Latest
-
America 250: Ten Small Towns That Made Us Who We Are
by Skylar Baker-Jordan, The Daily YonderJuly 6, 2026 The history of America is written not only in its great cities and skyscrapers. It can be found in Appalachian hollows, along the banks of the Mississippi, in southwestern deserts and on the prairies of the High Plains. Small towns and rural communities have contributed much to the epic narrative of our nation. As we celebrate 250 years of American independence, it is worth looking back at some of the small towns which have made us who we are. While places like Selma, Alabama, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, are etched in…
-
They will be sending ballots out in the mail this week – so it’s time to decide how my ballot will be filled. While “those bastards” have worked to make voting more difficult – I can no longer vote at Trego school, but must drive into Eureka if I want to avoid voting by mail,…
-
-
-
I was a little bothered by Pete Hegseth announcing that Nidal Hasan’s execution, by firing squad, would be public. Like most people, I lack experience with executions in general and military executions in particular. As I split firewood, my thoughts came to Kipling’s poem “Danny Deever”, and things clarified for me. The poem is a…
local
-
We started the Mountain Ear (both times) because we wanted better coverage of local news. There are so many board meetings, and all of them are important. The Tobacco Valley News faces the same problem we do- not enough people and too many meetings, and their focus is on a larger area. So we started…
-
An emergency meeting of the Trego school board was called again on May 4 at 4 PM to update the community on the methamphetamine contamination of the school grounds.. Although the meeting was poorly noticed, there were nearly 40 community members in attendance, these included parents, teachers, former students and teachers and interested community members.…
-
Earlier this week, a meeting was held to formalize the existing long-term relationship between the TFS Community Hall and the TFS Fire Department. Tables were set to form a circle, and the meeting began with introductions. It was a joint meeting meant to prevent future problems, without any reason to expect them. The issue: an…
-
An emergency school board meeting was held at the TFS Community Hall, Saturday at noon (which coincidentally is the time the Rendezvous Parade in Eureka began). The board acknowledged that they failed to provide adequate (48 hours notice) on the meeting, and cited the requisite MCA code allowing it in the event of an unforseen…
-
When I went to get some repair work done, the person I was consulting advised fixing the structural issues and then putting the same ancient dilapidated siding back on the building. The rational? Property taxes. Last summer, we joked about how much the nice flowers my mother had on their porch raised their taxes. They…
-
I spent most of a year away from the school after I finished my term. I attended a couple of board meetings because I was asked – on one hand, there was, at the least, the appearance of an unlawful board meeting . . . unlawful because it appeared to violate Montana’s open meeting law.…
-
Historically, independent voters, and voters for minor third parties, do not get a large percentage of votes. Often, they’re considered “spoiler” candidates, who lose the election for someone by dra4wing critical support away during a close race. Or their thought of as simply “protest candidates” with no chance of winning. In Montana, for the presidential…