Week of November 15, 2024
November 1 marked the official open enrollment period for Americans to enroll in the marketplace, apply for Medicaid, or change their health care plans to better meet their needs. This open enrollment period is crucial for the 48 Carter County residents who lost Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids coverage because the window for people to reenroll is closing quickly. People have until January 15, 2025, to reapply, or they may have to wait until November 2025 to apply again....
October 9th, 2024 1) Call Regular Meeting to Order a) Roll Call Council: Mayor Buck Kratzer called meeting to order at 5:02 pm. The presents were Melissa Lovec, Andy Wright, Rex McCord. b) Employees Present: Calvin Jensen c) Appointed Officials Present: Carol Spencer & Kamely Harkins 2) Pledge of Allegiance 3) Public Comment/ Complaints: Public present were Chad Hanson with Great West Eng. and Pat Strickland. No public comments or complaints. 4) Presentation of Petitions and...
Republicans have swept the Montana Public Service Commission election, winning each of the three seats open this cycle and maintaining the GOP's domination of the commission. Commissioners are tasked with balancing the financial health of investor-owned utilities with the interests of their customers, who cannot shop for other providers. During this election cycle, voters in many of Montana's largest cities - Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Helena - were asked to...
Harold Arvik was born in Park Rapids, Minnesota in 1943, and is well known for being half Norwegian and half Swede and all that those titles entail! He grew up on a small dairy farm near Park Rapids and dreamed of being a real cowboy in Montana. As soon as he graduated high school, he and a buddy headed west to see about that dream. The friends landed in Custer, Montana, and Harold took a harvest job on a sugar beet farm. On that farm Harold met his future wife, Belva, who...
Senate and House Republicans, selecting leaders who will preside over the 2025 Legislature, chose Senator-elect Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, as Senate president and Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, as speaker of the House in caucuses Tuesday. The GOP holds majorities in both chambers for the eighth straight session of the biennial Legislature. Democrats chose Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, and Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, as minority leaders of their respective caucuses. The full...
Though he was born in New York City, spent some childhood years in Texas, and lived much of his adult life in Wisconsin, D.J. O'Malley was the quintessential Montana cowboy both in substance and style. Dominick John (D.J.) O'Malley, also known as Dominick White, the N Bar N Kid, and Kid White, was born in New York City in 1867 to a Civil War veteran father who died from his wounds when D.J. was small. His mother remarried a soldier, Charles White. The family was posted to...
To celebrate our hunting heritage in Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte launched the third annual Youth Hunting Story Contest in August for Montana youth and apprentice hunters ages 10 to 17. The deadline to enter the contest is Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. To enter the contest, hunters must submit a story of no more than 500 words and a photo from their 2024 hunt. Hunters must be Montana residents and licensed hunters or apprentice hunters between the ages of 10 and 17. Eligible entries include harvesting any legal game, furbearer...
Republican Troy Downing has won Montana's eastern U.S. House race by a wide margin over Democrat John Driscoll. Returns Wednesday morning showed Downing with a 66% vote share, or 174,247 votes. Driscoll, with 89,545 votes, or a 34% vote share, got the most bang for his buck. The Democrat was determined to spend less than $5,000 on the election. On Wednesday, Downing told Montana Free Press he is already lobbying Republican House leadership for committee assignments and a...
November 8 at Forsyth Ekalaka B: 0 4 16 20 Forsyth B: 19 21 48 56 Ekalaka B: Zavier Allison 6, Max Phelps 5, Kaden Loudermilk 3, Bentley Jardee 2, Jenry Walker 2, Judd Walker 2. Ekalaka A 7 9 15 20 Forsyth A 26 41 61 68 Ekalaka A: Jaxen Walker 9, Bentley Jardee 5, Trey Tauck 2, Grady Stieg 2, Jenry Walker 2 November 9 vs. Plevna Ekalaka B 3 5 9 19 Plevna B 12 23 35 37 Ekalaka B: Joby Owen 7, Bentley Jardee 4, Judd Walker 2, Jenry Walker 2, Zavier Allison 2, Gavin Reynolds 2. Ekalaka A 2 6 12 16 Plevna A 12 24 28 34 Ekalaka...
November 8 at Forsyth Ekalaka B 4 6 8 14 Forsyth B 4 8 18 20 Ekalaka B: Holly Walker 8, Peighton Matthews 2, Daisey Kratzer 2, Cora Wright 2. Ekalaka A 5 5 7 11 Forsyth A 6 12 22 30 Ekalaka A: Holly Walker 4, Lily Schallenberger 3, Cai Jesperson 2, Aubri Ashbrook 2. November 9 vs. Plevna Ekalaka B 6 11 11 21 Plevna B 4 14 25 30 Ekalaka B: Holly Walker 11, Peighton Matthews 10. Ekalaka A: 9 11 13 14 Plevna A 9 16 22 27 Ekalaka A: Aubri Ashbrook 6, Vera Strub 2, Cai Jesperson 2, Peighton Matthews 2, Lilli McCabe 1, Lily...
