Missoula Independent

SENTIMENTAL ON THE SURFACE: MONTANA REP’S ‘ON GOLDEN POND’

BROOKS: COREY STAPLETON’S MEDIA LITERACY FOR DUMMIES

[2] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

cover by Kou Moua

News

Voices The readers write .............................................................................................................4 Street Talk Women on the march...............................................................................................4 The Week in Review The news of the day, one day at a time..................................................6 Briefs ‘Fake’ news, ‘wet’ housing, and a smoking revision.......................................................6 Etc. Zinke goes solo.....................................................................................................................7 News Synema Studios gets a grant to grow................................................................................9 Opinion Dan Brooks: Corey Stapleton’s media literacy for dummies...................................10 Writers on the Range It’s time to end Yellowstone’s bison cull............................................11 Feature The Bitcoin Barons: How Montana got sold on digital gold.................................14

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Bill Pullman talks fruit, Westerns and The Ballad of Lefty Brown.......................20 Theater Sentimental on the surface: Montana Rep’s On Golden Pond ......................21 Music The timely politics of Drive-by Truckers’ American Band................................22 Film Christian Bale and the other white man’s burden ..............................................23 Movie Shorts Independent takes on current films .....................................................24 BrokeAss Gourmet Burned out on chicken noodle soup? Try it ramen style...........25 Happiest Hour Whatcha gonna drink? Cold Busters..................................................27 8 Days a Week How many of those have you been out sick? ........................................28 Agenda Missoula Drink. Do good. Repeat. .................................................................33 Mountain High Finally! Fly-fishing lessons.................................................................34

Exclusives

News of the Weird ......................................................................................................12 Classifieds....................................................................................................................35 The Advice Goddess ...................................................................................................36 Free Will Astrology .....................................................................................................38 Crossword Puzzle .......................................................................................................41 This Modern World.....................................................................................................42

GENERAL MANAGER Andy Sutcliffe EDITOR Brad Tyer PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joe Weston ARTS EDITOR Erika Fredrickson CALENDAR EDITOR Charley Macorn STAFF REPORTERS Alex Sakariassen, Derek Brouwer MANAGING EDITOR OF SPECIAL SECTIONS Susan Elizabeth Shepard COPY EDITOR Jule Banville EDITORIAL INTERN Micah Drew ART DIRECTOR Kou Moua GRAPHIC DESIGNER Charles Wybierala CIRCULATION ASSISTANT MANAGER Ryan Springer ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Steven Kirst, Beau Wurster, Toni Leblanc, Declan Lawson MARKETING & EVENTS COORDINATOR Ariel LaVenture CLASSIFIED SALES REPRESENTATIVE Declan Lawson FRONT DESK Lorie Rustvold CONTRIBUTORS Scott Renshaw, Nick Davis, Hunter Pauli, Molly Laich, Dan Brooks, Rob Rusignola, Chris La Tray, Sarah Aswell, Migizi Pensoneau, April Youpee-Roll, MaryAnn Johanson Melissa Stephenson

Mailing address: P.O. Box 8275 Missoula, MT 59807 Street address: 317 S. Orange St. Missoula, MT 59801 Phone number: 406-543-6609 Fax number: 406-543-4367 E-mail address: independent@missoulanews.com

Copyright 2018 by the Missoula Independent. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse or transmittal in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or through an information retrieval system is prohibited without permission in writing from the Missoula Independent.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [3]

STREET TALK

[voices]

by Micah Drew and Derek Brouwer

Did you participate in Saturday’s Women’s March? Why or why not?

What are the biggest issues facing women, and what are you doing to address them?

Broc Reed: No, because I didn’t know about it and I was probably working. Look on the bright side? I think it’s a woman’s world already. Everything we do is either for money or women. I think a lot of problems could be solved if they acknowledged the power they already do have.

Hannah DesJarlais: No, I didn’t know about it until Monday. Listen to her: I’m not doing anything to address them, but I feel the biggest issue is we’re not treated as equals to men.

We don’t get equal pay, we’re always paid less in certain fields. I’m not sure how we can change that. There are women trying, but men don’t listen.

Darian Dougan: I didn’t, I kind of didn’t know it was happening. Honestly, that’s why I didn’t go.

Mind the gap: I think that the gender gap in certain industries like STEM is a big issue. I guess I don’t do a lot, but I try to have conversations with people in a not-angry way.

Windsong of the Taino Nation: Yes, I’m Native American and there was a group of native women who were organizing to bring attention to native issues. All of the above: Sexism, ageism, racism — these are all pressing issues, because they’re a way of commodifying women. It’s something I’ve worked on my whole life. For me, the person really is the political.

David Nelson: Yes, I’ve been supportive of the women’s movement since the very beginning.

From the time I graduated on, observing the way women have been transformed. I think it’s all for the good. I was born in 1940, so I’ve seen a lot of that transition. The most thrilling part of the march is I really think we’ve finally had an event that will unite women across all shades. Cast your ballot: If you look at the voting record, like when they vote for president, women come out and then they go away. They don’t come out until the next presidential election. That’s been where the real weaknesses have been, and they don’t keep the momentum.

Asked Tuesday afternoon at the Good Food Store

[4] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

Intersectional much?

What a wonderful turnout of men and women from various backgrounds for the women’s march Saturday morning! It felt good to see a large group of people united and speaking out collectively for women. I appreciated the event highlighting voices from different backgrounds and informing the crowd.

I was surprised when one speaker asked who in the crowd were white feminists, and I found the rest of her speech weird. Stating that feminism is separate from, and should be, “intersectional feminism” implied that the “white feminists” in the crowd only care about white women. When I march for women’s rights, I march for all women’s rights — not just white women. I found it offensive that the speaker was bringing divisiveness to this large group of essentially like-minded people. For a person to look at my skin color (lighter) and assume my thoughts, feelings and behaviors, is racist. I was disappointed the speaker chose to appear judgmental toward me (and others in the crowd) without knowing us. Some people apparently can’t recognize support and unity when it is right in front of them.

Susan Morgan Missoula

Give ag land a hand Kudos to Erika Fredrickson on her piece on ag land (“With Missoula’s remaining agricultural land threatened by development, can local farmers learn from Vermont’s example?” Jan. 11). For decades, people have been coming to western Montana, and Vermont, looking for the right combination of geography and culture. The consequent demand for housing has sent land prices soaring, often beyond the reach of famers. Ironically, food and farming play a key role in the growth that can push out farms.

A vibrant local food system, as well as great views, access to public land and a vital local culture turn the cogs of the economic engine that drives our growth. Look no further than the crowds at farmers markets for evidence of the cultural importance of local food, or the mad growth in CSAs, the Western Montana Growers Co-op’s success and the abundance of local eats at our restaurants and grocery stores. Since

L

local food is an essential part of the culture that draws people here, the value of our farms is far greater than just the dollars they generate. Development pressure dims the future of local ag, and yet our growth and prosperity depends, in part, on a local food system.

Montana law allows counties to mitigate the loss of ag land in the subdivision process, but provides no details. As Erika recounted, our county commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of the developer’s proposal at Spurgin Ranch — pouring concrete into some of the planet’s richest soil and relegating a sliver of poorer quality land to ag. At

“Since local food is an essential part of the culture that draws people here, the value of our farms is far greater than just the dollars they generate.” best this was a profound misunderstanding of the opportunity. At worst it was mercenary dishonesty on the part of the planner. More damaging than paving this piece of earth, though, was the precedent set. We must craft a rule, on the county level, to protect only real ag land vulnerable to development. This rule should be tight in scope, provide developers with predictability and the planning tools necessary to maximize value when designing subdivisions in protection of prime soil. We can create housing, affordable and market rate, and preserve some of our best soil. We just need courage, vision and a cooperative spirit in our decision makers.

Josh Slotnick Missoula

Read all about it We can only hope that the county commissioners read this in-depth, wellresearched article. Farmers are being pushed out in favor of development.

Margaret Morrison Missoula

The price of shutdown Enough is enough.

Congress needs to stop being reckless and start doing its job.

More than 100 days after the deadline to fund the government this year, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring a full budget to the Senate floor that would work for Montana.

Instead, we are stuck with shortterm fixes, which gives Montanans no certainty. With the government shut down, there will be impacts to our rural hospitals and our healthcare workforce.

As a 30-year registered nurse in Montana, I know the importance of our community health centers (CHC), which provide healthcare for 10 percent of Montana’s population. If we continue to not fund the government, the funding streams for these health centers and other programs will expire.

These community health centers and our patients will be compromised, losing access to care. Without funding, these centers would lose their workforce and could face closures, at the expense of Montanans.

It is reckless for congress to not have reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To hold off its reauthorization for political purposes is unacceptable. For four months, Mitch McConnell has refused to take up the bipartisan bill to fund CHIP. Our senator, Jon Tester, is a co-sponsor of the bill and has been very vocal about trying to reauthorize this critical program, which provides health insurance to 24,000 Montana kids. He continues to have Montana’s back through his bipartisan work, and fights for Montanans every day in the senate.

Congress needs to step up and start doing its job. Our congressmen need to follow Sen. Tester’s lead and start working with bipartisan collaboration and advocate for Montana.

Vicky Byrd Clancy

etters Policy: The Missoula Independent welcomes hate mail, love letters and general correspondence.

Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number for confirmation, though we’ll publish only your name and city. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. Preference is given to letters addressing the contents of the Independent. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Send correspondence to: Letters to the Editor, Missoula Independent, 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801, or via email: editor@missoulanews.com.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [5]

[news]

WEEK IN REVIEW Wednesday, January 17 Asked by Montana Public Radio about President Donald Trump’s referring to Haiti and some African countries as “shitholes,” Sen. Steve Daines replies, “Yeah, well, it was salty for sure, but we’ve got bigger issues. The media has made a big deal about that.”

Thursday, January 18 Missoula Police send out a Facebook bat signal after a painted fiberglass bear is spotted on the lam in the back of a pickup truck. The post is deleted after the apparent theft turns out to be a misunderstanding.

Friday, January 19 Missoula Economic Partnership CEO James Grunke announces he is stepping down at the end of the month because he was “simply presented with too great of an opportunity to pass up.”

Saturday, January 20

Housing the homeless

A panel, but no grant It took about 20 minutes just to get through introductions at a Jan. 23 forum on the work being done to end homelessness in Missoula. The panel’s size — a dozen representatives from public agencies and private service providers — reflected how the city’s most at-risk population is now approached as “one caseload” to be assisted collaboratively.

The discussion focused on the city’s new coordinated entry system, which prioritizes services — ideally, housing — to individuals who have the highest need, rather those those who just happen to seek help first. Panelists from organizations including Partnership Health Center, Missoula Police and the Poverello agreed that the approach is already producing results, saying that when a chronically homeless person disappears off downtown’s streets today, they’re just as likely to have found housing as to have perished from the elements. That wasn’t always the case.

But simply working together isn’t enough to keep everyone warm, or to reach the city’s goal of

“functional zero,” where more homeless individuals are housed than land homeless on the streets.

Attaining that goal will require more housing available to people with baggage, whether it be a criminal history, poor rental history, bad credit, substance abuse or mental health issues.

The city’s homelessness plan calls for what’s known as a Housing First approach.

“Whereas many models of housing the homeless require abstinence from any mood-altering substance in exchange for housing,” the 2010 report underpinning the homelessness plan states, “Housing First does the opposite by providing permanent housing and then a variety of services to promote housing stability and individual health and well being.”

Mary Jane Nealon, director of innovation at Partnership Health, argued at Tuesday’s panel that secure housing can be a crucial part of addressing a patient’s overall health. The new citywide system provides housing navigators to help homeless individuals obtain housing vouchers or find rentals on the open market, though Darren Ashby, of the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative, noted that most

property management companies won’t rent to individuals with felonies, or who are on sexual or violent offender registries.

Plans to add more specialized housing in Missoula have yet to be proposed, and the one project that had been in the works seemed to fizzle this month.

Lori Davidson, executive director of the Missoula Housing Authority, got word this month that her agency’s application to add permanent supportive housing units was unsuccessful. MHA had sought $1.9 million from the state’s housing trust fund to build a 12-unit apartment complex behind its veterans-only project, Valor House. Unlike Valor House, the Cornerstone Apartments would not have required tenants to be substance free.

Davidson says she doesn’t know whether the agency will continue pursuing the project. She’s still trying to learn from state officials why the grant was turned away.

“It is disappointing,” she says. “We kind of thought this would be our best chance to get one of these grants.”

Derek Browuer

Thousands join the second Women’s March in cities and towns throughout Montana. In Missoula, marchers carry signs with messages including “My Body My Rights” and “Ugh! Where do I even start??”

Sunday, January 21 Two sheriff’s deputies in Yellowstone County shoot a suicidal Lockwood man after he opens the front door holding a handgun. He is expected to survive.

Monday, January 22 Gov. Steve Bullock signs an executive order directing internet providers to adhere to the tenets of net neutrality, making Montana the first state to flout last month’s FFC repeal of net neutrality rules.

Tuesday, January 23 To celebrate “National School Choice Week,” Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who pushed school privatization bills in the state Legislature, releases a letter highlighting innovation in the state’s two public district-run “charter” schools.

The lack of a brand identity that all staff, from Executive Leadership to campus tour guides, can articulate when asked is a constraint that needs to be addressed immediately.”— Consulting firm AGB Institutional Strategies, in a recent report evaluating the University of Montana’s management of enrollment.

RADON: TEST. FIX. SAVE A LIFE. NOW is the time to test for radon Missoula County Health Department 301 W Alder (406) 258-4755 envhealth@missoulacounty.us Test Kits Available - $7

[6] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

[news] Second drag

Another smoking revision The Missoula City Council is poised to take another crack at revising the city’s smoking ordinance next month, nearly two years after kicking the issue back to city-county health officials. According to a resolution adopted by Missoula’s health board on Jan. 17, the revisions are aimed at expanding the smoking ban to include outdoor public spaces and the use of e-cigarettes.

“We’ve been working on it for over a year and a half now,” says Kailin Warren, the health department’s tobacco prevention program coordinator. “In fact, the previous director of environmental [health] was tasked to get the smoking ordinance up to date about two and a half years ago. So this is not something that’s just happened overnight.”

Missoula’s smoking ordinance has been on the books since the 1990s. But after the passage of the Montana Indoor Clean Air Act in 2005, city officials noted a need to update the law to better match the more stringent provisions applied by the Legislature.

Over time that effort has come to include smoking prohibitions in city-owned playgrounds, picnic shelters, band shells and bleachers. Warren attributes those expansions largely to longstanding frustrations among parks staff about the social and environmental effects of tobacco use.

“Kids use those parks, so we’re really kind of protecting them against secondhand smoke exposure and modeling those tobacco-free norms,” Warren says.

“Aside from that, on a bit of an environmental standpoint, having smoke-free parks really cuts back on cigarette butts … and reduces the risk of fires.”

Michelle Cares, chair of City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee, says the draft presented this month by the health department is drastically different from the one she saw in summer 2016. The current approach answers many of the questions that came up during the committee’s discussions last time around, and, Cares adds, appropriately places some enforcement responsibility in the hands of individual business managers when it comes to smoking in outdoor dining areas.

“We don’t want a John Doe to see someone smoking as they’re driving by and call the police on them,” she says, “and we also don’t want the manager of [a cafe] to just call the police without ever talking to people who are smoking at one of their tables.”

According to Cares, the ordinance revisions will come before the public health and safety committee Feb. 7. Adding to the complexity of the changes, however, is the health department’s recommendation that those changes be applied in a five-mile radius beyond city limits, which will require approval by the county commission. Commissioner Dave Strohmaier doesn’t recall a time in his tenure with the county or on council that this type of extraterritorial issue has come up. He says it’s still unclear how enforcement would be handled outside the city, but he’s strongly in favor of taking up the issue.

“As someone whose father was a smoker and died of lung cancer, I’m very sensitive to the reality that tobacco products are real health threat,” Strohmaier says.

Alex Sakariassen

‘Fake news’

A roundtable with no center A standing-room-only crowd packed the Imagine Nation Brewing Company last Thursday for a Humanities Montana-presented panel titled Fake News in a Post-Truth Era. Moderated by retired University of Montana broadcast media director William Marcus, the panel comprised Missoulian editor Kathy Best, UM journalism professor Dennis Swibold, and Jaci Wilkinson, UM assistant professor and web services librarian.

Marcus began by asking the panelists to define “fake news,” a term that’s been used to describe everything from hoaxes to news that doesn’t affirm readers’ opinions. Best said she’s seen it used to describe errors that are corrected and acknowledged, as in the president’s Fake News Awards.

The conversation was most notable for its absences, and the lack of discussion of social media (the subject of Facebook algorithms didn’t come up until 10 minutes before the panel ended) or web literacy.

Also unaddressed were some recent high-profile examples of how journalists themselves fall for hoaxes or mistake jokes for real incidents. In December, a

BY THE NUMBERS

$207,000 Medical marijuana taxes paid to the state by the latest quarterly deadline—down by almost 50 percent from October, the Billings Gazette reports. The Department of Revenue plans to send letters hundreds of providers reminding them to pay their taxes. group of Native American activists created a series of copycat websites mimicking Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com and the Washington Post to publish false stories about the Washington Redskins changing their name to the Washington Redhawks. A shocking number of journalists took the bait, not bothering to look at the web addresses (espnsports.news, sportsillustrated.news and washpostsports.com), none of which is that of the imitated outlet.

Then, in January, when Michael Wolff ’s Trump chronicle Fire and Fury was released, Twitter user Pixelated Boat tweeted a screenshot that appeared to show a paragraph from the book describing how Trump’s aides had been required to make a fake “Gorilla Channel” for the TV-loving president. Again, people took the bait without bothering to look at the book or even the user’s timeline, which is full of jokes, for context.

Those subjects may have been deemed too insidery for the general public chat, but it was truly surprising that there was no mention of the mailing list missive railing against the media that Secretary of State Corey Stapleton sent out last Wednesday. He didn’t directly call the news “fake,” but his intent was clearly the same as Trump’s fake news awards: to dismiss and discredit potential critics. The Twitter feeds of Montana’s working reporters were aflame about it, and if one of those reporters had been on the panel, it might not have gone overlooked.

Susan Elizabeth Shepard

ETC. The lead-up to January’s three-day government shutdown highlighted once again the cavalier way in which Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has chosen to manage the National Park System. In an effort to avoid the bad publicity that plagued previous shutdowns, Zinke opted to keep the park gates open.

You couldn’t tour interpretive centers, or go to the bathroom. But hey, look, an eagle!

Zinke’s decision left visitors wandering aimlessly in search of information last weekend and, according to NPR, made some furloughed staffers feel more than a little underappreciated by their agency’s leader. Rangers have long been viewed as the backbone of the park experience, offering guidance and protecting vulnerable resources. Zinke, however, seemed confident in his ability to muddle on without them.

That’s probably because when it comes to America’s most iconic tracts of public land, Zinke doesn’t really need anyone. He’s managed to hack it for nearly a year without the administration nominating a candidate for National Park Service director. Rather than draw too much attention to that vacancy, Zinke has pushed ahead with an agenda that includes doubling entrance fees at 17 parks, and he continues to flirt with the idea of privatizing park functions.

Zinke just lost the bulk of his National Park System Advisory Board, too. Ten of the board’s 12 members, including Chairman Tony Knowles, resigned Jan. 15 and pinned their exodus on Zinke’s refusal to convene or consult with the board on agency decisions during his first year in office. The board has for years been a guiding force for the park system on matters of stewardship and public education. In a joint resignation letter, Knowles noted the board’s emphasis on scientific research of climate change over the past seven years, and lamented Interior’s disregard for board engagement under Zinke’s reign.

“I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside,” Knowles wrote.

“I hope that future actions of the Department of Interior demonstrate that this is not the case.”

So do we. Park rangers were concerned the shutdown might result in a literal shitstorm in the open-but-for-facilities parks. Those fears have abated for now, but if Zinke doesn’t curb his tendency to go it alone, we may still face a figurative one.

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[news]

Paid to play Synema Studios gets a go-ahead to grow

by Alex Sakariassen

At first, Synema Studios was just an easier way for Missoula vlogger and online video producer Michael Aranda to file his taxes. He’d moved from California for a job with Hank Green’s video company, EcoGeek (now Complexly), in 2012, and figured registering an LLC would streamline the paperwork from his various side gigs.

Six years later, Synema employs eight people and sprawls across several rooms at 500 N. Higgins.

“We have a booth at South by Southwest this year, and we have a couple of clients that are bringing in decent amounts of money now,” he says. “So just the other day I was like, ‘Man, it feels like we’re on the verge of becoming a real company.’”

On Jan. 18, the Missoula County Commission voted unanimously to finalize a contract promising Synema Studios $53,100 in Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund money. The grant will support the creation of nine new jobs over the next year.

Flanked by several colleagues in the basement conference room, Aranda says he already knows what the year’s first hire will be: a salesperson. The company already has several commercial clients, and the next goal is to pitch Synema as a resource for local businesses trying to bolster their internet presence. That means webpages for some, and promotional material for others, says Synema COO Todd Williams. Aranda explains that expanding Synema’s portfolio is the only way to make those new jobs sustainable in the long-term.

“What we didn’t want to do was put ourselves in a position where, once this grant money is spent, we then have to lay off nine employees. So part of this plan for 2018 of getting more aggressive about bringing in external clients is to make sure that this grant money is only a supplement that is allowing us to get off the ground in the first place.”

It’s clear from the Synema principals’ backgrounds, however, that commercial revenue will be a means to a

more personal end as well. Aranda got into film editing in California at a young age — sixth, maybe seventh grade, he says — thanks to his father’s obsession with collecting video equipment.

Williams, too, caught the filmmaking bug early, and relocated from California to Missoula expressly to collaborate with Aranda. The two describe commercial work as the fuel for an engine that can churn out their passion projects, of which there are many.

One such project already netted Aranda’s crew a Big Sky Film Grant from the Montana Film Office. In 2017, they produced three segments of an educa-

“I noticed that there weren’t a lot of places where you can learn things about geology other than a textbook,” Salem says of Kate Tectonics’ origins. “Even on YouTube, geology was a thing that people weren’t really talking about, so we saw an opportunity there.”

Aranda is preparing to launch another internal project in early 2018, a show he calls Cut to the Tech. Fed up with the lengthy and meandering product-review videos that proliferate on YouTube, he decided to produce tech reviews that are shorter and more direct.

After connecting with a company rep at VidCon last year, Williams secured a part-

photo by Alex Sakariassen

Synema Studios netted a grant to create nine new jobs. From left are employees Todd Williams, Katelyn Salem, Michael Aranda and Abi Rein.

tional YouTube series about geoscience called Kate Tectonics. The show presented an opportunity for host Katelyn Salem — a longtime fan of Aranda’s vlog who struck up a friendship with him and Williams playing the online game Minecraft — to combine her geosciences degree with her lifelong interest in filmmaking. Synema tapped British filmmaker Khyan Mansley to help spice up Salem’s curriculum, and built a set using old barnwood they found on Craigslist to look like the inside of a log cabin. That set currently takes up half a room in Synema’s basement digs.

nership with the camera equipment retailer B&H to furnish Synema with products for the show. He estimates the average run time of a Cut to the Tech video at a minute to a minute and a half.

