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  • 'Winter in the Blood' delivers deep, real story

    John Paul Schmidt|Updated Feb 3, 2014

    “Winter in the Blood” is finally showing in Hi-Line theaters after gracing cinemas in Missoula, Minneapolis and London, as well as various film festivals. The film follows Virgil First Raise, played by Chaske Spencer, and his inner turmoil as he drowns in a dream-world of liquor caught in between two worlds, neither of which he feels he belongs in. First Raise struggles with finding a cultural identity after he is told he is a “half-breed,” and begins experiencing disconnect at both his family’s ranch and the towns he freque... Full story

  • Stream access ruling a victory for the people

    John Gibson|Updated Jan 31, 2014

    The recent ruling by the Montana Supreme Court upholding our state’s stream access law and the ability of everyone to get to streams from county roads is a victory of all Montanans and all who enjoy our public waters. It also illustrates the stark difference of views about who should get to enjoy public land and water. The case, Public Access v. Madison County, challenged a landowner’s ability to block off access to the Ruby River at three bridges used by the public for decades. James Cox Kennedy, a Ruby Valley landowner and... Full story

  • Giants among the people

    Evan Barrett|Updated Jan 31, 2014

    All of us see the world through the prism of our own experience. As I look back through that prism, I can still see, hanging on my parents’ hallway wall, three pictures — Jesus Christ, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers Union. These men, these giants, informed my family’s political and life perspective, and mine as well. The values of those three giants led me to a life of political and community activity based upon a belief that the backbone of America is the people — the wor... Full story

  • The devil's earworm made me do it

    Pam Burke|Updated Jan 31, 2014

    I hate to sound all hard-core, fundamentalist, evangelical religious, but it just may be true that music is the instrument of the devil. And if that’s the case, the music website Pandora.com is the devil’s stomping grounds, and the earworm — aka the song stuck in your head — is his irritating little minion. For someone like me who really enjoys music but is not an avid-enough lover of music to keep up on new artists and to actually spend money to buy music, Pandora is an amazi... Full story

  • Ode to spring and the nesting syndrome

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Jan 30, 2014

    Spring lurks around the corner patiently waiting to burst forth into kaleidoscopic glory. Down here in Mexico, while daily temperatures peak in the perfection of the lower 80s and bougainvillea, weighty with color, drape over every upright structure, who can tell from spring! Not much to go by but a calendar. If one has a calendar. When the New Year approached I could not find a new calendar. I’m an old hand at making do. My much-scribbled 2013 calendar is filling the gap. F... Full story

  • Klingon: The official language of town council

    Pam Burke|Updated Jan 24, 2014

    Indian Trail, N.C.: the final town council frontier. This was the last general meeting of council member David Waddell. His four year mission: to explore strange new conservative practices, to seek out new funding and new budgets. to boldly cut where no council member had cut budgets before. I’ve heard of LARPing — live action role playing where geeks dress as other-worldly fantasy/action game characters and act out their game moves. I’ve read about how avid fans of scien... Full story

  • Stream access ruling is bad for Montana landowners

    Debby Barrett|Updated Jan 22, 2014

    The Montana Supreme Court recent ruling on an important stream access case represents an alarming expansion of access law at the detriment of property rights. But despite headlines announcing a win for stream access, the court all but ignored the 1,000 pound gorilla in the case: whether Montana’s stream access law is constitutional. Ultimately, if the appellants are successful in appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case may yet prove to restore the property rights that were taken from Montana landowners 30 years ago. T... Full story

  • Are Republicans going to finally seek votes of Native Americans? votes

    John Kelleher|Updated Jan 20, 2014
    2

    Last weekend, members and friends of the Chippewa Cree Tribe gathered at Montana State University-Northern for a winter powwow celebration. Right in the center of the activities was Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont. He took part in the entrance dance when hundreds of Native American in Indian attire entered the gym. It’s not that unusual that politicians take part in powwow celebrations, but it is a might unusual to see Republicans take part. Of course, Daines’ appearance was labeled as a fact-finding effort and had nothing to do... Full story

  • ALS makes you appreicate what you have

    Pam Hillery|Updated Jan 20, 2014
    2

    If any had asked me, I would have told them that I would likely live into my late 80s or early 90s. I have longevity on my mother’s side, after all: most of her brothers and sisters and mother lived into their 80s. My father’s side? Not as good, but his mom lived into her 80s. If anyone had asked me. No one did, but I thought about it now and then. When I heard of someone with cancer or attended a funeral of a friend or acquaintance, I wondered how I would end, and more importantly, how I would handle the inevitable, eit... Full story

  • The captains of industry are porn kings?

