Nov122021
Dear Editor:
For the first time ever in the history of Arlington National Cemetery, any person can walk to the base of The Tomb of the Unknowns and place a flower or flowers to honor the memory of those American service personnel who have given their lives in defense of freedom. Arlington National Cemetery is live streaming this event. read more
Nov122021
On Tuesday, the Biden administration asked a federal appeals court in New Orleans to lift a temporary order halting a federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate on private businesses, while warning employers that they should comply with the mandate despite the “stay.” read more
Nov122021
County Commissioners passed a resolution of intent to adopt interim regulations governing the sale and production of marijuana in the county, outside city boundaries. The temporary regulations will be in effect for a year, at which time state law requires that the commissioners adopt more permanent regulations – that is, if the county doesn’t put the issue on a county-wide ballot in the interim. read more
Nov52021
The most welcomed results of the election on Tuesday, for the City of Billings was the success of the Public Safety Mill Levy. The measure was passed by a comfortable margin, 19,839 to 12,787. read more
Nov52021
Doris Jean Roberts
Doris Jean Roberts (Haley) went to heaven on October 28, 2021. She is survived by her loving husband, Keith Roberts, her six children: Heather (Jason), Kristy (Aaron), Zara, Amber (Adrian), R.J., K.C. (Myranda); 10 grandchildren: Jameison (Ashleigh), Kniles, Jace, Kaeden, Leona, Lexis, David, Jacob, Avery, and Kasyn; siblings, Cindy (Bernie) and Becky (Jim); numerous nieces, nephews, and other loving extended family including the Bochert, Efaw, Haley, Roberts, and Nitchman families. Her parents, brother (Rick), granddaughter (Ashlynn), and other extended loved ones preceded her in death.
Doris was a loving devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and sister. She had proudly served in the United States Army.
Nov52021
\Henry Weschenfelder
Henry Weschenfelder went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, October 25, 2021, after a long battle with cancer.
He was born August 20, 1933, in Park City, MT, to Conrad and Katie Weschenfelder. They lived on a farm near Park City where Henry was raised and learned to work side by side with his dad. All of his schooling was in Park City, and he was on their first ever football team in high school. “Football was his favorite subject.”
Henry stayed on the farm and married his high school sweetheart, Lillian Sitzman on March 9, 1952. He enjoyed telling people that they both started first grade together, so they have been together all their lives. They had three children who were all raised on the same farm. read more
Oct292021
Marvin A. Steadman
Marvin A. Steadman, 88, passed away in his home after a long illness.
Marvin was born in Broadus, MT, on April 17, 1933, to James Milton Steadman and Anona Pearl Macy.
As a boy, Marvin wanted to be a cowboy. He realized his dream at 14 and 15 years old when he rode saddle broncs in the local rodeo. The rodeo paid him $5 to ride the horses out of the chute. During his rodeo years, Marvin became fast friends with the Greenoughs and Lindermans. Even though he rode for only two years, Marvin had many fond memories of his time spent on the rodeo circuit.
When Marvin was 17 years old, he enlisted in the United States Navy. After three months of boot camp, Marvin was sent to North Korea where he was part of a unit called the Sitting Ducks of Inchon. He spent three years serving our country. He was very proud of being a Korean War veteran and serving with his brothers and sisters in arms. read more
Oct292021
Ellen Decker
Ellen (Dee) Decker was born on May 7, 1943, in Hughesville, MT, to Jim and Helen Crants. She grew up in Wolf Point and graduated high school in 1961. While working at the Tastee Freez, she met her future husband, Jim. They married on July 11, 1963. The couple lived in Glasgow, Wolf Point, Chinook, Whitefish and finally Billings, where Jim and Dee both called home for the rest of their lives. Along the way, they welcomed three children: Susan, Tracey and Craig.
As a stay-at-home mom for many years, Dee shared her love of reading, swimming, ice skating and the outdoors with their children. Her family was fortunate to have an endless supply of her delicious home-baked bread, fry-bread, canned fruits and jams always available. She sewed tailor-made clothes for her children and later took up knitting blankets, scarves and mittens for her friends and family. She never met a home improvement project she wouldn’t try, and she loved working around the yard, creating beautiful flowerbeds and seating areas to enjoy the sunrise and her morning coffee with her cat, Smoky. read more
Oct292021
At the 2021 Fall Annual meeting for the Montana Association of Counties, Yellowstone County Commissioner Denis Pitman was re-elected as chairman of the Urban Counties. Cascade, Flathead, Gallatin, Lewis & Clark, Missoula, Ravalli and Yellowstone comprise the Urban counties committee, and it also places Commissioner Pitman on the executive board of directors for MACO, and at the forefront of policy and advocacy for the people of Montana.
