News

Future looks bright for Montana’s past

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rock art

RED LODGE ­– Montana has made enormous progress in preserving and interpreting its history in the last 30 years, historian Carroll Van West said here Thursday.

He wasn’t just being nice. He illustrated his point with dozens of slides of Montana buildings and sights that have been preserved or restored over the last three decades. The message was driven home afterward with tours of the Red Lodge cemetery, nearby homesteads, barns and Weatherman Draw, where efforts are going on to preserve Indian art far older than Montana. Continue Reading →

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Diversions

At Pictograph Cave park, a reminder of nearby treasures

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Overview

As a pre-event kickoff to the Montana Preservation Road Show that began in Red Lodge a little later in the day, a handful of visitors took a ranger-guided tour of Pictograph Cave State Park on Wednesday morning.

I’d taken the tour before, many years ago, and had been back to the caves more than a few times on my own, but like Pompeys Pillar and a few other area landmarks, there are some places that we who live here should keep going back to, to remind us how lucky we are. Continue Reading →

Opinion

David Crisp: A musical campaign interlude

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dc

By their music shall you know them.

The first presidential campaign to hit Billings this month was Bernie Sanders’. Pre-speech music was by Satsang, a local group with an indie rock vibe.

Perfect. Sanders showed that he is independent, unconventional, in touch with the young voters who filled the Montana Pavilion at MetraPark.

Next was Hillary Clinton’s campaign, represented here by her lesser half, former President Bill Clinton. Music was by Star Nayea, a Seattle singer and songwriter accompanied by recorded music. Continue Reading →

Opinion

Montana Viewpoint: It’s time to ‘un-rig’ the system

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Jim

If we are to judge from the supporters of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders it would appear that if there is anything that the American public agrees on is that the system—political and economic—is rigged against the little guy.

And I agree. If there is anything to be learned from the recent history of corporate greed and the economic harm suffered by Americans because of that greed, whether from jobs lost through trade agreements or homes lost through mortgage fraud, it is that corporate America has the interests of corporate America at heart, and none other. Continue Reading →

Diversions

Montana Preservation Road Show coming to Red Lodge

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Preserve

A variety of back-roads history tours and talks on historic preservation are on tap this week in Red Lodge, which is hosting the third Montana Preservation Road Show.

Organized by the Montana Preservation Alliance and numerous other partners, the road show debuted in Dillon in 2012 and continued in Lewistown in 2014. This year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the Red Lodge road show is expanding from three days to four to accommodate more speakers and day tours. Continue Reading →

Diversions

‘Far and Away’: Wild-West bravery needed for land-run

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howard

Director Ron Howard remembers seeing Ireland for the first time at age 4. His plane stopped at Shannon Airport for refueling en route to Austria, and the verdant greens of the Emerald Isle were instilled in his memory. Howard also remembers being on the set of “The Music Man” (1962), shot in the wide-screen Technorama format.

“I recall huge, oversized cameras that took five or six people to lug around, and all day to set up,” he said. Continue Reading →

News

Voters asked to fund big increase in senior services

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Melichar

The population of Yellowstone County is getting larger and older. That’s the simple reason why, despite some disagreements on tactics, senior services groups are rallying behind a proposal for a 1.73 mill levy increase to support senior programs.

Voters will decide the issue during the June 7 primary election. If they vote for the new levy, property taxes on a $200,000 home would rise about $4.67 a year. Continue Reading →