The development grant has made the Synema crew optimistic about their ability to market their childhood passions to Missoula’s business world. “Part of what our mission is,” Aranda says, “is to educate people who aren’t as familiar with the internet about the value of being online.” asakariassen@missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [9]

[opinion]

Media for dummies Guess what Corey Stapleton’s sound and fury signifies?

by Dan Brooks

KEEPING STUFF THAT ISN’T GARBAGE OUT OF THE DUMP SINCE 2003.

We are

in this

together!

People. Community. Materials.

1515 Wyoming St | www.homeres ource.org [10] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

I am a staunch supporter of democracy, by which I mean the principle that government should be run by people like me. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s politicians who bore me with details: which people will be affected by what law, how many it will take to enact that, or why the constitution says you can’t do some other thing. That’s all gobbledygook to an ordinary American like me. I know what’s what, and I don’t need some wonk or a bunch of newspaper reporters to tell me what is and is not happening. That’s why I’m a big fan of Corey Stapleton. He sees things the way I do: vaguely.

As Montana’s secretary of state, Stapleton is tasked with helping commerce thrive, promoting democracy and recording history for future generations.

Last week, he promoted the vision of democracy we share by sending a long email from the secretary’s office to its 130,000-odd subscribers, titled, “Be careful what gets your attention.” Just from that subject line, you know you’re about to get a dose of common sense. It reminds me of my self-published book, Don’t Just Pick Any Book Off the Shelf and Flip Through It, which I expect will become a bestseller any day now. Anyway, Stapleton’s email warns the reader of a “huge problem with mainstream media in America.” To wit: “It has diminished profitability, and as a result has increasingly begun chasing the tabloid headlines and venomous tweets of personal destruction, in an effort to survive financially. Instead of focusing on the policies and impact of leadership decisions across the political spectrum, mainstream media has become obsessed with the sideshows of personality and politically incorrect language of today.”

That makes a lot of sense. The mainstream media, which previous generations called “the media,” doesn’t make money anymore. Newspapers used to rake in billions by publishing page after page of nuanced policy analysis, but now they write about people.

Where previously you would open up the paper and read 7,000 words on how a shift from the gold standard to a “free silver” approach would affect the farming sector by releasing credit and simultaneously diluting existing debts, now it’s just who said the n-word. Where once newspapers published articles, now they just run headlines — plus the venomous tweets of personal destruction, which are less ethical than the tweets of old.

The important thing about this analysis is that it contains no examples

“When I get an email from the secretary of state, I want it to read like a Facebook post from my uncle. That’s how I know democracy is in good hands.” whatsoever. Recognizing that in a robust democracy, the voter’s time is precious, Stapleton skips past the evidence phase and goes right to telling us what we already know. Take, for example, his claim that “our media is … consumed with exercising its muscle gained by increased modern surveillance of people.” He doesn’t get bogged down in explaining how the media conducts surveillance, which was previously the work of government agencies, or how it has gained all this muscle amid diminished profitability.

He cuts right to the main issue: The

media is bad, and also there is surveillance now. Everybody knows that.

That’s what we need in government today: not career politicians who can’t see past their specialized skills and detailed understanding of specific issues, but big-idea types who wield the same understanding as literally anyone you could pull off the street. When I get an email from the secretary of state, I want it to read like a Facebook post from my uncle. That’s how I know democracy is in good hands.

Stapleton’s warning that the media is bad now reminds me of another issue on which he was bold enough to tell us what we already knew: voter fraud. This summer, he announced that fraud had marred the special election to fill Montana’s U.S. House seat, particularly in Missoula County. He couldn’t cite any specifics, but he pointed out that just because we hadn’t seen fraud in Montana before didn’t mean it isn’t happening now, and that Missoula contains a bunch of Democrats. We all know what that means. Then, in November, he announced that he had looked into it and found that fraud wasn’t a problem after all.

Do you see what our dishonest media does to a man of integrity? As secretary of state, Stapleton came to us with a warning about the very validity of our democratic elections. Yet, in an effort to survive financially, the media shouted him down with venomous questions like, “What kind of fraud?” and “Can you name an example?” Faced with nitpicking demands that he “prove” what he said was “true,” Stapleton was forced to back down.

But such a lion of democracy can be kept at bay for only so long. Sure, he may be temporarily set back by the need to catch and eat a specific gazelle. But he knows game animals are out there, generally, and he is roaring — roaring as loud as he can.

Dan Brooks in on Twitter at @DangerBrooks.

[opinion]

Slaughter rule Yellowstone’s bison cullings must come to an end

by Jeanine Pfeiffer

This winter, hundreds of bison will be slaughtered in Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks — again — and we shouldn’t let it happen.

We owe a lot to the American bison, the West’s original engineers. When herds of these 1,000- to 2,000-pound animals graze, paw the ground, take dust baths or wallow in the mud, they help create fertile prairie mosaics.

In the winter, snow trails made by bison open up grazing areas for their fellow herbivores. In spring, bison wallows host migrating waterfowl and amphibians. In summer, the foraging that bison do helps prevent catastrophic fires and encourages the growth of shrubs, favored nesting sites for prairie chicken and sparrows. And in the fall, their dried-up wallows shelter prairie dogs and plovers.

For the First Peoples, bison are considered spiritual family members. Their existence on the land shapes memory, speech, song, ceremony and prayer.

Bison-centric words and sayings and an encyclopedic understanding of the animal are represented in hundreds of Native languages. Before modern supermarkets, every scrap and smidgen of bison killed by tribal hunters was eaten, drunk, smoked, dried, pounded, carved, scraped, stitched, woven or worn.

There was no American creature with greater ecological and cultural significance — until we exterminated 99.999997 percent of them. Seven generations later, the killings continue. Of the 600,000 so-called buffalo extant in North America, most are “beefalo,” an artificial mix of wild bison with domesticated cattle.

The Yellowstone National Park herd — around 4,800 animals — is the largest remnant of genetically pure bison, the final guardians of ancient DNA and environmental memories stretching back for millennia. These animals know how and where to migrate, how to communicate with each other and search for food, and how to withstand adverse conditions and care for one another.

The wholesale slaughter of bison to deprive the Plains tribes of sustenance is

well documented. Less well known is the Park Service’s annual winter culling of Yellowstone bison the moment the animals step outside park boundaries and onto national forest lands — lands that are held in trust by the federal government for the sake of all U.S. citizens. The Park Service does this despite the agency’s clearly stated mandate to “preserve, unimpaired, the natural and cultural resources and values of the park system … for current and future generations.”

Stray bison not killed outright by hunters are captured by the Park Service and then sent off to slaughter. The agency’s rationale is both complex and simple —

“No American creature had greater ecological and cultural significance — until we exterminated 99.999997 percent of them.” complex because of contradictory state and federal policies, and simple because we allow it.

During the Great Depression, the U.S. government leased national forest lands surrounding Yellowstone as inexpensive feeding allotments to help ranchers survive economically. Almost a century later, U.S. taxpayers continue to subsidize private ranchers on these publicly owned lands.

Cattle ranchers leasing those lands argue that brucellosis — an exotic disease that can cause spontaneous abortions in cows — is spread by bison, despite the lack of any scientific proof. Elk, deer, moose and bear populations also carry brucellosis and

range freely throughout cattle lands. Yet no similar killing campaigns are waged against those animals.

When ecologists justify the culling by pointing to the limited carrying capacity of Yellowstone ecosystems, they ignore basic genetics. Countless generations must occur for beneficial traits to be fixed in a genome.

For bison to persist as a species, their genetic diversity needs to remain intact, or we risk inbreeding. When bison subpopulations with crucial traits are indiscriminately killed, it’s the equivalent of tearing out and obliterating entire chapters of the bison’s survival manual.

Goodshield Aguilar, a Lakota activist with the nonprofit Buffalo Field Campaign, has tried to halt the Yellowstone bison culls for two decades.

“I want my grandkids to be able to see buffalo, to eat buffalo, to be with buffalo,” Aguilar says. “The Lakota and the buffalo have a symbiotic relationship. At the turn of the century, when 99 percent of the buffalo died, 99 percent of the Lakota died as well. We belong together, on this path, right now.”

We have better options than slaughter.

We can ban the culls in favor of transporting all excess, disease-free Yellowstone bison onto tribal lands. This will make it easier for the 63 tribes composing the InterTribal Buffalo Council to restore buffalo culture in their communities. We can offer incentives to ranchers to encourage them to accept bison grazing on cattle lands. We could also gradually eliminate subsidies like the ones in the current grazing system, which privilege a small number of businesses over our irreplaceable heritage.

With climate change, bison — and the enormous range of species and habitats they support — will face longer droughts, extra-cold winters and other extreme weather events. Our national mammals deserve all the help they can get.

Jeanine Pfeiffer is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn.org). She is an author and ethnoecologist affiliated with San José State University in California.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [11]

[offbeat]

WEIRD CHEMISTRY – In Lawrence County, Tennessee, law enforcement officials are confronting the fallout from a new drug known as “Wasp” (crystallized wasp repellant mixed with methamphetamine). To wit: On Dec. 18, as the Johnson family baked Christmas cookies in their Lawrenceburg kitchen, Danny Hollis, 35, walked into their home and asked for help. NewsChannel 5 in Nashville reported Hollis poured himself a glass of water from the sink before grabbing a knife and cutting across his throat. Teenage son Canaan Johnson said Hollis then ran up to the second floor, heaved an oak dresser down the stairs, and jumped out a window onto a gazebo below, seriously injuring his neck. The Johnsons, meanwhile, had retreated to their car, where they called 911. Hollis chased the car down the street, but got hung up on a barbed wire fence, then stripped naked to free himself and climbed a nearby tree, where officers found him, according to police reports. Hollis fought them off by allegedly throwing his own feces at them, as they tased him out of the tree.

Hollis was booked into the county jail on numerous charges.

OOOH, WISE GUY, EH? – Khaled A. Shabani, 46, a hairstylist in Madison, Wisconsin, was arrested on a tentative charge of mayhem and disorderly conduct while armed after an altercation with a customer on Dec. 22. Shabani scolded the 22-year-old customer for fidgeting, then taught him a lesson by using the “shortest possible attachment” to “run down the middle of the customer’s head,” reported the Wisconsin State Journal, and “leaving him looking a bit like Larry from ‘The Three Stooges,’” police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. Shabani also clipped the customer’s ear with scissors. “While it is not a crime to give someone a bad haircut,” DeSpain noted, “you will get arrested for intentionally snipping their ear with a scissors.” Shabani said the snip was an accident, and his charge was later reduced to a ticket for disorderly conduct.

BRIGHT IDEAS – Polk County (Florida) Sheriff’s officers responded to an unusual 911 call on New Year’s Eve: Michael Lester, 39, of Winter Haven, started off by telling the dispatcher, “Umm, I’m drunk.

I don’t know where I’m at. I’m just drunk driving.” The dispatcher urged Lester to pull over and park, but he explained that he was driving on the wrong side of the road near a Publix and wondered where the police were. WTVT reported that officers finally caught up with Lester, who helpfully explained he’d had several beers, hadn’t slept much and had taken methamphetamine earlier in the day; he was jailed on a DUI charge. Officers later posted on their Facebook page that “in this particular incident, nobody was hurt, so we couldn’t help but LOTO (that means we Laughed Our Tasers Off).”

Disgruntled driver Matthew Middleton, 49, of Peterlee, England, spotted a speed camera near Hartlepool Rugby Club in October and decided to take a stand. He got out of his car and stood in front of the camera, blocking it, until police arrested him. Middleton further antagonized the officer by calling him a “pig” and giving his name as Elvis Presley. “They acted like what I did was the crime of the century,” Middleton told Metro News. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. People have just been laughing about it ... well, apart from my wife.” Middleton was fined about $54 plus court costs for his antics.

OAC. Membership fee and restrictions may apply. apply.

AWESOME! – Bertha Vickers of Morgantown, Mississippi, turned 100 on Jan. 9. To celebrate, she bagged a deer. “I was sort of shaking until I got ready to shoot,” Vickers told the Clarion Ledger. “I didn’t think it was all going to go right.” Vickers still lives in her home and mows her own lawn, tends a garden and hunts for squirrels. “I don’t know why everybody is making such a big deal about it,” she said. “It was just a doe. I would love to kill a buck.”

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINAL – When Dustin Johnson, 22, of Minot, North Dakota, tried to steal $4,000 worth of merchandise from a local Hobby Lobby, he failed to take into account that shopping carts don’t have snow tires. The Grand Forks Herald reported that over a seven-hour period on Jan. 3, Johnson filled a cart then fled the store—where the cart became stuck in snow in the parking lot and flipped over. Johnson fell down, then got up to run, leaving behind his wallet with photo ID matching the shoplifter’s description. Minot police caught up with Johnson at his home.

EXTREME CLIMATE NEWS – It may be cold where you are, but it’s hot in Broadford, a small town about an hour from Melbourne, Australia, where on Jan. 5, the highway began melting. Temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and higher reactivated an ingredient in the road surface, turning it into a sticky mess on the Hume Freeway, 9News reported. Motorists were warned by Victoria police to avoid the right lane and expect delays over a 10km stretch. Officials also put in place a fire ban and urged people to stay indoors until the heat abated.

SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM – Christians in a Portuguese village carry on a curious tradition during Epiphany: They encourage their young children to smoke cigarettes. Vale de Salgueiro locals told Fox News that nobody is sure what the smoking symbolizes, but the centuries-old tradition persists. And Portuguese authorities don’t intervene, despite the fact that the legal age to purchase tobacco in Portugal is 18. Writer Jose Ribeirinha researched the tradition and said that since Roman times, villagers in the region have done things that were out of the norm during winter solstice celebrations.

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com

[12] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [13]

S

March 6, 2017: 1 Bitcoin = $1,270 weat glistens on Sean Walsh’s brow as he begins his pitch. He’s standing in the circular Al Falak ballroom at the Burj Al Arab, one of the world’s most extravagant hotels. Built on its own man-made island, where guests are transported by a fleet of white Rolls Royces, the Dubai resort is shaped like a lateen sail pressing into the Persian Gulf, a symbol for a city on the leading edge.

Everything in the ballroom seems to glitter; the hotel features 22,000 square feet of 24-karat gold gilding.

The gold that Walsh is pitching can’t be seen, but its emerging power is on full display. Bitcoin first took off as the currency of drug sales and get-rich-quick scams. But by March 2017, 570,000 people had digital wallets containing at least one bitcoin, including some of the biggest names in tech. The value of the world’s first cryptocurrency had tripled in the previous year, and would balloon many times over in the following months.

Walsh is a marketer who is remaking himself as a “crypto-industry luminary,” as the speakers at this World Blockchain Forum are billed. He looks slick with a scruffy beard, blue tie and buttoned

black suit. Part Silicon Valley casual, part Wall Street hedge fund manager, Walsh’s appearance fits his biography as a California man who left an executive position in private equity to start an angel investment firm, Redwood City Ventures, dedicated to promoting bitcoin to the masses. “I brought something for the group,” he begins, striding past the podium. He reaches his left hand to his back pocket, then passes a small bag to his right hand and holds it above his head. The bag is full of cowrie shells, which, he reminds his audience of businessmen and industry insiders, was humankind’s first form of money. Walsh asks a man at the front table if he’ll sell his watch for the shells. When he declines, Walsh pulls out a second bag and drops both on the table.

“I’m trying to make a point here,” he says.

His delivery is more polished six months later, when he sells a similar pitch to an audience in London: “The point is that we’ve lost trust in cowrie shells as money, despite the fact that they’ve been used for 12,000 years.

Money moves on. People move on to new forms of money. They moved on to gold, they moved on to fiat currency.

[14] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

We’re now moving into electronic money.”

Bitcoin is the best form of money ever devised, Walsh tells the crowd, but it can only be as good as the faith society places in it. “So we need a sales pitch,” he continues. “We need to speak to our target customers in a language … that will resonate with them and will get them to feel the way we want them to feel, get them to act the way we want them to act.”

Walsh’s idea is to use affiliate sales reps to help convince more people to convert cash into digital currency. He predicts a return on investment of 28,000 percent as new users drive up bitcoin’s price. “I can tell you, even as a Silicon Valley venture capital investor, this type of opportunity is not out there,” he says. It has existed before, though: in Countrywide Financial, the so-called 23,000 percent stock, where Walsh managed customer acquisitions in 2007 just as the lender’s subprime mortgage bubble burst. But the conversion campaign is only part of Walsh’s plan. The far bigger part, the one he alludes to as the “foundation” of his effort to take bitcoin mainstream, is half a world away, humming in a old lumber yard next to the Blackfoot

River, minting more invisible money than any place else in North America.

Few people know how Montana became a mother lode in bitcoin’s digital gold rush. It took a blunder, days before Walsh’s talk in Dubai, for the public to even learn that bitcoin is being mined here. The story is as familiar to Montana as bitcoin is new. It also has striking parallels to the story of cryptocurrency itself. But it’s not quite the story Walsh likes to tell.

June 8, 2011: 1 Bitcoin = $29.60 The way Yan Ebyam entered the greenhouse on the outskirts of Sacramento seemed like a tell. He opened its wide door just enough to slide in sideways, then pulled it shut behind him. Or so it looked to the three undercover agents watching from their car a hundred yards away, who wanted a glimpse inside.

It wasn’t going to be that easy to pin down the man whose first name stands for “yes and no,” and whose last name spells “maybe” backward. So the driver pulled into the florist office out front and went inside to buy some flowers. While the driver was inside, the other two

agents walked up to the silver MercedesBenz they’d seen Ebyam driving and attached a GPS tracker to it.

The agents had been led here by a woman at a renowned tomato farm 40 miles north, who told a local sheriff ’s deputy that Ebyam had “taken advantage” of her. She and Ebyam had been growing more than 4,000 marijuana plants on the farm, but she said Ebyam ran off with most of the plants shortly after their landlord expressed concern to the deputy that he was acting strangely.

The federal indictments that followed that June stakeout marked a disastrous turnabout for a man who, only months earlier, had been one of the country’s boldest marijuana entrepreneurs.

Starting in 2008, Ebyam set up some of the country’s largest indoor cannabis farms in defunct Oakland warehouses, angling to obtain one of the industrialscale licenses city officials were planning to issue. Workers at one of his farms even unionized. Today, that business seems almost visionary, but at the time it relied on an interpretation of California’s medical marijuana law that strained credulity.

When the City of Oakland abandoned its plan under federal pressure, Ebyam disappeared to the tomato farm, one of what

“the feds saw [as] unscrupulous operators on the fringes stuffing their pockets with cash,” Peter Hecht writes in his 2014 book, Weed Land.

He definitely had an opportunistic streak. After the dot-com crash in 2002, Ebyam, then in his early 20s, and a business partner helped liquidate the surplus computer equipment that bankrupt Silicon Valley companies were offloading.

They did plenty of legitimate business initially, but in 2004 they were indicted on federal money laundering charges for what a U.S. attorney later described as a “jaw-dropping conspiracy” to sell more than $6 million in stolen Cisco servers.

They’d brokered the deals through a gang member with connections to a trucking warehouse, then created phony invoices to cover their tracks.

To those who encountered him, however, Ebyam came across as more eccentric than diabolical. As a kid growing up in northern California, he stayed inside surfing the web while his brother surfed waves, he told the writer of a profile republished in the New York Times. “He blurts out his thoughts in rapid fire and is highly intelligent but pays little attention to matters like clothing or social cues,” the reporter wrote, adding that Ebyam had ordered milk and cookies during a coffee shop interview. Prosecutors called him “brilliant,” a trait that was also palpable to former business partners and acquaintances interviewed by the Indy.

As his marijuana case played out in federal court, Ebyam lived with his mother for a few months before going back to his old line of work in electronics resale. During that time, he did “millions of dollars of business” as a broker for a Silicon Valley company called Prism Electronics, its CEO, John Mauro, says.

Then Ebyam got a chance to try something new.

fervent libertarian (he once ran for the California state assembly under the party banner), and bitcoin represented a way that average people could take down the central banking system.

The key was the ingenious way the bitcoin software had been written and introduced, anonymously, in 2008. In basic terms, the software allows users to exchange data, i.e., bitcoin, without requiring a middleman to verify the transaction. Instead, verification records are logged in a public database, called the blockchain, that’s managed by the in-

Bitcoin was gaining notice around the world, for better and worse. Some people, like Ver, saw a financial revolution brewing, while others wanted to cash in on the next big thing. Bitcoin’s price rocketed on new exchanges. The U.S. government busted ponzi schemes and unraveled the first large, online black market to use bitcoin, Silk Road, which had enabled users to buy and sell drugs anonymously. Some prominent voices in finance, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett, started pushing back against the buzz.

January 14, 2014: 1 Bitcoin = $842 Walsh says the story of how he met Ebyam is too long to tell, but that both men were interested in a radical technology that was starting to generate attention around the edges of Silicon Valley.

Helping bitcoin get noticed was a man named Roger Ver, who had been plugging it in a hokey but eye-catching way: on the billboard he rented beside an expressway in Santa Clara. One of his ads touted bitcoin as “the honey badger of money,” in reference to a viral YouTube video celebrating the species’ fearlessness and snake-eating badassery.

The tagline pointed to why people like Ver, whose evangelism had earned him the moniker “Bitcoin Jesus,” were ecstatic about cryptocurrency. Ver was a

most elegant features, but the industry that was springing up around it resembles an arms race. As in any extraction industry, people saw bitcoin mining as a way to acquire the currency at a discount while providing a service to the network.

Anyone with a computer could profitably mine in the early days, but as more people joined the race and manufacturers started developing specialized mining computers, only industrial-scale operations stood a chance to win the rewards.

Authors Paul Vigna and Michael Casey wrote in their 2015 book, The Age of

was risky for Walsh, a marketing professional at Bertram Capital, a $1.3 billion private equity firm, to go into business with someone who had a federal rap sheet containing both types of offense. But Walsh says he saw Ebyam as a “mad scientist” who was otherwise naive to the world. He decided to find a way to make it work.

“Sometimes people are so open and so trusting that they don’t know what they get themselves into,” Walsh says.

“And I think Yan falls into that category.”

Plus, each seemed to bring complementary skills to the project: Ebyam

photo submitted to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

While his first bitcoin mining company, Aquifer, was in bankruptcy proceedings in California, Sean Walsh secretly began building an even bigger mine in Bonner, which he referred to the bitcoin international speaking circuit as the largest in North America.

dependent computers on the bitcoin network. There’s no need for a federal reserve because the network’s opensource code calls all the shots.

