Opinion

Arguments fail for vote-by-mail proposal

By: |
DC

The debate over voting by mail in Montana rests on one bad argument and two terrible ones.

Terrible argument No. 1 is that voting by mail is cheaper. Irrelevant, if true. Government has no more important function than running free and fair elections. You wouldn’t award the contract for your next brain surgery to the lowest bidder. If we’re so dead set against taxes that we are willing to sacrifice quality elections, then we might as well turn the country over to Vladimir Putin right now [note to self: Check before publishing to make sure this has not already occurred]. Continue Reading →

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Montana

Free Verse project gives a voice to kids in detention centers

By: |
Warren

Sarah Kahn has been running the Free Verse Writing Project for almost three years, taking creative writing programs to youth detention centers in Montana.

The aim of the project is not just to give the young detainees a chance to express themselves, but also a reason to hope. Kahn remembers one boy in particular, “an incredibly talented kid” who was being held at the Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility in Miles City. Continue Reading →

Diversions

Only in Montana: The long, strange tale of 1-of-a-kind car

By: |
Green

The heart is a fickle pump. It drives you to physical extremes when engaged in difficult tasks. Then, with time, it calms you with soothing fond dreamy memories of bleeding fingers, aching bones and questions of self-doubt earned accomplishing those tasks. The nagging passion the heart demands keeps you on your toes.

The Little Green Porsche Machine (TLGPM) was the vehicle of passion that transported my wife, Lin, and me to Montana in the spring of 1979. Continue Reading →

Diversions

Total solar eclipse to boost Wyoming tourism in August

By: |
Flare

CODY, WYO. — Late this coming summer, the stars will align for an event that is likely to result in one of the busiest tourist days in Wyoming history. Well, at least one star will align.

A total solar eclipse will be visible Monday, Aug. 21, across a coast-to-coast swath of the United States, and Wyoming is poised to host a major influx of visitors seeking the best vantage and weather for the rare celestial display. Continue Reading →

Montana

Still-amazing Grace, almost given up on, now on the mend

By: |
Grace again

Barely a month ago, Debbi Purvis had resigned herself to the necessity of putting down Grace, the badly injured horse that was rescued last summer after spending two months alone in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

The leg wound Grace suffered in the wilderness would not heal, despite five surgeries, casts, splints, stem-cell replacements and other procedures. Continue Reading →

Montana

Native American lecture series moving to Missoula

By: |
Meg

About two years ago, I gave a talk at the Pictograph Caves just outside Billings. Inspired by the Native American pictographs that are the main feature of the site, I focused on a subject that had become something of an obsession since I returned to Montana 10 years ago, which is the treatment of the Native Americans in our state.

I grew up in Montana, but I had been gone for 25 years when I returned. I moved from San Francisco, and I was stunned to find that people still talked very openly about Native Americans as if they are all lazy, drunk and a drain on our economy. Continue Reading →