News you can use
News you can use
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U.S. Steve Daines, R-Mont., seems to be in sync with his Democratic colleagues, Sens. Jon Tester and John Walsh, in pushing Congress to approve funding for the north-central water project. All three want to approve a plan to fully fund water projects that have been authorized. The north-central Montana water project will provide valuable potable drinking water to Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and to far-flung parts of the Hi-Line that are removed from existing municipal water supplies. Access to clean water is vital to f...
Laurel — Special praise to the law enforcement and firefighting officials who put their heart and soul into saving the life of Robert Jay Thomas Sunday night and throughout Monday. Trying to save Thomas’ life while keeping the public safe was difficult. It involved shutting down downtown Havre, forcing business people to lose profits, employees to lose pay. It also made life difficult on Havre residents who depend on downtown businesses. But it was the least odius option facing police as they dealt with the crisis. Pol...
Monday’s 21-hour police standoff with an armed man got a lot of attention in Havre and across the state. More than 40,000 people viewed the online version of the story over the course of the day, and about 300 people shared the story on Facebook. A number of people commented on the story and on Facebook — and no doubt many others had similar thoughts — that the Havre Police Department should have used force to subdue the suspect early on, with less-than-lethal weapons or by shooting to disable him. Other commenters said...
Montana Political Practices Commissioner Jonathan Motl has found that State Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, has violated state campaign laws by his exceptionally close ties to dark money. Wittich worked closely with Western Tradition Partnership, an especially odious group that either — depending on who you listen to — skirted or openly violated state campaign laws to elect conservative members to the Montana Legislature. State law says that groups such as WTP can take stands on issues and support can...
A federal judge has ruled that the lawsuit against Blaine and two other Montana counties concerning Indian votings right can move forward. Native American groups would like to have satellite election offices set up on reservations so it is easier for residents to register and vote. In areas such as Lodge Pole at the far southeastern edge of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation people have to travel more than 100 miles round trip to the Blaine County seat of Chinook in order to register to vote, making same-day registration...
"There’s nothing to do in Havre.” That’s a common refrain around town. We think the statement is unfair. For a city our size, a lot of community activities are held every week. Just the same, there can never be too much to do. Having a vibrant cultural and entertainment life in the community is vital to expand the horizons and opportunities of Havre residents. It makes life for students at Montana State University-Northern more interesting. And it helps economic development by adding another reason to reject that conce...
Laurel — Twenty Havre High School students graduated from Leadership High School this week. The program is operated by the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce. Students learn leadership skills and get practical experience in community involvement. Students have visited area businesses and community institutions and volunteered at organizations such as the Havre Food Bank. It’s a great program. We’re sure students learned a lot. In a few years, we are sure, some of these students will be community leaders and will be back addre...
An economic summit looking at the future of the economy on the Hi-Line will be held at Montana State University-Northern May 14. We hope the session is the beginning of a thorough study into where the area is going and what the Hi-Line should look like in coming years. This should be the first step in developing a plan to help bring the Hi-Line out of the economic doldrums. For as far as we can predict, the area will have an agriculture-based economy, but it is becoming clear that farming alone won’t carry us to the goals w...
Laurel — There are a lot of reasons to be proud of the state champion Box Elder Bears boys basketball team. But people ought to be especially proud of the work they did this week at a community meeting on drug abuse. Bears players spoke to the group about the importance of staying drug free. Team members once again proved themselves to be great role models for Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and the rest of the Hi-Line. Laurel — Small-town living at its best will be celebrated this weekend at the Montana Seed Show. Harle...
Trina Crawford from the Havre Salvation Army warned Havre City Council last week about a crisis looming in the city. The number of homeless people is on the rise because of a housing shortage and a host of other problems, she said. The Salvation Army budget is quickly becoming depleted, she said. The housing crisis became especially acute during January and February, when the Montana weather was especially bad. The shortage affected not only the transients and single males, though they certainly deserve help, too, but entire...
There was something especially exciting about hearing that a police escort met the Box Elder High School boys basketball team in Big Sandy as they returned from Butte Sunday afternoon. The Bears won the state Class C championship and deserved the fanfare. That greeting and the reception they received when they returned to the school were especially fitting. We are always excited when Hi-Line teams do well, in athletes, music, debate or any other endeavor, but there was something special about Box Elder’s triumph. The e...
Laurel — Havre donated more blood than other aother area of the state Monday. It’s not surprising to find out that Hi-Line people are generous and willing to donate of themselves. It’s good to know that this kind of generosity will continue on to the next generation. Sixty-one pints of blood were donated at this week’s blood draw at Montana State University-Northern. Dart — Rules say there cannot be coordination between political action committees and candidates they support. Ryan Zinke recently formed a PAC, prior to his for...