Like Ebyam, Ver was in the computer resale business, which he also entered in his early 20s in the dotcom bubble’s wake. His company, Memory Dealers, became the first anywhere to accept payment in bitcoin—a service he advertised prominently on his highway billboard. In 2012, he started the first public bitcoin meetups in Sunnyvale, where early enthusiasts could chat about the technology and the curious could get initiated.

Bitcoin was programmed so that only a certain number — 21 million — can ever exist. However, they don’t just appear out of thin air. They’re released into circulation steadily over time as rewards to members who help maintain the network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by computers guessing the answers to difficult puzzles. When a computer finds the right answer, the associated transactions are entered into the public ledger and the miner receives a reward in the form of a newly minted bitcoin.

The process is known as mining.

Mining is one of the technology’s

Cryptocurrency, that “there seems to be no shortage of people who think that bitcoin, as some in the community like to say, is headed ‘to the moon’ and that mining is their ticket to those riches.”

Walsh and Ebyam decided to join up to punch their tickets. The business model was simple. Walsh calls it “selfmining.” They’d fill a warehouse with servers, mint digital money and pocket the profits.

At the same time, bitcoin advocates were trying to slough off the associations with money laundering and drugs that had tainted the currency’s public image. So it

knew computer equipment and had managed large warehouses. Walsh worked with startups that his firm had funded. Walsh rounded up $850,000 from four investors, including himself and a relative, and in January formed a company called Aquifer. The company’s success would depend on three factors: how efficiently its servers could win bitcoin (a metric known as “hashrate”); equipment and overhead costs; and the value of the bitcoin their servers won.

The price of cooling and power tended to dictate where bitcoin mines were located. Most were overseas, in places

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [15]

like Iceland or China, where electricity was cheap.

Walsh and Ebyam figured they could do it in Silicon Valley’s backyard.

March 12, 2014: 1 Bitcoin = $637 At first they didn’t tell their landlord exactly what they were planning to do.

Debbie Olson, executive director of the Riverbank Local Redevelopment Authority, knew only that the men wanted to install a server farm when she offered Aquifer a lease in March 2014. “They were quite secretive,” Olson says.

She remembers that they became interested in the site, part of a former army munitions plant that Olson manages as an industrial park for the small city 100 miles east of San Jose, while visiting to look at used equipment for sale by another tenant. The long, narrow warehouses oozed PCBs, but the property’s access to cheap hydroelectric power from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir caught their attention.

Olson soon learned that Ebyam was under a couple of indictments, which were still winding through court, and refused to let him sign any lease documents or official correspondence. Walsh was Aquifer’s CEO, but he still had his day job at Bertram, so a coworker from the firm, Anthony Brough, left to become Aquifer’s chief financial officer and public face. Ebyam was hired as an independent contractor as the facilities engineer.

The mine they began constructing seemed to reflect the idiosyncrasies of its designer. Photos of the interior taken by technicians for Olson’s group show servers set inside plywood enclosures and cooled by rows of box fans. The fans kicked up dust throughout the complex, while the whole setup sounded like a jet engine running nonstop in an airplane hangar. Aquifer quickly became the bane of other tenants. It didn’t help that Ebyam, who worked odd hours, had a habit of wandering all over the complex at night in his rumpled t-shirts.

Aquifer also installed a misting system for additional cooling, Olson says, which she worried could cause problems near all that electricity. After several small

fires broke out in the wooden racks, the redevelopment authority brought in consultants to inspect the arrangement for compliance with health and building safety codes.

“They most certainly scratched their heads and said, ‘We’ve never seen a server farm like this. This is just so unusual,’” Olson says.

But it was cheap, and DIY server farms were the name of the bitcoin mining game. Whereas traditional data centers emphasized reliability and backup power sources, the dog-eat-dog competitiveness of bitcoin mining encouraged stripped-down facilities that squeezed in as many servers as possible and cooled them cheaply. “Sometimes you hesitate to call these buildings data centers,” one cooling equipment supplier told online industry site Data Center Knowledge in July 2014.

Aquifer brought 5 MW online, Walsh says — enough to power about 5,000 homes at any given moment. Aquifer at one point claimed it was operating the largest bitcoin mining farm in the U.S., according to a promotional video posted to YouTube. In January 2015, Brough, the CFO, introduced Aquifer at the North American Bitcoin Conference as operating a “conglomerate” of California data centers with 28 MW of power and “considerable additional headroom.”

Brough may have been getting ahead of himself, but Aquifer’s team was nothing if not audacious. And they were looking to expand. In Oakland, after a string of suspicious burglaries at one of his marijuana grow operations, Ebyam had reportedly dragged a mattress into the warehouse office, along with a foghorn to deter thieves who would try to sneak in from the roof at night. At the industrial park, Ebyam was the one walking the roofs of abandoned buildings, explaining to Olson that he was scoping out additional space.

March 4, 2015: 1 Bitcoin = $278 Walsh was escorting his elderly mother-in-law through the federal court building in San Jose when a man named Christopher Kilday saw his chance to

1/3/09: First 50 bitcoins mined by pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto

2009

confront him. Kilday, an equipment salesman, was owed a commission for a sale he’d brokered for Aquifer. Kilday snapped pictures with his phone as he taunted Walsh. “Hey! Hong Kong Sean!” he said, according to court filings. “You brought your mother to court?! Hey, old lady! Walk carefully!” Security had to intervene.

By March 2015, Kilday was the least of Walsh’s concerns. Bitcoin had soared to $1,200 when Walsh and his partners hatched their mining operation in early 2014. But just before Walsh signed the lease at the old munitions plant, the world’s largest bitcoin trading exchange, Mt. Gox, filed bankruptcy after revealing that $460 million in bitcoin had been stolen by hackers. Bitcoin’s value was halved virtually overnight. As Aquifer mined, the price continued to decline.

By the time the North American Bitcoin Conference rolled around in January 2015, all the gains made during Bitcoin’s first run toward broader buy-in had evaporated. The mood was glum among the panel of mine operators. Yet Brough called the price collapse a “glorious opportunity” for mining companies, like his, that had been “conservative” in their business plans.

“We wouldn’t be in this business if we didn’t believe in the long-term prospects for bitcoin,” he told the crowd.

But mining companies also had high capital expenses — in real dollars. With their revenue in bitcoin, they’d have to sell bitcoin to pay the bills. Some observers in the press feared that would drive the price down further.

Three weeks later, Aquifer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Bankruptcy documents show the company had generated and converted bitcoins into $1.4 million over roughly nine months of mining. With bitcoin prices tanking, it wasn’t enough to keep the company afloat.

Exchange rates alone don’t explain the company’s fall, according to two of its largest creditors. The business model made sense to Andy Faris, a business acquaintance of Ebyam’s who later loaned Aquifer $300,000. He knew computer hardware, and thought an ultra-low-cost

2/9/11: Bitcoin trades at $1 for first time

2010

[16] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

2011

facility for turning bitcoin to cash could make him some money. But Aquifer had piled on debt to build out the data center without any Plan B in case something went wrong — if servers broke down or expansion plans hit delays or the price of bitcoin dropped, Faris says. Faris says his notes show that it took only weeks for him to realize that the management of the company was as precarious as its server racks. He sought to take over management duties to try to right the ship, but Walsh — in what Faris calls “selfpreservation mode” — filed bankruptcy instead.

“The company was playing with a lot of other people’s money in a very cavalier fashion,” Faris says.

Aquifer’s landlord, a public entity, had been concerned for even longer.

Olson says her agency often negotiated with tenants who ran into cash-flow problems. Aquifer, however, asked for concessions “from the beginning.” Eventually, Olson began to feel strung along.

She had trusted Brough, but he quit Aquifer shortly after the bankruptcy filing (Brough did not return several emails).

Walsh took over as the face of the company, and the things he said to Olson didn’t seem to bear out. “He just seemed slick, the kind of person that your antenna is up,” she says.

Aquifer told the bankruptcy judge that the company’s fate was caused by delays in getting permits to supply power to the servers it was setting up in three other buildings at the site. Certain creditors took “aggressive collection actions” when they didn’t receive payment, forcing the company’s managers to seek legal protection so they could reorganize.

Bankruptcy filings show that Aquifer LLC’s majority partner was Chris Cunningham, a project manager at the Walt Disney Company (Cunningham didn’t respond to an email for comment). Walsh, the CEO, held about a quarter interest, and one of his relatives held another 11-percent stake and was owed $300,000 for a loan at the time of bankruptcy.

Ebyam had no equity in the company, but he wasn’t just an independent

contractor, either. Bankruptcy documents list an outstanding debt of $130,000, as well as a mining profitshare obligation, to an LLC named Vagada Holdings. Vagada was registered in California in 2002 by Ebyam and his business partner in the computer resale business that earned them money laundering convictions. (The name appears to reference a fictitious company in the 1997 film The Devil’s Advocate that engages in shady activities.) Walsh says Ebyam loaned the company money through his LLC when Aquifer “was up against the ropes,” but can’t recall specific details.

For his part, Walsh made what seemed to be a particularly bold move once the bankruptcy was filed: He resigned his day job as vice president of online marketing at Bertram Capital.

“I wanted to try to save the business,” he says. “I am a family man with wife and kids and those things. And I invested a huge portion of my life savings into that business, and so when it started failing, it was devastating. Even thinking about it now, it was very painful. It was such a stressful time in my life, you can’t imagine. It was terrible.”

Walsh bought a domain name, redwoodcityventures.com, and began introducing himself as the founding partner of a Silicon Valley investment firm dedicated to “angel investments” in cryptocurrency companies, with an additional focus on fostering partnerships between U.S. and Chinese bitcoin companies. Redwood City Ventures is not a legal entity with an investment fund. “I made some investments with different people and collaborated on various things. It’s not like you’d be imagining, like a normal Silicon Valley firm,” Walsh says.

Aquifer’s bankruptcy case stretched out nearly 18 months, until the judge finally dismissed it. Walsh had presented a plan to rescue the company by distributing Chinese mining hardware to U.S. companies, but creditors including Faris didn’t consider it a serious plan — Aquifer didn’t have a sales team. The company later moved toward liquidation but didn’t file a plan in time, and the case

6/30/11: Yan Ebyam indicted over industrial-scale marijuana grow operation

2012

2013

was dismissed over the objection of Aquifer and its creditors.

Walsh moved to Colorado, Olson says, and continued taking a salary from Aquifer, but many of the company’s debts never got paid. The Riverbank LRA was out more than $500,000 in unpaid rent and legal fees, Olson says. The agency prepaid the power bill at the industrial complex, then billed tenants for their usage, meaning the LRA ultimately paid for much of the electricity used to generate new bitcoins at Aquifer’s data center.

A local government in a town of 25,000 people had unwittingly gambled on bitcoin, and paid a hefty price for it.

“We think, quite frankly, if we can save another community from the losses that we had to bear with this company, then we feel like that’s the right thing to do,” Olson says. “We would caution any company doing business with this particular group to be concerned, to review the records and be very concerned.”

May 19, 2016: 1 Bitcoin = $446 Scotty’s Table isn’t the sort of restaurant where diners typically tap at their phones between bites of beef duo, but the four Missoula businessmen’s new friend from Redwood City Ventures wanted to show them what the puzzling business he was bringing to town was all about. They downloaded bitcoin wallets — it takes just an email address and a few seconds to set up — and, one by one, Sean Walsh deposited a bitcoin into their accounts. It was his gift to his new landlords, Steve Nelson and Mike Boehme; their Realtor; and the local economic development officer, Missoula Economic Partnership CEO James Grunke, who had helped make intro-

ductions around town, and would later help Walsh’s company apply for a $416,000 state grant. Grunke says he “knew nothing” about cryptocurrency at the time, but today he’s able to scroll through his Coinbase app and find precisely the minute — 8:36 p.m., May 19, 2016 — when he started to learn.

“He gave us one just to let us know,” Nelson says. “It’d be like handing [you] a $50 bill. At that time, they were worth $440. It was still significant. And his words were to us, ‘Pass part of it along to some people so they can get a feel for it.’”

Cryptocurrency promoters love to perform these initiations, and have used them to soften the skepticism of some of the tech industry’s biggest figures. The journalist Nathaniel Popper describes one such instance in his 2015 book, Digital Gold, when attendees of an exclusive gathering laughed in amazement as they passed $250,000 worth of bitcoin among their new wallets.

Not that Grunke and Nelson needed any convincing by that point. There was already plenty to be excited about. Three months earlier, Walsh had inked a deal with Nelson that would bring the first bitcoin mine to Montana. In doing so, Walsh would help reinvigorate a former lumber mill community in Bonner and usher in what Grunke saw as an untapped opportunity for western Montana to become a haven for large data centers. Grunke had imagined attracting companies like Facebook or Google, but bitcoin was at least as intriguing.

Nelson’s company was redeveloping the Stimson Lumber Company’s plywood plant, which closed in 2007 and left Bonner-Milltown without a major industry. His Bonner Property Development LLC was having some success

attracting new businesses, but the plywood storage building, one of the largest timber-framed structures in the country, was proving tricky to put to use. “It was always impressive to walk in and look at, because it’s got these huge, high ceilings.

But then because of the high ceilings it was very difficult to insulate and utilize for the manufacturing process, because it’s so expensive, there’s so much space to try to heat,” Nelson says.

What would be additional overhead for most industrial tenants was an efficiency for a bitcoin mine. It helped, too, that western Montana isn’t prone to natural disasters that could disrupt operations, Grunke says, and that the landlords were open to accommodating an unfamiliar industry. The crucial factor, of course, was power, and Montana allows large users to buy electricity on the open market. Documents posted online indicate that Walsh’s company would ultimately negotiate a deal with Energy Keepers Inc., the tribally owned corporation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes that manages the Seliš Ksanka Qlispe dam. How cheap was the power? A press release issued Jan. 11, 2018, by Project Spokane investor Rockshield Capital put the figure at just $.033 per kWh. Aquifer had budgeted at $.05 per kWh in California, according to bankruptcy records.

Grunke says his organization, a nonprofit that receives city and county funds, helped facilitate the local connections to close the deal. He recalls talking with Walsh in the old guard house onsite about what the project could look like.

“Clearly, as an organization, we had a role in their decision to locate here,” Grunke says. Walsh had approached Nelson and Boehme after finding their com-

2/28/14: World’s largest bitcoin exchange announces it lost more than $460 million worth of its customers’ bitcoin

2014

2/19/15: Aquifer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; CEO Sean Walsh quits day job at California private equity firm

2015

“We were just afraid,” Walsh says. “We thought people were going to try to break in and steal our bitcoin.”

January 25, 2017: 1 Bitcoin = $894 Back in San Jose, Walsh’s bankruptcy attorney, Reno Fernandez, was still trying to get paid. His firm had been dismissed

by Walsh shortly after the bankruptcy was thrown out in June 2016. Between June 15 and Aug. 1, Aquifer paid Walsh $24,500, while its attorney was still owed $182,000.

Fernandez says he still hasn’t been paid.

Aquifer’s new attorney told the judge in early 2017 that was because the company had no cash on hand. Efforts to find new capital were unsuccessful.

Fernandez and other creditors say they had no idea that Walsh had launched a new mining operation in a different state while Aquifer’s bankruptcy was still pending. According to Nelson, the lease at the Bonner mill site began on March 1, 2016. Two days later, the bankruptcy court in San Jose held a hearing in which Aquifer withdrew its plan for reorganization and advised the court that it would be filing a liquidation plan instead.

“It signals to me that they’re hedging their bets right there by forming another company in another state,” Faris says. He says the timeline “raises questions” about whether any of the equipment, designs or other assets from Aquifer also made their way to Montana.

Walsh says he kept the businesses “totally segregated” in accordance with the law, and denies that any Aquifer assets were used in Project Spokane, noting that those assets were turned over to the company’s secured creditors, which included Faris. Walsh explains that as Aquifer failed, a friend encouraged him

3/6/17: Roger Ver’s Bitcoin.com rolls out mining pool using hashrate from Project Spokane

3/12/14: Aquifer signs lease at old munitions plant in Riverbank, CA to set up bitcoin mine 10/3/13: FBI arrests operator of underground marketplace Silk Road, which uses bitcoin to enable online drug trade

mercial lease listing online. Rather than try to disguise the nature of his bitcoin business, Walsh sold them on it. Nelson began researching bitcoin and, after Walsh gave him his first taste of the cryptocurrency, Nelson started thinking he had stumbled across the technology of the future. He remembered the day when, as a 10-year-old in 1957, his father came home with a new Conoco credit card and placed it on the table. Nelson couldn’t believe the plastic was as good as cash. “So why wouldn’t we think of using virtual currency in this world we’re living in?” he reasoned, and soon began investing a significant portion of his own money in the cryptocurrencies Walsh was starting to mine on his property.

But otherwise, Walsh took steps to hide the new mine from public view. He incorporated the company in Montana and Colorado as Project Spokane LLC, which he has since said was meant to misdirect potential competitors. Nelson and Boehme first introduced the tenant to the Missoulian in August 2016 as Montana Data LLC, saying only that the company had built a data center to help balance energy loads for states that rely on inconsistent wind energy. It’s since been referred to in the press as Global Big Data LLC and, most recently, Project Northwest. In his talks around the world, Walsh touted his investment in the “largest blockchain security data center in North America” without saying where in North America it was.

“When we started the business, we didn’t want anyone to know anything,” Walsh says. Montana’s undiscovered supply of cheap energy was his ace in the hole in an ultracompetitive industry. And publicizing the mine’s location could make it a target for thieves or hackers.

3/1/16: Project Spokane signs lease for 240,000 sq. ft. datacenter at Bonner mill site 3/3/16: Aquifer withdraws reorganization plan in bankruptcy case, intends to liquidate

2016

3/16/17: Last day for Ebyam to surrender in Missoula to federal custody for six-year prison term 6/20/16: Aquifer bankruptcy case is dismissed after company misses a submittal deadline

2017

12/29/17: Canadian cryptocurrency mining company Hyperblock Technologies discloses $15.4 million securities distribution, announces aquisition of Project Spokane. Walsh named founder and CEO.

6/6/17: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announces Project Spokane to receive job creation grant worth up to $416,000

2018

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [17]

to “double down” and invest in a new operation.

Walsh agreed, believing the problems that led to Aquifer’s demise were unlikely to recur. He says he found some “minority shareholders” for Project Spokane, but declines to identify them.

“It’s kind of a crazy thing to imagine based on what I just told you, on how devastating the loss was,” Walsh says.

Not everyone in California was in the dark about the new venture. Ebyam, still awaiting sentencing for his marijuana grow operation, had obtained permission in August 2016 from the judge overseeing his case to relocate to Montana to work at a newly built data center. Ebyam left out the bitcoin part, writing in a letter to the judge that he had “found the way to make wind energy more viable by buying the power the wind farms can’t sell.” He said that his company’s “innovative design” enabled it to cut the costs of building a data center by nearly 95 percent. The new data center was using recycled substations from a shuttered Intel facility in Colorado and transformers from an old Dell data center.

Ebyam included four interior photos of the Bonner warehouse in various stages of build-out — which looks more professional than the one in Riverbank — and a letter of reference from Walsh, who wrote, “Yan is positively indispensable to our joint business venture that he leads many aspects of, and I hope to keep him at the helm for years to come.” ( Walsh tells the Indy that Ebyam was an independent contractor at Project Spokane.)

By then, Ebyam was introducing himself by a different last name, Allweiss, at least to Nelson.

Nelson says the lease in Bonner was signed by Project Spokane’s other principal, a younger man named Matt Carson, who loves computer games and speaks with a Texas accent. Carson started mining bitcoin in his parents’ garage in 2010 with equipment he configured from graphics cards and motherboards purchased on Craigslist, he told the hosts of a podcast called Bitcoin Sandwich in 2014. That grew into commercial mining operations in Missouri and Colorado. He opened his Colorado facility and mining equipment distributor at the same time Aquifer got going in California. It similarly went belly-up, and the company, Miner Hosting LLC, racked up $271,000 in default judgments in Colorado from customers who said their mining equipment wasn’t delivered. (Parts delivery problems were “par for the course” in the nascent bitcoin mining industry in 2014, leading to bankruptcies and numerous lawsuits filed by customers who felt swindled, authors Paul Vigna and Michael Casey write in The Age of Cryptocurrency.) A writ of garnishment issued in 2017 was unable to collect because the company’s bank account had closed.

Nelson today says he was unaware that Walsh’s California mine had gone bankrupt. And none of the warning signs cited by the Riverbank landlords have turned up with Project Spokane. Indeed, far from sputtering on the fringe, Project Spokane was moving toward the center of the bitcoin universe. On Valentine’s Day last year, Carson and Ebyam had dinner at what appears to be Missoula’s Kobe Seafood & Steak with a development team from one of the cryptocurrency industry’s most important companies: Bitcoin.com, owned by Roger Ver, aka Bitcoin Jesus, the

man who had evangelized on that Silicon Valley billboard. Ver posted a photo of their dinner to Twitter with the caption “Eight guys, and all Bitcoin.” A few weeks later, Bitcoin.com announced its latest project, a large-scale cryptocurrency mining pool.

Bitcoin.com’s announcement didn’t say where its mine is located (the company will not confirm or deny any partnership with Project Spokane), but the attached photo shows the site’s developers with their arms around Ebyam, who is wearing the same Bitcoin.com logo polo shirt he was wearing at Kobe. Its landing page for customers shows images of the Bonner data center, with its long rows of servers racked beneath the dramatic wooden tres-

job-creation grants. The largest award, funded through coal severance taxes, was made to a company called Project Spokane, in the amount of $416,000 to support expansion of its “blockchain security services for the bitcoin network.” Bitcoin forums and industry websites immediately seized on the news that Montana’s government was ready to pump tax dollars into an industry that the federal government, and some other states, had been all too suspicious of. Bitcoin.com’s news service called it one of the first grants given to a bitcoin mining operation based in the U.S. In applying for the grant, Project Spokane had pledged to create 65 new jobs in Bonner over the next two years, writing that the

erwise communicated to Project Spokane’s local managers the disclosure requirements associated with the public grant. (An accounting manager listed as the business contact on Project Spokane’s application told the Indy last August that she was no longer with the company.)

Walsh decided to decline the grant. He says he hadn’t been aware that the money wasn’t as straightforward as it first seemed. The grant was technically a contract, and Project Spokane would have to submit follow-up financial documentation proving, among other things, that it had made the hires it was promising before funds were distributed. “I was like, ‘Forget it, it’s not worth the risk,’” Walsh says now.

photo submitted to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Steve Nelson and Michael Boehme, the men working to redevelop the shuttered Stimson lumber mill, were excited to find a tenant in March 2016 for the enormous storage warehouse. They didn’t know much about bitcoin, but Nelson has since become a believer in the future of digital currency.

tles. Bitcoin.com’s mining business is different from how Walsh and Ebyam had mined in California. In mining pools, individual customers purchase contracts for a small portion of the mine’s overall hashrate. Pool mining provides an affordable entry point for individual miners and a more stable revenue stream for mine operators. The same risk that came back to bite Aquifer is now shared with Bitcoin.com’s customers. There’s no guarantee their contracts won’t lose money.

