Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/author/edkemmick/page/65/)
Thanks to Albert Einstein, I think I finally understand what it is that I so much hate about presidential elections. It came to me last week when I was reading an op-ed piece in the New York Times, written by Lawrence M. Krauss, a theoretical physicist. His piece began like this: (more…) Continue Reading →
Bethany Schatzke, who had been writing about music for The Billings Outpost until it recently ceased publication, is continuing her endeavors on her own blog, and this week has posted a good story about Railroad Earth. Here’s how she describes the band, which is opening a swing through Montana with a show at the Babcock Theatre next Wednesday:
“The New Jersey based sextet is a sort of musical chameleon going from rock to bluegrass to folk to tribal to … something delightfully indescribable, something uniquely Railroad Earth. No other labels needed.” Bethany bases her story on an interview with mandolin player John Skehan, who had a lot say about the band members’ performance style, their perpetual touring and their attitude toward free music-sharing. Continue Reading →
One nice thing about being your own boss is that you get all the plum assignments. Thursday morning, with temperatures hovering around 60 and the sky mostly blue, I sent myself on a good long drive, with instructions to take plenty of photos. (more…) Continue Reading →
This morning on Facebook, Gary Robson, the owner of Red Lodge Books & Tea, shared a link to my latest story on the Red Lodge police drug raid in Bearcreek. Gary had some interesting things to say, as always, but what really caught my eye was the ensuing discussion of how the perception of crime in a given community affects tourism. One commenter said there was no effect on visitation after “Billings was called ‘Cranktown USA’ on the cover of TIME magazine.” I already added my two cents on that page, but allow me to elaborate here, because this was, for me, a fascinating experience in charting the invention and cultivation of myths. Way back in 2005, I did a multiple-day series of stories on the so-called meth epidemic in Billings. Continue Reading →
Editor’s Note: Some questions have arisen regarding what evidence was seized during the Jan. 24 raid in Bearcreek. Here, from court records, are Page 1 and Page 2 of the “Evidence receipt.” RED LODGE—About 40 people crowded into the small City Council chambers in Red Lodge Tuesday night, most of them to speak or listen to others speak about the recent drug bust that city police officers carried out in Bearcreek. (more…) Continue Reading →
“Skips Stones for Fudge,” a new movie from the Montana production company Highway Goat, has been selected for inclusion in the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which will run Feb. 19-28 this year, in Missoula. Among those involved in the making of the movie, which will be screened at 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula, is Ryan Seitz, a graduate of Billings Senior High School, and Alex Downey, a native of Butte. Their new movie takes an in-depth look at the world of competitive stone-skipping, focusing on Russ “Rock Bottom” Byars and Kurt “Mountain Man” Steiner, two very different men who have long competed to be known as the best rock skipper in the world. Continue Reading →
There’s no lack of contests and competitions for brewers these days, but Mark Hastings thinks there’s none better than the one he’ll be taking part in this March in Denver. The concept of Collaboration Fest—set for March 19—is pretty simple: at least two brewers, one of whom must be based in Colorado, join forces, come up with a new brew, work on it together and take it to the festival for judging. (more…) Continue Reading →
Sometimes, one of the best things a newspaper can do for its readers is to assign reporters to watch paint dry. During the years I covered City Hall for the Billings Gazette, I spent hundreds of hours so employed, and even when the process was stupefyingly boring it never seemed like a waste of time. (more…) Continue Reading →
RED LODGE—A woman who said she was unlawfully arrested and injured during a recent drug raid in Bearcreek by Red Lodge police officers sued the city of Red Lodge on Friday, asking for at least $1 million in damages. Red Lodge attorneys A.W. “Tony” Kendall and Raymond Kuntz filed the suit in Carbon County District Court on behalf of Tiffany McKinney against the city, Police Chief Steve Hibler, Officer Greg Srock and three unnamed John Does. (more…) Continue Reading →
It turns out that the notorious serial impostor Jeremy Wilson—if by some chance that’s his real name—brought his rolling con show to Montana. The New York Times interviewed Wilson in jail, and even in cold type the man’s skills as a charmingly relentless fabricator are almost palpable. Here’s a pocket description of some of his activities:
“He has portrayed himself as a Scottish-born D.J., a Cambridge-trained thespian, a Special Forces officer and a professor at M.I.T. He has posed as executives from Microsoft, British Airways and Apple, always with a military background. He pretended to be a soldier seeking asylum in Canada to escape anti-Semitic attacks in the United States. He once maintained an Irish accent so well and for so long that his cellmate in an Indiana jail was convinced that he was an Irish mobster.” Continue Reading →