    Pam Burke|Updated Jan 17, 2014

    We can all rest easy, now. The latest reports from the those in the know, say that 2014 will most likely be a better year for the porn industry. Oh, yeah, NBCNews.com had a whole write up on it Tuesday in its business section, so it’s legit. Very legit, according to one source who said that porn is a $97 billion industry globally and $10 to $12 billion of that is generated in the U.S. alone. Who knew? It seems like a wildly outrageous number, but I’m inclined to believe it... Full story

  • Won't you be my neighbor?

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Jan 16, 2014

    Chip away the ice, pull on a pair of shorts, T-shirt, flip flops, sun block, a hat and come with me on a mini-tour of my immediate neighborhood. I’m only a block from the beach, so you might like to go sunbathe after our walk. I thought you might enjoy a respite from Montana chill. A half block out my door and we are on Cameron Sabala, the main drag in the tourist sector of Mazatlan. Unlike getting a bus out of town, getting a bus in town is easy and costs pennies. There is a... Full story

  • One flu over the cuckoo's nest

    Pam Burke|Updated Jan 10, 2014

    Thanksgiving is long over, but I’ve been trying to keep that spirit of giving thanks alive throughout the year — which is all heartwarmingly fine and furry until you get the flu and then your husband doubles down on that illness action, too. My challenge, since succumbing last weekend to fever and chills and coughing and a general malaise which has inspired up to 22 hours a day of sleeping, is to find 10 things about this bout of flu for which I am thankful. 1) It’s not intest...

  • Native prairies are increasingly threatened

    Barbara Zuck|Updated Jan 10, 2014
    3

    In 2008 when I accepted a tenure-track teaching position at Montana State University-Northern, I felt extraordinarily fortunate to land a job that allows me to do the things I enjoy and work on things that interest me. And, as a native of Montana, I was thrilled to be working in Montana after several years of being away. One of my favorite courses to teach is applied business leadership, with topics around the importance of vision. Manning and Curtis (2013), in “The Art of Leadership” presented “10 qualities that mark a lea... Full story

  • Bob Kaftan - a quiet voice of reason

    John Kelleher|Updated Jan 6, 2014

    A few things from the editor’s notebook: Tonight will mark the end in a chapter in Havre history. Bob Kaftan will step down as a Havre city councilman. His two terms completed, Kaftan decided not to run for re-election. The courtly gentleman has always been a soft voice on the council. His love of his adopted hometown is obvious as he talks about his many friends and neighbors in the community. Retired from Montana State University-Northern, he was asked to run for Ward 3 councilman by then-Mayor Bob Rice, a friend who he r... Full story

  • Thanks to Hingham firefighters, friends

    Mark Horinek Family and Ruth Horinek Family|Updated Jan 6, 2014

    We would like to thank the Hingham Volunteer Fire Department for coming out and trying to save our hog barn and other out building. A special thank-you to Jaunita Spicher for spotting the fire and calling it in. We are very grateful to be a part of such a great community. Mark Horinek Family Ruth Horinek Family... Full story

  • Let's just name it George

    Pam Burke|Updated Dec 27, 2013

    Anymore, I’m happy once Christmas is over not because I am curmudgeonly or because of the commercialism, or the mad frenzy to have everything ready for the big day, or even the constant sound-barrage of Christmas music. It’s the big mud-pit brawl over whether Christmas is a holiday or a holy day that is sucking the life out of the celebration. If there were such a designation as “The Biggest Brouhaha Over Nothing,” my vote would see the award go to the argument-cloud surroun... Full story