June 6, 2017: 1 Bitcoin = $2,822 Somebody screwed up.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issued a press release in June 2017 announcing that the state Department of Commerce had awarded its latest round of

[18] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

funds would help purchase machinery, equipment, furniture and software and pay wages to new employees as it expanded operations, including additional data centers in Montana. The grant application stated that the total project would cost $26 million.

What Walsh hadn’t expected was that anyone outside state government would find out. Walsh says he was told (he didn’t say by whom) when Project Spokane applied that “there would be no publicity whatsoever from accepting it.” In fact, Grunke had first spilled the beans locally, telling investors at a luncheon covered by the Missoulian that Project Spokane had applied for the grant, with Mayor John Engen signing a letter of support and county commissioners agreeing to sponsor the application.

Grunke previously said he apologized to the company for that unwanted plug, but that his team oth-

Project Spokane continued to expand its mining capacity anyway, reaching 20 MW of contracted power, enough to power 20,000 homes. Grunke told investors at the March 2016 luncheon that the data center contained 12,000 servers, and planned to expand to 55,000. Nelson estimates the current number of employees on site is about 25, not including the temporary contractors Project Spokane hired during build-out.

Not among that crew is Ebyam, who was ordered to turn himself in at the Missoula federal courthouse by March 16, 2017, for a six-year jail sentence. He’s currently held at a federal prison in Colorado, with a scheduled release date of June 2, 2022.

Nelson says he knew that Ebyam had gone to Colorado early last year, but not that he was in jail. He says he joined a conference call with Walsh and

Ebyam recently to discuss technical issues about the building’s cooling system. “He understands the engineering side of things,” Nelson says.

Walsh says Ebyam is no longer involved with Project Spokane: “Oh gosh, no. You know he’s in jail, right?”

January 17, 2018: 1 Bitcoin = $11,149 Though he didn’t want it, Walsh says the attention generated by Project Spokane’s grant award turned out to be good publicity for the currency he advocates. “It helped legitimize what everyone in bitcoin is doing,” he says, before correcting himself. “Not everybody, just the good guys.”

Walsh is speaking by phone the day before he heads to Miami to deliver a presentation at the North American Bitcoin Conference, Jan. 18 and 19. His session, one of dozens, took on the question that’s become the subject of intense global speculation: Is bitcoin a bubble?

When Ebyam went to prison in early 2017, bitcoin was trading at around $1,000. By year’s end, it was trading at $13,000, down from a breathtaking rise to $20,000 in December. As the price rose and word got out that Montana was ripe for bitcoin, Grunke says his office began fielding daily calls from blockchain companies interested in setting up data centers in the area, if only they could find a big enough space.

Plans for the state’s second bitcoin mine emerged in December. The Anaconda School District agreed to sell its recently vacated elementary school for $205,000 to a company called BitPower LLC, and the county agreed to lease BitPower a 40acre site in a tax-increment financing district for $100 per year. School Superintendent Gerry Nolan jokes that he didn’t know the difference between a bitcoin and a candy bar when the company turned up with an offer a couple of months ago.

He says he still doesn’t have any idea what its representatives meant when they told the school board they wanted to turn the elementary school into a “training facility.” The Montana Standard reported that one of the company’s local spokespersons is Rick Tabish, who was famously convicted, then acquitted, of murdering gambling mogul Ted Binion and then stealing silver stashed in Binion’s desert vault. Nolan says knowing that another mine was already running in Bonner was one factor that put the school board at ease. That, and the 300 jobs the company reportedly promised to bring to town.

Project Spokane has contributed new tax base to Missoula County, but it’s also becoming a problem for the mine’s neighbors. The everpresent noise generated by the facility’s thousands of servers and 450 cooling fans is keeping them up at night — even some who live several miles away, depending on how the wind carries the sound through the canyon. Members of the Bonner-Milltown Community Council have been discussing the problem for more than six months, requesting monthly progress reports from Nelson. They’re starting to grow restless.

“We need for the company to come do face-toface,” says Burt Caldwell, the council’s secretary.

“We think the right thing to do is for the company to come face the community and acknowledge there’s an issue.”

The council has invited state lawmakers representing the area to attend a special meeting on Feb. 5 to “see if the community has any recourse at all, other than declining property values and loss of sleep.” Nelson says he and his tenants have been working for months to engineer a solution, and he’s already spent more than $10,000 to commission sound analyses. They’ve settled on a plan that involves swapping out the fan blades for a quieter configuration. If the plan works with the first few dozen fans, Nelson says, he plans to apply for taxincrement money to offset the upgrade costs, which will amount to several hundred thousand dollars. Nelson considers the potential upgrades an investment less in Project Spokane than in the burgeoning bitcoin and blockchain industry as a whole.

So far, Walsh’s play is paying off. Walsh has been quoted increasingly by national publications for his crypto-industry insights, and was announced as founder and CEO this month of Hyperblock Technologies Corp., a Canadian cryptocurrency mining company that disclosed $15 million in securities distribution in December. A company website unveiled Jan. 22 says it is “building the future of cryptocurrency mining” and features extensive promotional material showing the Bonner mine, which it calls Project Northwest. Hyperblock touts a diverse revenue model, including wholesale hashrate sales to Bitcoin.com, server hardware sales, server hosting generating “monthly USD-denominated payments” and “self-mining” like that done by Aquifer. Its mission is the same one Walsh promoted in Dubai: “to accelerate the development of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry through hyper disruptive innovation.”

“I’m glad that I did take a second risk and invest a bunch more money, because we have a thriving business now,” Walsh says.

A Bitcoin.com manager hinted obliquely in a recent interview with Business Insider Nordic that the site was making “an awful lot of money” as the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies spiked.

The Indy plugged in Bitcoin.com’s advertised hashrates, the power costs advertised for “Project Northwest” and other inputs into a bitcoin mining profit calculator, which suggests that Project Spokane has mined hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency, at current prices.

When the price of bitcoin reached $17,000 in December, Grunke decided to cash out one-tenth of Walsh’s gift — the first time he’d sold any cryptocurrency. He says he felt a small thrill.

“It’s like pretend money to me, or being in Vegas,” says Grunke, who on Jan. 19 announced his departure from MEP to pursue other opportunities out of state.

But should Montanan communities bank on it? Is bitcoin just another gold rush? And who will be left holding the bag if the rush goes bust?

“Those are good questions,” Grunke says.

“They aren’t ones we’ve thought about.” dbrouwer@missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [19]

[arts]

Cowboy song Bill Pullman talks Lefty Brown, the allure of Westerns and his obsession with fruit

by Erika Fredrickson

I

n The Ballad of Lefty Brown, Bill Pullman plays a sidekick character who suddenly finds himself frontand-center in a Western drama about friendship, corruption and sacrifice. Directed by Jared Moshé, Lefty embraces the tropes made popular by John Wayne and John Ford, but with an underdog twist. Pullman, who has long owned a ranch near Whitehall and taught filmmaking at Montana State University before he ever starred in Space Balls, Lost Highway and Independence Day, is taking The Ballad of Lefty Brown on a Montana tour. He and Moshé will screen the film and do Q&As in Billings, Bozeman, Livingston, Whitehall, Helena and Missoula. In advance of the Missoula screening at the Roxy, we spoke with Pullman about the film.

Jared told me he came up with the character of Lefty Brown, but that you developed him together. Tell me about that process.

Bill Pullman: It was a good collaboration. Jared was generous in terms of the character, and he understands it’s going to be a real performance if he can go back through the script line by line with the actor. We did it in the beginning when I met him more than a year before we shot the thing, and then again as we got closer to pre-production. By that time he had settled on Montana as the place to shoot it.

Other places were considered first?

BP: His first ideas were New Mexico and Calgary. Once Montana became the setting, Jared rearranged the circumstances to fit the 1889 period when Montana got its first territorial capital in Bannack and was dealing with all the issues of trying to shed the vigilantism of the gold rush days.

What do you like about the Lefty Brown character?

BP: I think it was an unusual choice to do a different kind of male in a Western. The stock nature of the alpha male is [present]: A friend of his gets killed and he will endure whatever pain it

I was standing right next to you at the Red Ants Pants Festival in 2011 in White Sulphur Springs, so I’m guessing you’re also a fan of country music?

BP: Oh that’s wild! That was a good rendition of it, wasn’t it? Glad we saw the same thing. Yes! Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett and his Large Band — that was one of the last times I think Guy Clark played in a big venue.

It was classic. I have a photograph that I took as Guy was leaving. He walked into the frame so he was all in silhouette with his back turned to the audience and he raised his arm in a wave goodbye.

Bill Pullman plays the title character in the Montana-made Western The Ballad of Lefty Brown.

takes to get vengeance. But this guy, Lefty, is the one character least capable of that. Because he’s the sidekick, he’s not the alpha male. Lefty has always been eclipsed by his friend, whom he loved very much, and the loss of him was a bigger loss than any he had sustained. So the film is, as Jared likes to say, a coming-of-age story for a 63-yearold man.

Are you a fan of Westerns in general?

BP: Yes, I am. I directed and acted in The Virginian in 2000, and that was deeply satisfying. A lot of people think that Owen Wister’s novel really galvanized the whole genre. Up until that time, Westerns had been largely hyperbolic tales about Buffalo Bill and different legends like that with stories of being captured and escaping. But with The Virginian, he has the [narrator] getting off the train in Wyoming and meeting the man with no name, the Virginian. John Ford said he based five of

[20] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

his movies off the ingredients of The Virginian, so it’s a real seminal piece. There were a couple other versions that were done, and TV movies, so it’s a story that’s like an American Hamlet. I enjoyed doing an adaptation that really kept a lot of the original dialog from the book, which I found telling of the psychology of the characters. We did it in a very spare way so it’s a little Bergman-esque. But I don’t get to do enough Westerns, so it’s really satisfying to be in one that has an unusual premise, but with a kind of classical construction.

When did you first come to Montana and how have you stayed connected here?

BP: I started living in Montana in the 1970s. I was hired out of college to do [Montana] Shakespeare in the Parks and was in residence there pretty continuously.

I went to graduate school for directing [at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst]

and … I taught at Montana State University for two years. I decided either I leave now or stay forever because it was a pretty good gig, I was enjoying it, but I had it in mind that I wanted to try New York City, and so in 1981 I left. My brother was training to be a doctor and he looked all around and picked Butte. He found a piece of ground that had some grazing permits. We bought some cows and have been expanding the ranch since then.

I read an article in Food & Wine from 2012 about your orchard and preserve parties at your Hollywood home. Do you have an orchard in Montana, too?

BP: Yes! I have an orchard in Montana that has apple trees and gooseberries, red currants, chokecherries — lots of different things that are zone 3 hardy.

Buffaloberry, as well. It’s a different kind of orchard altogether from the other one.

What is the significance to you of the Whitehall screening?

BP: I guess I’ve had it in my head we’d have a Montana hometown premiere in Whitehall at the Star Theatre, so to me that’s the centerpiece of the whole thing. A lot of people from around there were involved with the movie and it’s a good way to celebrate that. I got together with the guy who has the theater and said we ought to make it a benefit for the Jefferson Valley Museum, which is an old pioneer museum in Whitehall that honors the ancestors. They need to raise some money to renovate the wood siding on this barn that they’ve turned into a museum.

What else are you looking forward to on this tour?

BP: I love to go town to town. And I’ll be with Jared, his wife, their 2-yearold baby and my wife, and we’ll be in one car just like the old days when you used to take the film prints around.

When the Whitehall theater showed 35mm prints, the guy would play the movie in Whitehall and then carry the film print up to Boulder to show the next night. It was a good tradition of bringing movies around Montana.

The Ballad of Lefty Brown screens at the Roxy Sun., Jan. 28, at 7 PM, followed by a Q&A with Bill Pullman and Jared Moshe. $8 arts@missoulanews.com

[theater]

Ideal world On the timelessness of On Golden Pond Erika Fredrickson

photo courtesy Terry Cyr

J.R. Robinson and Suzy Hunt star in Montana Rep’s On Golden Pond.

Ernest Thompson’s On Golden Pond is sentimental on the surface: A husband and wife in the twilight of their years spend a summer at the family cabin on Golden Pond where they’ve been going for 38 years. Quiet moments of redemption and memorable characters have elevated this 1979 play (and the 1981 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda) to the status of an American classic. The underlying themes are timeless, even as the story itself sometimes seems outdated. (I’ll get to that later.)

This is the final Montana Repertory Theater production from artistic director Greg Johnson before he retires this spring. He’s always a strong director, but with On Golden Pond, his direction is seamless.

The play begins in May when Ethel and Norman Thayer arrive at their vacation home on Golden Pond, uncover the furniture, unpack their things and settle in for the summer. Norman, we find out quickly, is a cantankerous sort with a fixation on death (he’s about to turn 80) and Ethel, aware of his degrading health, tries to keep him from dark thoughts. Soon, their daughter Chelsea arrives with her new boyfriend, Bill, and Bill’s son, Billy. As soon as Chelsea greets her parents as “Mommy” and “Norman,” we know that there is some heavy father-daughter hurt that needs to be healed, but it’s going to take a while.

Suzy Hunt does a fantastic job of bringing Ethel to life. She evokes Lauren Bacall and has a similar rough-but-sweet take on Ethel to Hepburn.

Amber Rose Mason nails the role of Chelsea, the grown daughter who returns to Golden Pond only to still find herself sucked into feeling like an unloved child. J.R. Robinson as Norman the curmudgeon really shines most during the scene when he’s left alone with his daughter’s boyfriend, Bill.

Robinson doesn’t overdo his character’s capacity for cruelty: His casual delivery softens the venom of his words just enough to make him likeable.

In a play full of funny moments, this is one of

the best, in large part because of Ryson Sparacino (a BFA actor from UM) as Bill whose intimidated overconfidence manifests in hilarious awkward silences, fidgety hands and exasperation thinly veiled by fake niceness. Hudson Therriault, another UM theater student, has put a lot of work into Charlie, the local mailman and Chelsea’s childhood boyfriend. He does the character’s down east folksiness and guffawing — to the point of caricature — but when he reins things in, he’s perfection. Therriault, Sparacino and Morgan Solonar, (who believably pulls off Billy, an angry but loveable 13-year-old boy), are going to be ones to watch in upcoming productions.

Also, the cabin on Golden Pond is a character in and of itself and Mike Fink’s set gives it life: stone chimney, wooden rafters and a backdrop of Golden Pond surrounded by pines and a misty Maine sky.

Lastly, as a note on how this play holds up: This is such an easy show for a Missoula audience to relate to because it’s about an older white, middle-class couple spending summers at a place a lot like, say, Flathead Lake. That viewpoint is fine, though it’s been done to death. I wonder how much more uncomfortable it is for middle-class white people now to hear Norman’s brief but cutting comments about “Jews” and “negroes.” His bigotry is realistic, but the play itself naturally lacks any context of conversations around white privilege. That’s not to say, don’t do On Golden Pond (though I can’t wait for the next wave of American classics with diverse perspectives), just that racism is no longer a sidebar or mild character flaw. And in some ways, that makes the play feel both out of touch and also ripe for conversation.

Montana Rep’s On Golden Pond continues at the Montana Theater in the PARTV Center Thu., Jan. 25–Sat., Jan. 27, and again Thu., Feb 1, and Sat., Feb. 3. 7:30 nightly with 2 PM matinee on Jan. 27. efredrickson@missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [21]

[music]

On point The timely politics of Drive-By Truckers’ American Band

by Jason Cohen

Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Super Furry Animals’ Rings Around the World. The Coup’s Party Music. All those albums were recorded (and in some cases, released) before Sept. 11, 2001, but felt, sounded or looked like “9/11 records” after the fact.

So it also is, in a way, with American Band, Drive-By Truckers’ 11th album. Its songs were mostly written in 2014 and 2015. It was recorded mostly in the first half of 2016. And it came out on Sept. 30 of that same year. By then — but especially

by Nov. 9 — Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley’s story-songs and meditations about race, gun violence, the border and even the aftermath of 9/11 made American Band feel like a “Trump’s America record.” The band thought it was making music about a time in this country that was troubled and disheartening, but it also felt like there was progress and awareness. And then all of a sudden...

“All of a sudden, there wasn’t,” Hood says.

“Yeah. I really was hoping that our record would be dated and passe by now. And I’ve never said that about a record before. I’ve always really wanted our records to hold up over time, and this one, hopefully, the songs are good enough to where it would anyway. But the topic of it, unfortunately, has become much more timely than when we made it.”

That thing where people said that music might be better under President Trump was both total bullshit and, even if it wasn’t, not worth the price for a second. But just playing music, and going to see music, still feels like a small act of, if not outright resistance, at least community and grace. One of Hood’s epiphanies came in early 2016 at a Patti Smith show in Portland, Oregon, where Patterson, the Alabama native and longtime Athens, Georgia, resident, now lives. He knew that songs like “What It Means” (his reaction to police shootings and Black Lives Matter) and “Guns of Umqua” (about a school shooting in his new home state) were asking the right questions, but didn’t feel like he had any answers. Smith gave him one with a simple onstage proclamation — “Love each other, motherfuckers!”

— that is now part of his own stage patter.

“I’m really, for my New Year’s resolution, trying to be more positive and just push from a better frame of mind,” Hood says. “That’s a work in progress. The year’s young.”

Of course, the moment that we’re in does not exactly call for oblique gestures. A Black Lives Matter sign was already on the Truckers’ stage in early 2016; after the election, “DBTs” came to stand (if somewhat imprecisely) for “Dance Band of The Resistance.”

Back on the road in 2017, the band took to covering the Ramones’ “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” And on the Drive-By Truckers’ latest release, a 7-inch single

photo courtesy Danny Clinch

Drive-by Truckers, from left: Matt Patton, Brad Morgan, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jay Gonzalez.

benefiting the Southern Poverty Law Center, Hood’s “The Perilous Night” dispenses with metaphor entirely, a blunt instrument for brutal times.

“Dumb, white and angry with their cup halffilled / Running over people down in Charlottesville,” Hood sings, before referencing the “Sputnik Moon,” “the Fourth Reich in khakis” and “Ronnie Reagan … spinning his grave.” In keeping with rock ’n’ roll tradition (and Hood’s own pedigree as the son of Muscle Shoals bass legend David Hood), the song is also a riffy, uplifting, gospeltinged anthem. Not for nothing does the chorus end with an “amen.”

“I’m happy with how that turned out,” Hood says. “I’d also be really happy to let that be it, too.”

Meaning, the next record won’t necessarily be polemic. “But I don’t get to choose what the next song is. At least, not if it’s going to be worth a shit.

Generally, they choose me, and I just try to be receptive to it.”

The band’s longtime exploration of, as Hood once dubbed it, “the duality of the Southern thing,” has previously put them in a bit of a Springsteen-

[22] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

like position: Just as some Reagan voters (and possibly Reagan himself ) managed to believe that “Born in the USA” was an uncritically patriotic song, some Truckers fans apparently managed to ignore the social and political commentary embedded in the likes of 2001’s Southern Rock Opera or 2014’s English Oceans. But these days, things are more intense. A visit to one of the band’s YouTube videos or its official Facebook page is, well, like being on the internet in 2017.

“Perfect song for the one year anniversary of the worst day since 9/11,” raved one commenter about “The Perilous Night,” which came out on Nov. 7.

“Man I used to love this band, but dang the political crap has just ruined it,” was one Facebook comment under Cooley’s endorsement video for U.S. Sen. from Alabama Doug Jones.

Hood is still wrestling with what to make of such reactions. “I have a lot of emotions about it,” he said.

“Because on one hand, there’s the part of me that’s like: Anyone who tells me what to do, fuck you. That’s part of my constitution from growing up as a punk rocker. But I’m also a more inclusive than exclusive

type person. I always loved the Willie Nelson model.

Willie Nelson, he speaks his mind. He always has! And you go to a Willie Nelson show, and you’ll see people with their great-grandchildren, all together, dancing, singing along to Willie Nelson songs. And I think the conservatives, they go, ‘Oh, that Willie, he smokes too much dope!,’ and the liberals love him. Everybody loves Willie. So I guess there’s a part of me that thought that maybe we would have a little of that, and it hasn’t really been the case.

“That said, this record was extremely well received,” Hood continues. “It’s been our most successful record, and it’s been an extremely great tour.

There’s certainly a few places where we’ve seen or felt a little backlash, but not that much. So we’re going to do what we want to do. At the end of the day, we have to please us. I always prefer it when it pleases other people, too.”

Drive-By Truckers and Lilly Hiatt play the Wilma Wed., Jan. 31, at 8 PM. $27 advance at logjampresents.com. arts@missoulanews.com

[film]

Same old Hostiles gives white man’s guilt more play

by MaryAnn Johanson

Christian Bale stars in Hostiles.

You know what the real white man’s burden is? Living with the guilt of the colonialism, oppression and genocide you are party to. I mean, look at North America. Sure, millions of Native people dead and ancient cultures destroyed, but who has to live with that? All the good soldiers who were just following orders, that’s who. Won’t someone think of the white man?

Scott Cooper is thinking of the white man in Hostiles, a Western that revisions the genre right back into the white man’s perspective. U.S. Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale) is a “good soldier” who has made a career of fighting “wretched savages,” but now, even at the end of his Army days, he is not satisfied that he has done enough. “There ain’t enough punishment for his kind,” Blocker believes of Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk ( Wes Studi), who has been held prisoner — along with his family, including a young grandson — for seven years at an Army compound in New Mexico. The year is 1892, the frontier is closing, and attitudes toward the Indians back east are softening. The order comes from Washington: Yellow Hawk, who has got the cancer, and his family are to be escorted back to “sacred Cheyenne territory” in Montana, where he can die in peace. As a onelast-mission before his retirement, Blocker is assigned the task. This is an indignity for Blocker, but his pension is at stake, so off they go.

I know it sounds like Hostiles is suggesting that the white man isn’t happy as a june bug to be slaughtering people for not being white. And maybe it is, a bit. But I’d hate for you to think that the film does anything radical, like present Yellow Hawk and his family as complicated human beings.

The Native Americans here are strictly one-dimensional, which is all Blocker’s redemption requires: They just need to meet the abuse he doles out with

quiet dignity, all the better to start thawing his cold, cold heart.

We also have some marauding Comanches, who are even less than one-dimensional: They’re faceless boogeymen who swoop in and kill. They did that to Mrs. Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike), a nice white lady the travelers encounter who is the only survivor of a Comanche attack on her family.

The Comanche are still out there, and still dangerous, but can Yellow Hawk and his son, Black Hawk (Adam Beach), convince Blocker that they must team up to defeat them? An alliance with savages is too much for Blocker to contemplate, but lo! The Cheyenne, who are literally in white-man’s chains, still have the kindness to honor the white lady’s grief, which is loud and heartrending. If the savages can be gentle with a white lady — just like Blocker is! — maybe they’re not so bad after all?

