Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/category/montana/page/43/)
When Crow elected officials raised a new flag at the Apsaalooke Veterans Park last week, it immediately raised eyebrows—and the ire—of some tribal members. Flying alongside flags representing the state of Montana, the Crow Nation, the United States and the U.S. military was the Israeli “Star of David” flag. (more…) Continue Reading →
Three experts on the role of money in politics painted a dire picture of American democracy at a forum in Billings Thursday night. But they also offered up some fairly simple solutions to the problems posed by “dark money”—the kind that now flows by the tens of millions from anonymous sources to influence politicians and shape public policy. (more…) Continue Reading →
Bruce Keller and I had been gone just 50 hours from our home outside of Absarokee. High Chaparral has been a family sanctuary for nearly a quarter-century. We’ve had raccoons, mountain lions, lynx, elk, deer and antelope, and of course plenty of mice, squirrels, voles, moles and skunks. (Nick, the male Yorkie, has been “deskunked” almost as many times as he’s been taken to the groomer.) (more…) Continue Reading →
Recently the Department of Homeland Security granted Montana an extension of time to conform to the “REAL ID” law passed by Congress in 2005. In a nutshell, the REAL ID law demanded that state driver license and identification cards conform to federal requirements concerning information and data-sharing as laid out by DHS, and that these identification documents have the approval of DHS. (more…) Continue Reading →
The family of a Sidney man who was found dead near the oil storage tank he was inspecting near Keene, N.D., has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Billings, blaming the death of Blaine Otto on the negligence of the company that owned the oil well. The same attorney who filed that suit represented Dustin Bergsing, a 21-year-old oilfield worker from Edgar, Mont., who died under similar circumstances, and whose family reached a confidential settlement with Marathon Oil in 2013. The terms of that settlement were not disclosed, but a pretrial statement said a computation of damages put the value of the case “in the seven-figure range.” (more…) Continue Reading →
In the weeks that have passed since we published “A Bleak Future for Colstrip Units 1 and 2,” the outlook for the these two coal-fired electric generators in Eastern Montana has only gotten worse. Our report assumed, based on market expectations, that natural gas prices and energy prices would remain low for the next 10 years. That’s still the case, but forward-looking market indicators today are for natural gas and energy market prices to drop even further than we assumed in June. (more…) Continue Reading →
Sometimes the shortest way home just isn’t good enough. I had to be in Red Lodge Tuesday evening, and since I wasn’t too keen on driving home afterward—dodging deer in the dark on Highway 212—I spent the night at a friend’s house and left Red Lodge the next morning. (more…) Continue Reading →
HUNTLEY—The Yellowstone River will soon have a study worthy of its stature. A summary of the study, still in draft form, was delivered at a public meeting in Huntley on Wednesday night, and the final report is scheduled to be released during a two-day conference in Billings next March. (more…) Continue Reading →
As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gathers public comment this week on a huge study of the Yellowstone River, this is a good time to be reminded of the impressive progress that has been made in cooperatively managing another Montana river. That would be the Musselshell, which rises near Martinsdale and flows about 350 miles before joining the Missouri River north of Mosby. Like so many other high plains rivers, the Musselshell seems perpetually to have been either rampaging in times of flood or barely trickling along in times of drought. (more…) Continue Reading →
For some of us, the approach of fall—with its distinct smells, light and colors—is indistinguishable from the approach of cross-country running season. Many of these folks in Montana’s running community will gather on Saturday, Oct. 31, for one of the most unusual footraces in the state—a cross-country race known as the Montana Cup. Patrick Judge, president of the Helena Vigilante Runners and race director for this year’s edition of the cup, describes the event as “a team cross-country running event similar to a high-school or collegiate race, but open to everyone.” (more…) Continue Reading →
