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[2] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

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News

Voices/Letters Mountain biking, Landee Holloway and trap-free public lands .............4 The Week in Review Gun ordinance, New West shuts down and Griz win ..................6 Briefs Expert manipulation, Merc lawsuit and Missoula Community Radio..................6 Etc. Money pours in for local craft beer industry ...........................................................7 News Gutsche aims to take the PSC back from Republicans ..........................................8 News Former dam opens gate for international learning ...............................................9 Opinion How the first presidential debate helped define this election.......................10 Feature Inside Missoula’s child care crisis ....................................................................12

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Lily Gladstone talks art, activism and Certain Women ..........................................16 Music Spider+Octopus, Parsonsfield and Lydia Loveless............................................17 Music Unpacking the indecipherable world of Young Thug ........................................18 Film Deepwater feels trapped between tragic facts, genre...........................................19 Movie Shorts Independent takes on current films.......................................................20 BrokeAss Gourmet Cast iron bibimbap ......................................................................21 Happiest Hour White Claw ..........................................................................................23 8 Days a Week Looking for a nanny for six of them ...................................................24 Agenda Missoula Maze ..................................................................................................30 Mountain High Tight Loose ..........................................................................................31

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Exclusives

Street Talk .......................................................................................................................4 News of the Weird ........................................................................................................12 Classifieds....................................................................................................................C-1 The Advice Goddess ...................................................................................................C-2 Free Will Astrolog y ....................................................................................................C-4 Crossword Puzzle .......................................................................................................C-8 This Modern World...................................................................................................C-12 PUBLISHER Matt Gibson EDITOR Skylar Browning PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joe Weston ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Heidi Starrett BOOKKEEPER Ruth Anderson DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS Christie Magill ARTS EDITOR Erika Fredrickson CALENDAR EDITOR Charley Macorn STAFF REPORTERS Kate Whittle, Alex Sakariassen, Derek Brouwer COPY EDITOR Gaaby Patterson EDITORIAL INTERNS Tess Haas ART DIRECTOR Kou Moua GRAPHIC DESIGNER Charles Wybierala CIRCULATION ASSISTANT MANAGER Ryan Springer ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Steven Kirst, Robin Bernard, Jennifer Adams, Beau Wurster MARKETING & EVENTS COORDINATOR Ariel LaVenture CLASSIFIED SALES REPRESENTATIVE Jessica Fuerst FRONT DESK Lorie Rustvold CONTRIBUTORS Scott Renshaw, Nick Davis, Matthew Frank, Molly Laich, Dan Brooks, Rob Rusignola, Jaime Rogers, Chris La Tray, Sarah Aswell, Migizi Pensoneau, April Youpee-Roll

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missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [3]

[voices]

STREET TALK

by Tess Haas

Asked Monday evening in downtown Missoula The Montana Brewers Association released its annual economic report and, shocker, numbers are up across the board—employment and income have nearly doubled over the past two years and production has increased 87 percent. Assuming you’re doing your part to help, what’s your favorite Montana brewery? Followup: What suggestions would you have to local brewers to continue this current trend?

Katie Lapointe: Draught Works, because I find beer I like, people I like and food I like. Less is more: Widen distribution. We don’t need more brewfests. We need more options at the brewfests.

Hattie Arensmeyer: I really like Philipsburg Brewing Company. I enjoy how their beers taste and their Tramway PA has a picture of a dog that looks just like my friend’s. Variety: More seasonals.

Mary Jones: I really like Big Sky Brewing and Lewis and Clark, but Big Sky is my favorite. I like their selection and their shows. Unpopular decision: It might be just me, but less IPAs.

Michael Lapointe: Imagine Nation because I really like the owners and their mission and I’m always pleasantly surprised by how good their beer is. Beyond beer: More community involvement and getting the word out more.

Quint Bishop: I like Bayern. They make really authentic German beers. Steady success: Keep on keepin’ on.

