Billings Public Library

Recent Posts

Montana Climate Assessment presentation planned

Cathy Whitlock

A presentation on the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment is scheduled for Thursday, May 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Royal Johnson Community Room of the Billings Public Library, 510 N. Broadway. The Billings Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the Billings League of Women Voters and the Better Billings Sustainability Committee of the Yellowstone Valley Citizens Council are sponsoring the event. The Montana Climate Assessment, published last September, is a product of the Montana University System’s Montana Institute on Ecosystems. The presentation will be given by the lead author of the assessment, Cathy Whitlock. The assessment describes past and future climate trends that affect three sectors of the Montana economy: agriculture, water and forestry. “The central goal of this effort was to create a product that would be useful to Montanans in planning for and adapting to a changing climate,” Whitlock said.”The assessment’s findings foresee a hotter future for Montana, but it is the specific details about what this means that we hope citizens will find useful.” Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , ,

Western Native Voice featured in Thursday gathering

Healing

Three years ago, my friend Adrian Jawort and I started the Native American Race Relations and Healing Lecture Series, which meets once a month at the Billings Public Library. In the three years since we kicked off this series, we have been striving to achieve two goals. One is to come up with a shorter name, which we have failed to do. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , ,

New downtown Billings plan asks people to ‘dream big’

Katy-plan

A strategic plan for downtown Billings that focuses on more housing, cultural diversity, better traffic and pedestrian circulation and support for large-scale, multi-anchor development was unveiled Tuesday morning. A summary of the “Dream Big, Downtown Billings” plan was presented to about 60 people in the Royal Johnson Community Room of the Billings Public Library. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

Panelists tell of racism, talk about ways to bring change

Panel

At panel discussion about racism Tuesday night, Jerry Clark said he didn’t think about race growing up in Barbados, where he and most everyone else was of African heritage. He said he learned about racism when he moved to South Florida at the age of 15, and then more formally during his years at college. When he moved to Billings, where he works for RiverStone Health, he said, he learned about another aspect of racial prejudice. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

‘Community Dialogue on Race’ set for Tuesday

Rally

Last summer, after violent confrontations broke out in Charlottesville, Va., where white supremacists gathered to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, Kari Kaiser was talking to a friend who also belonged to the Billings Rises group. Billings Rises was part of Big Sky Rising, which Kaiser described as a “volunteer army of concerned citizens” who came together after the 2016 election to encourage civic engagement and activism. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Panel to discuss ‘Civility in America’

“Civility in America,” a panel discussion with two professors, a journalist and a minister, is the next entry in the Billings Public Library’s Civil Conversation Series. The topic comes on Election Day for the U.S. House seat vacated by Ryan Zinke that will be filled either by Republican Greg Gianforte, Democrat Rob Quist or Libertarian Mark Wicks. Gianforte and Quist have bombarded the airwaves with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ads, many of them conveying negative messages about the other candidate. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , ,

Library hosts panel discussion of Montana literature

Liberry

Montana has become known for its rich history of books and writers, but how did that happen? Neighboring states like Wyoming and the Dakotas boast a handful of well-known writers, but with books and stories like “The Big Sky,” “A River Runs Through It” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” Montana established itself early on as a place that produces quality writers. Thursday night, the Billings Public Library will host a panel discussion about some of these writers and books, and panelists will bat around a few ideas of what it is about Montana that inspires such incredible literature. The discussion will start at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s Royal Johnson Community Room, led by local author Russell Rowland. The panel will also feature, High Plains Book Festival founder Corby Skinner, former Montana Poet Laureate Tami Haaland, Last Best News founder Ed Kemmick and MSU-Billings literature professor Rachel Schaffer. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , ,

Parents’ chilling story brings reality of racism home

Bigotry

The ACLU of Montana’s new indigenous justice outreach coordinator was the main speaker at a forum in Billings Thursday night, but it was a couple from Pryor whose chilling story captivated those in attendance. Meg Singer, a member of the Navajo Nation who earned a degree in Native American studies from Montana State University Bozeman, was hired for the new American Civil Liberties Union position last September. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , ,

At last, government starts paying me back

DC

Last month I received my very first Social Security check from the United States government. At long last, I am officially on the dole. I’ve already learned one thing: All of those conservative politicians were right when they said government checks discourage hard work. I haven’t felt like doing a darn thing all month. The world owes me a living, after all of these years, and I intend to cash in. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , ,