and Glacier Park get a lot of attention, drawing millions of visitors. Of course, Montana has much more to offer. S...
Montanans expect a lot out of their elected officials, as well they should. Without regard to political party, they expect us to work together when we can and explain our differences with honesty when we cannot. They expect us to spend less time on spats in Helena, and more time on getting to work and strengthening our communities. More than anything, Montanans expect their elected officials to talk straight and be honest. Unfortunately for all Montanans, some Republicans in Montana are starting to act a lot like Republicans...
We perhaps agree that we will continue to use some form of energy for industry, home heating and lighting and transportation. We need energy to continue to live a lifestyle similar to what we have now. We will continue to eat. Food production will need to continue on a commercial basis to produce enough food for there to be opportunity for every citizen in the USA to consume adequate nutrients. We can agree that open spaces are important for many reasons, wildlife habitat, recreations and solitude and agriculture production....
It’s a pretty sure sign I’m in a crabby mood when I read the headline “Homeowner finds naked intruder in her tub, eating Cheetos,” and my brain says “Meh, whatever.” The story seems to have all the elements I would normally find appealing: the suspense of a break-in, the mystery of the man who supposedly told the female intruder to intrude, the surprise of finding her naked, the absurdity of her lounging in the tub rather than ransacking the house and the confusion of the intruder having brought her own cooler full of foo...
We don’t see ourselves. We aren’t able. Even surrounded by walls of mirrors, we only see glimpses and reflections. And I’m talking broad scope here. Not just the outside package of who I am. But the me beneath my skin and the life I create. So I delight in being able to share bits of my daily life with friends from afar who come visit. Sunday morning Steve and Theresa from Washington arrived tired and bedraggled after an overnight flight. Steve and Theresa are beneath the s...
The Bureau of Land Management just completed a series of public scoping meetings on the American Prairie Reserve’s request to convert 17 federal grazing leases from cattle to bison. The take-away from these meetings is that BLM is trying to balance the concerns of ranchers with the steps APR needs to advance their bison reserve agenda. Because the conversion of grazing leases from cattle to bison assures APR’s bison restoration goals, landowners firmly believe the real issue BLM should be examining is the big elephant in the...
The Havre High Key Club would like to take a moment and share with the Havre community a summary of the past year of service. Our 47 members owe many thanks to a supportive Havre Public Schools administration and staff who encourage and supported our service projects throughout the year. The Key Club also would like to thank our local Kiwanis Club who support our members by sharing in the participation of service projects, fund raisers, and their financial support. It is because of the backing of our administration, local...