[4] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

My trails too With regards to biking in Woods Gulch, Ben Horan wrote a nice, polite letter (see “Shared nature,” Sept. 15). I’m an old fart and can say what I want. I’ve been biking in Woods Gulch for over 20 years. The bike club from the ’90s, LIMB, adopted the Woods Gulch trail and it was the first trail they worked on. They asked the Forest Service to put up a sign about the adoption but they never did. In the ’90s, I cleared the water bars out myself for six straight years. Around 2000, LIMB and the International Mountain Bike Association reworked the bottom of the trail for speed reduction and control. The Forest Service decided to run up a 25- to 30-foot beam for the new bridge, which required a Cat to reach the work site, and wiped out the speed control. Then, around a dozen years ago, we did a reroute above the first bridge. I worked the switchback. Shortly after, the Forest Service’s Technology and Development Program made a film on building climbing turns and switchbacks with the Montana Conservation Corp. I brought my bike up Wood Gulch so we could demonstrate quality turns. In the above activities and another six to eight trail projects in the Rattlesnake I don’t remember meeting Lisa Hendricks (see “A place to walk,” Sept. 8). But what about hikers’ conduct? When I’ve been on my bike some hikers have frowned at me on trails that I’ve built. I’ve been out with my dog riding toward Woods Gulch using the Mount Jumbo entrance. A couple of blocks before the parking lot a hiker (no bike on car) was driving up the hill and using a hand to shade her eyes from early morning sun. I was able to avoid her hitting me, but she hit my dog with the front of her car, knocking him over (the dog was fine). I’ve also seen a member of Missoula Open Space Committee speeding on their way to a field trip meeting. And I’ve seen other hikers speeding. Does this mean we should ban all hikers driving to the trailhead? I assume Lisa would say yes. Sometimes you can separate trail users and have both groups end up happier. The city open space manager had me ride the MoZ trail on Sentinel. He gave me a ride up the road to the trail junction and I rode it down and gave him my fixes. A

couple days later we rode it again and found a max speed of 14 mph when just coasting down. Hikers were allowed on the trail with just signs warning them about downhill bikers. Same thing on Forest Service land located on Mount Jumbo up near Woods Gulch. A fast road downhill was replaced by the Sidewinder single track meeting up at Danny O’Brian Gulch. Hikers have been seen on this trail also. So what trails are the hikers going to give up so there can be biking-only trails? I’m done with hikers thinking they get more rights on trails we all pay for. I would suggest we close Woods Gulch to hikers. Also maybe the Sawmill Gulch in the main Rattlesnake area? I would assume we would need some other hiker-only trails on Blue Mountain and a few other areas. Kurt Krueger Missoulan

“I’m an old fart and can say what I want.” Vote Holloway Having knowledge of acting Justice of the Peace Landee Holloway’s credentials working in the criminal justice system and knowing her personally for two decades plus, I wholeheartedly endorse her in the upcoming November election for the above position. Judge Holloway brings many strengths to this important position—honesty and good, strong common sense, plus excellent communication skills and the very necessary strength of judicial temperament. Holloway knows the positives and weaknesses in the criminal justice system, thus those who appear before her receive fair treatment. Judge Holloway also serves on an extremely important committee regarding reintegration of offenders into our community. The importance of this program’s success clearly benefits the community by working with offenders so they don’t reoffend. This leads to a cost savings for tax-

payers and, more importantly, less victimization in our community. Judge Holloway’s campaign Facebook page tells a great deal more about her candidacy credentials and why I will be voting for her. I ask you to join me in voting for this extremely qualified candidate. Doug Chase Missoula

A no-brainer This letter is addressing I-177. Please consider voting for this initiative. I feel the concerns I’m sharing with you are extremely important to the reputation of our great state of Montana. Trapping with the use of steel-jaw leghold traps is an ancient barbaric act that is considered recreational or commercial where the animal (many times not even the target animal) is caught and killed so that trappers can rip off the animal’s fur and sell it to the fashion industry. With the exception of wolf trapping, our state does not even require trappers to check their traps and snares in any specific period of time. As a result, these trapped animals can be left lingering in traps and snares for several days and nights while exposed to extreme cold temperatures and left vulnerable and defenseless to any attacks from carnivores who may come by in search of food. These animals suffer in traps until the trapper returns to either stomp, club, strangle or shoot them to death. It is not only that pets and non-target animals can accidentally be caught in these traps, I feel it is inhumane for any animal to endure that type of torture—even the “target” animal. It is simply a no-brainer to me that traps should never be used on public lands where families and pets recreate. They are dangerous, brutal and because many traps are baited and have the potential of luring any animal in, they are indiscriminate and not an effective management tool. Research also shows there are much better and humane ways of accomplishing what trappers are defending so profusely— besides the obvious aim of making money. Please vote for I-177 and help preserve Montana’s reputation for being a beautiful state to visit for its wonderful scenery and magnificent wildlife. Renelle Braaten Havre

