Yellowstone County News was awarded Yellowstone County’s legal advertising contract by Yellowstone County Commissioners on Tuesday in a unanimous vote. read more
Oct182019
Jul172019
Crash claims another life on Hwy 312
Emergency Medical Services Personnel are reponding and attending to multiple injuries at a crash along hwy 312 and road 8 in Worden. (Jonathan McNiven Photo)
Two vehicles were involved in a T-bone collision just after 3pm on Wednesday, July 17thon Highway 312 and Road 8 in Worden with Montana Highway Patrol confirming at least one fatality and multiple serious injuries resulting from the accident. Help Flight was dispatched and MHP blocked off a large section of 312 in both directions while read more
May142019
OFFICIAL 2019 BEST OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY WINNERS
Well Folks, the ballots are in and we have some winners! Actually, we have 40 winners to be exact plus my Editor’s Choice Award winner that we will be announcing in next week’s edition of Yellowstone County News. Thank you for your patience and to all the readers and voters that participated in the process. We’ll be announcing even more things to come in the near future so keep your eyes glued to your paper as those announcements come to light.
Until then, Congrats to the winners of the Best of Yellowstone County Awards from our readers and subscribers.
JDM
Auto Repair/Auto Body – Blue Body and Paint
Bank or Credit Union – Stockman Bank
Car Dealership – Hertz Car Sales
Chiropractor – Heights Walk In Chiropractic
Dry Cleaner – Valet Today Cleaners
Farm & Ranch Supplier – Shipton’s Big R
Floral Shop – Evergreen IGA
Grocer/Grocery Store – Albertsons
Hair/ Beauty Salon – JJ’s Hair Fashion
Funeral Home – Smiths Funeral Chapels
Jeweler – Gold Smith Gallery
Child Care Center – Kountry Kare
Sporting Goods – Scheels
Home Furnishing – UFS Used Furniture Store
Tattoo & Body Piercing – Eagle Tattoo
Law Firm/Attorney – Crowley Fleck Law Firm
General Contractor – Langlas & Associates
Local Insurance Agent – Frontier Insurance, Ed Melcher
Landscaping – Good Earth Works
Sewer Services – Anderson Sewer
Electrician – Taylor Electric
Professional Photography – 406 Memories
House Keeping/Cleaning – Becky Carlson- Billings
Real Estate Agent – Chantale Hale EXP Realty
Steakhouse – Feedlot Steakhouse
American Restaurant – Bull Mountain Grill
Mexican Restaurant – Guadalajara
Asian Restaurant – Grand Garden
Health Care Provider – St. V’s Dr. Nichols
Alternative Health Care – Yellowstone Naturalpathic
Dentist – Prill Dentistry
Veterinarian – Lockwood Vet Dr. Jody Anderson
Massage Therapy – Chantel Hale
Gym – YMCA
Golf Course – Pryor Creek Golf Course
Museum – Yellowstone Art Museum
Educator – Cindy Sundheim, Shepherd Schools
Mar222019
Best of Yellowstone County ballots are in! Awards coming!
Well, Folks, it’s been a whirlwind of a week as there is so much going on that I don’t have enough time to get it all done.
However, here are a couple things to be aware of. The Best of Yellowstone County Awards has finished and we will hopefully announce those winners in the next week or two so stay tuned. read more
Mar222019
CodeRED is active
CodeRED is active
Yellowstone County’s emergency services are fully operational as participants of CodeRED. Now, to make the emergency alert system completely effective for the county requires the participation of citizens by downloading the CodeRed app.
The county’s Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator, KC Williams, explained that the focus of area emergency services leaders is to get the word out to get as many people as possible to register with CodeRED which will make notifications of emergency situations more effective than ever. In that effort they will be explaining the system to high school students, who will hopefully carry the information home to their parents and grandparents, he said.
There is no charge to get the app, and once registered on a land line or mobile telephone number it will notify the recipient of all alerts within a 25 mile radius – alerts regarding weather, missing persons and all kinds of other emergency situations.
The Yellowstone County CodeRed Emergency Notification System provides the public with the ability to receive voice, test and /or email notifications generated by government and public safety officials.
To register for the service (app) go to http:// www. co. yellowstone .mt.gov / des/
For assistance call the Yellowstone County Emergency Management Information Line at 406 256-2775.
Oct32024
U.S. Senate Debate: Sheehy Dominates a Docile Dog Fight
On Monday, September 30, Senator Jon Tester and Republican candidate Tim Sheehy debated in an event hosted by Montana PBS and the University of Montana.