  • Climbing the stairway to culture

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Dec 26, 2013

    The Teatro walls were crumbling, the courtyard given over to dust and dismay, and a historic part of Old Mazatlan doomed to fade into distant memory. With vision, perseverance and pesos, volunteers renovated the Grand Old Dame and today, tucked into a corner of the Plazuela Machado, the Angela Peralta Teatro thrives, a cultural landmark in Historic Old Town. Kathy, Richard and I recently attended an orchestral performance at the Angela Peralta conducted by world-class Jan... Full story

  • The story that got away

    Pam Burke|Updated Dec 22, 2013

    I believe the definition of fizzle is “to fail pitifully, drizzled in embarrassment.” For what it’s worth, I’d rather fail spectacularly because, really, if you’re going to fail it might as well be epic. In the case of a public speaking fail, flop sweats should actually gush from your pores like from a sprinkler system. Extravagant gesturing should wipe out a table-full of wine bottles. That Tourette-like thing where I start swearing to make a dock-worker proud, like I di... Full story

  • Impatient in a virtuous country

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Dec 19, 2013

    Patience is a virtue. In my new country I must exercise patience on a daily basis. Therefore I live among a virtuous people indeed. Logic 101. I, however, have been found out. I stand revealed as one naked in my impatience, not virtuous at all. Previously I would have described myself as patient. More patient than most I might have said with a hint of a smirk. I might have felt a bit smugly righteous. If “instant gratification” is the mantra of people in the United Sta... Full story

  • Ringing the bell with gusto

    John Kelleher|Updated Dec 16, 2013

    William Hobbins stands in front of Walmart every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., singing, greeting people, telling jokes and wishing folks a merry Christmas. And, by the way, he collects money for the Salvation Army, urging people to donate to his favorite cause by dropping coins in his red kettle. His cheery demeanor, his music - he brings his smartphone and plays Christmas tunes - and his determination brings in more money for the Salvation Army than just about any other... Full story

  • It's a booty-full life lesson

    Pam Burke|Updated Dec 13, 2013
    1

    I’ve long held that I learn the best life lessons about being a better human from my animals. Not that I spend time staring into my dog’s brown eyes pondering the existential status of the universe or basing important life choices on how many times my cat twines himself around my legs before tripping me or reading my future from my horses’ manure like Asian tea leaves. Occasionally, though, a lesson presents itself. I give you: The Booty Lesson. My dog, Cooper, has thin skin... Full story

  • The root past my dentist phobia

    Pam Burke|Updated Dec 6, 2013
    1

    Fissures, deep cracks or narrow crevices, are the root of all my dentist phobias. Well, fissures and my mother. Or, rather, fissures and my mother and being born a decade too early. Or maybe it should be fissures and my mother and being born a decade too early and my first dentist. I had cavities when I was a little kid, lots of cavities. My molars were plagued by them, and their appearance seemed to have no correlation with the amount or quality of brushing I did. After the... Full story

  • Volunteers, community supporters make Havre a great place to live

    Debbie Vandeberg|Updated Dec 4, 2013

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and staff. That very special time of year is upon us and was officially kicked off Saturday with the lighting of the community tree at Town Square. Many hours of behind-the-scenes planning and work goes into the community tree lighting, the decorating of the community for the holidays. Thank you to everyone who helped this year — from washing and fixing the holiday pole decorations, to getting the tree adorned with its new 1,000 n... Full story

  • Stand up for small business this Saturday

    Riley Johnson|Updated Nov 27, 2013
    1

    Have Americans lost hope? The trust-deficit between them and their policymakers is distressingly large, with only 19 percent, according to an October Pew poll, who say that they have faith that the government will do what is right just about always or most of the time. Thankfully, not all is lost. Americans still have faith in some institutions, generally for those that truly protect freedoms and preserve livelihoods, like the military and small businesses. In fact, when it comes to job creation and the economy, Americans val... Full story

  • Fifty shades of Mexico

    Sondra Ashton|Updated Nov 27, 2013

    Real life is not a perpetual vacation. Yet aspects of the last couple weeks feel like one. I love meeting old friends, Mexican, Canadian and State-siders, and watching faces light up. That is real connection — that is my “welcome home.” Sunshine days, balmy nights. Often I wake with the voice of Cat Stevens singing in my head, “Morning has broken, like the first morning.” All the shrimp, red snapper and mahi-mahi I want to eat. Exotic fruits, papaya, pitaya, pineapple... Full story

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