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

The origin of the real king of beers

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I feel I just have to draw your attention to this article from The Economist about the origin and growing global reach of India Pale Ale, that hoppy, high-alcohol nectar of the gods. How does this relate to Montana, the purported focus of Last Best News? Well, I was just speculating with a few friends the other day on the origin of IPA—since one of our party had just returned from a Foreign Service stint in India—and we were in Montana at the time of the conversation! In the news biz, that’s what they call the local angle. Also, if any more justification is needed, Montanans are famously fond of craft beer, and Billings is fortunate in having no fewer than seven brew pubs. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, craft beer, India Pale Ale, The Economist

Misfired email forges Montana-France friendship

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Cechs

On Dec. 4, 2013, John Cech went snowshoeing in the Elkhorn Mountains near his home in Clancy, accompanied by his two golden retrievers. It was a beautiful day, so he snapped a few pictures on his iPhone, and when he got back home he thought he’d post a photo or two on Facebook. He sent the photos from his phone to his laptop via Gmail for easier posting. A few minutes later, he received an email response from another John Cech—Jean-Louis Cech in Orange, France—who said, “Gee, it looks cold out there. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Diversions, Montana, Clancy, Facebook, Gmail, Jean-Louis Cech, John Cech, Montana University System

School choice advocates gaining influence, financing

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House

Much has already been made of the news that the Montana House Education Committee will be led during the 2015 legislative session by two prominent supporters of school choice and charter schools. But since Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is likely to veto any attempts to bring school choice to Montana, it’s the long game that is more interesting, and in that sense backers of school choice seem positioned to prevail someday soon. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, News, Austin Knudsen, Debra Lamm, Denise Juneau, Eric Feaver, Greg Gianforte, Jeff Laszloffy

Prairie Lights: Looking back on a strange, snowy year

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As the New Year dawned a year ago this week, most people in Montana were already sick and tired of winter, of endless days of bitter cold and snowstorms that raged with Arctic intensity. Billings was hit particularly hard. At one point in mid-February the snow was so deep that only the top seven floors of the First Interstate Building were visible. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Prairie Lights, Brian Morris, Jeff Bridges, John Walsh, Libby Pratt, Max Baucus, Robert O'Neill, Tom Hanel

Big plans in the works for Billings ‘gateway’

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Wash

Redevelopment of an industrial area of Billings that sits astride some of the most heavily traveled roads in the state is scheduled to start this spring. The Exposition Gateway, as it is known, takes in an area bounded by First and Sixth avenues north, MetraPark and North 10th Street. A redevelopment plan for the Exposition Gateway aptly describes it as “the ragged edge of the downtown.” (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Billings Industrial Revitalization District, Chris Hertz, East Billings Urban Renewal District, Exposition Gateway, Kelly McCarthy, Yegen family

Study confirms it: Montana drivers the worst (or tied, anyway)

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Crash

Well, it’s official. Everybody loves to complain how terrible all other drivers are, and one constantly reads and hears the claim that “Billings drivers are the worst,” or, in the alternative, “Montana drivers are the worst.” In a nationwide ranking compiled by CarInsuranceComparison.com, Montana tied with South Carolina as home to the worst drivers. The ranking gave each states points for:

Fatalities rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Failure to obey (percentage of fatal crashes that involved traffic tignals, not wearing seat belts, and driving with an invalid driver license). Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, bad drivers, CarInsuranceComparison, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina

This house was built for three generations

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Blanding

Nathan Blanding chronicled the construction of his Clark Avenue home on a blog he called “Mr. Blanding’s Dream House.”

The title was inspired by “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,” a 1948 film starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. For Nathan Blanding, it really was his dream house: it was an infill project, multigenerational, handicapped-accessible and high-energy-performance. And he built it himself. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Billings, Culture, A&E Architects, infill, Nathan Blanding, passivhaus

Turner biographer gives revealing interview

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Last Best News was barely a week old when I ran my review of Todd Wilkinson’s biography of Ted Turner. A year later I find myself thinking of Turner on a regular basis, having learned from Wilkinson, who lives in Bozeman, what a huge variety of important projects Turner is deeply involved in. If I had a Christmas wish for the whole world this year, it would be that Turner has a very, very long life. Whether or not you’ve read the book yet, check out this revealing interview of Wilkinson by Marc Bekoff, a writer and evolutionary biologist. The lengthy interview was published by Psychology Today and touches on many of the most interesting parts of Wilkinson’s book. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today, Ted Turner, Todd Wilkinson