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 • September 29–October 6, 2016 [5]

[news]

WEEK IN REVIEW

VIEWFINDER

by Joe Weston

Wednesday, Sept. 21 Montana Citizens for I-182, a pro-medical marijuana ballot measure, file a complaint against opposing group Safe Montana. They say Safe Montana and its founder, Steve Zabawa, filed finance reports incorrectly.

Thursday, Sept. 22 Lake County resident Rick Breckenridge, 57, is named as the new head of the state Libertarian Party, replacing Mike Fellows, who died in a car crash the week before. Breckenridge will appear on the ballot against Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke and Democrat Denise Juneau.

Friday, Sept. 23 Montana-based insurance company New West Health Services announces it will stop offering coverage and lay off 84 employees throughout the state. The company was originally founded in the 1990s to be a competitor with bigger insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Saturday, Sept. 24 Montana falls to unranked Cal Poly, 42-41, spoiling a record-setting performance from quarterback Brady Gustafson. The fifth-year senior completes 47 passes, more than any Griz in history, and tosses for two touchdowns.

Sunday, Sept. 25 More than 350 dogs and their humans run in the Western Montana Humane Society’s seventh annual Canine Classic, hosted by Paws Up Resort. Organizers estimate the fundraiser brings in about $50,000.

Monday, Sept. 26 Missoula City Council votes 8-4 to pass an ordinance requiring background checks on gun sales. Councilwoman Michelle Cares tweets afterward that she was among the “nay” votes because she doesn’t want the city to risk being sued over the ordinance.

Tuesday, Sept. 27 Scott Austin Price, 37, pleads guilty in Missoula County District Court to felony charges related to a December 2015 crime spree that included stabbing two people in the same day. One of Price’s victims, a Super 8 hotel housekeeper, died from her wounds.

A bachelor group of six mule deer relax in the safety of the National Bison Range on Sept. 25.

Death Penalty

Manipulating a witness? The ACLU says Attorney General Tim Fox has some explaining to do. Confronted with a challenge to the state’s lethal injection cocktail, the Department of Justice leaned on a controversial medical expert last year to argue the sedative it planned to use to kill two death row inmates would work as quickly as Montana law requires. But Auburn School of Pharmacy Dean Lee Evans didn’t say what state attorneys needed him to—at least not initially. Evans’ evolving testimony became a central issue at trial, ultimately backfiring when a Helena judge struck down the drug protocol in October 2015 and effectively put a moratorium on the death penalty in Montana. Now the parties who won the case think they know why Evans seemed to change his professional opinion: because Fox’s attorneys told him to. That’s what evidence uncovered after trial suggests, they allege in March filings. Six months later, they’re still

awaiting a judge’s order so they can try to prove it. “This is a death penalty matter,” says ACLU Montana Legal Director Jim Taylor. “If in fact somebody manipulated a witness, that’s something everybody needs to know.” The case, Smith v. Batista, hinged on whether a drug known as pentobarbital and commonly used to euthanize pets works in the “ultra-fast acting” manner required by state law. In his first expert witness disclosure before trial, Evans did not address the “ultra-fast acting” definition, instead calling pentobarbital a “short acting” drug. A month later, he filed a second, shorter disclosure stating pentobarbital “could be” considered ultra-fast acting. Lewis and Clark County District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock questioned the reliability of Evans’ testimony in issuing his decision in the case, noting discrepancies in his statements about the drug’s speed and classification. Sherlock wasn’t the first person puzzled by Evans. One of the only medical professionals still willing to testify on behalf of states defending their lethal injection protocols, Evans has been criticized by his peers and U.S. Supreme Court justices for relying on consumer website

