The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Readers of the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch have probably noticed that for several months our stories and updates have been pretty hit or miss – mostly miss. For anyone wondering about the future of Lincoln's only local news, I'll be blunt: the BVD's future with us is short. We will continue with our printing business, but unless we can find someone to take over the news business and website in the next few weeks, we anticipate closing down the BVD around the end of January. W...
Butch was born in Great Falls, MT on December 28, 1948. He lived in Great Falls until his family moved to Lincoln, MT in 1965. At this time, there was no high school in Lincoln, so he attended school in Helena, MT until he graduated from Helena High School in 1967. In early 1968, he joined the Navy with his best friend, Jim McClure. The two remained friends for over 50 years. While in the Navy, Butch was stationed on the USS Ajax as an Electronic Mechanic. During his...
Half a dozen kids took advantage of the recent belated snowfall to strap on cross-country skis and cruised through Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild with the Lincoln Outdoor Club Friday Feb. 9. The excursion marked the third activity for the Outdoor Club since December, after being dormant for a year. Club coordinator and Lincoln High School science teacher Nancy Schwalm said they had planned a ski day in January, but it was cancelled as record cold settled across...
Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild marked their 10th season last month with the return of some familiar faces who created two new installations in a 15-acre expansion to the sculpture park. “Two new installations will bring our total for art installations in the park to 24,” BPSW President Becky Garland told the dozens of visitors who showed up Sept. 23, for the new sculpture launch. “The other thing we’re really really happy about is that we just signed on with th...
Work at Sculpteuin the wild during the 2023 Artist in Residence....
LINCOLN, MONT. – This summer marks the 10th season of Lincoln's award-winning sculpture park Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild. BPSW celebrates the rich cultural, environmental, and industrial heritage of the Blackfoot Valley. The 26-acre park hosts 18 art installations by artists from Germany, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, the USA, and the Northern Cheyenne nation. Celebratory events will be happening throughout the summer. Below are some h...
It all began with an idea at the Lincoln Community Hall meeting. Now, with more than 20 organizations, the Lincoln Community Social (a.k.a. Get to Know Your Community and Neighbors Social) event is well on its way. The event, hosted by the Lincoln Community Hall and the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce at the historic Lincoln Community Hall, is scheduled for Friday, April 14, from 4-8 p.m.. There are four main reasons the thought of a community social came about: First,...
Community Social Comes to Lincoln Tammy Jordan It all began with an idea at the Lincoln Community Hall meeting. Now, with more than 20 organizations, the Lincoln Community Social (a.k.a. Get to Know Your Community and Neighbors Social) event is well on its way. The event is hosted by the Lincoln Community Hall and the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce and will take place Friday, April 14, 2023 from 4pm-8pm at the historic Lincoln Community Hall. There were four main reasons t...
LINCOLN, Mont. – The new year brought with it a new executive director for Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild. Jenny Bevill officially stepped into the leadership role for Lincoln's international sculpture park at the beginning of January this year. Though she carries a different title, Bevill's duties will largely be the same as those of former Artistic Director Kevin O'Dwyer, who retired from his role with Sculpture in the Wild after the 2021 residency. Since m...
The Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting that is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Thursday Nov. 10 at the Lincoln Library will center on how to keep the business organization viable for the future. The future of the LVCC remains in doubt as the two current remaining directors - President Laurie Welty and Vice President Victor Johnson are set to leave when their terms expire at the end of this year. Former treasurer Erin Dey stepped back into the role on an interim basis, but...
The Lincoln School Board resolved their recent coaching kerfuffle at their Oct. 10 meeting, approving Superintendent Jen Packer as the head girls basketball coach The recommendation to approve Packer for the position passed in a four-to-one vote, with trustee Wendi Dietz as the sole no vote. Deitz told the BVD that Packer has the credentials and provided the required letter of interest but elaborated on comments made during the meeting. She said her opposition had to do with...
It took a little longer than originally planned, but Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild saw the completion of two fresh installations during the first week of October. Northern Cheyenne artist Bently Spang put the finishing touches on his new piece, a collection of 30 interconnected lodgepole tripods, during the last week of September. "It just was quite an experience," he said Oct.6, when he returned to talk about his piece with Julia and Shanenon Starrett for a video...
Artist Stuart Frost returned to Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild this year to create a second installation for Lincoln's sculpture park. Frost, whose known for his wood creations featuring repeating forms and patterns, first came to Lincoln in 2019 to create "A Place is a Place is a Place," the cabin-shaped piece composed of slabs of wood cut in the pattern of a historic cross-cut saw. He planned to come back to Montana in 2020 with his wife, who had a residency...
