Sep272024

Yellowstone County News Endorses Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate

Montana-Statewide • Politics • Top Stories • Yellowstone County

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

Obituaries

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

Features • Huntley Project

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

Top Stories • Yellowstone County

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

Letters to the Editor

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

Letters to the Editor

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:

Politics

* 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

Politics

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

Politics

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

Local • Yellowstone County

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

Letters to the Editor

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

Top Stories

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

Sep242024

Sheehy Rallies with SD Governor in Billings

Politics • Billings

On Sunday, September 22, candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy held rallies in Billings, Great Falls, and Kalispell with South Dakota’s Governor, Kristi Noem.

The rally in Billings was held in an airport hanger and was attended by over 300 people. Sheehy and Noem were introduced by local legislator Jodee Etchart of MT HD 51. Etchart preached the importance of “showing up” in winning elections, a consistent theme among the speakers.

Tim started by thanking Etchart, as well as the people of Montana for helping him to grow from a relative unknown who had never run for office to now leading in every major poll for the last six months, despite being largely outspent. Sheehy stressed read more

Sep242024

He will do anything he can to hang onto power

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor

I’m disgusted by Jon Tester’s lack of virtue which was demonstrated by the full page ads in newspapers falsely accusing Tim Sheehy of shutting down our rural hospitals. Even for Tester, this ad is a new low designed to stir up fear in the hearts of our neighbors. It’s politics at its worst, orchestrated by none other than the “Big Sandy dirt farmer” who claims Washington hasn’t changed him.

Here’s the truth. Tim is read more

Sep232024

Only problem, there wasn’t a word of truth to anything Crisp wrote.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

David Crisp wrote a scathing article about Donald Trump.  Only problem there wasn’t a word of truth to anything Crisp wrote.  We know Tester & Kamala are world class liars and now Crisp has demonstrated he is part of the club.  I won’t attempt to correct all the lies and inuendoes Crisp laid out there as all have been clarified or corrected in other media and courts-even the Lame Stream Media is now admitting the vitriol against Trump is manufactured, and it is time to put it to rest!

I’m sure this isn’t news to anyone, but Kamala was unable to pass the bar exam. She found out Willie Brown (the most powerful politician in California at the time) was looking for a sex kitten.  Kamala spent the next several years at Willie’s beck and call anytime he desired sex.  Although wholly unqualified Willie made sure Kamala was elected San Francisco’s District Attorney.  Look up her record it is pretty dismal.  Then as the sex favors continued, Willie got Kamala elected to an even higher office for which she has no qualification – US Senator from California.  Look up her record, while in the Senate she voted farther left than Bernie Sanders.  Who would have ever thought read more

Sep222024

Do this and we can make America respectable again.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I read a quote recently that really hit home. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for good men to do nothing.” I need to do something. Today I want to state what I think a person should consider before running for President or any other office.

Read the job description. Understand what you are being elected to do. It is not about you. Then read “How to win Friends and Influence People.” Also read Proverbs frequently. Here is one that hits the mark: Proverbs 13:5 “A good man hates a lie. Wicked men lie constantly and come to shame.” Understand that you should not be the smartest man in the room. Use the philosophy of Henry Ford to surround yourself with people who make up for your lack of knowledge in key areas. Choose your cabinet and advisors carefully. Once you have made your choices, let them do their work. Do not turn your read more

Sep212024

Support MT Coal Rally in Roundup

Montana-Statewide • Politics

In May and July of this year, Senator Steve Daines proposed three pieces of legislation aimed to keep Montana mining operations alive, as well as to provide needed revenue for the Crow Tribe. Several local legislators and mayors are planning to speak at a rally in Roundup on Friday, September 27 in support of these proposals.

The Crow Revenue Act (S.4444) in conjunction with Senate bills 4431 and 4432 would read more

Sep212024

New Emergency Alert System Available – YCI

Top Stories • Yellowstone County

To better warn citizens about emergency situations, Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services is implementing a new emergency system called Yellowstone County Informed (YCI).

Citizens are encouraged to sign up to receive emergency notifications via texts, emails, cell phones, etc. at https:// member. everbridge.net/ 305943405396532/ new. The new notification system serves all residents of Yellowstone County in partnership with emergency service providers throughout the county and the City of Billings.

Annemarie Overcast, Yellowstone County Department of Emergency Services Coordinator, explained that the county implemented the new system because they had to have such a platform to access Integrated Public Alert and Warning System called IPAWS, a system which issues alerts from the Department of Justice, such as Amber Alerts.

There are many options in selecting a platform, explained Overcast and the County chose Everbridge. Since Everbridge allows each jurisdiction to brand their own system, County officials chose the name Yellowstone County Informed or YCI.

The system is very versatile and enables the city and county to issue read more

Sep212024

Meanderings – Best of Yellowstone County Editor’s Choice Award, Sam Bruner,

Huntley Project • Meanderings

Well, Folks, we are running a little late this year in announcing the winners of our Best of Yellowstone County Awards and feature the best professionals out there in our communities and industries.

Not only is it important to recognize all the winners this year but also the industry professionals that have won it this year. It must say something about the job they are doing in the community, for their clients and/or customers in the local Yellowstone County area. There are a number of businesses that have won the Best of Yellowstone County Award five or more years in a row. Do you know who they are?

As for the Editor’s Choice Award this year, I’ve chosen Sam Bruner, Huntley Project’s High School Principal, as this year’s Best of Yellowstone County Awards recipient. I’ve been to a lot of schools over the years and what he does stands out in a good way.

There are a lot of reasons for awarding Sam this Editor’s Choice Award.

I’ve sat back for years and observed Sam in action as he read more

Sep202024

Tester Breaks with Moderates on Senate Filibuster

Montana-Statewide • Politics

This past Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris told Wisconsin Public Radio that she supports eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass a codification of Roe v. Wade. If the filibuster were to be eliminated, the Senate would just need a simple majority of 51 rather than 60 votes to pass legislation. Harris has voiced support for ending the filibuster as early as 2019 while she was a senator, as she hoped to pass the Green New Deal.

Moderate Democrat Senators, including Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (technically both Independents, but caucus with Democrats) have since made public statements denouncing the elimination of the filibuster.

In a post on X, Sinema said, read more