Drugs.com for parts of his testimony. The Montana DOJ contracted with Evans in 2015 after its previous expert witness quit consulting on death penalty litigation. After the trial, attorneys for the plaintiffs discovered deposition statements Evans made in a separate case in Tennessee in which he acknowledges that he doesn’t classify pentobarbital as “ultra-fast acting.” The inmates’ attorneys raised the issue with Fox’s office, which “discussed the concerns at the executive team level” and took “appropriate actions” with the lawyers who represented the state on the case, according to a DOJ email included in court documents. The state has refused to say more. The plaintiffs are awaiting a judge’s ruling that could force the department to hand over records of its communication with Evans as well as its internal investigation. Taylor says if someone in Fox’s office did improperly instruct Evans to change his testimony, the state would be liable for attorneys’ fees and the case never would have gone to trial. In a statement, DOJ spokeswoman Anastasia Burton describes the claims as “unsupported” and calls the plain-

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[news] tiffs’ motion “an inappropriate attempt to extend this litigation, in the context of increasing their attorney fees.” Evans was paid $14,350 for his expert witness testimony last year, Burton says. The state has severed ties with him. Derek Brouwer

Community radio

KFGM almost ready Almost nothing stands in the way of the new Missoula Community Radio KFGM 105.5 FM station getting on the air—except for about 175 feet of coaxial cable. “I keep saying to people, ‘We’re really close,’” says general manager Jon Van Dyke. He’d hoped to be on the air Oct. 5, but thinks they’ll need a few more weeks. The FCC’s deadline for the station is February 2017. Since KFGM’s first volunteer meeting in February 2015, the fledging station has come a long way. Volunteers found an affordable office space in the Union Hall and secured almost all of the necessary broadcasting equipment, largely with donations from KBGA College Radio. But they still need to test out a secondhand soundboard and acquire enough coaxial cable to hook up the transmitter to the antenna on the Union’s roof. Station founder and board president Ann Szalda-Petree says brand-new cable runs about $900, more than they have in the radio station’s “slush fund.” “We’ll have to hit up our board members or have another fundraiser,” Szalda-Petree says. She’s hoping to organize a fundraiser featuring someone like Eden Atwood or Huey Lewis, who’s offered to help the station in the past. One thing that’s not in short supply is enthusiasm for a new community station with local programming, though KFGM hasn’t yet officially started accepting applications for on-air talent. Van Dyke says he’s talked with people about doing everything from all-vinyl punk shows to Salish language lessons to New Orleans funk retrospectives. Even Mayor John Engen hinted that he’d be interested in hosting a show. “I think we’d force him to change hats,” Van Dyke says. “Yeah, make him play Norwegian music,” Szalda-Petree says. “Because he’s all into lutefisk and aquavit.” Szalda-Petree also hopes to bring back “The Ann and Teresa and Ann Show,” a free-form comedy performance that she and Teresa Waldorf hosted on KBGA for seven years. They decided to end the show this summer, since Waldorf is still dealing with the recent death of her husband, Rick.

Szalda-Petree says they’re hopeful about a fresh start in a new station. “I still wake up every Wednesday and think, I gotta go,” Szalda-Petree says. “That show was so great. I feel like we met everyone in Missoula.” Inviting everyone in Missoula to join in will also be the core mission of KFGM, she says. In the meantime, there’s plenty of work to do. Once the soundboard is ready, she says she’ll enlist Van Dyke to help solder together all the pieces that make a radio station. “I can’t wait to be in there,” Szalda-Petree says. “It’s going to be boiling hot, we’re going to be drinking whiskey, it’s gonna rule.” Kate Whittle

BY THE NUMBERS Student enrollment at the University of Montana and Missoula College (in terms of full-time equivalents) for Fall 2016, according to figures released Sept. 23. It marks a 24 percent drop from Fall 2010.