Oct292021
The Billings Heights Water District board accepted the resignation of its general manager, Duke Nieskens, during its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday evening. Nieskens has served as the district’s general manager for the past 19 years. read more
Oct292021
A Mexican national who admitted to using personal information stolen from another individual to live and work in the Billings community for years was sentenced today to 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. read more
Oct222021
Eugene Thomas Oblander
Eugene Thomas Oblander (Tommy/Opa) was born in Billings, MT, to George and Lydia Oblander on Feb. 16, 1940. He was the youngest of four. Tm spent his life on the family farm raising beets, corn, and wheat. He met and married Linda Starr in 1966. They had two children Rocky and Kim.
Tom enjoyed going to his kids’ sporting events. They owned a bar, Lindya’s Scoop, in Billings that kept them busy. He retired from farming and enjoyed chasing after his seven grandchildren. He often loved playing jokes on them. Tom lived in Ballantine until this last fall when he moved in with his son Rocky to be taken care of. He left this life surrounded by family. read more
Oct222021
The Stillwater Building in downtown Billings has been purchased by the City of Billings and will eventually house all of the city’s offices and various departments. (Jonathan McNiven Photo)
The City of Billings has closed on the purchase of the Stillwater Building, which was the former James F. Battin Federal Building. The city wants to move all the municipal offices, including police and courts into the five-story building at 316 N. 26th. The purchase was approved in 10-1 vote of the City Council. read more
Oct222021
Gavilon opened a new grain facility last week and launched a grand opening celebration with producers at the Huntley facility that serves area producers. The facility boasts a state-of-the-art slip form concrete elevator with 750,000 bushel storage capacity and more than 1,500,000 external storage. The facility also was built with several efficiencies, including the ability to unload trucks at two receiving pits, each with 38,000 bu/hour capacities, as well as a 120-car shuttle loading capacity along the railroad spur located next to the facility. Although construction is not complete, temporary storage is provided for grain until necessary adjustments have been made. This drone image shows the progress that has been made at this point in construction (drone Image by Jonathan McNiven).
Gavilon announced that their new grain facility in Huntley, Montana, is officially open. They launched with a grand opening and producer appreciation celebration. The grand opening was conducted as more of a producer appreciation event for local wheat producers. At the event they also brought in ag trading and economic experts from their Omaha headquarters to provide a presentation that included a marketing outlook and details on producer marketing solutions. read more
Oct152021
James “Jim” Robert Ruland
James “Jim” Robert Ruland was born on September 9, 1941, to Andy and Lucille (Morris) Ruland in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Jim was raised in Ballantine, MT, and spent most of his life hanging out in the “Project.” He was always known as a hard worker, and he got his first job working as a ranch hand at age 14. Jim got his GED through Huntley Project High School and went on to join the Navy during the Vietnam War Era in 1962. He was an Airman and was stationed at the Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island, Washington. Serving on an aircraft carrier, he was a member of Heavy Attack Squadron Four. Jim was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and transferred to the Naval Reserve in 1964. He served there until 1966. He was a proud veteran that served his country well. read more
Oct152021
It has long been the case that the Lockwood Fire Department has been frustrated with the loss of newly trained firefighters to other districts in the state. Assistant Fire Chief Karim Eshbaugh suggested that the district should reevaluate what it is they do. Rather than running a “Reserve Program,” he said, the district is running a “Training Program.” His suggestion is to “develop a training school in a better way for the district.” read more
Oct152021
Dear Editor,
You can tell times have changed. Years back there was a gas station on every corner, then there was the fast-food fad, followed by casinos. We now have banks and insurance agencies on every corner. For a country who is supposed to show no fear, we fear losing our money the most. We support the protection racket for fear of losing anything that might cost us repair or responsibility. We hear “It’s okay, the insurance will cover it, or “That’s why I have insurance.” And everyone wonders where their money went.
Lauris Byxbe
Pompeys Pillar, MT
Oct152021
On Wednesday, October 13, County Elections Director Brett Rutherford mailed out 93,000 ballots to voters in Yellowstone County, Billings, Laurel and Broadview. Most should have their ballot by Friday, said Rutherford. read more
Oct152021
Lake Elmo continues to drain while a trackhoe digs a trench, bottom left, to allow water to better drain Wednesday morning. Other options will be used in the coming weeks to help drain the rest of the lake as more shoreline is exposed. (Drone Image by Jonathan McNiven)
The water level at Lake Elmo has been receding as of Sept 1st. This is an attempt to eradicate the invasive Asian clam species that has invaded the lake. The plan is to keep enough water remaining to provide irrigation water running until October 15th. According to Mike Ruggles, “this week we will be transitioning to pumps rather than gravity to keep the drain going…Would love to see a bunch of people working to catch fish.” read more
Oct82021
The Biden administration recently announced support for a push by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to strip intellectual property protections from Covid-19 vaccines.