October 25 @ Terry Ekalaka B 2 13 25 31 Terry B 6 8 14 20 Ekalaka B: Peighton Matthews 10, Holly Walker 7, Sasha Yates 4, Clover Beach 2, Wyllow Tauck 2, Rose Rost 2, Cora Wright 2, Layla Pace 2. Ekalaka A 3 6 6 9 Terry A 4 6 11 15 Ekalaka A: Cai Jesperson 5, Oakley Spring 2, Lily Schallenberger 1, Kinley Miller 1. October 26 vs. Sacred Heart Ekalaka B 2 10 20 22 22 Sacred Heart B 6 12 14 22 25 Ekalaka B: Holly Walker 12, Peighton Matthews 2, Wyllow Tauck 2, Rose Rost 2, Cora Wright 2, Layla Pace 2. Ekalaka A 4 12 14 20...
October 25 @ Terry Ekalaka B 9 13 19 27 Terry B 4 8 9 13 Ekalaka B: Trey Tauck 8, Jenry Walker 5, Zavier Allison 4, Gavin Reynolds 2, Cooper Livingston 2, Judd Walker 2, Brandon Rosales Ramirez 2, Masa Hammel 2. Ekalaka A 5 9 14 20 Terry A 16 28 49 57 Ekalaka A: Jaxen Walker 6, Landry Shepherd 4, Grady Stieg 4, Ben Enos 2, Bentley Jardee 2, Joby Owen 2. October 26 vs. Sacred Heart Ekalaka B 2 5 7 9 Sacred Heart B 11 15 24 33 Ekalaka B: Brandon Rosales Ramirez 4, Judd Walker 3, Jenry Walker 2. Ekalaka A 3 11 25 37 Sacred...
The Lady Bulldogs' volleyball season ended at the 2C district tournament in Glendive last weekend. Their final overall record was 10 wins to 9 losses. CCHS opened tournament play on Halloween with a tough match-up versus the Broadus Lady Hawks. The Lady 'Dogs lost the match in four sets; 13-25, 25-22, 17-25, 7-25. Junior Nasya O'Connor led Lady Blue in most statistical categories. She had two of the team's 3 aces, 9 of 24 kills, all six of the team's blocks, and 18 of 86...
Having been elected to the Montana Senate, I wanted to give you a few updates. Even though there’s not a super majority this time, I’m encouraged to say we’ll have a conservative coalition this session and my hope is that we will stick together on the contentious bills we face. I anticipate another busy year with bills. The committees aren’t finalized yet, but the possibilities for me at this time appear to be Business & Labor, State Administration, Fish, Wildlife & Parks, or Energy & Technology. We’ll see whether...
The Carter County Attorney’s Office has become aware of a substantial increase in the number of criminal attempts to defraud and steal from Carter County citizens, especially senior citizens. Recently, local law enforcement officers have seen examples of the following criminal acts in Carter County: 1) Criminals pose as federal law enforcement or, even local law enforcement officers on the phone and demand payments from victims who are threatened with arrest or prosecution if the victims do not pay. 2) Criminals call as a...
I wanted to reach out and personally thank everyone for the kind words, prayers, donations, and overall support while I have been going through my recent health challenges. Your kindness and love means more to me than I know how to express and a million thank-yous doesn’t seem enough. When I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematoses, I had no idea the challenges I would face. After being well-managed for so long, things got a little more difficult in the spring of 2022. After almost two years of working with...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it might be fun to go back in time (for a short time) when life moved at a slower pace. We'll leave behind: high speed internet, cell phones, telephones, T. V., GPS and electricity. Back then, for us, was daily chores: milking cows, gathering eggs, cleaning chickencoop and barn, slopping pigs, feeding bucket calves, hoeing garden and plum trees, cooking meals from scratch, and in Autumn, making jams, jellies, canning fruits,...
One of the nicest compliments I receive is when readers tell me that they have hung my column on their refrigerator or mailed it to someone (often anonymously) to try to make a point humorously and semi-tactfully. Since we are going into the holiday feast season, and since several readers have asked me to rerun my code of conduct for the holidays column, I am sending out this list of Grandma's house rules that might serve as a gentle reminder for family dinner etiquette....
November 11, 2024 Ronda Cordell made a trip to the bank in Buffalo, on Monday. She was afraid the mail would be at ‘Pony Express’ speed through some far-off post office. Some of her mail has a new address, and the bank has changed her address to Capitol Rock Township with a South Dakota zip code. No one has been able to explain this change, or why this change has occurred. Ronda called the newspaper and Seaton Publishing, who tried to change the address back, but the computer would not allow the change. The letter had...
This week we will vote in a Presidential election that has the potential to change the course of our country. By the time this column runs, we will likely know the outcome of the 2024 election. Regardless of whom we chose to vote for, we have Veterans to thank for preserving our right to vote and our right to freedoms that we cannot take for granted. As Veteran's Day approaches, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all Veterans, but I especially feel deep sadness for those who...
November 4, 2024 Tie Creek and Capitol got some rain this week. It was actual rain, and the soft drizzle lasted all day. There were even puddles that the cats stared at, in surprise, and avoided with curiosity. Dick and Erma Albert had eye doctor appointments on Tuesday. Their prescriptions did not have to be changed, but Dick’s scratched lenses needed to be replaced. On Friday, they went to the Senior Citizen Dinner, and were glad to visit with Delores Sperle and some of her family. Church on Sunday was early. It was...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, a quick glance at the large colorful thermometer by the Beauty Shop shows "how the weather is doing", as weather is one thing most folks love to talk about, besides grain prices and grandkids, this thermometer 'sort of' lets you know "how the weather's doing." While chatting, Joni said, at the beauty shop the other day, conversations about church, café, kids, clothes, were quickly put aside, once the weather of the day and week...