10,223

standing around. He just headed for the stairs. Preserve Historic Missoula’s administrative appeal, which seeks to vacate the demolition permit approval issued by Missoula City Council Aug. 1, is a last-ditch effort to stop HomeBase from tearing down the Merc. With its first move, the city signaled how aggressively it intends to defend council’s decision. Missoula Mercantile Nugent says he sprung into action after reading a Jumping the suit comment from Preserve Historic Missoula president Page Missoula City Attorney Jim Nugent wants Preserve His- Goode in a recent Indy cover story indicating the group toric Missoula out of the way of the impending Missoula planned to take its Merc fight to court. His office checked Mercantile demolition, and he wants them gone quickly. court records, saw the initial paperwork Doggett filed two So quickly, in fact, that Nugent and his staff fired off a re- weeks prior and decided not to wait. sponse to the group’s lawsuit only 24 hours after learning “They weren’t planning to serve [the lawsuit] anyabout it on Sept. 15, then followed up with a 17-page, shot- time in the near future,” Nugent says. gun-style motion to dismiss two business days later. The initial, vague complaint was filed as a placeholder What’s more: The city hadn’t even been served with to preserve his clients’ rights, Doggett says, and was prethe complaint yet. pared before council had even published its “We were just trying to activate it so findings of fact upon which council memthis would be expedited,” Nugent bers based their decision. But after the says. “This is a big community issue city, by responding, initiated court and the public deserves to have proceedings, Preserve Historic Misthis resolved.” soula’s unfinished allegations Preserve Historic Missoula were repeated in local media. attorney Michael Doggett deThe group sought to exscribes the city’s move as rare, plain itself in a Sept. 22 press resaying he hasn’t seen it during lease by arguing that its actions his five years practicing law. were not a “lawsuit” per se, “but Doggett spoke with the Indy simply asking the District Court to outside the Missoula County Courtuphold and enforce the Missoula Hisphoto by Amy Donovan house on Sept. 27 after shuffling away toric Preservation Ordinance as written.” from the case’s first scheduling hearing in DisAt Tuesday’s hearing, Deschamps and attrict Court, where its David versus Goliath nature was torneys for all parties, including the preservationists, on display. In District Court Judge Dusty Deschamps’ agreed to pursue an expedited court schedule. courtroom, Doggett sat across from four lawyers rep“I think everyone wants to know one way or another resenting the various defendants, including the city, de- what’s going to happen,” Doggett says. velopers HomeBase Montana and the Merc’s property Scheduling, however, was delayed two weeks. owners. Deschamps commented that he didn’t know Doggett had filed an amended complaint the evening Doggett, then proceeded to explain the basics of court prior, and neither the opposing attorneys nor Deschamps briefing procedure. When the hearing was over, Doggett had time to review it. didn’t mingle to meet his counterparts or the reporters Derek Brouwer

ETC. Draught Works co-owner Jeff Grant teased a big development last week. He was making the rounds at a beer-tasting event hosted by the Montana Brewers Association, a growler of Last Rites Mexican Chocolate Porter in hand, when he casually let slip that the brewery would begin canning in 2017. The porter was tasty. The news was intriguing. When Draught Works first opened back in summer 2011, it was the state’s 28th brewery. Just over five years later, there are 71 Montana breweries currently operating or preparing to open. That total was buried in an economic report released during the MBA fall conference, but it speaks volumes about the unstoppable juggernaut that Montana’s craft beer industry has become. According to that same report—commissioned by the MBA from the Bureau of Business and Economic Research—the amount of beer produced in the state has increased 87 percent in the past six years. Direct sales and employment have risen even more dramatically, 111 percent and 204 percent respectively. The report also marked the first time the BBER has pinned down hard data on agricultural purchases by Montana brewers, which totaled $4.5 million last year alone. Roughly 36 percent of those purchases were from Montana producers. The BBER has been mapping the brewing industry’s trajectory for years, having released similar studies in 2012 and 2014. And it’s not hard to guess what a 2018 report might look like. Apparently brewers across Montana have a combined $17.6 million in capital investments planned through 2017. Clearly Draught Works isn’t the only one with big plans on the horizon. Grant didn’t go into much detail on canning plans during last week’s tasting. He was too busy offering Last Rites. But later he explained the canning line will be part of a 2017 expansion into the space currently occupied by Freestone Gym, which is moving to new digs. The expansion will double Draught Works’ capacity and enable it to put multiple brews on local store shelves. It also happens to be a timely reflection of the story those dense economic studies tell. “We’ve seen great growth,” Grant says, “and that’s exactly in line with what the whole state is seeing with the craft brewing industry.”