Still, Blocker has a long way to go. On one side, he has his master sergeant (Rory Cochrane), who has “the melancholy” over “our treatment of the Natives,” and on the other, an unrepentant soldier (Ben Foster), whom the party is transporting to hang for unspecified heinous crimes that are apparently indistinguishable to the “things” they all did to the Native peoples. Is there a middle ground for Blocker, one that lets him retain his manly stoicism while also grudgingly conceding that savages are people too?

“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.” D.H. Lawrence wrote that in 1923, and Cooper uses the quote to open his film. But ha on Lawrence! Here’s Blocker’s soul starting to melt way back in 1892.

Granted, the American soul has barely budged since. But it’s only been 126 years. Give it time.

Hostiles opens at the AMC Fri., Jan. 25. arts@ missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [23]

[film]

OPENING THIS WEEK CALL ME BY YOUR NAME A Jewish-American boy living in northern Italy falls head-over-heels in love with a bookish and musical grad student. You’ll never look at peaches the same way again. Rated R. Stars Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg. Playing at the AMC 12.

HOSTILES Unrelated to Eli Roth’s series of torture films which are spelled differently anyway, an army captain is tasked with transporting a dying Cheyenne war chief from New Mexico to Montana. You had me at Montana. Rated R. Stars. Christian Bale, Wes Studi and Ben Foster. Playing at the AMC 12 and the Pharaohplex. (See Film) THE MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE After being delayed by three years, the Maze Runner series comes to an end with more of the same stuff we saw in the Hunger Games movies. Rated PG-13.

Stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario and Barry Peppers. Playing at the AMC 12 and the Pharaohplex.

NOW PLAYING 12 STRONG The game plan for beating the Taliban in Afghanistan involves help from an unexpected source. That source, of course, being horses. I’m a little upset they didn’t just call the movie Horse War or Horse Soldiers or literally anything other than the boring and generic title it ended up with. Rated R. Stars Chris Hemsworth, Michael “Pottersville” Shannon and Rob Riggle. Playing at the Pharaohplex and the AMC 12.

The only way to protect yourself this cold and flu season. Call Me By Your Name opens at the the AMC 12.

THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN He’s spent his years as a sidekick to a cowboy legend. Now this old cowpoke is forced to step up to the realities of frontier justice. Rated R. Star Bill Pullman and Director Jared Moshe will be in attendance for a Q&A about this made-in-Montana western Sun., Jan. 28 at 7 PM at the Roxy. (See Arts.)

GET OUT (2017) Chris is worried about visiting his girlfriend’s parents due to his uncertainty about how they’ll react to their daughter’s interracial relationship. That and their neighborhood has a sinister history of young black men disappearing. Rated R. Jordan Peele directs Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams and Stephen Root in my pic for 2017’s Best Picture. Playing at the AMC 12.

DARKEST HOUR As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe, the new Prime Minister of Great Britain has to make the hardest decisions of his life. Rated PG-13.

Stars Gary Oldman, Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Oldman sure loves being in movies with the word Dark in the title, doesn’t he? Playing at the Pharaohplex.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN P.T. Barnum might be best known for coining the phrase “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but the life of the famed circus founder still has a few surprises up its sleeve. Rated PG. Stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya. Showing at the Missoula AMC 12.

DEN OF THIEVES What’s a band of bank robbers to do when supercop Gerard Butler is on their tail? Rob the Federal Reserve, of course. Really? Not lay low until the heat dies off? Not flee the country with their ill-gotten gains? They’re going to knock over the most heavily guarded bank in the world? Sure, why not. Rated R. Also stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Tucker Tooley. Playing at the AMC 12.

I, TONYA Did you know figure skater Tonya Harding was the first American woman to complete a triple axel in competition? Of course not. We all remember her from the wildest scandal in sports history instead.

Rated R. Stars Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney. Playing at the Roxy.

AN EVENING WITH WORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATION Dogs in space, dogs in airports and dogs in shelters.

Working Dogs for Conversation hosts an evening of short films about man’s best friend Mon., Jan. 29 at 7 PM at the Roxy.

INTO THE WOODS (2014) Years before Hollywood was obsessed with making cinematic universes on the big screen, Stephen Sondheim was doing the same for fairy tales on the Broadway stage. Rated PG. Meryl Streep, Chris Pine and Anna Kendrick star is this film adaptation that’s sure to excite all the theater dorks in your life. Playing Wed., Jan. 31 at 7 PM at the Roxy.

FOREVER MY GIRL Time to spin the Romantic Comedy Plot Generator Wheel! A country music superstar and a florist fall in love. Rated PG. Stars Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe and John Benjamin Hickey. Playing at the AMC 12.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE It took them 22 years, but Jumanji is finally getting a sequel without any of the original cast. Didn’t they learn their lesson with Zathura? Rated PG-13. Stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack

[24] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

Black. Playing at the Missoula AMC 12 and the Pharaohplex.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975) He thought being sent to a psychiatric hospital would be better than cooling his heels in prison. He thought wrong. Rated R. Stars Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher and Juicy Fruit Gum. Playing Sun., Jan. 28 at 7:30 PM at the Roxy.

PADDINGTON 2 Everyone’s favorite marmalade-loving bear is back in a sequel to 2014’s surprise hit. This time he’s in prison, which, to be honest, is a pretty bold choice for a kid’s movie. Rated PG. Stars Hugh Bonneville, Peter Capaldi and Sally “The Shape of Water” Hawkins. Playing at the AMC 12.

PHANTOM THREAD The Ghost Who Walks emerges from the four-color world of comic strips to slam evil in this big screen adaption of Lee Falk’s purple-clad super hero. Just kidding, this is Daniel Day-Lewis’ supposed last film. He plays a tailor in charge of dressing the high-and-mighty of Postwar Britain. I don’t think he slams any evil. Rated R. Also stars Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Playing at the Roxy.

PITCH PERFECT 3 After winning the World Championship, The Bellas discover there aren’t any job prospects for a cappella singers outside of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, and that show ended in 1995. Rated PG-13.

Stars Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and John Lithgow.

Playing at the AMC 12.

THE POST In the 1970s, the federal government was lying to the American people and attacking the free press, a

cornerstone of our democracy. I’m sure glad things aren’t like that anymore! Rated PG-13. Stars Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Bob Odenkirk. I wonder who is going to play me when they eventually make a movie about the Indy? Playing at the AMC 12.

THE SHAPE OF WATER Did you ever watch Creature from the Black Lagoon and think to yourself, dang, I wanna have sex with that? Guillermo del Toro did, apparently. Rated R. Stars Sally “Paddington 2” Hawkins, Doug Jones (not that one) and Michael “Pottersville” Shannon. Playing at the Roxy.

SPACEBALLS (1987) Mel Brooks parodied everything from Star Wars to Planet of Apes in this tale of kidnapped princesses, pizza monsters and merchandising, merchandising, merchandising. Rated PG, but keep your ears open for Rick Moranis dropping the F-bomb. Also stars Bill Pullman, John Candy and Joan Rivers. Playing Sat., Jan. 27 at 8 PM at the Roxy.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI A bold and evil empire takes what it wants and destroys those who stand in its way. Who will oppose this tide of darkness? So far it’s already bought Marvel, 20th Century Fox and Star Wars. Rated PG-13.

Stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

Playing at the Missoula AMC 12.

Capsule reviews by Charley Macorn.

Planning your outing to the cinema? Visit the arts section of missoulanews.com to find up-todate movie times for theaters in the area. You can also contact theaters to spare yourself any grief and/or parking lot profanities.

[dish]

FREE Visit

Chicken ramen soup

by Gabi Moskowitz

$25 off

ENROLLMENT FEE*

BROKEASS GOURMET

This is not your grandma’s chicken noodle soup (well … I guess if your grandma is Japanese, it might be).

Chewy, luxurious ramen noodles swim in a flavorful, savory broth with chunks of tender chicken, sweet carrot and an array of garnishes. Though the addition of a sliced hard-boiled egg might seem odd to those unfamiliar with the world of ramen, it adds a lovely richness to the soup.

Note that some chefs prefer to cook the ramen noodles in boiling water before adding them to the soup because the noodles release starch into the broth, thickening it. I actually like the richness it imparts, and so I cook my noodles directly in the broth. Either way results in delicious soup though.

Serves 2-4 Ingredients 1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 medium (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste) black pepper 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped 2 carrots, sliced into thin strips (julienned) 8 oz. Japanese ramen noodles (ideally fresh) 2 eggs

1 Roma (plum) tomato, sliced 1 green jalapeño, sliced into rings 4 scallions, chopped 1 big handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

REJUVENATE, REJUVENAT TE TE, E, REVIVE, REVIVE RENEW! *First time visitors only. Call club for details.

Directions Heat chicken broth plus 3 cups water in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir well. Season with soy sauce and black pepper and bring to a light boil. Add chicken thighs and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through.

While the soup cooks, hard-boil the eggs.

Rinse under cool water, peel the shells off and set aside.

Add the carrots and ramen noodles to the soup and cook until noodles are al dente (5-6 minutes for fresh noodles, slightly longer for dried).

Ladle the soup into bowls, making sure to divide the noodles and chicken evenly (I like to use tongs for this). Garnish with sliced egg, jalapeño, scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately.

BrokeAss Gourmet caters to folks who want to live the high life on the cheap, with delicious recipes that are always under $20. Gabi Moskowitz is the blog’s editor in chief and author of The BrokeAss Gourmet Cookbook and Pizza Dough: 100 Delicious Unexpected Recipes.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [25]

[dish] Biga Pizza 241 W. Main Street 728-2579 Biga Pizza offers a modern, downtown dining environment combined with traditional brick oven pizza, calzones, salads, sandwiches, specials and desserts. All dough is made using a “biga” (pronounced bee-ga) which is a time-honored Italian method of bread making. Biga Pizza uses local products, the freshest produce as well as artisan meats and cheeses. Featuring seasonal menus. Lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat. Beer & Wine available. $-$$

“PROST!” Located above Bayern Brewery 1507 Montana Street Monday–Saturday | 11a–8pm BayernBrewery.com

Bridge Pizza 600 S Higgins Ave. 542-0002 bridgepizza.com A popular local eatery on Missoula’s Hip Strip. Featuring handcrafted artisan brick oven pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soups, & salads made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Missoula’s place for pizza by the slice. A unique selection of regional microbrews and gourmet sodas. Dine-in, drive-thru, & delivery. Open everyday 11am - 10:30pm. $-$$ Brooks & Browns 200 S. Pattee St. 721-8550 Brooks & Browns Bar & Grill is the place to relax and unwind while enjoying our New Feature Menu. Great selection of Montana Brews on tap! Come down as you are and enjoy Happy Hour every day from 4-7p and all day Sunday with drink and appetizer specials changing daily. Thursday Trivia from 7:30-9:30. Inside the Holiday Inn Downtown Missoula. $-$$

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Burns Street Bistro 1500 Burns St. 543-0719 burnsstbistro.com We cook the freshest local ingredients as a matter of pride. Our relationship with local farmers, ranchers and other businesses allows us to bring quality, scratch cooking and fresh-brewed Black Coffee Roasting Co. coffee and espresso to Missoula’s Historic Westside neighborhood. Handmade breads & pastries, soups, salads & sandwiches change with the seasons, but our commitment to delicious food does not. Mon-Fri 7am 2pm. Sat/Sun Brunch 9am - 2pm. $-$$

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2230 McDonald Ave, Missoula, MT 59801 Sunday–Thursday 2–9PM Friday & Saturday 12–9PM

GREATBURNBREWING.COM [26] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

Butterfly Herbs 232 N. Higgins 728-8780 Celebrating 45 years of great coffees and teas. Truly the “essence of Missoula.” Offering fresh coffees, teas (Evening in Missoula), bulk spices and botanicals, fine toiletries & gifts. Our cafe features homemade soups, fresh salads, and coffee ice cream specialties. In the heart of historic downtown, we are Missoula’s first and favorite Espresso Bar. Open 7 Days. $ Doc’s Gourmet Sandwiches 214 N. Higgins Ave. 542-7414 Doc’s is an extremely popular gathering spot for diners who appreciate the great ambiance, personal service and generous sandwiches made with the freshest ingredients. Whether you’re heading out for a power lunch, meeting friends or family or just grabbing a quick takeout, Doc’s is always an excellent choice. Delivery in the greater Missoula area. We also offer custom catering!...everything from gourmet appetizers to all of our menu items. $-$$

Good Food Store 1600 S. 3rd West 541-FOOD The GFS Deli features made-to-order sandwiches, Fire Deck pizza & calzones, rice & noodle wok bowls, an award-winning salad bar, an olive & antipasto bar and a self-serve hot bar offering a variety of housemade breakfast, lunch and dinner entrées. A seasonally-changing selection of deli salads and rotisserie-roasted chickens are also available. Locally-roasted coffee/espresso drinks and an extensive fresh juice and smoothie menu complement bakery goods from the GFS ovens and Missoula’s favorite bakeries. Indoor and patio seating. Open every day 7am-10pm. $-$$ Grizzly Liquor 110 W Spruce St. 549-7723 grizzlyliquor.com Voted Missoula’s Best Liquor Store! Largest selection of spirits in the Northwest, including all Montana microdistilleries. Your headquarters for unique spirits and wines! Free customer parking. Open Monday-Saturday 9-7:30. $-$$$ Hob Nob on Higgins 531 S. Higgins • 541-4622 hobnobonhiggins.com Come visit our friendly staff & experience Missoula’s best little breakfast & lunch spot. All our food is made from scratch, we feature homemade corn beef hash, sourdough pancakes, sandwiches, salads, espresso & desserts. MC/V $-$$ Iron Horse Brew Pub 501 N. Higgins 728-8866 ironhorsebrewpub.com We’re the perfect place for lunch, appetizers, or dinner.

Enjoy nightly specials, our fantastic beverage selection and friendly, attentive service. Stop by & stay awhile!

No matter what you are looking for, we’ll give you something to smile about. $$-$$$ Iza 529 S. Higgins • 830-3237 izarestaurant.com Local Asian cuisine feature SE Asian, Japanese, Korean and Indian dishes. Gluten Free and Vegetarian no problem. Full Beer, Wine, Sake and Tea menu. We have scratch made bubble teas. Come in for lunch, dinner, drinks or just a pot of awesome tea. Open Mon-Fri: Lunch 11:30-3pm, Happy Hour 3-6pm, Dinner M-Sat 3pm-close. $-$$ Liquid Planet 223 N. Higgins • 541-4541 Whether it’s coffee or cocoa, water, beer or wine, or even a tea pot, French press or mobile mug, Liquid Planet offers the best beverage offerings this side of Neptune.

Missoula’s largest espresso and beverage bar, along with fresh and delicious breakfast and lunch options from breakfast burritos and pastries to paninis and soups. Peruse our global selection of 1,000 wines, 400 beers and sodas, 150 teas, 30 locally roasted coffees, and a myriad of super cool beverage accessories and gifts. Find us on facebook at /BestofBeverage. Open daily 7:30am to 9pm.

Liquid Planet Grille 540 Daly • 540-4209 (corner of Arthur & Daly across from the U of M) MisSOULa’s BEST new restaurant of

$…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

[dish] 2015, the Liquid Planet Grille, offers the same unique Liquid Planet espresso and beverage bar you’ve come to expect, with breakfast served all day long! Sit outside and try the stuffed french toast or our handmade granola or a delicious Montana Melt, accompanied with MisSOULa’s best fries and wings, with over 20 salts, seasonings and sauces! Open 7am-8pm daily. Find us on Facebook at /LiquidPlanetGrille. $-$$ Missoula Senior Center 705 S. Higgins Ave. (on the hip strip) 543-7154 themissoulaseniorcenter.org Did you know the Missoula Senior Center serves delicious hearty lunches every week day for only $4 for those on the Nutrition Program, $5 for U of M Students with a valid student ID and $6 for all others. Children under 10 eat free. Join us from 11:30 - 12:30 M-F for delicious food and great conversation. $ The Mustard Seed Asian Cafe Southgate Mall 542-7333 Contemporary Asian fusion cuisine.

Original recipes and fresh ingredients combine the best of Japanese, Chinese, Polynesian, and Southeast Asian influences. Full menu available at the bar.

Award winning desserts made fresh daily , local and regional micro brews, fine wines & signature cocktails. Vegetarian and Gluten free menu available.

Takeout & delivery. $$-$$$ Nara Japanese/Korean Bar-B-Que & Sushi 3075 N. Reserve 327-0731 We invite you to visit our contemporary Korean-Japanese restaurant and enjoy its warm atmosphere. Full Sushi Bar. Korean bar-b-que at your table. Beer, Wine and Sake. $$-$$$ Orange Street Food Farm 701 S. Orange St. 543-3188 orangestreetfoodfarm.com Experience The Farm today!!! Voted number one Supermarket & Retail Beer Selection. Fried chicken, fresh meat, great produce, vegan, gluten free, all natural, a HUGE beer and wine selection, and ROCKIN’ music. What deal will you find today? $-$$$ Pearl Cafe 231 E. Front St. 541-0231 pearlcafe.us Country French meets the Northwest. Idaho Trout with King Crab, Beef Filet with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Fresh Northwest Fish, Seasonally Inspired Specials, House Made Sourdough Bread & Delectable Desserts.

Extensive wine list, local beer on draft. Reservations recommended. Visit us on Facebook or go to Pearlcafe.us to check out our nightly specials, make reservations, or buy gift certificates. Open Mon-Sat at 5:00. $$-$$$ Pita Pit 130 N Higgins 541-7482 pitapitusa.com Fresh Thinking Healthy Eating. Enjoy a pita rolled just for you. Hot meat and cool fresh veggies topped with your favorite sauce. Try our Chicken Caesar, Gyro, Philly Steak, Breakfast Pita, or Vegetarian Falafel to

name just a few. For your convenience we are open until 3am 7 nights a week. Call if you need us to deliver! $-$$

Whatcha gonna drink? Cold Busters.

HAPPIEST HOUR

Rumour 1855 Stephens Ave. 549-7575 rumourrestaurant.com We believe in celebrating the extraordinary flavors of Montana using local product whenever it's available. We offer innovative vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, meat & seafood dishes that pair beautifully with one of our amazing handcrafted cocktails, regional micro-brews, 29 wines on tap or choose a bottle from our extensive wine list. At Rumour, you'll get more than a great culinary experience....You'll get the perfect night out. Open daily: restaurant at 4.00pm, casino at 10.30am, brunch sat & sun at 9.30am Sushi Hana 403 N. Higgins 549-7979 SushiMissoula.com Montana’s Original Sushi Bar. We Offer the Best Sushi and Japanese Cuisine in Town. Casual atmosphere. Plenty of options for non-sushi eaters including daily special items you won’t find anywhere else. $1 Specials Mon & Wed. Lunch Mon–Sat; Dinner Daily. Sake, Beer, & Wine. Visit SushiMissoula.com for full menu. $$-$$$

Taco Sano Two Locations: 115 1/2 S. 4th Street West 1515 Fairview Ave inside City Life 541-7570 • tacosano.net Home of Missoula’s Best BREAKFAST BURRITO. 99 cent TOTS every Tuesday. Once you find us you’ll keep coming back. Breakfast Burritos served all day, Quesadillas, Burritos and Tacos. Let us dress up your food with our unique selection of toppings, salsas, and sauces. Open 10am-9pm 7 days a week. WE DELIVER. $-$$

Tia’s Big Sky 1016 W. Broadway 317-1817 • tiasbigsky.com We make locally sourced Mexican food from scratch. We specialize in organic marinated Mexican street chicken (rotisserie style) fresh handmade tortillas, traditional and fusion tamales, tacos, pozole and so much more. Most items on our menu are gluten free and we offer many vegetarian and vegan options. We also have traditional Mexican deserts, as well as drinks. Much of our produce is grown for us organically by Kari our in house farmer! Eat real food at Tia’s!

photo by Micah Drew

Why you’re here: Because cold and flu season is underway and people are dropping like flies? For example, I’m here because a third of the Indy’s staff reporters are out sick (the rest are in sick), so the hour-veteran intern is sent out on his first assignment. You might want to cleanse your body, soothe your throat and pretend this is a medicinally proven treatment.

What you’re drinking: Hidden among the array of fresh juices, smoothies and kombucha at the Good Food Store Cafe is the Cold Buster. The pureed mixture of ginger, lemon, carrot, honey and hot water looks far worse (neon orange, to be exact) than it tastes. The blend is surprisingly sweet, and the ginger and

lemon make it refreshing and mask most hints of carrot juice. Imagine a hot toddy with carrotflavored whiskey, sans the effects of alcohol.

What it does for you: You really can’t get enough of these ingredients during sniffle season. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which strengthens the immune system. Ginger has anti-inflammatory and anti-nausea effects. Honey can soothe sore throats and act as a cough suppressant. And lemon gives you a boost of vitamin C. The details: $3.50 for a 16-ounce, $4 for a 20-ounce. At the Good Food Store, 1600 S. 3rd St. W. —Micah Drew

Westside Lanes 1615 Wyoming 721-5263 Visit us for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner served 8 AM to 9 PM. Try our homemade soups, pizzas, and specials. We serve 100% Angus beef and use fryer oil with zero trans fats, so visit us any time for great food and good fun. $-$$

$…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [27]

WED | 8 PM Drive-by Truckers play the Wilma Wed., Jan. 31. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $27.

FRI | 8 PM Krizz Kaliko plays Monk's Fri., Jan. 26 at 8 PM. $20.

[28] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

SAT | 10:15 PM Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers play the Top Hat Sat., Jan. 27 at 10:15 PM. $5.

UPCOMING JAN

26

THE LIL SMOKIES JOSH FARMER BAND AN EVENING WITH

FEB

20

JAN ROBINSON FEB 30 CHRIS BROTHERHOOD 22 JAN

31 FEB

06

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS LILLY HIATT

GRAMATIK

RE:COIL TOUR W/ HAYWYRE

AN EVENING WITH

MAR

THE INFAMOUS

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND

02 SHOVELS & ROPE

03 STRINGDUSTERS

HIPPIE SABOTAGE

MAR

PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TOUR

JAN

FRUITION

12

25

MATISYAHU

FOREST OF FAITH TOUR

MAR

14

FEB

LETTUCE

10 FEB

JAN

FEB 26 FIVE ALARM FUNK 15

RON POPE

THE NATIONAL PARKS & THE HEART OF

THE WIND & THE WAVE

JAN JOE HERTLER & THE FEB 27 RAINBOW SEEKERS 16 HEAD FOR THE HILLS

FRI | 10:15 PM

08

Five Alarm Funk plays the Top Hat Fri., Jan. 26 at 10:15 PM. $5.

09 LOCKSAW CARTEL 23

FEB

ORGONE

21

FEB

MONOPHONICS

FEB

THE SKURFS &

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PNUT BUTR

TICKETS & INFO AT LOGJAMPRESENTS.COM

MON | 8 PM Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen play the Wilma Mon., Jan. 29. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. Sold Out.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [29]

Friday 01-2 6

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Thursday Due Diligence, a group exhibit by Josh Masias, Katherine Powell, Jon Green and Erin Langley opens with an artist reception at 4 PM at the UC Gallery.

