Diversions

Recent Posts

Something lost: Expansion changes life on the West End

Gabel

Editor’s note: This is the second piece in a three-day series looking what has been lost as Billings has grown steadily in recent decades. Yesterday Phoebe Tollefson wrote about the South Side. Today she takes a look at the West End. In 1953, Veda Hentz moved into her new home on Rosewyn Lane, a few blocks east of Rehberg Lane. The area was mostly open countryside, and she and her husband were eager to settle in, having kept a close eye on the construction of the house. Continue Reading →

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Something lost: Nostalgia and the price of progress

Dahlberg

Billings is booming. Its population has climbed from 80,000 in 1990 to more than 110,000 in 2015. It’s also growing—from 32.8 square miles in 2000 to 42 square miles in 2010. In that same decade, the city added 7,000 new housing units. Billings is the biggest city in the state, home to the largest medical complex, the biggest newspaper and the tallest building in Montana. Continue Reading →

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Stella’s BITES: The Annex Coffeehouse and Bakery

Crumpet

South of the tracks and around the corner from the downtown skate park is the Annex Coffeehouse and Bakery. Ben and Krystal Harman are once again doing a kickflip on the food scene here in Billings, having expanded into the space next to their Fieldhouse café on Minnesota Avenue. (more…) Continue Reading →

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At Yellowstone Valley Brewing, marking 20 years, many firsts

Garage

Ed Kemmick note: George Moncure, whom I have counted as a friend almost from the moment of our first conversation, related below, sent in a press release earlier this week to announce that he was throwing a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his business, the Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co. The release included a rundown of the brewery’s many firsts, and some of its most memorable events, and I found it so well done that I asked George if we could just run the thing as a guest column. He was willing, and after polishing it a bit sent it back in. (more…) Continue Reading →

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Meet Chris Dixon, Billings’ football evangelist

Plex

Calling Chris Dixon a supporter or a backer of football doesn’t quite convey his passion for the sport. He is more of a football evangelist, always looking for ways to introduce young people to the sport that did so much for him, and to nurture them as they get better at the game. “Football is the ultimate team sport,” Dixon said. “You can’t move without everyone doing their job. You build character and you build relationships through football. Continue Reading →

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Cafe’s reopening sparks memories of 10th Ave. Grocery

10th

Joanie Swords has reopened Harper & Madison. That’s a good thing. What “Yellowstone Valley Woman” (one of my favorite local publications) has called a “quaint eatery … for people of all walks looking for baked goods made in-house, coffee, lunch and camaraderie” had been closed for remodeling since Christmas Eve. Look for Harper & Madison on 10th Avenue North—sunny side of the street—between North 31st and North 32nd streets. (more…) Continue Reading →

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