Apr252024
In advancing the agreement between the city and the county in the building of a short-term holding facility (STHF), the County Commissioners responded this week to the Billings City Council’s offer in February to contribute a total of $2 million to the cost.
The temporary holding facility will be built to hold inmates for only 72 hours. It is viewed as a read more
Apr252024
March 22 marked the first day that Matt and his wife Brittany Carter took over Anderson Sewer Services as the new owners. Matt and Brittany Carter purchased the well-known business based out of Shepherd from longtime read more
Apr202024
Dear Editor,
Dr. Garcia, SD2 Superintendent, will provide voters with a presentation describing the Safety Mill Levy and how funds will be spent on April 23 at 5:30 pm in the Billings Public Library. The program will be broadcast on Community Seven and available on Facebook and YouTube.
The needs for providing school safety have been changing and not in a good way. School shootings, student suicide, video gaming and social media have all played a role in desensitizing students to the use of read more
Apr192024
Signal Peak Coal Mine near Roundup is “in jeopardy”, President and CEO of Signal Peak, Parker Phipps, told Yellowstone County Commissioners last week. And, if it is in jeopardy, so are the jobs of its 260 workers – two thirds of which live in Yellowstone County. And, so are the approximately $211 million in taxes the company paid over the past three years to Yellowstone and Mussellshell Counties.
Mining operations will have to cease at the end of 2025, given the decree from US District Judge Donald Malloy, said Phipps. Judge Malloy issued an order in February 2023 prohibiting any expansion of the mine onto federal land, until another environmental impact study is done, as well as an analysis of impacts of greenhouse gases.
Not only does the suspension of its permit to mine federal coal impact the expansion into federal coal areas, but it blocks access to areas in which there is state coal deposits. “A lot of the coal is not federal coal,” said Phipps.
A report in Yellowstone County News from a year ago, stated that the Judge ruled the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) made “sufficiently serious” errors in their original analysis of Signal Peak’s expansion. The Enforcement Office “did not account for the emissions generated by coal combustion, obscuring and grossly understating the magnitude of the Mine Expansion’s emissions relative to other sources of greenhouse gases.”
Judge Malloy said that the additional studies shouldn’t take more than two years, but as that time frame diminishes and no study has been done, Signal Peak has filed suit against OSM. Phipps said “It’s difficult for me to believe that the office can’t get their work done in a timely fashion . . . it appears almost intentional.”
County Commissioner John Ostlund said he read more
Apr192024
At a special meeting of the Lockwood School Board, following a day of tours, social gatherings and interviews, board members unanimously chose Don Christman as the new Superintendent of Lockwood Schools.
Contending candidates were Leland Stocky, Ashland, and Don Christman, Lockwood.
Board member, Josh Skidmore, made the motion to extend the offer to Christman through the Montana School Board Association, which has assisted the board in its year-long search for a Superintendent. The motion was seconded by board member Sylvia Noble. In a second motion they approved offering Christman a three-year contract with an annual salary of read more
Apr192024
Montana property taxpayers have been granted an extension, to June 1, in the deadline to apply for two property tax relief programs.
Governor Greg Gianforte said he is extending the deadline to give Montanans with a substantial hardship time to apply for relief.
The extension applies to the Property Tax Assistance Program (PTAP) and the Montana Disabled Veterans (MDV) Property Tax Assistance Program, which were initially set for April 15.
Gov. Gianforte said that he worked with the state read more
Apr192024
Following a closed session of the County Water District board, last Wednesday, Board President Doug Kary announced that the board had unanimously agreed to accept a settlement offer from Pam Ellis and Yellowstone County.
The County Water District accepted the defendants’ offer that the district pay for $9500 of the defendants’ legal costs and to agree that Pam Ellis may rejoin as a member of the board to complete her term to the end of 2024.
Members at the board meeting on Wednesday were Doug Kary and Frank Ewalt, and Jeff Essmann, who attended virtually.
On Friday court documents were filed dismissing a read more
Apr192024
Members of the public are invited to serve on the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform, according to a news release last Friday from the Montana Legislature.
Senate President Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton) said on April 2, he is forming the committee to “look into overreach by Montana judges and develop solutions to restore the separation of powers among Montana’s three branches of government.”
“The Legislature is the branch of government closest to the people, so I’d love to have the people participate directly in this committee,” said Ellsworth. “If you have good insights to offer the Legislature as we look for reforms to address Montana’s out-of-control courts, please consider read more
Apr192024
Dear Editor,
I see where Elsie Arntzen is starting to have ads on TV. As she is a paid employee of the state of Montana, does this mean us taxpayers are supporting her campaigning? I, for one, do not want read more
Apr192024
Dear Editor,
When the Public Service Commission was created, generous salaries were set, but without specialized knowledge requirements necessary for the job. I asked about this odd matching and was told it was assumed that by setting the salary high, well qualified individuals would be attracted to the positions. I still can’t follow that thought process, and, unfortunately, it has led to unqualified professional politicians competing for lucrative voter paid jobs without read more
Apr192024
Dear Editor,
Jose Bustos has written something I can agree on. We are all gifted with talents and abilities by God as we are children of God. It matters, not about our culture, race or nationality, we are all human.
We were never intended to be cookie cutter copies of others, we are unique individuals. We have all grown up with read more
Apr132024
Dear Editor,
Kudos to Annie Halland for calling out Punxsutawney Jon on his definition of “Montana values.” Jon falls in lock-step with his fellow Washington rodent, Woodchuck Schumer when it comes to his voting. We are at a crossroads in America unfortunately. When your representative votes against the values of the citizens he or she represents, it is time to dump them. How dare Jon Tester supports illegal immigrants flooding our borders and killing our citizens!
