Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/page/169/)
I was planning to ride off into the sunset today, but if I may appropriate an observation by Benjamin Franklin, it looks as though I might be heading in the direction of the rising sun.
In the week since I announced that Last Best News would cease publication today, I have heard so many expressions of interest in reviving it in some shape or form, with or without my continued involvement, that it appears likely that this independent online newspaper will live on.
If you’re looking for less negativity in your life, please stop reading right now—there are plenty of uplifting cat memes you can read. If you’re looking for an honest impression of a sub-par establishment, please read on. Continue Reading →
I can’t bring myself to criticize the officials in Los Angeles who decided to cancel school last Tuesday in response to a terrorist threat received by email.
People were already jittery in the wake of the killings in nearby San Bernardino, so the authenticity of the threat had to be weighed against some very real fears and some daunting responsibilities. Continue Reading →
In the classroom, Billings Senior High science teacher Craig Beals knows how to get his students’ attention. Things that go boom are always popular, and you really can’t go wrong with fire.
This Monday, Beals will see if he can capture the interest of nationwide television viewers with a show featuring some of those same attractants, only on a much bigger scale. Continue Reading →
I’ve been paying attention to what many governors in our United States have been saying about not allowing Syrian refugees into the states they govern. I’ve also heard with interest the plans to build a taller and longer fence along the Mexican border to protect us from the infiltration of illegal immigrants. Continue Reading →
So many rumors have been flying about the future of Harper & Madison, a popular café and bakery on the edge of downtown Billings, that owner Joanie Swords thought it was time to spill the beans.
But about those rumors: “The biggest one is that we’re closing,” she said. “I also heard I sold it. But no one knows who I sold it to, and I haven’t seen a check.” Continue Reading →
Chan Romero is pleased with a new double-album (yes, vinyl!) compilation of early Montana rock ‘n’ roll.
Romero has the first song on “Long Time Comin’—Lost Sounds from the Treasure State,” a 27-song collection painstakingly assembled by Dave Martens, a 32-year-old Havre resident. The album covers the period 1958-1969 and features bands from across the state. Continue Reading →
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. Continue Reading →
A program that uses horses to help heal injured military veterans is getting closer to forming the partnerships it needs to start taking in large numbers of veterans.
But even in the limited number of sessions it has offered veterans in its first year, the Horses Spirits Healing program at the Intermountain Equestrian Center north of Billings has seen some gratifying results. 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 →