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missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [7]

[news]

Comeback trail Gutsche aims to take the PSC back from Republicans by Alex Sakariassen

WHAT DO YOU SEE? We see the potential in materials, people, and our community.

Come take a look. Open 7 days. Reduce. Reuse. Rebuild. 1515 Wyoming St | www.homeres ource.org [8] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

The last time Gail Gutsche went in Judith Basin, which she supported has no direct control over the fate of head-to-head with Bob Lake, she lost. It alongside Vincent and Republican Com- Units 1 and 2, which are owned by outwas the 2012 election and Gutsche, a missioner Travis Kavulla. Her work on of-state utilities and slated to be shut first-term Democratic incumbent on environmental issues goes back even down by 2022. But the commission Montana’s Public Service Commission, further to her time in the Montana Leg- could pressure state lawmakers to make watched as her Republican challenger islature, where she served as vice chair the retraining and hiring of workers disousted her with just over 51 percent of on the House Natural Resources Com- placed by the closure a priority. the vote. The loss, coupled with the de- mittee. Montana Conservation Voters’ “We can definitely be part of the difeat of fellow incumbent John Vincent, Diana Maneta says it’s that deep history alogue, and retraining will be a huge put all five seats on the regulatory body in policy making and regulating that part of that,” Gutsche says. “Obviously in the hands of the GOP. if you worked in a coal plant all Gutsche’s back for a rematch in your life, working at a wind facility 2016, and the numbers she put up in might look pretty different, will June’s Democratic primary—58 perlook pretty different.” cent in a contentious three-way race— Much of Gutsche’s motivation in have left her feeling optimistic. With retaking her old seat seems to lie in her last contest against Lake in mind, her distaste for what the PSC has she says she’s “revamped and redone since her 2012 defeat. The five tooled” her campaign accordingly. Republican commissioners have efGutsche also says she has unfinished fectively halted more than 100 solar business on the commission. projects by suspending the rates “The PSC right now seems pretty at which qualifying facilities are unbalanced to me,” Gutsche says. reimbursed by NorthWestern for the “Five members of the same party, who electricity they produce, she says. don’t always make decisions that I Gutsche also points out her oppowould make. In fact, they rarely make nent supported an $8.2 million rate decisions I would make.” increase requested by NorthWestern A lot has changed in Gutsche’s to make up for a seven-month four-year absence, starting with outage at Colstrip Unit 4 in 2013. photo courtesy of Gutsche for PSC NorthWestern Energy’s portfolio. The Meanwhile, the commissioners have private utility purchased 11 hydro- Gail Gutsche lost her seat on Montana’s not initiated a review of NorthWestelectric facilities statewide for $870 Public Service Commission to Republican ern’s entire portfolio, nor addressed million in 2014, replacing coal as its Bob Lake in 2012. This year, she hopes to the low number of railroad safety No. 1 source of electricity generation. take that seat back and continue her inspectors in Montana, both of work steering the state toward a cleaner, Gutsche feels the price approved by greener energy future. which Gutsche adds she’d push for the current commission was far too if elected. high. That said, continuing the transi- prompted MCV to push to get Gutsche Gutsche could go on—and will— tion to renewable energy is at the top of “back on the PSC” this year. about the need for change on both her to-do list. “During her four terms in the state Montana’s energy landscape and the “All things equal, I’m going to go legislature and her previous term on PSC. And while she’s critical of what’s with clean energy every time, especially the PSC, she has fought tirelessly to transpired in her absence, she realizes since the clean energy sources we have protect Montana’s environment and that success on Nov. 8 will mean she’ll are less expensive than our legacy build a cleaner energy future,” Maneta have to defer to some of those decisources,” Gutsche says, adding electric- says. “She knows, as we know, that de- sion-makers in order to get up-toity generated by wind and solar can cost veloping Montana’s enormous wind speed. as low as half that generated by coal— and solar resources will create good “Politics is personal,” she says. $32 to $40 per megawatt hour versus jobs ... while protecting our clean air “They all know better than I what the $62 to $65. and clean water.” current issues before the PSC are, but One of the biggest clean energy deIn Gutsche’s view, encouraging I’ll get up to snuff really quickly because velopments during Gutsche’s previous growth in the renewable sector could I have experience and knowledge.” term was the approval of NorthWest- also help resolve future issues related to ern’s 40-megawatt Spion Kop wind farm the coal-fired plant at Colstrip. The PSC asakariassen@missoulanews.com

