Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/category/diversions/page/37/)
A little east of downtown Billings, there is an odd little neighborhood that is not really quite a neighborhood. The area I’m thinking of is bounded on the east and west by 15th and 22nd streets north, and on the north and south by Fourth and First avenues north. It is a hodgepodge of houses, industrial businesses and vacant lots. (more…) Continue Reading →
A week later than planned, Doc Harper’s martini bar had a “soft opening” Wednesday, throwing open its doors at 4 p.m. By 5, the place was jumping, with nearly every seat on the main level taken and more people sitting in the mezzanine. “I called some friends and texted some kids, that’s all,” Barb Harper said. “I’m amazed at all the people here.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Bruce Anfinson, a cowboy-country singer from Helena, has played music in Germany, Taiwan, Japan and Costa Rica, and a tune he wrote is the theme song for the Montana PBS show “Backroads of Montana.”
He’s played with scores of big-name musicians, jammed with Doc Watson and appeared on “Mountain Stage,” the American Public Radio program broadcast from Charleston, West Virginia. (more…) Continue Reading →
LAUREL—Next to the cash register at the Owl Café, there is a framed menu from the restaurant’s grand opening on Aug. 13, 1916. At the bottom of the menu it says: “Patrons will be entertained with music.”
Now, just shy of 100 years later, new owner Kathy Boyd can make the same promise, at least on Saturday mornings. She has revived the “bluegrass Saturday breakfast” tradition that made the Prairie Winds Café in tiny Molt, 25 miles northwest of Billings, so popular from 2001 until it closed in 2013. (more…) Continue Reading →
At the shoulder of a Wyoming county road, a stately cottonwood stands. In its time, this grayed monarch has seen cavalry and Indians; horsemen and homesteaders; dudes, dreamers, and sight-seers. Daily viewed but seldom noticed in the passing, this old tree carries a special story of its own. A huge scar mars its roadside bark, and therein lies the tale of the Purple Burp. (more…) Continue Reading →
When using and collecting wine gadgets, I follow my husband’s keep-it-simple principle. Though I am intrigued by all the latest tools for opening wine bottles, and for enhancing the taste of wine, I keep my everyday tools on the basic level. (more…) Continue Reading →
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 →
A few weeks ago, President Obama played the lead role in the annual White House Turkey Pardon farce. He looked upon the biggest, fattest, most privileged and whitest turkey in America … and promptly pardoned it. (more…) Continue Reading →
Although the proprietor of Last Best News is generally immune to Christmas cheer, he couldn’t think of any reason not to offer this “Christmas Light Spectacular” map, created for Bridge Creek Dental and offered up free of charge. (more…) Continue Reading →