Didn’t we have enough of this over the summer? Michael Shaw and the Wildfires play a scorching night of music at Draught Works. 6 PM–8 PM. Free.

Say "yes and" to a free improv workshop every Thursday at BASE. Free and open to all abilities, levels and interests. 725 W. Alder. 6:30 PM–8 PM

nightlife Don't jump the shark. Catch Happy Days: A New Musical at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts instead. 7:30 PM. $20– $25.

All those late nights watching gameshow reruns are finally paying off. Trivia at the Holiday Inn Downtown. 7:30–10 PM. Soulful folk-rockers Fruition play the Top Hat. Doors at 8 PM, show at 9 PM. $18/$15 advance.

That 1 Guy plays Monk's. Who? That 1 Guy. What is this, an Abbott and Costello routine? 9 PM. $15.

Honeycomb Dance Party at Monk's. 9 PM. Free.

Aaron "B-Rocks" Broxterman hosts karaoke night at the Dark Horse Bar. 9 PM. Free.

The Lil Smokies play the Wilma Fri., Jan. 26. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $17/$15 advance.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research presents 2018's Economic Outlook Seminar, The Future of High Education in Montana at Hilton Garden Inn. 8 AM–1 PM. $90/$25 Montana University System staff.

Burns St. Bistro and The Loft present the annual Robert Burns Supper. A four-course dinner featuring haggis, dumplings and all the bagpipe you can handle. The Loft.

6:30 PM–10 PM. $50.

Artists Pamela Caughey, Beth Lo and Sean O'Connell are on hand for an opening reception of their new exhibit Shape/Shift at Radius Gallery. 5 PM–8 PM.

The Lil Smokies play the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $17/$15 advance.

The Dead Hipster Dance Party rises from the grave to take over Party Volcano for a night of dancing at the Badlander. 9:30 PM. Free.

nightlife

If Jesse the Ocelot keeps spinning, does that make them a revolver ocelot? You're welcome, nerds. Catch the funk at the VFW. 10 PM. Free.

These crayon names are getting out of hand. Red Onion Purple plays Missoula Brewing Company from 6 PM–8 PM. Free.

I don't believe this for a second. Malarkey plays Ten Spoon Vineyard at 6 PM. Free.

[30] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

The Lolo Creek Band flood into the Eagles Club for your dancing pleasure. 8 PM. Free.

Zepeda, Jackson Holte and Bradley Warren Jr. try out the new sound system at the VFW. 9 PM. Free.

Krizz Kaliko brings his Talk Up On It Tour to Monk's. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8 PM. $20.

This city ain't big enough for the both of us. ShoDown plays the Sunrise Saloon at 9:30 PM. Free.

Great Scott! Missoula Symphony takes you on a journey through time with Bach to the Future at the Dennison Theatre. 7 PM. $8.

(See Spotlight)

Do you like your rock shaken, not stirred?

Moneypenny plays the Union Club. 9 PM. Free.

Don't jump the shark. Catch Happy Days: A New Musical at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts instead. 7:30 PM. $20–$25.

Funk masters Five Alarm Funk aim for a night of sweaty dance floors at the Top Hat. 10:15 PM. $5.

Sunday

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Saturday Beth Judy reads from her book Bold Women in Montana History at Travelers' Rest State Park. 11 AM. Free.

Let's round them up! Chase and the Known Associates play the Loft. $5.

BYOB.

Aaaaaaaaaaaay! Happy Days: A New Musical continues with a matinee at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts. 2 PM. $20–$25.

The Lolo Creek Band floods into the Eagles Club for your dancing pleasure. 8 PM. Free.

nightlife Oh no, my sweater! The Loose String Band plays Draught Works from 6 PM– 8 PM. Free.

Don't jump the shark. Catch Happy Days: A New Musical at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts instead. 7:30 PM. $20–$25.

Tango Missoula hosts an introductory class and milonga social dance on the fourth Saturday of each month. The beginners lesson starts at 8 PM followed by dancing from 9 PM to midnight. It takes two to tango, but no experience or partner necessary. Missoula Winery. $10.

Dance away your fears of nuclear annihilation at the 50s Sock Hop Dance Party at Lolo Hot Springs. Prizes for best

Spotlight

WHAT: Bach to the Future WHERE: Dennison Theatre WHEN: Fri., Jan. 26 at 7 PM. HOW MUCH: $8 MORE INFO: missoulasymphony.org

face-melting guitar solo, what would have happened if he hadn't? Erased from history, Marty wouldn't have been able to

travel back in time, meaning his parents would have met as intended, which would mean Marty would exist to travel back in time and disrupt his existence. It's enough to make your head spin. But what if Marty had altered something a little more important to world history? What if instead of preventing his own birth, he had derailed the career of Johann Sebastian Bach instead?

Missoula Symphony Orchestra's Bach to the Future explores this head-scratcher of a paradox with a special concert inspired by Robert Zemeckis' 1985 film.

Marty borrowed the DeLorean again. But this time, instead of jumping back to the

Dan Dubuque plays Red Bird Wine Bar from 7–10 PM. Free.

Prepare a couple of songs and bring your talent to Open Mic Night at Imagine Nation Brewing. Sign up when you get there.

Cash for Junkers provides the tunes at the Union Club at 9:30 PM. Free.

Will Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers find what they're looking for at the Top Hat tonight? 10:15 PM. $5.

Aaaaaaaaaaaay! Happy Days: A New Musical continues with a matinee at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts. 2 PM. $20–$25.

Awesome Possums create musical blossoms at Draught Works. 5 PM–7 PM. Free.

Indulge your inner Lisa Simpson with live jazz and a glass of craft beer on the river every Sunday at Imagine Nation Brewing. 5 PM–8 PM.

Happy Days: A New Musical finishes its run at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts. 6:30 PM. $20–$25.

Take a wine-tasting tour of Australia without having to worry about poisonous snakes, road warriors or ticked-off kangaroos. The Dram Shop offers an after hours tastings of wines from Down Under. 6:30 PM. $25.

nightlife Actor Bill Pullman and writer-director Jared Moshé are on hand for a screening of their madein-Montana movie The Ballad of Lefty Brown at the Roxy. 7 PM. A Q&A follows the film. $8.

‘50s to interrupt his parent's courtship, he plowed his time machine right through Bach's piano. Now the Symphony find themselves not only out of luck, but out of time as well. Now it's going to take some true musical skill, not to mention a heaping dose of audience participation, to fix the timeline.

—Charley Macorn

Seattle's Great Grandpa plays the Union Ballroom. Meanwhile, my great grandpa left all of his money to Rush Limbaugh. 8 PM. $10/$8 advance.

Every Sunday is "Sunday Funday" at the Badlander. Play cornhole, beer pong and other games, have drinks and forget tomorrow is Monday. 9 PM.

01-3 0

01-2 9

nightlife

I miss 2008 so much. Ten Years Gone plays the Sunrise Saloon at 9:30 PM. Free.

Missoula Cannabis Caregivers presents Mind and Body: An Alternative Health Bazaar featuring vendors, massage therapists and mimosas at Missoula Winery and Event Center. 11 AM–4 PM. Free.

Tuesday

Monday

Is your kiddo the next Cameron Esposito? Head down to Missoula BASE for an all-ages comedy open mic. 6 PM. Free.

DJ Kris Moon completely disrespects the adverb with the Absolutely Dance Party at the Badlander, which gets rolling at 9 PM, with two for one Absolut Vodka specials until midnight. I get the name now. Free.

great scott

Remember in Back to the Future when time-traveler Marty McFly accidentally prevents his parents from getting together in the 1950s, thereby erasing himself from history? Though Marty is able to bring his folks together in the nick of time with a

Sip a fancy cocktail for a cause at Moscow Monday at the Montgomery Distillery. A dollar from every drink sold is donated to a local organization. 12 PM–8 PM.

costumes, drink specials and more. 9 PM. Free.

Every Monday from 6–8 PM. Music legends Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen play the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8 PM. I hope you've already got your tickets, because this one is sold out.

The Wilma hosts an Evening With the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $27/$25 advance.

Every Monday DJ Sol spins funk, soul, reggae and hip-hop at the Badlander. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. Free. 21-plus.

Quizzoula trivia night at the VFW. 8:30 PM. This week's trivia question: The Rubick's Cube was patented on today's date in 1975. What is the world's record time for solving one using only one's feet? Answer in tomorrow's Nightlife.

Motown on Mondays puts the so-u-l back into Missoula. Resident DJs Smokey Rose and Mark Myriad curate a night of your favorite Motor City hits at the Badlander. 9 PM. Free.

This next song is about drinking a LaCroix in your Subaru with your dog. Missoula Music Showcase features local singers and songwriters each week at the Badlander. 9 PM. Free.

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays the Wilma Tue., Jan. 30.

Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $27/$25 advance.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [31]

01-3 1

Wednesday Every Wednesday is Community UNite at KettleHouse Brewing Company's Northside tap room. A portion of every pint sold goes to support local Missoula causes.

This week raise a glass for the Women's Law Caucus at the Blewett School of Law UM. 5 PM–8 PM.

Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $27.

You are fierce, you are fabulous and you can do drag. Join Aladdin Giambert for an introductory workshop on the world of drag performance. Discover your inner queen, king or something in-between. University Center. 5:30 PM. Free.

Revival Stand-up Comedy Open Mic mixes established voices and new talent at the Badlander. This month's headliner is the acerbic Kyle McAfee. 7:30 PM. Free.

The Women's Comedy Happy Hour at the Badlander lets you learn the skills behind stand-up in a open and supportive setting.

6 PM. Free.

nightlife Bluesman Pat McKay plays Great Burn Brewing from 6 PM–8 PM. Free.

Partially Located on National Forest Lands Photo © GlacierWorld.com

Slow down! Don't you see how icy it is?

Drive-by Truckers make a stop at the

Win big bucks off your bar tab and/or free pitchers by answering trivia questions at Brains on Broadway Trivia Night at the Broadway Sports Bar and Grill. 7 PM. Trivia answer: 25.14 seconds.

My DJ name is RNDM LTTRS. Join the Missoula Open Decks Society for an evening of music. Bring your gear and your dancing shoes to the VFW at 8 PM. Kraptastic Karaoke indulges your need to croon, belt and warble at the Badlander.

9:30 PM. No cover.

Every Wednesday is Beer Bingo at the Thomas Meagher Bar. Win cash prizes along with beer and liquor giveaways. 8 PM. Free.

02-0 1

Thursday Missoula Insectarium feeds live crickets to one of its hungry predators at 3:30 PM every Thursday. $4.

Say "yes and" to a free improv workshop every Thursday at BASE. Free and open to all abilities, levels and interests. 725 W. Alder. 6:30 PM–8 PM

nightlife All those late nights watching gameshow reruns are finally paying off. Get cash toward your bar tab when you win first place at trivia at the Holiday Inn Downtown. 7:30–10 PM. You want the Captain Wilson Conspiracy? You can't handle the Captain Wilson Conspiracy! Catch the jazzy tunes at Bitter Root Brewing. 6 PM–8 PM. Free.

Folk rocker duo The Pickin' Pear play the Top Hat. 8 PM. Free.

Is it big? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not small.

No, no, no. Groove the night away at the Honeycomb Dance Party at Monk's.

9 PM. Free.

[32] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

Kris Moon hosts a night of volcanic party action featuring himself, DJ T-Rex and a rotating cast of local DJs projecting a curated lineup of music videos on the walls every Thursday at the Badlander. 9 PM. Free.

Aaron "B-Rocks" Broxterman hosts karaoke night at the Dark Horse Bar. 9 PM. Free.

The Lolo Creek Band floods into the Sunrise Saloon for a night of music. 9:30 PM. Free.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to Missoula's HomeGrown Comedy Stand-up Open Mic at the Union Club.

Signup at 9:30 PM, show at 10. Free.

We want to know about your event! Submit to calendar@missoulanews.com at least two weeks in advance of the event.

Don’t forget to include the date, time, venue and cost. This edition of the Missoula Independent is brought to you by chugging DayQuil.

Agenda

MONDAY JANUARY 29

This week, thirsty Missoulians have multiple opportunities to support local non-profits and charities by one of the things we do best: having a drink.

Honestly, we're going to be drinking on all those days anyway, so why not give back while we do it? Montgomery Distillery starts us out by donating a dollar from every cocktail sold on Mon., Jan. 29 to the Montana World Affairs Council. This nonpartisan, nonprofit organization fosters global understanding and awareness in Montana's communities and classrooms. If wine is more your speed, 15 percent of proceeds at Caffe Dolce on Tue., Jan. 30 go to support youth health education at Blue Mountain Clinic.

On Wed., Jan. 31, a portion of every pint sold at the Northside Kettlehouse between 5 PM and 8 PM goes to support the Women's Law Caucus at the Blewett School of Law. Likewise, Great Burn Brewing gives 50 cents from every pint sold between 5 PM and 8 PM on Thu., Feb. 1 to the National Wildlife Federation's Missoula Community Wildlife Habitat Initiative, which helps protect wildlife throughout the Garden City.

—Charley Macorn Visit missoulanews.com for a full list of events and activities taking place every week in the Garden City.

Sip a fancy cocktail for a cause at Moscow Monday at the Montgomery Distillery. A dollar from every drink sold is donated to a local organization. 12 PM–8 PM. Faith and Climate Action Montana's monthly meeting discusses how to address the climate crisis over a potluck dinner. UCC Missoula 6 PM–8 PM. Free.

Missoula Rises Community Conversations hosts a moderated panel on the role of police in Montana. Homeword. 6:30 PM. Free.

TUESDAY JANUARY 30 Fifteen-percent of proceeds at Caffe Dolce go to support youth health education at Blue Mountain Clinic. 5 PM–9 PM. January's LGBTQI+ Activism meeting discusses

how you help protect and celebrate Missoula's diverse community. Western Montana Community Center. 7 PM.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31 Every Wednesday is Community UNite at KettleHouse Brewing Company's Northside tap room.

A portion of every pint sold goes to support local Missoula causes. This week raise a glass for the Women's Law Caucus at the Blewett School of Law UM. 5 PM–8 PM.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1 Missoula Public Library kicks off two weeks of fundraising for its new facility. Visit missoulapubliclibrary.org/grow for a list of ways to support our library.

AGENDA is dedicated to upcoming events embodying activism, outreach and public participation. Send your who/what/when/where and why to AGENDA, c/o the Independent, 317 S. Orange, Missoula, MT 59801. You can also email entries to calendar@missoulanews.com or send a fax to (406) 543-4367. AGENDA’s deadline for editorial consideration is 10 days prior to the issue in which you’d like your information to be included. When possible, please include appropriate photos/artwork.

missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [33]

Mountain High

T

raveling outside of Montana is always tough for residents of the Big Sky State, because the farther away we get from home, the farther away we get from people who know anything about Montana. It's an incredibly frustrating interaction that seems to intensify the longer we're away from home. If these dumb-dumbs know anything about our beautiful state, it's probably something they saw in A River Runs Through It. If this is the case, get ready to have a long talk about fly-fishing.

But if that's a subject you're not particularly well-versed on, or if you just want to pick up a new hobby, Cabela's hosts a monthly fly-fishing class on

the last Saturday of the month, starting in January and running through April, with the Trout Unlimited Westslope Chapter teaching the final class. This workshop teaches you the basics of the sport, including how to tie flies, the best methods for casting and how to set up your reel so you don't pull a Ryan Zinke and embarrass yourself.

—Charley Macorn Cabela's Fly-Fishing Lessons start on Sat., Jan. 27 at 11 AM, and run through April. Free. Visit cabelas.com for more information.

Hadley Hadley F Ferguson, erguson, A Afternoon fterno e on in Moiese Moiese, e, oil oil,, 9 x 12”

UNIVERSIT Y OF MONTTANA A UNIVERSIT Y CENTER BALLROOM // 3RD FLOOR // 5 P.M. Reservations a s by Januarry 20th $100/Member, $100/M emberr, $125/Non-Member, $ $125/Non-M emberr, $1000/Table $100 00/T Table a of 10 Presenting Media Sponsor: Missoula Missoula IIndependent ndependent Printing Sponsor: Alphagraphics Alphagraphics Power of Art Auction Sponsors: Anderson ZurMuehlen, Big Sky Commerce, Missoulian, Missoula Broadcasting Company, Noteworthy Paper & Press, Rocky Mountain Moving & Storage, Slikati Photo + Video, University Center and UM Catering, Missoula Wine Merchants View event details & purchase tickets at: missoulaar missoulaartmuseum.org tmuseum.org or call (406) 728-0447

SATURDAY JANUARY 27 Need a little inspiration to get out of bed on the weekend? Come join Run Wild Missoula's Saturday morning runs at the Runner's Edge at 8 AM. Open to all skill levels.

335 N. Pattee ////missou missoulaartmuseum.org // Tuesday - Saturday 10AM - 5PM

free expression. free admission.

[34] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

Learn more about the mighty osprey at RMEF's Kids Event. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. 11 AM–1 PM. Free.

Is fly-fishing your New Year's Resolution? Cabela's hosts a workshop on the last Saturday of every month dedicated to the most Missoula of pastimes. 11 AM. Free.

The First Hunt Foundation hosts its inaugural meeting at the Loft. Learn how you can become a hunting mentor. 2 PM–3 PM. Free.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31 The Alpine Evening Race Series begins at Snowbowl. Call 406-240-0836 for more info and registration.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1 Board of Missoula Ranked Slalom League brings snowboard racing to Montana Snowbowl. Get out there and shred. 6 PM. $10 cash entry.

BULLETIN BOARD Basset Rescue of Montana. Basset’s of all ages needing homes. 406-207-0765.

tion. Product Photography. Call Chris at (406) 728-5097. chris@chrisautio.com

Chris Autio Photography. Full Studio.

Promotional photography for artists.

Real Estate Photography. Photo restora-

If you are reading this ad, you can see that classified advertising works! Reach over 400,000 readers in Montana and beyond to promote your product, service, event and business. To get results, contact this newspaper, or the Montana

Newspaper Association at (406) 4432850 member@mtnewspapers.com. 25 words for the small investment of $149.

The Big Sandy 6th annual Gun and Ammo show will be held on January 26th, 27th, 28th in Big Sandy MT. Call Vance or Jean at (406) 386- 2259 For More Information

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EMPLOYMENT Auto Body Technician Assistant. Seeking self-motivated and mechanically-inclined person to assist the experienced body techs. Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40585 for a full job description.

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Scobey Golf Course Full-time seasonal - April 1 - October 31. Contact Rob Rouse, (406) 487-5536 for application before March 9th.

Customer Service Representative. Permanent position with opportunity for career advancement and on-the-job

training provided! Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40374 for full job description.

Earn $300-$1000 per month working part-time! The Missoulian is looking for reliable individuals to deliver the daily newspaper in the Missoula, Bitter-

root and Flathead areas. For individual route details go to: missoulian.com/carrier If you’re looking for extra income, are an early riser and enjoy working independently, you can make money and be done before most people get going with their day. If this sounds like you, please submit your inquiry form today

at missoulian.com/carrier or call 406523-0494.You must have a valid driver’s license and proof of car insurance. This is an independent contractor business opportunity.

Pest Control Service Technician.Will be assigned to work residential and com-

mercial sites, including Missoula, Bitterroot, Lincoln, Butte, and Dillion, with an average of 8-10 jobs a day. Will control pests using a hand/backpack sprayer.

Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40967 for a full job description.

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com

EMPLOYMENT Production Control. Building materials company recruiting for enthusiastic production member to add to their growing safety-conscious and friendly team!

Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40548 for a full job description.

SLEEP ACTUALLY My husband and I have been married for eight years. We have a 5-year-old son, and we both work full time. We used to have these amazing crazy sex marathons, but now we’re too tired from our jobs and parenthood. We have sex about once a month, if that. I’m worried that this isn’t healthy for our marriage.

—Sex Famine The good news: You two are still like animals in bed. The bad news: They’re the sort on the road that have been flattened by speeding cars.

This is something to try to change, because sex seems to be a kind of gym for a healthy relationship. Clinical psychologist Anik Debrot and her colleagues note that beyond how sex “promotes a stronger and more positive connection” between partners, there’s “strong support” in the research literature for a link between “an active and satisfying sexual life and individual wellbeing.”

Of course, it’s possible that individuals who are happy get it on more often than those who hate their lives and each other. Also, rather obviously, having an orgasm tends to be more daybrightening than, say, having a flat tire.

However, when Debrot and her colleagues surveyed couples to narrow down what makes these people having regular sex happier, their results suggested it wasn’t “merely due to pleasure experienced during sex itself.” It seems it was the affection and loving touch (cuddlywuddlies) in bed that led couples to report increased “positive emotions and well-being”—and not just right afterward but for hours afterward and even into the next day.

The researchers found a longer-lasting effect, too: In a survey of 106 couples (all parents with at least one child younger than 8), the more these partners had sex over a 10-day period the greater their relationship satisfaction six months down the road. (The researchers did report a caveat: For the bump in relationship satisfaction, the sex had to be “affectionate”—as opposed to, I guess, angry sex, breakup sex or “You don’t mind if I tweet while we’re doing it?” sex.)

My prescription for you? Have sex once a week—a frequency that research by social psychologist Amy Muise finds, for couples, is associated with greater happiness. Make time for it, the way you would if your kid needed to go to the dentist. Also, go easy on yourselves. Consider that some sex is better than, well, “sex marathon or nuthin!”

And then, seeing as affection and loving touch—not sexual pleasure—led to the improved mood in individuals and increased rela-

tionship satisfaction in couples, basically be handsy and cuddly with each other in daily life.

Act loving and you should find yourself feeling loving—instead of, say, feeling the urge to sound off to strangers in checkout lanes that the last time anyone took an interest in your ladyparts, your health insurance company sent you a bill for the copay.”

HEAD OVER HEALS My boyfriend broke up with me last month. We still talk and text almost every day. We’re still connected on social media. We’ve even had dinner twice. I feel better that he’s still in my life, even just as a friend, though we don’t work as a couple. Is this healthy, or am I prolonging some sort of grief I’m going to have to feel down the road?

—Clinging Your approach to a breakup is like having your dog die and then, instead of burying it, having it taxidermied and taking it out for “walks” in a little red wagon.

Note the helpful key word—“break”—in breakup. It suggests that when someone tells you “It’s over!” the thing you say isn’t “Okey-dokey!

See you tomorrow for lunch!” As painful as it is to stare into a boyfriend-shaped void in your life, continued contact is the land of false hopes— fooling you into thinking that nothing’s really changed (save for your relationship status on Facebook).

