Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/edkemmick/page/61/)
David Carpenter’s phone call to Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, to apologize for coldcocking Fox at the Radisson Hotel last week, was quite moving. Carpenter had too much to drink and did something really stupid, but then he manned up and did the right thing. There’s a lesson here, friends, and not just for Donald Trump. (more…) Continue Reading →
LAUREL — Despite injuries to numerous participants and several spectators, Laurel city officials were beaming with pride Thursday after a wildly successful “Running of the Bison” event. “It was fantastic,” said Laurel Mayor Mark Mace, who came up with the idea for the dangerously alluring event, which he hopes will become an annual affair. “Sure, some people were hurt, but we’re a tough bunch, and everyone agreed it was great for Laurel.” (more…) Continue Reading →
If you’ve had any reason to wonder why it’s important to have independent press coverage in Montana towns previously dominated by corporate monopolies, please see Exhibit A. (more…) Continue Reading →
There’s plenty of land for sale on the far West End of Billings, but few parcels pack as much history as a 3½-acre lot on the southwest corner of Shiloh Road and Central Avenue. On that property sits a 122-year-old one-room schoolhouse built by some of the city’s pioneer families, as well as a building that housed School District 2’s first vo-tech program. (more…) Continue Reading →
There was a good story in the Billings Gazette last month about the Buffalo Bridge Project, which involves a group of people who scavenge whatever is left of bison that are killed just outside Yellowstone National Park. The photos were good, too, but for whatever reason there were no pictures of the dirty work—the blood, gore and viscera that accompany this odd, primitive endeavor. Matt Hamon to the rescue. He is a photographer based in Potomac, Mont., who spent a lot of time with the “gleaners,” as he calls them, and he has posted a batch of compelling, in-your-face photographs of what is involved in using all parts of a dead bison. What is more intriguing is that this series of photographs is only the start. Continue Reading →
In an AP story about the death of Jim Harrison that ran in the Billings Gazette this morning, there is no mention of Livingston, though the headline does say, “‘Legends of the Fall'” author Jim Harrison, formerly of Livingston, dies at 78.'”
I might be wrong, but I don’t think he was a “former” resident of Livingston. I believe he had residences in Michigan, Arizona and the Paradise Valley, and that for the past 14 years he spent much of his time near Livingston. To give proper weight, then, to the influence of Montana on one of the great writers of our age, you could start with this Wall Street Journal article from 2009, which goes into considerable detail about Harrison’s house and its setting in the Paradise Valley. It includes this priceless paragraph:
“Sun drenches the big open kitchen, where Mr. Harrison and guests occasionally cook elaborate, multi-course meals—many featuring birds and game he’s hunted himself. Earlier this summer, Anthony Bourdain, chef and host of the Travel Channel’s food show ‘No Reservations,’ visited Mr. Harrison’s home during a trip to Livingston. Continue Reading →
A group of Red Lodge residents has formed an organization to provide oversight of city government and to protect the civil rights of people in the community. “Basically what we want to do is, we want first and foremost to work with the city administration in keeping our police department professional,” said Michael Keys, one of the organizers of Red Lodge Community Oversight Representatives. (more…) Continue Reading →
Sen. John McCain has done something that reminds us of when this country was a bigger, better place. In a piece he wrote for The New York Times on Thursday, McCain praised Delmer Berg, who died late last month in California at the age of 100. McCain praised Berg for having fought selflessly as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and 1938. (more…) Continue Reading →
In the Billings area, there is nothing quite like the Four Dances Natural Area. Located high above the Yellowstone across the river from the site of old Coulson, the town that preceded Billings, the natural area affords spectacular views of the valley and of the city itself. (more…) Continue Reading →
Adding to my Prairie Lights column on the growing online newspaper scene in Montana, here’s a good article from the Columbia Journalism Review about the Flathead Beacon. The Beacon is a weekly newspaper published in Kalispell, so it doesn’t quite fit in with the other news outlets I wrote about, but the Beacon also happens to have a really strong Web presence. The online Beacon is slick, clean and easy to use, with a feel something like that of the Missoula Independent’s website. Both, it goes without saying, are far better than what the designers at Lee or Gannett have come up with. The Beacon and the Indy show what happens when you start with the readers, not your ad department, in mind. Continue Reading →