The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow against nonpartisan judicial elections last week. The High Court ruled against a Montana state ban on political parties making financial contributions to judicial candidates. Unlike many states, Montana has a long tradition of nonpartisan judicial elections. Judges at the local and state level are elected without having a political party listed by their name. In some states, the dominant political party in an area can nominate any old political hack, knowing that the party faithful will el...
It’s been a good week, so let’s stick to the laurels: An article on the Havre Daily News University Page this week reminded us of the value to Havre of radio station KNMC. It provides an around-the-clock eclectic mixture of music. We’d like to hear more live voices on the station. There are already some professors, students and community residents who deejay on the station. We hope there will be more. Because of the work of North Central Montana Transit and other agencies, people will soon be able to take the bus from Fort...
As the staff at the Havre Daily News have been interviewing candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, it is becoming more clear that the decisions that affect the everyday lives of Montanas are more often made in Helena, not Washington. Despite condemnations of federal overreach, many important decisions are made on the state level. That’s why the elections for Hill County representatives and senators are so vital. Hill County is lucky in that the races for one House district and one Senate district will get statewide at...
The Hi-Line has a love affair with Class C basketball, and that fondness was evident this weekend. Havre High School’s gymnasium was full all weekend for the exciting competition that fans were treated to. Teams will carry the Hi-Line mantle to the next step — the Northern championships next weekend. Chinook and North Star will represent 9C in the next round of the girls championships, while Box Elder and Chinook will represent the boys. It was a great weekend for Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. While Box Elder walked off w...
Laurel — Havre High School‘s wrestling team has done the town proud again by winning the Montana Class A championship. This is the second year in a row. There were some exciting matches, en route to the title, including the championship match between the Adams brothers. Dart — Montana officials believe that governments closest to the people should be making decisions — unless the government closest to the people is the city of Missoula. A few years back, the city passed an ordinance banning discrimination against gays. Conser...
Laurel — Havre Middle School student Vander Swensen won the annual Hill County Spelling Bee Wednesday. By spelling the difficult words he did, he proved that young people still take spelling seriously. And it showed that Havre Public Schools — and the other schools that took part in the competition — still teach spelling well. Dart — Someone shot a golden eagle on the Crow Indian Reservation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to know who. They are willing to pay $1,000 for any information that will help them lo...
Technology is changing everything we do. Many people will be reading this editorial on the Internet, straight from the web or via Twitter. Mobile devices — especially iPads and smartphones — have become appendages to the body for many folk, especially young people. A few years ago, they were unheard of. Today these devices are a part of everyday life. This is why it was encouraging to hear that the Havre school board may allow students to bring their own devices to school next year for use in school work. It seems like an...
Lost in the announcement that Board of Regents Chair Angela McLean will become lieutenant governor, is the fact that Paul Tuss will be the new chair of the Regents. Montana in general and the university system in particular will be well served by Tuss’ promotion to the top job. A graduate of the University of Montana, he is familiar with the needs of the university system and its students. He is executive director of Bear Paw Development Corp., where he has been active in securing funds for Hi-Line communities to undertake a...
Laurel — Rocky Boy High School has won statewide acclaim for its efforts to fight their high rate of school dropouts. Working with Graduation Matters, a program launched by Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, the school has increased its graduation rate from 52.5 to 66 percent in the last three years. That’s not enough — students entering the workforce from the reservation will have enough problems without having to face the future without a high school diploma — but the school is sure headed in the right d...
Educators and civic leaders at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation have long been concerned with the use of methamphetamine on the reservation. After a publicized effort to reduce meth use, it appeared that progress was being made in encouraging people not to use the deathly drug. Maybe that was the case, but meth seems to be making a rebound. Community leaders believe that more people, especially young people, are abusing the drug. And folks who are experts in the problem agree that meth abuse is not limited to the r...
Laurel — A new emergency generator at Havre High School is up and ready to run when needed. The generator will keep power running during a crisis. There have been several emergencies in recent years. Twice, a giant swath of the Hi-Line was left without power when NorthWestern Energy’s system failed. Other times, there have been more localized problems. The disaster in the South this week has shown the need for emergency planning. There is a need for more emergency generators. Other schools need help and many public bui...
In February 2012, an email written by U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull of Billings surfaced. It was a racist joke about President Barack Obama that anyone with an ounce of integrity would have found sickeningly offensive. There were calls for Cebull’s resignation, but the judge’s defenders said that his one mistake was not sufficient to warrant his removal from office. After a far-too-long investigation, a judicial review panel has revealed that Cebull had written several hundred inappropriate emails showing disdain for bla...
Laurel — Laramie Pursley has been crowned Miss Rodeo Montana. Pursley, a Chinook resident and Montana State University-Northern student, will embark on an exciting year of visiting rodeos throughout the state and some outside Montana. Rodeo is an important part of life in rural Montana, and we are glad that Pursley, who has ties to both Hill and Blaine counties, will represent the Hi-Line throughout the state. Laurel — 130,000 Montanans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare. That is on...
