The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Busy people get things done… or do they? When I resided in Billings for a few years, I was pretty active in a variety of things, including working two jobs, one full-time and another almost full-time. I was also going through a class called the Montana Artrepreneur Program (MAP) in an effort to build a more successful fiber art business. I was the co-chair and secretary for the local spinning guild, on the planning committee that organized a large festival each year, and v...
Dear Dietitian, I’ve recently stumbled upon a few articles touting a return to the diets of the 1950s, which were influenced by war-time rationing. They say people ate healthier. What are the pros and cons of following a typical diet from that era? Sincerely, Rick Dear Rick, These days there are several ways to eat healthy, and sometimes this can be confusing for people. Recently, there has been an interest in returning to a 1950s style of eating, but did people really eat h...
I was just thinking about a short time ago when I had gone into a little café for lunch. I was sitting there having my meal when a young family of four came in. As soon as they sat down, their phones came out. Not a word was said by any of them. The mom and dad and the two young children sitting with their heads down staring at their phones. The only words that came out of their mouth was when a waitress took their order, then they were back glued to their phones. Even when...
From the beginning, Flathead Lake Biological Station has had a wide-ranging approach to science. FLBS Assistant Director Tom Bansak explained the three parts of the bio station's mission: research, education, and outreach. RESEARCH AND MONITORING Research has always been the station's main function, but FLBS has grown quite a bit since the early days. FLBS has assembled a long history of research and monitoring, which has resulted in much scientific discovery and insight, as w...
Dear Dietitian, I'm familiar with the food pyramid and five food groups used to help guide food choices over the years. I see some older references to seven food groups. What was this about, and why have we changed things over the years? Thanks, Joe Dear Joe, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published nutrition guidelines since 1894. It has changed over the years, and the more things change, the more they stay the same. In 1943, there were the "Basic 7" food...
Just wanted to send out a big Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to all the wonderful folks at D & D Foodtown. When I came back to Lincoln in 2018, before I had made my decision to move, I had stopped in the D & D and that is where I first met Makenzie Storey. Her big smile really made me feel welcome when I came into the store and I got to thinking to myself, "If everybody is as kind as her, I think I will move back here." Makenzie is definitely one of the many reason why I did come...
Well it is now March and that means we will soon be moving our clocks ahead one hour, filing taxes, and yes, the start of baseball season! Of course, that also means fishing season in the streams is getting closer, soon elk will be calving and deer dropping their fawns. Spring is definitely a great time of year, and even more so this year as we have been blessed with a winter that has not been near as long as the past several. However, that could change between now and...
Editor's note: As some of our readers may know, Dick Geary passed away early last week. Dick's recollections of Helmville and the Blackfoot Valley he knew growing up, as well as his accounts of his time Brazil, provided a perspective on both the culture of our area and his own personal foibles. Dick's columns have been a popular feature in several Montana newspapers over the years, and we began running them in 2016. A look through our rather limited archive of his articles...
Dear Readers, By now, you probably know someone who has adopted a vegetarian diet. Estimates put vegetarianism at around 5% of the American population (1). That may not sound like many, but it comes to roughly 16.5 million people. People cite different reasons for converting to vegetarianism, from better health to environmental factors to better treatment of animals. There are various types of vegetarians, but all base their diets on plant foods. Vegans- eat only plant foods....
With high school basketball season coming to a close, I just wanted to send out a big Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to all the men and women officials who travel many miles every day, not just to Lincoln but all over the state of Montana to referee games. Football, basketball, volleyball and so on. I believe their main goal is to keep the games fair and keep the kids safe. Often times, they have to put up with much verbal abuse from parents and fans, and there is no excuse for...
The enormity and beauty of Flathead Lake has captured the imagination of Montana residents for generations. As the largest freshwater lake in the western U.S. (outside of Alaska), it's no surprise that people have been asking and trying to answer questions about this body of water for a very long time. Flathead Lake Biological Station, located on the lake's east side, is the second-oldest research station in the U.S. Perched on the peninsula of Yellow Bay, the biological...
Dear Dietitian, I have been educating myself on healthy nutrition. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet, and sometimes it's downright frustrating! Can you help steer me in the right direction? Thanks, Jim Dear Jim, Believe me, I share in your frustration in regards to nutrition information. The internet has brought nutrition information to our fingertips, but at least half of it is false or misleading. But rest assured, the truth is out there and, in many...
