My name is Travis Mateer and for the past seven years I’ve worked at the Poverello Center, an emergency shelter and soup kitchen in Missoula. When I started at “the Pov” in 2008, our nation’s economy wasn’t doing so well. The unsound lending practices of the big banks resulted in a housing bubble that caused significant economic misery when it burst. Ripple effects, like a decreased demand for timber, closed local mills and put people out of work. Shelters across the country struggled to meet the increased need. Continue Reading →
Joel Simpson
Recent Posts
Indian and white: Listening and other simple virtues
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Nobody said it was going to be easy. Billings authors Adrian Jawort and Russell Rowland took on a complex, divisive and longstanding problem when they started the Native American Race Relations and Healing Consortium last year. Their inaugural event, an all-day symposium featuring three different panel discussions, attracted nearly 75 people to the Billings Public Library in August. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: News, Adrian Jawort, Billings Public Library, Crystal Rondeaux-Hickman, Downtown Billings Alliance, Joel Simpson, Montana Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, Russell Rowland
Cops, community getting a handle on downtown Billings
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At this time of year in downtown Billings, Matt Lennick’s phone should be ringing a lot more than it has been. Lennick, a downtown resource officer who works for the Police Department but whose pay is covered by a special tax on downtown property owners, said he’s still waiting to see statistical comparisons between this year and last, but this year sure feels different. (more…) Continue Reading →