In fact, research by social psychologist David Sbarra finds that contact offline after a breakup amps up feelings of both love and sadness, stalling the healing process. Staying in touch online—or just snooping on your ex’s social media doings—appears to be even worse. For example, social psychologist Tara Marshall found that “engaging in surveillance of the ex-partner’s Facebook page inhibited postbreakup adjustment and growth above and beyond offline contact.”

This makes sense—as your brain needs to be retrained to stop pointing you toward your now-ex-boyfriend whenever you need love, attention or comforting. Tell your ex you need a real break, and stick to it. Block him on social media. Drawbridge up. No contact of any kind—no matter how much you long to hear, “Hey, whatcha up to tonight? How ’bout I come over and slow down your healing process?”

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com.

Production Paint Mixer. Responsible for color matching and tinting paint. Have previous related experience. Requires understanding of primary/secondary colors and their compliments. Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40986 for a full job description.

PROFESSIONAL Controller. Will prepare financial reports and forecasts for future growth, prepare annual budget, direct all accounting practices, oversight inventory control process, and maintain relationships with lenders and auditors. Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40921 for a full job description

and registration; if required. Must pass a background and suitability check according to Public Law 101-630; the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act. Must possess a valid driver’s license. All applicants must submit a Tribal application, copy of relevant academic transcripts, completed supplemental background questionnaire, copy of current valid Montana driver’s license, proof of enrollment from a federally recognized Tribe if other than CSKT and if claiming veteran’s preference, a copy of the DD214 must be submitted. This position is not a Testing Designated Position (TDP) within the definition of the CSKT Drug Testing policy.The successful applicant, if not already employed by the Tribes must pass a pre-hire drug test and serve a mandatory six (6) month probationary period.

Salary is negotiable with benefits. To apply, contact Personnel at (406) 6752700 Ext. #1040. Tribal applications are

also available online at cskt.org.This position is Opened Until Filled. CSKT IS A TRIBAL MEMBER PREFERENCE EMPLOYER Pediatric Dental Assistant. Qualified candidates MUST have 2+ years of DA experience for consideration. Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #41102 for a full job description.

RELIEF PHARMACIST/CONTRACT POSITION TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT The successful applicant must have a minimum of a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Pharmacy and this position is subject to a background check in accordance with Public Law 101-630.All applicants must submit a Tribal application, a copy of academic transcript, completed supplemental background questionnaire, proof of enrollment from a federally recognized Tribe if other than CSKT, and if claiming veteran’s preference, a copy of the DD214 must be sub-

SKILLED LABOR Christensen Construction in Choteau, MT is seeking an experienced, hardworking construction laborer. Wage DOE. References required. Call Fred Christensen at (406) 590-3246. Serious inquiries only.

EXPERIENCED RANCH HAND. 750+cows, 650+- yearlings. Minimal farming.

Skills: cattle handling, CDL, equipment operation, fencing. Hour from Billings.

Pay DOE, housing. (406) 690-4042 HVAC Service Technician. Company proudly services both residential and commercial needs in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Please visit our website at lcstaffing.com and refer to order #40984 for a full job description.

Job opening with the City of Chinook for the position of Water Treatment Plan Operator-Class 1B. Certification preferred but not required. Application and resume due by 5:00 p.m. on January 29th at City Hall-300 Ohio St. or mailed to P.O. Box 1177 Chinook, MT 59523.

For further info call (406) 357-2120 or (406) 357-3160.

Job openings in concrete, paving and equipment operation. Call 532-5250 to apply.

Nuverra is hiring for CDL Class A Truck Drivers. Drivers can earn a $1500 sign on bonus. To apply call (701) 842-3618, or go online to www.nuverra.com/careers . Nuverra environmental solutions is an equal opportunity employer.

EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS AVAILABLESEE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO Must Have: Valid driver license, No history of neglect, abuse or exploitation Applications available at OPPORTUNITY RESOURCES, INC., 2821 S. Russell, Missoula, MT. 59801 or online at www.orimt.org. Extensive background checks will be completed. NO RESUMES. EEO/AA-M/F/disability/ protected veteran status.

HEALTH MEDICAL DIRECTOR TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT The successful applicant must Successful completion of a course of study leading to the Degree of Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy at an approved school of Medicine or Osteopathy. The successful completion of post-graduate training in Family Medicine in an approved residency program.

Board certification/eligible in the specialty of Family Medicine. Must possess a current active license to practice medicine in the United States and Montana. Current ACLS certification is required. Current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Controlled Substance Registration Certificate. Must maintain proper licensure/certification

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com [36] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

EMPLOYMENT mitted. This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) within the definition of the CSKT Drug Testing policy.

The successful applicant, if not already employed by the Tribes must pass a prehire drug test and serve a mandatory six (6) month probationary period.This position is a contract position. Salary is negotiable. To apply, contact Personnel at (406) 675-2700 Ext. 1029. Applications are also available on-line at cskt.org.

Closing date is Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. CSKT IS A TRIBAL MEMBER PREFERENCE EMPLOYER TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT HEAD TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT The successful applicant must possess Bachelor’s Degree required or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Advanced degree in Health related field preferred. Ten years in a management related capacity with at least five (5) years of experience equivalent to CSKT Department Head.

Health Care management experience preferred. All applicants must submit a Tribal application and Certified copy of academic transcripts/training certificates, proof of enrollment from a federally rec-

PUBLIC NOTICESMNAXLP

ognized Tribe if other than CSKT and if claiming veteran’s preference, a copy of DD214 must be submitted. This is not a Testing Designated Position (TDP) within the definition of the CSKT Drug Testing policy.The successful applicant, if not already employed by the Tribes must pass a pre-hire drug test and serve a mandatory one (1) year probationary period. Salary range is $48.67 to $54.58 per hour. To apply, contact Personnel at (406) 675-2700 Ext. 1029.Tribal applications are also available online at www.csktribes.org. Closing date will be Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.

CSKT IS A TRIBAL MEMBER PREFERENCE EMPLOYER X-RAY TECHNICIAN TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT The successful applicant must have an Associates of Applied Science in Radiologic Technology Degree and possess a Montana State Radiology Technologist License. Must have at least 1 year verified successful experience working in a clinic setting. Pass a background check in accordance with Public Law 101-630. All applicants must submit a Tribal application, completed supplemental background questionnaire, a cer-

tified copy of academic transcript, proof of state licensure, copy of driver’s license, proof of enrollment from a federally recognized Tribe if other than CSKT, and if claiming veteran’s preference, a copy of the DD214 must be submitted.

This position is not a Testing Designated Position (TDP) within the definition of the CSKT Drug Testing policy. The successful applicant, if not already employed by the Tribes must pass a pre-hire drug test and serve a mandatory six (6) month probationary period. This position is an exempt position. Salary is negotiable, plus benefits. To apply, contact Personnel at (406) 675-2700 Ext. 1029.

Tribal applications are also available online at cskt.org. The closing date will be Thursday, February 1, 2018. CSKT IS A TRIBAL MEMBER PREFERENCE EMPLOYER

EDUCATION Childbloom Guitar seeking instructor with experience teaching children, music reading, classical skills. Email nathan@missoulachildbloom.com

BODY, MIND, SPIRIT

The Boat Show! “Boat Buying Event of the Year” at the Lewis & Clark Fairgrounds JAN 26th, 27th, & 28th, 2018 Dale Gilbert on site with Lowrance display all weekend Show Hours: Fri., Jan 26 - Noon-8pm Sat., Jan 27 - 10am6pm Sun., Jan 28 - 10am-4pm The Montana Boat Show’s $3 admission charge gives you a chance at over $1,500in door prizes! Children under 12 enter free. For info call (406)4436400 MARK YOUR 2018 CALENDAR! www.mtboatshow.com

Bennett’s Music Studio

2012 VW Bug

2001 Toyota Tacoma SR5 3.4L V6 automatic,121K miles, has a clean title $3000 Call:4066866545

NICE! NICE! NICE! 2.0 Turbo, Front Wheel Drive, 58,500 miles, Satellite radio, Navigation, detailed recently, $11,900. Call/text 406-880-4719

4X4

2008 Ford Escape Loaded, Auto, #D05272, $6,990

Guitar, banjo, mandolin and bass lessons.

Rentals available. bennettsmusicstudio.com 721-0190

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

CRUISE

Massage Training Institute of Montana WEEKEND CLASSES & ONLINE CURRICULUM. Enroll now for FALL 2017 classes - Kalispell, MT * (406) 2509616 * massage1institute@gmail.com * mtimontana.com * Find us on Facebook

Wheels & tires can be sold separate.

Wheels are CragerS/S 15x8 still in box,come with knockoff hubs and lugnuts/tires are BFG rugged terrain P235/75R15 never been mounted $1000. 385-262-5087

ADOPTION

DOMESTIC

PREGNANT? CONSIDERING ADOPTION? Call us first. Living expenses, housing, medical, and continued support afterwards. Choose adoptive family of your choice. Call 24/7. 877-362-2401

Celebrate singularity or as a lovely couple! Celebrate with sister friends or Bro buds!

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PICKUPS

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Turn off your PC & turn on your life.

MAKE THE CALL TO START GETTING CLEAN TODAY. Free 24/7 Helpline for alcohol & drug addiction treatment. Get help! It is time to take your life back! Call Now: 855-732-4139

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Katherine C. Holliday (MT Bar #9965) Carmody Holliday Legal Services, PLLC PO Box 8124, Missoula, MT 59807 tel. 406.830.3327 katie@carmodyhollidaylaw.com Counsel for Plaintiff MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY CAUSE NO. DR-17-526 Dept. No. 1 SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION IN RE THE PARENTING OF: P.J.P. CONNIE JO PLOYHAR, PETITIONER, and ERIC DWIGGINS, RESPONDENT. THE STATE OF MONTANA TO: ERIC DWIGGINS of Klamath County, Oregon. The above-captioned action is a Cause of Action against you is in relation to a

MARKETPLACE

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Gift certificates and rentals available.

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ANIYSA Middle Eastern Dance Classes and Supplies.

Call 273-0368. www.aniysa.com

MEDICINAL PLANTS MEDICINE MAKING CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

the Bitterroot River floodplain.The proposed project is located at 4201 Gardner Lane,Tract 8A, COS 5072 in Section 23,Township 11N, Range 20W and includes constructing an agricultural building. The full applications are available for review by appointment at Community and Planning Services at 323 W.Alder in Missoula.Written comments from anyone interested in these applications may be submitted prior to 5:00 p.m., February 9, 2018.

Address comments to the Floodplain Administrator, Community and Planning Services, 200 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802 or call 258-4841 for more information.

MUSIC

Affordable, quality counseling for substance use disorders and gambling disorders in a confidential, comfortable atmosphere. Stepping Stones Counseling, PLLC. Shari Rigg, LAC • 406-9261453 • shari@steppingstonesmissoula.com.

Skype sessions available.

HERB CLASSES

FLOODPLAIN DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATIONS Community and Planning Services received the following applications for Floodplain Development Permits: 1.

Floodplain Permit Application #18-06.An application from Greg Beach to work within the Bitterroot River floodplain. The proposed project is located within the Bitterroot Featherhorn Ranch east of 20002 East Carlton Creek Rd. in Section 25,Township 11N, Range 20W and includes constructing a ford across a slough and deepening an existing pond. 2.

Floodplain Permit Application #18-07.An application from Christina Burns to work within

Spend time together and have a stress-free experience at Missoula Massage Clinic!

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1997 Bobcat 763 Skid Steer Loader.

Great Condition. 1800 Hours. 46 hp. $2100. Call: (406) 215-2949.

2006 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 5.9 Cummings, 6 speed, Long box, #133142 $19,990

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

2006 Infiniti QX-56 AWD 3rd Row, Loaded, #804645, $11,990

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

2012 Ford Fusion SEL Leather, Auto, Much More! #188465, $8,990

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

2013 CAD SRX 1 Own kept in garage.

Fully loaded incl. sunrf, ht. seats, touch screen display, back up camera. Immaculate cond. maint. records. $19,995. 375-5662 2008 Chevy 2500 HD 4x4 Crew, Long Box, #121569, $15,990

$2300/OBO-Call /txt 531-0669 92 Buick Roadmaster. 83k orig miles. Runs well. MPG 15/22. Add'l snow tires on rims.

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

2010 Ford F350 Dually 4x4 Crew Cab, Powerstroke, Lariat, #A56127, $20,990

Hayden, Idaho Call 208-772-7000 Rates as low as 2.74% o.a.c.

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [37]

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Anders Haugen competed for the U.S. as a ski jumper in the 1924 Winter Olympics. Although he was an accomplished athlete who had previously set a world record for distance, he won no medals at the games. But wait! Fifty years later, a sports historian discovered that there had a been a scoring mistake back in 1924. In fact, Haugen had done well enough to win the bronze medal. The mistake was rectified, and he finally got his long-postponed award. I foresee a comparable development happening in your life, Aries.

Recognition or appreciation you deserved to have received some time ago will finally come your way.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1899, Sobhuza II became King of Swaziland even though he was less than five months old. He kept his job for the next 82 years, and along the way managed to play an important role when his nation gained independence from the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. These days you may feel a bit like Sobhuza did when he was still in diapers,Taurus: not sufficiently prepared or mature for the greater responsibilities that are coming your way. But just as he received competent help in his early years from his uncle and grandmother, I suspect you’ll receive the support you’ll need to ripen.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In my ideal world, dancing and singing wouldn’t be luxuries practiced primarily by professionals. They would be regular occurrences in our daily routines. We’d dance and sing whenever we needed a break from the numbing trance. We’d whirl and hum to pass the time. We would greet each other with an interpretative movement and a little tune. In schools, dance and song would be a standard part of the curriculum—as important as math and history. That’s my utopian dream, Gemini. What’s yours? In accordance with the astrological omens, I urge you to identify the soul medicine you’d love to incorporate into your everyday regimen. Then go ahead and incorporate it! It’s time for you to get more aggressive about creating the world you want to live in.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Psychology pioneer Carl Jung believed that most of our big problems can never be fully solved. And that’s actually a good thing. Working on them keeps us lively, in a state of constant transformation. It ensures we don’t stagnate. I generally agree with Jung’s high opinion of our problems. We should indeed be grateful for the way they impel us to grow. However, I think that’s irrelevant for you right now. Why? Because you have an unprecedented opportunity to solve and graduate from a major long-running problem. So no, don’t be grateful for it. Get rid of it. Say goodbye to it forever.

a

b

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Between now and March 21, you will be invited, encouraged and pushed to deepen your understanding of intimate relationships. You will have the chance to learn much, much more about how to create the kind of togetherness that both comforts and inspires you. Will you take advantage of this eight-week opportunity? I hope so. You may imagine that you have more pressing matters to attend to. But the fact is that cultivating your relationship skills would transform you in ways that would best serve those other pressing matters.

c

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In December, mass protests broke out in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. Why? The economy had been gradually worsening. Inflation was slowly but surely exacting a toll. Unemployment was increasing. But one of the immediate triggers for the uprising was a 40-percent hike in the price of eggs. It focused the Iranian people’s collective angst and galvanized a dramatic response. I’m predicting a comparable sequence in your personal future, Virgo. A specific irritant will emerge, motivating you to stop putting up with trends that have been subtly bothering you.

d

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the late 1980s, Budweiser used a Bull Terrier to promote its Bud Light beer in commercials. The dog, who became mega-famous, was presented as a rich macho party animal named Spuds MacKenzie. The ad campaign was successful, boosting sales 20 percent. But the truth was that the actor playing Spuds was a female dog whose owners called her Evie. To earn money, the poor creature, who was born under the sign of Libra, was forced to assume a false identity. To honor Evie’s memory, and in alignment with current astrological omens, I urge you human Libras to strip away any layers of false identity you’ve been pressured to acquire. Be your Real Self—to the max.

e

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The giant panda is a bear native to China. In the wild, its diet is 99 percent bamboo. But bamboo is not an energy-rich food, which means the creature has to compensate by consuming 20 to 30 pounds of the stuff every day. Because it’s so busy gathering its sustenance, the panda doesn’t have time to do much socializing. I mention this, Scorpio, because I want to offer up the panda as your anti-power animal for the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you should have a diversified approach to getting your needs met—not just in regards to food, but in every other way as well. Variety is not just the spice of life; it’s the essence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’re the star of the “movie” that endlessly unfolds in your imagination.

There may be a number of other lead actors and actresses, but few if any have your luster and stature. You also have a supporting cast, as well as a full complement of extras. To generate all the adventure you need, your story needs a lot of dramatis personae. In the coming weeks, I suggest that you be alert for certain minor characters who are primed to start playing a bigger role in your narrative. Consider the possibility of inviting them to say and do more to advance the plot.

f

g

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Thirty-five miles per hour is typically the highest speed attained by the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. That’s not very fast. On the other hand, each ship’s engine generates 190 megawatts, enough to provide the energy needs of 140,000 houses, and can go more than 20 years without refueling. If you don’t mind, I’m going to compare you to one of those aircraft carriers during the next four weeks.

You may not be moving fast, but you will have maximum stamina and power.

h

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The pawpaw is a tasty fruit that blends the flavors of mango, banana and melon. But you rarely find it in grocery stores. One reason is that the fruit ripens very fast after being picked. Another is that the pollination process is complicated. In response to these issues, a plant scientist named Neal Peterson has been trying to breed the pawpaw to be more commercially viable. Because of his work, cultivated crops have finally begun showing up at some farmers’ markets. I’d like to see you undertake metaphorically similar labors in 2018, Aquarius. I think you’ll have good luck at developing rough potentials into more mature forms of expression.

You’ll have skill at turning unruly raw materials into more useful resources. Now is a great time to begin.

i

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An iceberg is a huge chunk of ice that has cracked away from a glacier and drifted off into the open sea. Only nine percent of it is visible above the waterline. The underwater part, which is most of the iceberg, is basically invisible.You can’t know much about it just by looking at the top.This is an apt metaphor for life itself. Most everyone and everything we encounter is 91 percent mysterious or hidden or inaccessible to our conscious understanding.That’s the weird news, Pisces.The good news is that during the next three weeks you will have an unprecedented ability to get better acquainted with the other 91 percent of anything or anyone you choose to explore.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES and DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES.

PUBLIC NOTICESMNAXLP parenting plan.A lawsuit has been filed against you. Within 21 days after the service of this summons on you or (42 days if you are the State of Montana, a state agency, or a state officer or employee), you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure. Do not include the day you were served in your calculation of time.The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, if plaintiff is represented by an attorney, whose name and address are listed above. If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.You also must file your answer or motion with the court. WITNESS my hand and seal of said Court, this 10th day of January, 2018. (SEAL) SHIRLEY E. FAUST, CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT BY: /s/ Molli Zook, DEPUTY CLERK Missoula County Invitation for Bids Missoula County Fairgrounds is soliciting sealed bids for the materials needed to build 200 horse stalls at the Missoula County Fairgrounds.The full Invitation for Bid (IFB) may be found on Missoula County’s website: https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/administration/au ditor-s-office/bids-proposals/test-rfp-page Bids will be accepted until February 2, 2018 at 4:00 PM. Late bids will not be accepted.The sealed bids must be marked “Missoula County Fairgrounds Horse Stall IFB’ and sent to David Wall, Missoula County Auditor, 200 W Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802. Bids may be hand delivered to David Wall, Missoula County Auditor, 199 W Pine Street Room 136, Missoula, MT 59802, where the bids will be opened and read aloud at 4:30PM on February 2.

MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY Dept. No. 4 Cause No. DP-18-5 NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: ELVIN OWEN SCHMAUTZ, Deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Chuck Schmautz has been appointed Personal Representative of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the Deceased are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice, or their claims will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Jones & Associates, PLLC, Attorneys for the Personal Representative, return receipt requested, at 2625 Dearborn Avenue, Ste. 102A, Missoula, MT 59804, or filed with the Clerk of the above Court. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Montana the foregoing is true and correct. Dated this 8th day of January, 2018. /s/ Chuck Schmautz, Personal Representative of the Estate of Elvin Owen Schmautz /s/ Kevin S. Jones,Attorney for Personal Representative MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY Dept. No.: 1 Cause No.: DP-17-320 NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: KENNETH J. SUTTON, Deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed as Personal Representative of the above-names estate.All persons having claims against that said deceased are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to P. Mars Scott, the Personal Representative, returned receipt requested, at P.O. Box 5988, Missoula, Montana 59806 or filed with the Clerk of the above Court. DATED this 18th day of January, 2018 /s/ P. Mars Scott Personal Representative Montana Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County Probate No DP 18-10 District Judge Leslie Halligan NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF MARJORIE M. JENSEN, Deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed as the Personal Representative of the above-named estate.

All persons having claims against the decedent are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or their claims will

be forever barred. Claims must be mailed to Mark S. Jensen, Personal Representative, return receipt requested, at c/o Crowley Fleck PLLP, 500 Transwestern Plaza II, 490 North 31st Street, Suite 500, P.O. Box 2529, Billings, Montana 59103, or filed with the Clerk of the above-entitled Court. DATED this 11th day of January, 2018 /s/ Mark S. Jensen, Personal Representative of the Estate of Marjorie M. Jensen, deceased MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY Probate No.: DP-17-323 Dept No.:2 NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JUNE E. WILHELM, Deceased.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed Personal Representative of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the said estate are required to present their claim within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Terry A. Riebe, return receipt requested, c/o Rhoades Siefert & Erickson PLLC, 430 Ryman Street, Missoula, Montana 59802, or filed with the Clerk of the aboveentitled Court. DATED this 2nd day of January, 2018. /s/ Terry A. Riebe, Personal Representative MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY. Dept. No. 2 Cause No. DP-17-302 NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ROSEMARY L. CALVERI, Deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Ann L. Hogan has been appointed Personal Representative of the above-named estate.All persons having claims against the said deceased are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims will be forever barred. Claims must be mailed to Ann L. Hogan, Personal Representative, c/o CUNNINGHAM LAW OFFICE, 3700 S. Russell Street, Suite 104, Missoula, MT 59801 or filed with the Clerk of the above Court.

DATED this 19th day of December 2017.

CUNNINGHAM LAW OFFICE /s/ Kyle D. Cunningham Notice of Public Hearing The Homeword Board of Directors will hold their quarterly board meeting on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018, from 3 – 5 pm at 1535 Liberty Lane, Ste 114.

This meeting is open to the public. For further information, contact Erin Ojala, Homeword Administrative Specialist, at 406-532-4663 x10. If you have comments, please mail them to: Homeword, 1535 Liberty Lane, Ste 116A, Missoula, MT, 59808.

