Regular readers of Last Best News already know that we have been collaborating with Missoula Current, an independent online newspaper that is filling the same niche in Missoula that we have been filling here in Billings. We have been sharing stories, giving each other advice and talking about other ways we can work together to promote and expand independent journalism in Montana. (more…) Continue Reading →
Montana
Recent Posts
Lawmakers weigh privacy issues in the digital age
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Section 10 of the Montana Constitution states that “the right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”
But as technology rapidly advances, finding the line between individual privacy and “a compelling state interest” is more complex than ever before. In response, the 2017 Montana Legislature will begin to make distinctions, wrestling with bills that deal with issues like cell phone data, GPS-enabled heart monitors and even “revenge porn.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, 'revenge porn', Daniel Zolnikon, Ellie Hill-Smith, Montana Legislature
Budget gets top billing, but plenty on the table in Helena
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Budget subcommittees proposed further cuts to Gov. Steve Bullock’s budget throughout the second week of the Montana Legislature. “If we can get through the budget and balance it, that will be probably all we can do,” said Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Jim Keane, Montana Legislature, Nancy Ballance, Steve Bullock
Huge infill project underway near downtown Missoula
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MISSOULA — More than $100 million in construction is planned for the Old Sawmill District this summer, including a student housing facility, two additional condominiums, a high-end apartment building and a new restaurant, the developers said this week. A new commercial building may also break ground this year, along with the start of a 55-and-older active living center on the district’s west end. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Missoula, Missoula Osprey, Old Sawmill District
In Red Lodge, big hopes for Old Roosevelt School
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RED LODGE —It doesn’t take much imagination to picture the transformation of Old Roosevelt School into the arts and culture hub of Red Lodge. The original three-story school, built in 1920 at 518 S. Broadway Ave., has numerous classrooms lined with big windows, flooding the rooms with natural light. In an even larger room on the third floor, there is a raised stage, its velvet curtain still intact, flanked by pilasters ornamented with painted scrolls. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, Barb Ostrum, Betty Hecker, Carbon County Arts Guild and Depot Gallery, Old Roosevelt School, Red Lodge Area Community Foundation, Red Lodge Public School Foundation, Tracy Timmons
Bills on budget, infrastructure, sex assault get attention
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HELENA—Calls for unity across party lines abounded throughout the opening day of Montana’s 65th legislative session. Hundreds gathered in the Capitol rotunda on Jan. 2 as top state leaders were sworn into office. “Before any of us are Democrats or Republicans, we’re Montanans,” Gov. Steve Bullock told the audience in his first speech of the session. “And Montanans elected us to serve.”
The ceremony featured local school children performing Montana’s state song and Rep. George Kipp III, D-Heart Butte, performing two Native American songs. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, budget, Feed Bill, Montana Legislature, rape
Budget takes center stage in Legislature’s first week
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HELENA — Montana’s 2017 Legislature has begun to tackle a wide swath of issues, from public safety to infrastructure, from education to agriculture. But as the first of many bills were read in committee rooms around the Capitol last week, it became clear that everything this time around would focus on the budget. During a Republican caucus Tuesday, House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, told fellow party members that the challenges the entire Legislature faces in the coming months would be daunting. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Austin Knudsen, John Sesso, Montana Legislature, Ron Ehli, Steve Bullock
Billings donations destined for refugees in Missoula
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If weather conditions are favorable this weekend, Jane Moses hopes to make another attempt to deliver donations for international refugees in Missoula. Moses and her daughter Libby made their first attempt on Tuesday and got as far as Livingston, where a stretch of Interstate 90 was closed because of high winds. They detoured through Livingston and looked into what lay ahead. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Community Leadership and Development Inc., Eric Basye, International Rescue Committee, Jane Moses, Mary Poole, Soft Landing
Years before Billings, Forsyth listed historic neighborhood
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Fans of historic preservation celebrated last week when the North Elevation Historic District became Billings’ first residential district to be accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The distinction was a long time coming. Many other cities in Montana have at least one residential district on the national register, and some have several. (A statewide map showing all listings is available here.) (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture, Montana, Cal MacConnel, Carol Klinker, Diane Murnion, Forsyth, Mark Hufstetler, Mike Blakesley
Missoula groups push back against Nazi-inspired leaflets
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It’s a Thursday morning at Har Shalom and the children are gathered for play. But the synagogue’s spiritual leader has taken to the library, where she’s thinking of ways to counter the emergence of Nazi-inspired literature in Missoula. Over the past few months, hate-filled leaflets with Nazi propaganda have appeared at area homes. While the drops have been sparse and seemingly random, they are nonetheless troubling in a community that prides itself on tolerance. (more…) Continue Reading →
