Missoula rockers Cosmic Sans get ambitious with new album and festival booking
While Missoula-based Cosmic Sans may boast a whimsical name, the self-described “Western psych” five-piece brings big goals and professionalism to its craft. In late March, the five-piece will perform two sets at Boise’s Treefort Festival, and in April the group will release its second full-length album, “Psychedelicatessen,” via the small Missoula label Drag Bunt Records.…
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As ski area celebrates 75 years, Whitefish looks to future amid changing climate
According to a 2017 study, most ski areas in the United States will see the number of days they are able to operate reduced by 50% by 2050 and by 80% by 2090. At Whitefish Mountain, which currently is open an average of 120 days every winter, that would mean being open for 56 days…
‘What did you do in the war?’
“Return,” about a retired Green Beret who embarks on a trip from Billings back to Vietnam, screens at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on Sunday, Feb. 19. Produced and directed by Billings-based filmmakers Pete Tolton and Stan Parker, the documentary is set against the backdrop of the complex context of the Vietnam War, but…
Billings, Kalispell hospitals explore potential merger
Officials said they had signed a “non-binding letter of intent” to explore the unification of the two systems. If everything goes according to plan, a definitive agreement would be in hand by this spring and the merger could be approved by the Federal Trade Commission this summer.
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BILLINGS
Billboard project in Billings celebrates Crow culture and people
A billboard near the intersection of Monad and Laurel roads in Billings is one of 53 put up across the country as part of a social-justice campaign advocating for artists and art installations in public spaces.
State unveils broadband access map, solicits grant applications
Data presented by the state broadband office indicates two-thirds of Montana addresses have current or pending 100 mbps service. Private internet providers who want to reach underserved areas can apply for help from a $266 million fund.
Hospitals recruit international nurses to fill pandemic shortages
Billings Clinic is just one of scores of hospitals taking this strategy. The demand is so high, and the nursing shortage so great, that there’s a backlog of thousands of international health care professionals awaiting visas to work in the U.S.
BOZEMAN
Explaining the why and the where of Montana’s new legislative districts
The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission finalized new state legislative district lines with commission chair Maylinn Smith breaking a tie in favor of the panel’s Democrats.
What exactly does a 2,500-square-foot lot look like?
House Bill 337 would force Montana cities to allow home lots as small as 2,500 square feet anywhere they provide municipal water and sewer access. But what exactly does a 2,500-square-foot lot look like?
The plight of Bozeman’s homeless people
Like an increasing number of Bozeman residents, Belinda and Steven Ankney live out of a vehicle. The couple of 13 years has been living in a trailer parked in a series of spots around Bozeman for two and a half years and has been working to get into a more permanent home that entire time.…
GREAT FALLS
Apartment boom, development debates persist in Great Falls
Tensions ran high in Great Falls city commission chambers this week, sparked by a proposal to greenlight the latest — and biggest — project in the city’s recent apartment boom. After a tense and at times haphazard public hearing Tuesday evening, the Planning Advisory Board and Zoning Commission recommended changing the city’s zoning map to…
Election skeptics spark post-midterm episode in Great Falls
According to Cascade County Clerk and Recorder Rina Moore, a group of election skeptics circled the county office building Friday as she, her staff and local party volunteers conducted a routine post-election process.
New music considers complex history of Montana’s Catholic missions
A new video album features violinist Megan Karls performing solo on location at St. Peter’s Mission near Cascade, St. Mary’s Mission in Stevensville, St. Ignatius Mission on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, also known as the Pink Church, near Harlem on the Fort Belknap Reservation.
HELENA
‘Transilience’ on display
After a statewide call to artists in 2022, nine people were selected to participate in “Transilience,” which will be exhibited at Helena’s Holter Museum of Art in tandem with “Transcend,” featuring large-scale painted portraits by Rae Senarighi that celebrate transgender, two spirit, and nonbinary individuals.
Helena institution Bert and Ernie’s closes after 48 years
It’s closing time at Bert and Ernie’s restaurant for the last time. After 48 years of business, the Helena institution turned off its lights Dec. 1.
Helena LGBTQ Drag Story Hour to proceed as planned, despite threats
An annual Drag Story Hour event for children is scheduled to take place as planned in Helena this weekend during one of Montana’s LGBTQ Pride celebrations, even as law enforcement organizations track threats against the event posted online by a self-proclaimed member of the Oath Keepers, a national anti-government militia group.
MISSOULA
County officials report relatively smooth election
Despite ongoing concerns over election skepticism, county officials described relatively few roadbumps in administering Montana’s 2022 midterm election Tuesday.
Gear library looks to break down barriers for Montana hunters
Access to gear poses a challenge for many new hunters, and DeAnna Bublitz had first-hand knowledge of that after entering the world of hunting as an adult. That knowledge, coupled with a desire to give back to the hunting community, led her to form DEER Camp with co-founder Madeline Damon.
Election skepticism and the search for a smoking gun
From “cast vote records” to nonprofit election grant documents, the recent spate of open records requests at county election offices in Montana mirrors a nationwide surge propelled in part by prominent pro-Trump critics of the 2020 election.