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE THE FOLLOWING LEGALLY DESCRIBED TRUST PROPERTY TO BE SOLD FOR CASH AT TRUSTEE’S SALE. Notice is hereby given that the undersigned Successor Trustee will, on May 29, 2018 at the hour of 11:00 AM, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, the interest in the following described real property which the Grantor has or had power to convey at the time of execution by him of the said Deed of Trust, together with any interest which the Grantor or his successors in interest acquired after the execution of said Deed of Trust, to satisfy the obligations thereby secured and the costs and expenses of sale, including reasonable charges by the Successor Trustee, at the following place: On the front steps of the Missoula County Courthouse, 200 West Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802 John A. “Joe” Solseng, a member of the Montana state bar, of Robinson Tait, P.S. is the duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to the Deed of Trust in which George E. Clark and Gloria J. Clark, as Grantor, conveyed said real property to First American Title as Trustee, to secure an obligation owed to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for American Brokers Conduit, beneficiary of the security instrument, said Deed of Trust which is dated January 24, 2007 and was recorded on January 30, 2007 as Instrument No. 200702493, Book 791 at Page 514 Micro Records, of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Missoula County, Montana.The Deed of Trust encumbers real property (“Property”) lo-

cated at 111 Willow Ridge CT, Missoula, MT 59803 and being more fully described as follows: LOT 29 OF WILLOW RIDGE TOWNHOUSES, A PLATTED SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF MISSOULA, MISSOULA COUNTY, MONTANA, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL RECORDED PLAT THEREOF.The beneficial interest under said Deed of Trust and the obligations secured thereby are presently held by Banc of America Funding Corporation 2007-3, U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee. The Beneficiary has declared the Grantor in default of the terms of the Deed of Trust and the Promissory Note (“Note”) secured by said Deed of Trust due to Grantor’s failure to timely pay all monthly installments of principal, interest and if applicable, escrow reserves for taxes and/or insurance as required by the Note and Deed of Trust. The default for which foreclosure is made is grantors’ failure to pay when due the following sums: monthly payments totaling $10,867.73 beginning April 1, 2017 through December 26, 2017; plus corporate advances of $1,166.00; plus property inspection fees of $64.05; plus legal fees of $12.51; together with title expense, costs, trustee’s fees and attorney’s fees incurred herein by reason of said default; any further sums advanced by the beneficiary for the protection of the above described real property and its interest therein; and prepayment penalties/premiums, if applicable. By reason of said default, the beneficiary has declared all sums owing on the obligation secured by said trust deed immediately due and payable, said sums being the following, to wit: $123,735.59 with interest thereon at the rate of 6.12500 percent per annum beginning March 1, 2017; plus outstanding fees and corporate advances of $1,257.56; plus escrow of $2,088.89; together with title expense, costs, trustee’s fees and attorney’s fees incurred herein by reason of said default; any further sums advanced by

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

The following described personal property will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder for cash or certified funds.

Proceeds from the public sale for said personal property shall be applied to the debt owed to Rent-a-Space in the amounts listed below (plus as yet undetermined amounts to conduct the sale): Space/Name/$$$/Desc 3336/Vanetta Montoya/$272/furniture 126/Johnnie L. Foston/$348/furniture SALE LOCATION: Gardner’s Auction Service, 4810 Hwy 93 S, Missoula, MT

www.gardnersauction.com SALE DATE/TIME: Wed, Jan 31, 2018 @ 4:30 PM (check website for details) TERMS: Public sale t the highest bidder.

Sold “AS IS”, “WHERE IS”.

Cash or certified funds.

EAGLE SELF STORAGE will auction to the highest bidder abandoned storage units owing delinquent storage rent for the following units 97, 104, 106, 145, 157, 159, 169, 214, 246, 265, 279, 383, 419 & 686. Units can contain furniture, clothes, chairs, toys, kitchen supplies, tools, sports equipment, books, beds, & other misc. household goods. These units may be viewed starting Monday January 29, 2018..

All auction units will only be shown each day at 3 P.M. written sealed bids may be submitted to storage office at 4101 Hwy 93 S., Missoula, MT 59804 prior to Tuesday, January 30,2018 at 4:00 P.M. Buyers bid will be for entire contents of each unit offered in the sale. Only cash or money orders will be accepted for payment. Units are reserved subject to redemption by owner prior to sale. All Sales final.

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com [38] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

PUBLIC NOTICESMNAXLP the beneficiary for the protection of the above described property and its interest therein; and prepayment penalties/premiums, if applicable. Due to the defaults stated above, the Beneficiary has elected and has directed the Trustee to sell the above-described property to satisfy the obligation. Notice is further given that any person named has the right, at any time prior to the date last set for the sale, to have this foreclosure proceeding dismissed and the Deed of Trust reinstated by making payment to the Beneficiary of the entire amount then due (other than such portion of the principal as would not then be due had no default occurred) and by curing any other default complained of herein that is capable of being cured by tendering the performance required under the obligation or to cure the default, by paying all costs and expenses actually incurred in enforcing the obligation and Deed of Trust, together with Successor Trustee’s and attorney’s fees. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Successor Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. Dated: January 11, 2018 /s/ John A. “Joe” Solseng John A. “Joe” Solseng, a member of the Montana state bar, Attorney of Robinson Tait, P.S., MSB #11800

SERVICES

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE To be sold for cash at a Trustee’s Sale on March 13, 2018, 01:00 PM at the main entrance of Missoula County Courthouse located at 200 West Broadway Street, Missoula, MT 59802, the following described real property situated in Missoula County, State of Montana:A tract of land located in the SE1/4 of Section 33,Township 14 North, range 19 West, P.M.M., Missoula County, Montana, being more particularly described as Tract 1-9 A of Certificate of Survey No. 3446. More commonly known as 4747 Gleneagle Way, Missoula, MT 59808. Kenneth Knie, as Grantor, conveyed said real property to First American Title Insurance Co., as Trustee, to secure an obligation owed to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., a federally chartered savings bank, its successors and assigns , by Deed of Trust on February 2, 2006, and filed for record in the records of the County Clerk and Recorder in Missoula County, State of Montana, on February 8, 2006 as Instrument No. 200602994, in Book 768, at Page 993, of Official Records. The Deed of Trust was assigned for value as follows: Assignee: DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY as Trustee for INDYMAC INDX MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-AR4,

MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES Series 2006-AR4 Assignment Dated: July 19, 2014 Assignment Recorded:August 6, 2014 Assignment Recording Information: as Instrument No. 201411772, in Book 932, at Page 495, All in the records of the County Clerk and Recorder for Missoula County, Montana Benjamin J. Mann is the Successor Trustee pursuant to a Substitution of Trustee recorded in the office of the Clerk and Recorder of Missoula County, State of Montana, on April 21, 2017 as Instrument No. 201706714, in Book 977, at Page 972, of Official Records.The Beneficiary has declared a default in the terms of said Deed of Trust due to Grantor’s failure to make monthly payments beginning April 1, 2014, and each month subsequent, which monthly installments would have been applied on the principal and interest due on said obligation and other charges against the property or loan.

By reason of said default, the Beneficiary has declared all sums owing on the obligation secured by said Trust Deed immediately due and payable. The total amount due on this obligation is the principal sum of $318,941.64, interest in the sum of $43,320.12, escrow advances of $14,465.55, other amounts due and payable in the amount of $3,504.49 for a total amount owing of $380,231.80, plus accruing interest, late charges, and other fees and costs that may be incurred or advanced.The Beneficiary anticipates and may disburse such amounts as may be required to preserve and protect the property and for real property taxes that may become due or delinquent, unless such amounts of taxes are paid by the Grantor. If such amounts are paid by the Beneficiary, the amounts or taxes will be added to the obligations secured by the Deed of Trust. Other expenses to be charged against the proceeds of this sale include the Trustee’s fees and attorney’s fees, costs and expenses of the sale, and late charges, if any.

Beneficiary has elected, and has directed the Trustee to sell the above described property to satisfy the obligation. The sale is a public sale and any person, including the Beneficiary, excepting only the Trustee, may bid at the sale. The bid price must be paid immediately upon the close of bidding in cash or cash equivalents (valid money orders, certified checks or cashier’s checks). The conveyance will be made by Trustee’s Deed, without any representation or warranty, including warranty of title, express or implied, as the sale is made strictly on an as-is, where-is basis, without limitation, the sale is being made subject to all existing conditions, if any, of lead paint, mold or other environmental or health haz-

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ards. The sale purchaser shall be entitled to possession of the property on the 10th day following the sale.The Grantor, successor in interest to the Grantor, or any other person having an interest in the property, has the right, at any time prior to the Trustee’s Sale, to pay to the Beneficiary, or the successor in interest to the Beneficiary, the entire amount then due under the Deed of Trust and the obligation secured thereby (including costs and expenses actually incurred and attorney’s fees) other than such portion of the principal as would not then be due had no default occurred and by curing any other default complained of herein that is capable of being cured by tendering the performance required under the obligation or to cure the default, by paying all costs and expenses actually incurred in enforcing the obligation and Deed of Trust with Successor Trustee’s and attorney’s fees. In the event that all defaults are cured the foreclosure will be dismissed and the foreclosure sale will be canceled. The scheduled Trustee’s Sale may be postponed by public proclamation up to 15 days for any reason. In the event of a bankruptcy filing, the sale may be postponed by the Trustee for up to 120 days by public proclamation at least every 30 days. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Successor Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Dated this 2nd day of November, 2018. Benjamin J. Mann, Substitute Trustee 376 East 400 South, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Telephone: 801-355-2886 Office Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8AM-5PM (MST) File No. 49501 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE To be sold for cash at Trustee’s Sale on May 25, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., on the front (south) steps of the Missoula County Courthouse located at 200 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802, all of Trustee’s right, title and interest to the following-described real property situated in Missoula County, Montana: A piece, parcel or tract of land lying in the South ½ of Lot 12, Section 16, Township 12

North, Range 17 West, Montana Principal Meridian and more particularly described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a point on the line of the north right-of-way of U.S. Highway No. 10, S.67 32’00”E. a distance of 90.00 feet from the intersection of the west line of said Lot 12 and the north right-of-way of said U.S. Highway No. 10, thence S.67 32’00” E. along the north right-of-way of said U.S. Highway No. 10 a distance of 123.00 feet; thence N. 22 03’46” E. a distance of 350.89 feet; thence S.89 58’00” W. a distance of 328.10 feet to the intersection of the west line of said Lot 12; thence S.00 07’00” W. along the west line of said Lot 12 a distance of 18.60 feet; thence S.67 32’00” E. a distance of 90.00 feet; thence S. 00 07’00” W. a distance of 225.00 feet to the point of beginning. Deed Exhibit #3683.

Recording Reference: Book 111 of Micro Records at Page 927.Anthony Hummel Jr. and Crystal Hummel, as Grantors, conveyed the real property to Western Title and Escrow, as Trustee, to secure an obligation owed to Gilbert S. Rice and Janet A. Rice, as Beneficiaries, by Trust Indenture dated April 20, 2015, and recorded that same date in Book 942, Page 1345, records of the Missoula County Clerk and Recorder. A Substitution of Trustee designating Kevin S. Jones as Successor Trustee was recorded January 16, 2018, in Book 991, Page 1072, records of the Missoula County Clerk and Recorder. The default of the obligation, the performance of which is secured by the aforementioned Trust Indenture, and for which default of this foreclosure is made, is for failure to pay the monthly payments as and when due.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Trust Indenture, the Beneficiaries have exercised, and hereby exercise, their option to declare the full amount secured by such Trust Indenture immediately due and payable. There presently is due on said obligation the principal sum of $102,776.54, plus interest at a rate of 6% totaling $1,267.11, late fees and other fees totaling $372.00, for a total amount due of $104,415.65, as of January 17, 2018, plus the costs of foreclosure, attorney’s fees, trustee’s fees, escrow closing fees, and other accruing costs.The Beneficiaries have elected, and do hereby elect, to sell the above-described property to satisfy the obligation referenced

above. The Beneficiaries declare that the Grantors are in default as described above and demands that the Trustee sell the property described above in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Notice. DATED 17th day of January, 2018. /s/ Kevin S. Jones, Trustee STATE OF MONTANA ))ss . County of Missoula) On this 17th day of January, 2018, before me, the undersigned, a Notary Public for the State of Montana, personally appeared Kevin S. Jones, Trustee, known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged to me that he executed the same. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year first above written. /s/ Christy Shipp (SEAL) NOTARY PUBLIC for the State of Montana Residing at Missoula, MT My Commission Expires May 07, 2021

CLARK FORK STORAGE will auction to the highest bidder abandoned storage units owing delinquent storage rent for the following unit(s): 118, 246. Units can contain furniture, clothes, chairs, toys, kitchen supplies, tools, sports equipment, books, beds, other misc household goods, vehicles & trailers. These units may be viewed starting 2/5/2018 by appt only by calling 541-7919.

Written sealed bids may be submitted to storage offices at 3505 Clark Fork Way, Missoula, MT 59808 prior to 2/8/2018 at 4:00 P.M. Buyer’s bid will be for entire contents of each unit offered in the sale. Only cash or money orders will be accepted for payment. Units are reserved subject to redemption by owner prior to sale, All Sales final.

PUBLIC NOTICE The Missoula Consolidated Planning Board will conduct a public hearing on the following item on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, at 7:00 p.m., in the Missoula City Council Chambers located at 140 W. Pine Street in Missoula, Montana. 1. Condition Amendment-Stillwaters on the Clark Fork No. 3 A condition amendment for Stillwaters on the Clark Fork No. 3 to extend the filing date and implementation date of the Weed Management Plan. As part of a phasing plan approval in 2014, a weed management plan was to be recorded by May 15, 2014, and the initiation of the plan implementation, and progress on implementation was to be verified

by July 15, 2014. The plan was not implemented and now the developer is requesting to extend the original dates of the plan to Spring and Summer of 2018. The subject property is Parcel 5 COS 5597 and Parcel 3 COS 4186, Section 09, T13N, R20W. The Missoula Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on this item at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2018. The hearing will be held in Room 151 of the County Courthouse, located at 200 West Broadway in Missoula. The application and exact legal description are available for public inspection at Missoula County Community and Planning Services office, 323 West Alder, Missoula, Montana, (406) 258-4657. Your attendance at the public hearing and comments are welcomed and encouraged. Comments can be submitted in writing to the Planning Office or made in person at the public hearing. If anyone attending any of these meetings needs special assistance, please provide 48 hours advanced notice by calling 258-4657. The Community and Planning Services office will provide auxiliary aids and services.

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [39]

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Real estate focus

Missoula Condos Under $150,000

$109,000

$125,000

$148,900

1400 Burns St #3 • MLS #81713498

530 Burton • MLS #21611168

2801 Highcliff #2 • MLS #21713959

Energy-efficient 1 bed, 1 bath with open floor plan, patio & W/D hookups.

Sarah Mulligan Portico Real Estate 406-370-3995

Ground level 2 bed, 1 bath on river trail with parking, storage & coinop laundry.

Judy Gudgel BHHS Montana 406-329-2017

Lovely 896 sq.ft. 2 bed, 2 bath condo in Grant Creek.

Sherry Clark-Sherwood Professional Real Estate Montana 406-529-6545

RENTALS APARTMENT RENTALS 1 bed, 1 bath, near Johnson/14th, $650, large apt in 4-plex, coin-op laundry, off street parking, W/S/G paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING Gatewest 728-7333

1 bed, 1 bath, Schilling & 12th, $725, 4plex, recently remodeled, W/D hookups, Very nice. W/S/G Paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING. Gatwest 7287333A 1 Bed, 1 Bath, Stoddard & N. Russell, $675, Newer Appliances, D/W, off-

street parking, Coin-op laundry. Heat Paid! W/S/G Paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING. Gatewest 728-7333 1-2 bed, 1 bath, $700-$895, newer complex, balcony or deck,A/C, coin-op laundry, storage & off street parking. S/G paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING.

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INCENTIVE $950. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

1801 Howell #4. 2 bed/1 bath, central location, shared fenced yard, W/D hookups, pet? $725. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

Uncle Robert Ln #7 Uncle Robert Lane 2 Bed/1 Bath $725/Month

108 W. Broadway #2. Studio/1bath, downtown, recently remodeled, W/D, DW, RENT

1324 S. 2nd St. “D”. 3 bed/2 bath, freshly painted, new flooring, central location. $1200. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

FIDELITY 251-4707

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No Initial Application Fee Residential Rentals Professional Office & Retail Leasing Since 1971

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2 Bed, 1 bath in 4 Plex, Rollins & Franklin, walk in closet, spacious bedrooms, Tenant pays Electricity.

HEAT/W/S/G Paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING. Gatewest 728-7333 2 bed, 1 bath, near Good Food Store, $800, DW, coin-op laundry, off-street parking, HEAT Paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING. Gatewest 728-7333 2 bed, 1 bath, S 3rd W, $895, A/C, DW, W/D hookups, flat top stove, storage & off street parking W/S/G paid. NO

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DUPLEXES

2 bed, 1 or 2 bath, Cooper Street, $895, DW, AC, coin-op laundry, storage & off street parking W/S/G paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING Gatewest 728-7333

2 bed, 1 bath (duplex) w/garage, $950 near Good Food Store, newly remodeled, front & back yard, W/D hookups & off street parking. S/G paid. NO PETS, NO SMOKING. Gatewest 728-7333

210 Grant St. #4. 2 bed/1 bath, close to Milwaukee Trail, W/D hookups, DW $825. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

2300 McDonald #3. 1 bed/1 bath, new flooring and paint, close to shopping and parks $650. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

436 Washington St. 1 bed/1 bath, downtown, HEAT PAID, coin-ops, cat? $750 Grizzly Property Management 5422060

509 S. 5th St. E. #4. 2 bed/1 bath, two blocks to U, coin-ops, shared yard $725.

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Very nice basement apartment. In quiet neighborhood. Close to city/campbus stop. $625. 396-1244

HOUSE

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1863 S. 5th St. E. 3 bed/2.5 bath, brand new, energy efficient, central location. $1500 Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

OUT OF TOWN Shop for rent. Good space for wrecker service, mechanic shop or similar use.

Over 10,000 square feet with 2 truck bays and front space for offices or retail. Contact Big Sky Property Management at 406-497-6960 for more information.

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211 S. 4th Street East #1. 3 bed/1 bath, close to U, W/D hookups $1050. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

237 1/2 E. Front St. “A” Studio/1 bath, downtown, HEAT PAID, coin-ops on site $625. Grizzly Property Management 542-2060

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Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com [40] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

JONESIN’

REAL ESTATE

CROSSWORDS

By Matt Jones

Rochelle Glasgow Cell:(406) 544-7507 glasgow@montana.com www.rochelleglasgow.com

ESTATE SALE - LOG HOMES PAY THE BALANCE OWED ONLY!!!

AMERICAN LOG HOMES IS ASSISTING FINAL RELEASE OF ESTATE & ACCOUNT SETTLEMENT ON HOUSES.

1) Model # 101 Carolina

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$40,840…BBALANCE OWED $17,000

2) Model # 303 Little Rock $38,525…BALANCE OWED $15,0000 3) Model # 403 Augusta

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MANUFACTURED For Sale 2- 2012 16x80 mobile homes in great condition $43,900 delivered and set up within 150 miles of Billings.

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LAND 13221 Old Freight. Approximately 11 acres in St. Ignatius with Mission Mountain views. $86,900. Shannon Hilliard 239-8350 shannonhilliard5@gmail.com Real Estate - Northwest Montana – Company owned. Small and large acre parcels. Private.Trees and meadows. National Forest boundaries. Tungstenholdings.com (406) 293-3714

COMMERCIAL Holland Lake Lodge. Located on 10.53 acres of USFS land with 1/4 mile of lake frontage. Main lodge with 9 guest rooms, restaurant, 6 guest cabins, gift shop, and owner’s cabin. $5,000,000 Shannon Hilliard 239-8350 shannonhilliard5@gmail.com

“Oh, It's ON”–they’re on, first.

ACROSS 1 Candy brand that comes in twos 5 One of Australia's six 10 "The King and I" character 14 Planetarium roof 15 Hardwood playing surface 16 Ending for concert or movie 17 Banana peel, in British English 18 Image transmitter to the brain 20 Early Doritos flavor 22 Cuatro doubled 23 Charles played by Jamie Foxx 24 Bitter beer variety, for short 26 It spits out bills 28 Cassis-and-wine cocktail 29 Altar-ed statement?

30 Flowers related to tobacco, tomatoes, and deadly nightshade 33 The Bahamas' capital 35 Dress rehearsal follower 37 Ricky's portrayer on 1950s TV 38 Bread in an Indian restaurant 39 Doesn't feel so great 43 Potential award winner usually announced in January 48 2016 Lady Gaga album 51 TNT drama whose 77th and final episode aired on Christmas

2012 52 Abbr. on food labels 53 Certain Wall Street trader, slangily 55 In medias ___ 56 Voting yes 57 Bread for a Reuben 58 "Afternoon of a ___" (Debussy work) 60 Train travel 62 2019 and 2021, e.g.

65 House, in Havana 68 "Switched-On Bach" synthesizer 69 "This one goes out to the one ___ ..."

70 "Monday Night Football" network 71 Muppet with a goldfish 72 Burn perfume, in religious ceremonies 73 "Take ___! (And ___!)"

DOWN 1 6-pt. plays 2 Panda Express vessel 3 Knocks off 4 Lucy Lawless title role 5 Make more room at a booth, perhaps 6 Highest-ranked 7 Car, alternately 8 End-of-October option 9 Art done with acid 10 Candle count 11 Actor Chuck with a "Facts" meme 12 McCarran International Airport's home

13 Words before ready or serious 19 "Come Away With Me" singer Jones 21 "What ___ do?"

24 The Touch is the only one still produced 25 "Muppets Tonight" prawn 27 ___ cum laude 31 Group with dues 32 Hair tangle 34 Flight component?

36 Word before child or peace 40 Very quickly 41 Brick that hurts when stepped on 42 Fortune teller 44 Screw-up 45 Like some tiles 46 Direct 47 Tableland 48 Former halfback Bettis 49 Detergent that debuted in 1914 50 The world of simians 54 "Haven't Met You Yet" crooner Michael 59 Element #10 (Really, it's that early in the sequence? Wow.) 61 "Law & Order: SVU" costar 63 The Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders, e.g.

64 Homes parked in parks 66 Tranquil destination 67 Colony insect

©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords • editor@jonesincrosswords.com

Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [41]

REAL ESTATE

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Steps From everything Missoula has to Offer. Home is a Complete Overhaul from Basement to Roof w ith an Addition to the Main Floor, a Full Second Floor and Basement. Inviting Open Main Floor Plan with Nine foot Ceilings, Pella Window s, Wood Floors, Granite Counters, Stainless Appliances. Constructed w ith HIGH QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP CONSTRUCTION is Evident to every little detail.

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Lot rent is $350/month.

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Place your classified ad at 317 S. Orange, by phone 543-6609x115 or via email: classified@missoulanews.com [42] Missoula Independent • January 25–February 1, 2018

HealthWise Chiropractic DR. PAUL MILLER 25 Years Experience HANDS-ON, NO-NONSENSE Insurance accepted.

Reasonable non-insured rates.

Medical Marijuana Recommendations Alternative Wellness is helping qualified patients get access to the MT Medical Marijuana Program.

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missoulanews.com • January 25–February 1, 2018 [43]