Before the debate, Tim Sheehy and conservative activist Charlie Kirk held a “Save the Big Sky” rally at the university, which was attended by several hundred students and observers.
In the aftermath of some more explosive presidential debates, this one seemed rather milquetoast outside of a few interruptions from Senator Tester.
At the start of the debate, Tim Sheehy thanked Senator Tester for his years of service to the state and country as a senator, an action he repeated at the end of the debate as well. Notably, Tester did not once thank Sheehy or his wife for their service as combat veterans.
So far, the most viral exchange of the night was read more
Oct12024
State of the Race: Montana U.S. Senate Election Outlook
With less than five weeks until election day, here is a quick overview of the state of the Montana U.S. Senate election mainly between Democrat Jon Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy. read more
Oct12024
Breaking: Huntley Project and Mandy Morales part ways in direction of basketball program
Huntley Project School District (HPSD) has decided to not renew Mandy Morales’ contract for the Girls Basketball Head Coach position, citing contract differences. Morales was high school assistant coach for the high school girls’ basketball for two years and then head coach for three years. Superintendent Mark Wandle stated, read more
Sep282024
Conservatice Corner: A Shadow Campaign
Remembering a morning walk through Ann Morrison Park years ago…we move from under a canopy of trees into the bright sunshine. Our toddler son runs into the bright sunlight first. He stops. Looking at the ground he slowly lifts one foot up, then the other. He sprints in a circle looking down shouting, “Don’t like it! Don’t like it!” His mother bends down and gently asks, “Don’t like what?” He jumps into her arms and points to his shadow.
His older sister begins to laugh uncontrollably. I crack a big grin myself. This is serious business for him, though. My wife explains to him that it is just his shadow, and continues read more
Sep272024
Election Department Asks for federal funds for More Workers
Because they are having trouble filling the positions needed on Election Day to monitor and process the voting process, Ginger Aldrich, who heads the Yellowstone County’s Election Department, has received approval of Yellowstone County Commissioners to request funding from the federal government.
The county department is requesting $28,310 from Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which was passed by Congress in 2002.
“Yellowstone County finds it difficult to recruit and retain read more
Sep272024
Call to End to Inaccurate Attacks on Montana Businesses
Dear Editor,
Bipartisan Letter from Montana Business Leaders
Small businesses are at the heart of all American communities—nowhere more than here in Montana. From agriculture to technology, our business leaders understand far better than professional investors and opinion writers that starting and managing businesses are risky efforts, with the goals of getting to profitability and staffing the needs of the business constantly buffeted by headwinds such as market uncertainty, lack of capital and even uncertain weather.
Which brings us to the recent attacks on Bridger Aerospace and its founder, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. While we seek and value engagement by all interested voices on the issues that matter to Montanans, when that engagement comes in the form of a thinly disguised political attack timed to impact an upcoming election, the motivations of the critics become a more important factor to consider: Why is this criticism being leveled now? What are they hoping to accomplish? With those lenses in place, we can look at the read more
Sep272024
Huntley Project Senior Commits to Playing Women’s Basketball at Gonzaga
Paige Lofing of Huntley Project drives to the basket during a state tournament game against Columbus March 2023. (YCN staff photo)
Huntley Project High School senior, Paige Lofing, has committed to play women’s basketball at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Lofing, a three-year all-state player, announced the commitment on Instagram Tuesday with the community immediately expressing support and congratulations. Activities Director Tim Kaczmarek stated in an interview, “I’m super excited for her. She set herself a goal and put a lot of work, effort and sacrifice over the years to get to this point. She is a good kid, a good student, and has proven to be a good role model for the younger kids at the school.”
Lofing chose to commit to Gonzaga after considering other schools such as read more
Sep272024
Meanderings: The Importance of this Senate race, Our decision to Endorse Sheehy
Jonathan McNiven
Well, Folks, as many of you saw on the front page of our newspaper this week, we have made the choice to endorse Montana U.S. Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy over MT Senator Jon Tester. This decision was not taken lightly as we have never publicly endorsed a candidate before in this manner in the 10 years since taking the helm. There were a number of additional reasons for doing this that I felt were more appropriate in my Meanderings column than in our editorial column. If you agree or disagree, please send us a letter to the editor and let us know at letters@yellowstonecountynews.com. Make it 500 words or less and put your name at the bottom of your letter with your town or city. We’ll get it in our next week’s paper.
