Latest
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Montana Moves Up On U-Haul Growth Index
When we couldn’t find good migration data for people moving from one state to another, I began using U-Haul prices as a proxy. For example, I would get online and see what the cost of renting a U-Haul from Bakersfield, CA to Eureka MT – and then reverse the trip. It gave me a proxy measurement that I could apply and better understand migration. U-Haul has cooperated by developing the U-Haul Growth Index available at – uhaul.com/about/migration – Montana rates 12th with an in-migration rate of 50.7%. It’s moved up from 24th. It is surprising that the rates of in-migration…
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A half-century ago, we were just beginning to work with the technology that allowed snow pillows to report their data remotely. Stahl was then a clockwork device that recorded snow-water equivalents on a chart – we’d open the case, roll up the chart, put a rubber band around it and send it off to Phil…
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There’s a special kind of cowardice in politics that doesn’t show up at debates, doesn’t file paperwork, and doesn’t stand behind a podium. It hides in comment sections. It whispers through group chats. It spreads through “heard from a reliable source” posts from candidates’ little circle of loyal parrots who somehow always seem to know…
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As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we do it from a very different society with much advanced technology. As I look at the founders, I realize that their trust in government – even a government of their own making – was a whole lot lower than ours. The story has…
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local
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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Not many years ago, if you were faced with a cluster of unacceptable clowns on your ballot, you could write a name in and cast a protest vote. Hell, I guess you still can – the thing is, your write-in protest vote won’t be counted or reported. With the elimination of subsection 7 last year,…