I just read a short article that made me think there is still some common sense and reasoning in the law chambers of Virginia. An AP article by Alan Suderman opened with this sentence, “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s push to ban the sale of assault weapons failed on Monday after some of his fellow Democrats balked at the proposal.” Wow, I can hardly believe it. You may remember that just last month the gun owners of Virginia, and others converged on the capitol of the State to show their distaste for the governor’s insanit...
Some of the hardest questions to answer start with why. Why will fish bite one day and not the next, or even stop biting when they were having a feeding frenzy a minute ago? Why did prehistoric people use a particular cliff face to draw a petroglyph? Why can I not win the lottery? Okay, scratch that. Just the other day, an acquaintance asked why magpies are black and white. First, magpies are not just black and white. Their colors include shades of gray, green and blue. In...
Dear Dietitian, I have had diabetes for fifteen years and have kept it under good control. But recently, my blood sugars have been higher, around 200 during the day. My daughter thinks I should try the glycemic index diet. What do you think? Terry Dear Terry, The glycemic index diet was introduced by Jenkins et al. in the early 1980s as a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their immediate impact on blood glucose levels (1). It was developed as a meal-planning guide for...
Sending out a big Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to all who have participated in the making and selling of the big Valentine’s cookie sale the Lincoln school puts on every year. Teresa Brown is a big contributor to the work that is done. She said the big cookie sale started when she was a sophomore cheerleader. She said to make the heart shape of the cookie they started by using cardboard templates that they would cut around, but in recent years they have been able to use a metal c...
Ranchers get a bad rap. Agriculture is portrayed as a destructive industry, composed of corporate-owned operations that practice aggressive farming techniques, abuse their livestock, plant genetically modified crops and operate with a contempt for the land, the animals and the consumer. We hear about human health issues attributed to antibiotics fed to animals in their daily rations. We also hear that the animals are tightly confined, and that the ground is saturated with...
Dear Dietitian, I am health conscious and try to get enough fiber in my diet, but sometimes I miss the mark. I noticed some protein bars have 10 grams of fiber. Are these good for you? Jim Dear Jim, The Dietary Guidelines recommend Americans consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day. Fiber is found naturally in plant foods and is defined as an indigestible carbohydrate. This simply means the human body cannot break down fiber, and it passes through the digestive system unchanged...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to the local truck drivers that live here in Lincoln. I apologize if I miss anyone. I am just going by the ones I currently know. I know that Eric Grantier and Willie DenBoer have both been trucking logs for more than 20 years around here, running their own trucks. I am not sure if I am at liberty to mention company names but my friend, Christ Lewenight had been driving for the same company for more than 25 years and hav...
So there's been some buzz the last few years in regards to having a 'word of the year." I've known people who have practiced this method since 2016 or so, and they say it has helped them live more intentionally, as well as kept them on track with a sense of accomplishment each year. I've thought about it in previous years, but not enough to consciously go out there and pick one for myself. This year, I overheard friends talking about their "Word for 2020" and what some of...
As a little boy people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I am sure everyone has been asked this question. It is a normal thing for people to ask the little ones. With my family being in the excavation business I would often say a crane/dragline/bulldozer/dump truck operator. Around the age of 10 I would say a professional baseball player. In a few years, it was a dentist. Where the dentist idea came from I have no idea! Of course, there would be periods where I...
My father was 91 years old the last time I lied to him. He wasn't a demanding father, so there were never many falsehoods necessary in our lives – usually just the teenage ones, such as, "No, we weren't drinking beer when the car went into the ditch" - the common lies of youth. He died last June, and I was lucky to have enjoyed a year of morning visits with him before his death. I think we parted as friends. He was active up until the end, and that last year he had a few c...
Dear Readers, Last week we discussed U.S. News' rankings of the top three diets for overall health, so it seems only balanced to discuss the bottom three this week. A panel of nutrition experts evaluated the diets based on seven categories: how easy it is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease (1). Coming in at #33 is the Whole 30...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey to Mr. Ernie Lundberg. I was walking my dog Trooper down the street last Thursday or could have been Friday. I can’t remember, but the one thing I do remember is we were walking by the Community Hall and I heard some loud banging coming from the roof of the building. Then I saw Ernie high up on a ladder using a sledgehammer and a shovel to break up the snow and ice off the roof. When I asked him about it, he said in years before t...
The other evening my wife and I were over at some friend's house for dinner. While there we watched the Mecum Auto auction for a while. It was exciting to see the cars and the action. Like many men, and women too, I enjoy really tricked-out, high performance muscle car from the 50's, 60's and early 70's. I also don't mind the older cars, and the newer exotic rocket ships from Europe and Japan that are out there. The talent and skill that people have to do the mechanical and co...
