Ed Kemmick

Ed Kemmick has been a newspaper reporter, editor and columnist since 1980. Except for four years in his home state of Minnesota, he has spent his entire journalism career in Montana, working in Missoula, Anaconda, Butte and Billings. "The Big Sky, By and By," a collection of some of his newspaper stories and columns, plus a few essays and one short story, was published in 2011.

Recent Posts

One more look at the record snowstorm of ’55

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Still

Typical Billings. We have a couple of days of Arctic cold, a heavy snowfall … and then a few days later it feels like spring again and half the snow is gone. Before the recent storm fades into memory, we thought we should bring to your attention the video we posted in March 2014, after another big snowstorm. The video, produced by Stan Parker, mixed some fresh footage of the 2014 snowfall combined with excerpts from a short film made in 1955 by a local chiropractor, the late Allan Downs. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Allan Downs, Stan Parker

Christmas comes early for lucky McKinley students

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Madison

A few days before Christmas, 38 lucky students at McKinley Elementary School found themselves in possession of new bicycles, locks and helmets on Wednesday, compliments of Billings TrailNet. “We build trails around town,” TrailNet event coordinator Kevin Odenthal told a gym full of kids Wednesday afternoon just before the giveaway. “We also want to make sure people have fun.” (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Billings, Billings TrailNet, Kristi Drake, McKinley Elementary School, MTS Technologies

Snoop Dogg posts video of cruise through downtown Billings

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Dogg

Snoop Dogg played the Shrine Auditorium last Thursday. Before the show, in the midst of what would be the heaviest snowfall in 30 years, Snoop Dogg drove through downtown Billings, awed by the great heaps of snow already on the ground. He compliments his nephew, who is driving, and says someday he’d like to try driving in the snow himself. He also breaks into an impromptu rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Best of all, the whole thing was captured on video, which he posted on Instagram. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Billings, Shrine Auditorium, Snoop Dogg

A Custer mystery, a Yellowstone tribute and a calf’s tale

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The Custer Conspiracy, by Dennis Koller, Pen Books, 2016. 340 pages, $14.99. I really wanted to like this book. The author, who lives in the Bay Area, wrote to us at Last Best News and said he had spent a lot of time at the Little Bighorn Battlefield planning this novel and he thought we might enjoy it. It sounded promising. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Culture, Christopher Cauble, Dennis Koller, Jay Hahnkamp

Years before Billings, Forsyth listed historic neighborhood

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Roxy

Fans of historic preservation celebrated last week when the North Elevation Historic District became Billings’ first residential district to be accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The distinction was a long time coming. Many other cities in Montana have at least one residential district on the national register, and some have several. (A statewide map showing all listings is available here.) (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Culture, Montana, Cal MacConnel, Carol Klinker, Diane Murnion, Forsyth, Mark Hufstetler, Mike Blakesley

Prairie Lights: Notes on a successful fund drive

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Stop

Just after we posted an appeal for donations to Last Best News on Tuesday, I got an email from Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia. “Dear Edward,” it began, because Jimmy always calls me Edward, “When the clock strikes midnight, our email fundraiser will end—but we haven’t yet hit our goal.” (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Prairie Lights, Jimmy Wales, Last Best News, Montana Quarterly, Scott McMillion, Wikipedia

A duty well done: Book tells story of Yellowstone National Cemetery

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Sentinels: Yellowstone National Cemetery, by Ed Saunders, self-published, 2016. 128 pages, $17.95. It is difficult not to be impressed with the enthusiasm Ed Saunders shows for his subject, the creation of the Yellowstone National Cemetery in Laurel. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Culture, Ed Saunders, Jon Tester, Veterans Administration, Yellowstone County Commission, Yellowstone National Cemetery