For the past ten-and-a-half years I've seen Lincoln move from a town stuck in an economic rut to one that began to take control of its own destiny. The successful development of Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild showed Lincoln can do something new and unexpected and be more than just "stinkin' drinkin' Lincoln." People began look at ways to grow the economy beyond that, without making too many drastic changes to the community. Discussions that had been going on...
"This is my first time doing this," Said Allyssa Roggow, who was leading Lincoln grade-schoolers to various sculptures as part of the Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild education program . "I'm a musician based in Great Falls, but I've done some things with visual thinking strategies, which is a way of engaging with art that was developed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City." Roggow said visual thinking strategies is learner centered. Kids take a minute to...
When visitors arrive at Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild, the installation they are likely to see first is a cluster of lodgepole tripods created by Northern Cheyenne artist Bently Spang. "There will be at least 25 forms brought together to call attention to the number of peoples that are still here," he said. "Rather than seeing us in the past, it's symbolic of setting up a lodge, the beginning of setting up a lodge. It's kind of saying we're still here; we're still...
With so many new faces in Lincoln, the Lincoln Council for the Arts wanted to give a small update on things they are doing in the community and remind people of ways they can get involved. If you are a local artist and would like to be featured on our website and social media, the Arts Council would like to meet you. Lincoln Council for the Arts meets the third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the back room at Lambkins. They invite anyone interested in the arts, or those...
The Annual Lincoln Christmas Bazaar saw a busy day Saturday, Dec. 4. This year's Christmas Bazaar marked the first since Ann Pryor retired in 2019 after 30 years organizing the sale by crafters and artisans. For Jill Sallin, who took over as organizer, the bazaar was a bittersweet affair. She watched the ebb and flow of the crowd from behind a table laden with quilts, rugs, potholders and other useful creations handmade by her mother Jesse, who passed away last month. Jesse...
Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild recognizes International Sculpture Day Most of the visitors to Sculpture in the Wild Saturday were unaware it was International Sculpture Day but seemed delighted to find out they had chosen to visit Lincoln's sculpture park on the unofficial holiday. International Sculpture Day falls on the last Saturday in April every year. It was set up by the International Sculpture Center as a worldwide celebration of sculpture and to increase...
Sculpture season returns to Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild in September, featuring an artist originally slated to be here in 2020 and the return of an artists who was last here in 2019. Following a two-year delay, Northern Cheyenne artist Bently Spang will be here to create an installation reflecting his Native American culture. "We're real excited about him," said BPSW president Becky Garland. Spang was originally scheduled to create an installation during the...
For the last two years, the Music in the Wild performances in the Delaney Mill Teepee Burner have brought some of the state's best musicians to town nearly every weekend throughout July and August. It provides a free, unrivaled chance to hear a wide variety of musical styles – from blues to jazz to country, as well as the occasional guest speaker – in a one-of-a-kind setting....
Development of the Lincoln Community Master Plan continues to move forward after six focus group discussions met June 9 and 10 for a more detailed look at the major concerns identified in a survey circulated in March. Dustin De yong of Freestone Development, the contractor hired to develop the master plan, facilitated the discussions, which combined in person meetings and Zoom participation for those who couldn't be in Lincoln. "I know it was difficult for some people to...
Drivers in a rush to pass other cars as they head into or out of Lincoln will need a little more patience in the future with the Montana Department of Transportation's approval of an extension of no-passing zones on both the east and west ends of town. A recent review of data and field observations of traffic and driveway densities on Highway 200 near Lincoln provided justification for the extension. MDT conducted the observations on Highway 200 on both ends of Lincoln at...
On December 10, 2021, Lowell "Lonny" Cox, age 73, passed away at home under the care of his wife after an extended battle with cancer. Lowell Dean Cox was born on May 25, 1948 to Esther M. and William Rodger Cox, Jr in Helena, Mont. He joined a brother William (Sonny) R. Cox, III and a sister Myrth Cox Strainer. He was later joined by a brother Blaine Cox. Lonny grew up in East Helena, Mont. and attended schools in East Helena and Helena. Lonny started working at Schillers Ser...
Groups of people braved the chilly blustery weather last weekend to take a wagon ride with Billy Cyr and his team, Brutus and Sampson, through Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild during the Christmas stroll activities Saturday, Dec. 4....