But before explaining why, I want to remind you that we will publish our read more
Sep272024
Yellowstone County News Endorses Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate
US Senate candidate Tim Sheehy addresses a crowd of 300+ attendees in Billings Sunday afternoon September 22 at an airplane hanger next to Billings Logan International Airport. Tim Sheehy has received a “thumbs up” endorsement from the Yellowstone County News as the best candidate in this race that will help support our economy and secure our border. The economy and border security have resonated as the top two issues from Montanans in this race from Yellowstone County. You can read the reasons for this rare endorsement in the article as well as in McNiven’s Meanderings column starting on page 2. (photo by Jonathan McNiven)
Given the gravity of the Montana’s U.S. Senate race this election cycle, the YCN editorial board has decided to endorse a candidate for the first time in its history. The YCN editorial board endorses Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate over the current Senator, Jon Tester, and other third-party candidates.
We believe Sheehy outperforms Tester in the top two issues facing Montana voters as indicated by recent polling, these issues being: the economy and border security.
Regarding the economy and the more fundamental issue of grocery costs being up over 40% since January of 2021, we believe Montanans simply cannot read more
Sep272024
Obituary: Paul George Odegaard
Paul George Odegaard
Paul G. Odegaard, 94, of Billings, died on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, surrounded by family.
Paul was born on Aug. 6, 1930, in Hankinson, North Dakota, the son of E. Julius and Minnie (Milbrandt) Brummond. Upon his parents’ divorce, he lived with his mother and her new husband, Herman Berg. Paul was adopted by Herman Berg. After Minnie’s death, he was raised by his adopted father Herman and his new wife, Kathryn.
Following periods of illness, Paul was placed into the North Dakota Children’s Home (The Village) in Fargo, North Dakota. He was later adopted by Alfred and Christine (Gross) Odegaard of Cleveland, North Dakota.
Upon graduating from Cleveland High School, he worked on the family farm and went on to work in heavy construction. Soon after, he met Kay Anderson, and they married on July 19, 1957, in Grand Forks, North Dakota. They celebrated 67 years together. They traveled many places for Paul’s work before settling in Billings. Together, they raised four children: Paula, Shayne, Troy and Shelley.
After retiring, Paul and Kay read more
Sep272024
The Beanery Moves into New Kiosk
Chelsea and Shane Hensleigh plan to open their new and approved kiosk for The Beanery on September 30 in Huntley. The kiosk, in the works for a few years now, was originally planned as a storage shed but according to Chelsea, it was just built too nice to not be their new coffee kiosk. With the old kiosk showing significant wear and tear and the new kiosk complete, the Hensleighs decided last week to make the switch. The Hensleighs are excited to bring the same product with a much more efficient set up, hopefully allowing them to serve the community more quickly and keep lines short. Chelsea was adamant about keeping consistency a top priority for The Beanery; she believes providing customers a consistent experience from service to coffee products will allow her to serve the community with a great product for years to come.
Chelsea, originally from St. Ignatius, MT, has been in the coffee industry read more
Sep272024
MontanaFair Sets Records
MontanaFair set new records on many fronts this year, according to MetraPark Manager Stoney Field.
Total paid gate numbers set a new record, as did concession sales commissions, carnival rides and sponsorships. The benchmark they were comparing to was 2022 and “We beat all those numbers,” said Field.
Field went on to report that they have put out a request for bids for design of the proposed outdoor arena, which is causing “a ton of excitement in the industry and will present new opportunities for next year’s fair. He said that there are already people planning roping events for it. They will soon issue a request for bids for sheets for bucking shoots and panels.
Also paving will soon begin on the ARPA Expo lot.
Michaela Woemrner, MontanaFair Coordinator, said MontanaFair was “phenomenal.” She said there were over 8000 entries for read more
Sep272024
We want followers of whatever fad or thought of the powerful
Dear Editor,
With our profit-oriented society, privatization is subject to interpretation. Businesses cut back on material and quality to cut cost, yet increase price. As to health care, to some it means one has to purchase insurance at whatever price the insurer askes.
If you are talking about medical care then one would have to do away with the AMA and FDA, who dictate what procedure, methods and drugs can be used. Much like the AP and UPI, this is what you can print.
Read an interesting piece, “We hoard resources while our neighbors are hungry and cold. We speak in ways that silence others. We are silent when we should read more
Sep272024
Thanks, Jonathan, for your eye-opening work on propaganda sent out by out-of-state newspaper
Dear Editor,
In the September 13, 2024, issue of your paper I read the Editorial by Jonathan McNiven concerning a newspaper called the “Montana Independent”. I read many articles that state things but being inquisitive type person, I like to check the facts as stated, and I found a website that does just that called “www.INFLUENCEWATCH.ORG”, this program is provided to the public by a non-profit organization called “CAPITAL RESEARCH” based in Washington, D.C. I did some checking and found that the facts stated by Jonathan were true with even read more
Sep262024
Between the Lines: A few notes about the election:
* It’s striking how quickly Republicans have moved from blaming the last four years on Joe Biden to blaming them on Kamala Harris. It’s as though they have forgotten how limited the powers of the vice president are.
