Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/edkemmick/page/102/)
Montana: Skiing the Last Best Place, photographs by Craig W. Hergert, stories by Brian Hurlbut, Great Wide Open Publishing, 2013. 225 pages, $60. If this were just a collection of photos of Montana ski resorts, it would still be a good book. There are enough gorgeous mountains here, enough spectacular runs and great fields of powder, to excite any skier—or even a person who used to ski some but is now too old and creaky. (more…) Continue Reading →
Don’t miss this fine tribute to sportswriter Bill Bighaus, now retired, written by Gazette sports editor Jeff Welsch. Then there was the altogether fitting decision to devote this week’s 5 on 5 feature to reflections on Bill’s career and legacy. His colleagues took the opportunity to lob some witticisms his way, which was only fair. In person, on your your feet, it was difficult to match wits with Bill. His colleagues earned the right, after all these years, to have a little fun at his expense when he was not available to respond. Continue Reading →
Just three months ago, the Billings City Council voted down a nondiscrimination ordinance that would have expanded civil rights protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The vote came at 3 a.m., following a very long meeting. Later that day, Councilman Brent Cromley, who supported the NDO, said the setback would not halt the steady progress being made on LGBT rights. (more…) Continue Reading →
Progress is being made in the effort to preserve more than 100 murals painted on the walls of Billings Senior High School. Representatives of the class of 1964, which had its 50th reunion this summer, were planning to present a check for $1,755 to Principal Dennis Holmes Thursday afternoon. (more…) Continue Reading →
WIBAUX — In the Gem Theatre attached to the Beaver Creek Brewery, Mighty Big Jim and the Tall Boys took the stage a little after 8 Saturday night. Their opening song was “Wibaux, MT,” a defiant anthem written by bandleader Jim Devine. The chorus opens with “We’re Wibaux, Montana/Who the hell are you/We like our sky big/We like to throw down a few.” (more…) Continue Reading →
In June, I wrote about the grain bin house being built outside Vaughan, north of Great Falls. The owner of the house, as you may recall, is Kate Morris, an artist and teacher who has lived in Billings for many years and will continue to spend some time here. (more…) Continue Reading →
My weekend travels took me to the eastern edge of the state, placing me about as far from both coasts as it’s possible to be, but I still ended up getting seasick. (more…) Continue Reading →
For the record, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to prohibit Montana legislators from caucusing in private. I’m all for the public’s right to know, for making public documents available to the public, for making sure public bodies conduct their business in public. But caucuses? Traditionally those have been strategy-setting sessions involving members of a political party. Making caucuses public is like allowing the defense to sit in on the offense’s huddle. Continue Reading →
Six years ago, Helen Slottje was a corporate attorney working for a big law firm in Boston. Moving to Upstate New York in 2009 turned her into an environmental activist, and this summer she was awarded a prestigious environmental prize for her work in helping communities in New York ban fracking. (more…) Continue Reading →
Ninety-seven wild Yellowstone bison were delivered to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation Thursday, with 42 more scheduled to arrive Friday. Robert Magnan, director of Fort Peck Fish and Game and head of the reservation’s buffalo program, said the bison were greeted by prayers and songs “welcoming them back to their homeland.” (more…) Continue Reading →
