Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/category/montana/page/42/)
The Post Office in my mother’s hometown of Barlow, N. D., closed in 1965. I know this because when I visited tiny Barlow in 1972 to see if there was anyone still there who knew my mother (she left Barlow for good in 1917 when she was 14) I ran into several who had gone to school with her. (more…) Continue Reading →
Late last month, 55 Montana legislators insisted that Gov. Steve Bullock “use all legal means to block or resist the placement of Syrian refugees in our great state at this time.”
They are in good company. Well, in some sort of company: at last count 31 state governors, a majority of U.S. presidential aspirants and the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed. They have all reminded me of the do-it-yourselfer who, while hanging a picture on the wall, misses the nail but hits his thumb. In his pain—and rage—he kicks the cat that is snoozing beneath the ladder. We smile at his irrational response but we understand the outburst. Continue Reading →
There is a Grinch stealing trees (and Christmas) from us in Stillwater County. He passes incognito as “county road supervisor.” The good boys and girls of the county pay their taxes and his paycheck, but he is grumpy and grouchy if they ask him not to cut all their trees down along their roads. He bellows “Maintenance!” and “Safety!” and will not compromise his single-minded mission to clear-cut every tree in every right of way in our county. (more…) Continue Reading →
Recently, Ducks Unlimited magazine dismissed noted Montana outdoor writer Don Thomas from his longtime contributing editor position. It seems that Thomas wrote an article for another publication criticizing billionaire Montana landowner (and Ducks Unlimited member) James Cox Kennedy for his overt attempt to undermine Montana’s stream access law, particularly as it pertains to the portion of the Ruby River flowing through his property in Twin Bridges. (more…) Continue Reading →
I have never met Robert Staffanson, but I am prepared to answer “yes” to the question in the headline above. I base my opinion on having just read his autobiography, “Witness to Spirit: My Life with Cowboys, Mozart & Indians.” His story follows an arc that seems almost unbelievable. (more…) Continue Reading →
Editor’s note: The American Lands Council, a Utah-based group that supports the transfer of federal public lands in the West to willing states, was asked on Thursday to comment on the study that is the subject of this story. A statement from its board chairman came in too late for initial inclusion, but it has been added to the article. A new study estimates that there are as many as 100,000 abandoned mines on federal lands in 13 Western states, and that cleaning them up could cost as much as $21 billion. (more…) Continue Reading →
For years, I’ve wanted to write about Cottonwood Canyon, a strangely beautiful high-desert hideaway about 15 miles south of Bridger. I never did, though, because I had considered it as somehow belonging to my good friend, Tim Arneson, who first showed it to me more than 30 years ago. I suppose Cottonwood Canyon is his forever now. His children scattered his ashes there in October. (more…) Continue Reading →
We are a nation of immigrants who despise immigrants. Syrians and Middle East refugees are just the most recent of the indigestible bits in the melting pot that we are so fond of claiming as our great distinction among nations. And Hispanics, like the poor, we will always have with us and will probably disparage them for another few decades in addition to the disparagement of the past 150 years, give or take. (more…) Continue Reading →
I recently saw a Gallup poll measuring trust and confidence in institutions. Second only to the U.S. military in terms of high confidence was “small business,” scoring a 67 percent rating in terms of trustworthiness. (more…) Continue Reading →
LIVINGSTON—Michael McCormick brought a long career in corporate marketing to his post-retirement job as director of the Livingston Food Resource Center, which used to operate as a simple food pantry. It didn’t take him long to determine that the old model—raise money, buy food, hand it out, repeat—didn’t make any sense. He turned to his background to find a new model, one that is heavy on business, on training and promoting economic development. (more…) Continue Reading →
