News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2601 - 2625 of 3210
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Comeuppance. Such a sweet and silly sounding word. It sounds British: “How lovely to see you, my dear! You simply must swing by the cottage tomorrow afternoon for some comeuppance and tea.” “That sounds brilliant. I shall bring some just desserts.” Don't be fooled, though. Sweet and silly sounding, indeed. Comeuppance is a sharp-edged, pointy tool wielded by those trickster Fate sisters hellbent on their mission to make my life a cautionary tale to be ever-mindful of using u...
The first day on our scenic detour through the Baja Peninsula was an exercise in holding my breath and shoving phantom brake pedals through the floor of the passenger side of Roshanna Van. I left my fingernails imbedded in the dash. My friend Lupe corkscrewed us up impossible peaks on an itsy-bitsy two-lane with no shoulders, not even a white line in places, a transport truck on every curve. He was focused but calm. One might say I was the slightest bit tense. Lupe’s friends h...
This fall, Congress has an important opportunity to create jobs and grow the economy by passing a long-term, comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill. The Farm Bill impacts every American, every day by providing a wide range of programs that strengthen our nation. The Farm Bill is crucial to maintaining a strong agriculture sector and an abundant food supply that benefits all Americans. Over the past two years, producers have faced a multitude of disasters — from drought, to flooding, to blizzards. These events demonstrate h...
History proves that humankind loves a good tale. Back in the days before modern amenities like television, Internet and indoor plumbing, people of cultures from all around the world told tales to entertain and teach. The tale of Cinderella has hundreds of variations from different cultures. One version of the tale, made popular by Disney, teaches us that good things will happen to young women if they work hard and stay pure of heart — and have a fairy godmother. Other v...
Me and my big mouth, blathering away about creating a new life without constraints of old beliefs and cultures and language and familiar surroundings. Oh, didn’t I sound so rosey-posey. Pollyanna on Big Gulp Valium. Would you like fries with that? Did I ever get my comeuppance. Let me begin at the beginning. First, getting through customs at the border into Mexico was a huge let-down. I had done my research. I had heard all the stories about people who had had to empty t...
Keep your promise. Honor your word. Most of us learned those lessons early in life and realize the value in making sure we follow those guidelines.in our daily affairs. A recent lawsuit by state and local government retirees attempts to hold Montana state government to the same standard, the same moral obligation. In 1997, Montana legislators created the “guaranteed annual benefit adjustment,” or GABA, to ensure state, county and city retirees receive a stable source of income in the form of a pension that recognizes the con...
Too often in our debates over Montana’s public lands, we seem to forget just how incredibly lucky we are to have these lands at all. This is especially true of the 2.4 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Hi-Line District of central and eastern Montana. These lands are the grasslands, sagebrush, hoodoos and coulee country that may lack the breathtaking scenery of Glacier National Park or the Beartooth Plateau but are every bit as valuable for livestock grazing, energy development, hunting a...
You’ve probably been in a similar situation. I drove to Great Falls for a day a year or two back. With my gas tank near empty, I drove to a gas station to fill up the tank. I reached for my wallet. Oops. I suddenly remember leaving it on my dresser that morning. There I was in Great Falls. No identification. No driver license. No money. No one could wire me money since I had no ID. How does one get back to Havre in such a predicament? Fortunately, it was a day that North Central Montana Transit was running. I drove over to B...
John Henry “Gatling Gun” Parker had earned his moniker by providing the covering fire for Teddy Roosevelt’s immortal assault on San Juan Hill. Nearly 20 years later his 6 feet, 3 inch frame made him an easy target while charging at the head of his command, the 362nd U.S. Infantry. As the heroic Parker went down with a wound, behind him came the cries “Powder River!” “Powder River!” Colonel Parker’s regiment, made up nearly entirely of men from Montana and known as the “Powder River Gang,” emerged from World War I as one...
Today is International Day of Radiology. One hundred and eighteen years ago, German physicist, Wilhelm Röntgen, discovered the X-ray. More recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans have revolutionized medicine, virtually eliminating exploratory surgeries, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and shortening hospital stays. Deaths from breast cancer and other serious illnesses have plummeted largely due to early diagnosis and treatment made possible by imaging scans. Most recently, lung...
A while back I mentioned here in my column that I have zero ability to speak foreign languages, now, according to a pack of smart researchers, this failing has put the future health and well being of my brain in great peril. Scientists from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India, and from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland studied people in a memory clinic in India — a country where even the average person speaks as many as four languages (4!)— and they...
