Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/edkemmick/page/116/)
LIVINGSTON — Two books, sent to him years ago by his brother, showed pianist and composer Phil Aaberg that “art could be created on the Hi-Line and from the Hi-Line.” (more…) Continue Reading →
I wrote yesterday about running into epic walker Steve Fugate a little west of Lavina on Highway 12. That was at the beginning of a quick dash across several counties for me. Today, as I was driving home on Highway 12, this time mid-afternoon about midway between Martinsdale and Two Dot, I encountered another road warrior. (more…) Continue Reading →
It was pouring rain Tuesday morning near Slayton Junction, where the railroad bridge crosses over Highway 12, six or seven miles west of Lavina. I was coming up on the bridge about 8 a.m. when I saw, through the rain and gray mist, somebody walking along the side of the road, heading east. He was pulling a two-wheeled cart and a sign over his head read, “Love Life.” (more…) Continue Reading →
After weeks of debate, an unprecedented flood of emails and the longest public hearing in its history, the Billings City Council finally got around to discussing the language of a proposed nondiscrimination ordinance Monday night. (more…) Continue Reading →
You might think there’s nothing left to say about the city’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance, given that the Billings City Council endured a 10-hour public hearing on the subject last week. (more…) Continue Reading →
As reported by the Billings Gazette this morning, the city has released a draft of the nondiscrimination ordinance that will be the subject of a City Council work session Monday night. Here’s the most surprising thing I noted in the draft: it prohibits discrimination not only on the basis of “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,” but also on “Veteran’s status, political beliefs or obesity.” Leaving aside the question of why “veteran” is capitalized, I doubt anyone will object to including veteran status in the ordinance. Who doesn’t want to protect veterans from discrimination? But what about obesity? Continue Reading →
A huge column of sandstone that towers over Sixth Avenue North is not going to be blown off the Rims with dynamite, as the “Monkey Face” formation over Zimmerman Trail was. City Engineer Debi Meling said it will be pulled over backward to lie on the rock shelf on which it is now perched. (more…) Continue Reading →
I have to call your attention to this Montana Standard article about John McNay, an Anaconda native who is back in his home state to address the AFL-CIO convention at Fairmont Hot Springs today. A history professor and union leader at the University of Cincinnati, John is going to talk about the successful fight by people in Ohio against Senate Bill 5, a union-busting piece of legislation, back in 2011. I knew John when we were both students in the journalism school at the University of Montana, and he later worked in Butte and Anaconda, as did I. He bailed out of the biz years ago, earned a Ph.D. in history and has been happily perched in academia ever since. He paid us a visit in Billings earlier this week and we did a lot of catching up, but in his typically modest way, John didn’t say anything about the large part he played in the fight against Senate Bill 5. And though I was familiar with some of John’s family history, I was still surprised by his genetic background as a union man, as laid out in the Standard article:
Both his grandfathers retired from the smelter. Continue Reading →
And they’re off. A team of four young journalists, who plan to document the changes sweeping Eastern Montana and North Dakota as a result of the Bakken oil boom, hit the road Thursday afternoon. (more…) Continue Reading →
After a marathon meeting that lasted until well after sunrise, the Billings City Council voted early Tuesday to proceed with consideration of a non-discrimination ordinance. (more…) Continue Reading →