John Nance Garner famously characterized the vice presidency as not worth “a bucket of warm spit,” even though the actual term he used was more scatological. Disparagement of the vice president’s powers go back to our earliest days as a country. When our first vice president, John Adams, wondered how he should be addressed as president of the Senate, Benjamin Franklin suggested, “His superfluous Excellency.” A senator suggested the portly Adams be referred to as “His rotundity.”
* Critics of Harris discount the read more
Sep262024
The Border Czar
Did Kamala forget that as the Border Czar of the United States her actions on illegal immigration would be highly visible? This visibility, I might add, shows a job of utter failure, if not a downright dereliction of duties. Mainstream media is aiding and abetting this dereliction by providing cover.
Cover…meaning her dereliction of duty is never reported, and if one calls her by her given title (3/24/2021), Border Czar, you are denigrated for misinformation. We all know, no matter how many times Kamala denies, she had the authority, and is therefore responsible for the illegal immigration. Meaning, she is responsible for all the results of illegal immigration.
The success of the Kamala-Tester augmentation of illegal drug flow across our borders was noted in the YCN, on 8/8/24. These failures alone would disqualify any other candidates. It is even worse, though. We have yet to note the nefarious human trafficking.
Let’s look at the Border Czar Kamala’s administration (Kamala’s administration because all know Biden’s been a puppet) stats. The 2023 Modern Slavery Index reports that there were almost 1.1 million read more
Sep262024
Does redressing government misdeeds make one a liberal? OK then, call Tester a liberal
TV ads arguing that U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, is too liberal because he voted against aid to white farmers raised this profound question: Huh?
What does Tester have against white farmers? He is one, right?
The ads, placed by the Senate Leadership Fund, explain themselves in such small type and for so few seconds that I had to pause an online version to make out what the ad was about. You can decide for yourself whether Tester cast the right vote.
Warning: If you are tired of these ads, brace yourself. Axios reports that the Leadership Fund, a political action committee connected with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, plans to spend $25 million by election day on the race between Tester and Republican challenger Tim Sheehy. As of Sept. 11, according to Open Secrets, the fund had spent $4.7 million, all of it on negative ads about Tester.
The ad in question is about a vote Tester cast in March 2021 to defeat an amendment to the American Rescue Plan Act. The amendment, supported by all Senate Republicans, would have removed read more
Sep262024
Laurel Gardens Seeks CDBG Grant
The Yellowstone County Commissioners set a public hearing for Tuesday, September 24, 9:30 am, seeking public comment on a proposed application to the Montana Department of Commerce’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program for a grant to fund the second phase of the rehabilitation of Laurel Gardens, located at 313 South 8th Avenue.
Laurel Gardens is an income-based apartment community, subsidized by HUD. Tenants pay 30% of monthly adjusted income and must fall in read more
Sep262024
Healthcare for Working Montanans: Let’s Keep What Works
Dear Editor,
Healthcare for Working Montanans: Let’s Keep What Works
We’ve all heard the age-old maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That applies to our state’s healthcare programs that ensure working Montanans stay healthy, hospitals thrive, and windfall returns on investment for taxpayers and patients.
One of my goals for the next state legislative session starting in January is to keep looking out for Montanans. An essential part of this is protecting the Medicaid program, which provides healthcare for lower income working families who often work two or more jobs.
This program helps workers, the small businesses that employ them, and is an essential part of healthcare for rural Montanans. In 2015, Montana expanded Medicaid coverage just as 40 other states have done.
And it’s working: the state’s uninsured rate is down by more than 50 percent while ER visits and hospitalizations have read more
Sep252024
High School Baseball Comes to Huntley Project
Huntley Project School District has joined a regional trend by approving a proposal for a high school baseball program for the 2024-2025 school year. Billings School District 2 has also announced a baseball program in the last year. Huntley Project Activities Director Tim Kaczmarek informed the board that after surveying students at Huntley, he was able to identify around 26 students who were interested in joining a high school team, including four of which who already play in the American Legion league in town. Season conflicts between Billings SD2 and American Legion helped spur Kaczmarek to start a baseball program in Huntley. Kaczmarek said, “Our kids are missing out on a couple months of practice due to read more