I can understand his TV ads more fully now. Every time I watched Jon wiping his hands read more
Apr122024
Ervin Fischer
Born November 23, 1930, Hooker, OK, Died March 24, 2024, Billings, MT
Ervin was number six of ten children. His parents were Martin B. Fischer and Eva (Voth) Fischer. He was raised in a German Mennonite family. He spent two years in first grade learning English. At 17 he hitchhiked to Montana to work for his brother and to go to school at Senior High. He was drafted and chose the Navy. He spent 36 months at sea aboard the air craft carrier USS Corrigador CVE 58, going through the Panama Canal six times delivering airplanes. He came back to Billings again to work for his read more
Apr122024
Dear Editor,
Worried sick about increasing property taxes? Wondering if you can keep your home?… How can you cut your budget?…You are not alone. Every AA school district in the state is cutting millions from their budgets. Billings could not afford to keep Washington as an elementary school, and I fear more cuts are coming. The most needy among us are losing Medicaid in applications more messed up than our taxes.
Mr. Rogers used to say, “In times of trouble, look for the helpers.” But who will help?…
Not the Governor… He proudly stands with Texas as he sends them our troops, but he says he’ll put together a committee to look at our tax concerns.
Not the Legislature… Their lawmaking redefined obscenity: MORE TAXES…Less government …
Not the Attorney General…He’s spending untold millions of our tax dollars on private law firms defending unconstitutional laws the legislature continues to read more
Apr122024
Dear Editor,
Every six years Jon Tester puts on a Carhartt jacket, returns to Montana, and pretends he’s a moderate Democrat. One only has to look at Tester’s voting record to see he voted with Biden’s toxic agenda 91% of the time. Tester voted yes on the erroneously named “Inflation Reduction Act”, a tax/spend behemoth which every Republican in both the House and Senate voted against. It gave an additional $80 billion to hire 87,000 more IRS agents. It raised everyone’s taxes to pay for the far-left’s climate change hoax, while adding more regulation and taxes to the fossil fuel industry.
Instead of standing up for the interests of Americans, Democrats like Tester, have surrendered to the loud, Marxist radicals who have devoured their party. Those once, moderate Democrats are afraid of losing power, so they capitulate to the woke, extremist minority.
Tester voted for gun control, including unconstitutional red flag laws, and late-term abortions-up to the minute of birth. He votes however Chuckie Schumer tells him to vote, without consideration of his red state constituents.
Recently, during a late-night vote on the $1.2 trillion government funding bill, every Senate Democrat, including Tester, voted read more
Apr122024
Dear Editor,
April is the month that we recognize the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The Family Tree Nurturing Center has been in existence for the last 39 years. We started out as the Committee for the Prevention of Child abuse. Today we carry on the mission to help families and children read more
Apr122024
Pictured here is the “CemenTech,” Rocky Mountain Compost’s volumetric concrete mixer which provides fresh concrete on demand! At the job site, they input your job’s unique specifications into the Volumetric Concrete Mixer. In moments, your concrete is poured! The CemenTech eliminates the 4-yard minimum requirement. (courtesy photo)
Lockwood business, Rocky Mountain Compost (RMC), announced recently the purchase of a volumetric concrete mixing truck which they predict will make fresh concrete more available and less expensive in the Billings area.
The “CemenTech,” as it’s called, can mix fresh concrete on-the-go and allows an operator to serve multiple customers in one run.
Co-owners Bryce and Leslie Glen said they learned about the CemenTech at a convention called “World of Concrete” in January 2023.
“As we were walking through, we come across this truck,” said Bryce. “It’s a truck mounted machine.” He explained, “What we can do is have 10-13 cubic yards of material in the truck, and we can go to four different jobs before we’re empty. And at every job, we are making fresh concrete for that customer.”
In essence, the CemenTech will enable RMC to do business more efficiently and to provide more affordable services to its customers. The CemenTech also eliminates the 4-yard minimum requirement for contractors.
Office Manager Georgie Glenn said Rocky Mountain Compost can provide concrete to customers within two days to a week, which is significant because many concrete companies are read more
Apr92024
Dear Editor,
My name is Todd Devlin, a 4th generation farmer/rancher in eastern Montana. I have been a Prairie County Commissioner since 1995, and a past President of the Montana Association of Counties (MACo) in 2016 – 2017. I have been very involved in public land and natural resource issues both at the state and national level for over 30 years. Currently, I am the Chair of the National Association of Counties Public Lands Steering Committee and the executive director of the Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties.
After reading the editorial opinion authored by Senator Salomon opposing SB442 that tax revenue from marijuana was distributed unfairly to higher populated counties. We need clarification of the intent of 442. The intent was not to give tax dollars based on population, but rather used a formula to put the dollars where hunting, fishing, and recreation existed. Using Senator Salomon’s position on SB442 is that only counties that opted to read more
Apr72024
Dear Editor:
When the marijuana laws came up for vote by the people, I thought the tax monies were to go toward law enforcement and rehabilitation. I always assumed taxes were to benefit everyone, not a select few.
Now it seems the marijuana tax went to the general fund.
Years ago, some businesses used large read more
Apr62024
Dear Editor,
Where Did All the Fiscal Conservatives Go?
In 2022, the people of Montana elected Republican supermajorities to both chambers of the Montana Legislature. Even though the people of Montana elected large majorities of Republicans, the Republicans elected to the Legislature did not always act like conservatives. Instead, many Republicans participated in a spending spree, trying to spend as much money as possible. With so many Republicans in the 2023 Legislature, the real question is where did all the fiscal conservatives go?
When I served in the Legislature, the Republican Party fought for fiscal conservative principles. Even if we did not win every battle, we certainly had a read more