[news]

Mekong to Milltown Former dam opens gate for international learning by Shanti Johnson

ment is growing, and environmental regulaBraced against the chilly morning air searchers, the results, but they don’t care.” The discussion of global environmental tion comes second to reaping short-term ecooverlooking the Milltown Dam site, a group of Southeast Asian visitors huddled closely to- politics has amplified over the past six years nomic benefit.” Visiting the state park and speaking with gether, locked in intense discussion. Below, at the Milltown Dam overlook, with dozens the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark of international visitors from all over South- manager Mike Kustudia, of Montana Fish, east Asia, Russia, Japan, India, China and Wildlife and Parks, is intended to provide felFork rivers flowed on, unimpeded. The conversation started when Sandy Brazil coming to the site. The groups are part lows with an opportunity to think carefully Labarosa, an agriculturist and rice researcher of the U.S. Department of State’s Young about the long-term and far-reaching impacts from the Philippines, pointed his camera at Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, or YSEALI, of mining on local communities—and to see Chawirakan Nomai and asked what lessons and Study of the U.S. Institutes exchange pro- how much effort goes into cleaning up envigrams, both focused on global environmental ronmental mistakes. she would take home from the site visit. The two were part of a larger group of issues and hosted by the Maureen and Mike “At the overlook, they learn from our 21 Southeast Asian fellows, ages 19-25, visit- Mansfield Center. challenges and our achievements, cultivating Len Broberg, academic director for the nuanced approaches to issues of mining, ecoing Milltown State Park in an effort to apply lessons learned from the Superfund site to two programs and head of the environmental nomic development and water, and taking their own communities. these lessons back to the dis“Although they [ASEAN governcussion in their home comments] have the referendum,” anmunities,” Mansour says. swered Nomai, 23, “although they Communicating the stohave studies about people in the ry of area remediation and area, although they have the rerestoration is one of Kustusearcher to do the research for dia’s main jobs at the site. them—on what is the impact, what The manager has now is the advantage of the dam—it doesguided participants from 14 n’t really help. Because, if they want countries through the valley’s to build the dam, they just do it, behistory, from Bull Trout micause the dam is a big source of gration and tribal land-use to money in Asia.” industrialization and, now, Nomai is already working as the remediation. photo by Shanti Johnson project coordinator for the Mekong “I think, maybe coming Sub-region Social Research Center Mike Kustudia, manager of Milltown State Park, shares from Southeast Asian counin Thailand, where she sees dams as lessons learned with visiting scholars from Brazil, China, tries that are looking at one of the biggest environmental India, Japan and Russia at the Milltown Dam overlook. damming rivers now, and that threats plaguing her region. The other big studies program at the University of Montana, kind of thing,” Kustudia said to the YSEALI threat? The absence of a voice for those dis- says the Milltown site has global significance participants, “hopefully they would have placed—especially in landlocked Laos, where not only as a successful dam removal, but also learned maybe from experiences of what not at least 23 hydroelectric dams are in opera- as successful remediation of a toxic site and to do—you know, like what we did here. tion, with upwards of 90 additional dams in example of community collaboration. “Sometimes I think maybe it’s just a various stages of planning. “The Milltown Dam site is relatively phase that a nation goes through in its eco“The government, they have the slogan unique, because there aren’t that many dam nomic development and as it gets more afflufor Laos,” she said. “They say it is the battery removal sites in the nation,” Broberg says. ent,” he continued. “Then we’re like, ‘Well, of Asia.” “And it’s globally important because dams wait a minute, that’s causing some problems Ngakham Nanthana, the only member in are an issue, particularly with this group of that we need to look at.’” the group from Laos, nodded in agreement, Mekong River Basin students. Dams and Dang Hung, a 21-year-old from Vietnam, saying it doesn’t matter how local people will their effects are really an important part of listened to Kustudia’s words before applying be affected or displaced in her country, the their understanding of how their region them to his own region. government will continue constructing dams might change.” “In Vietnam and Laos and Thailand, I as long as they generate money. In charge of bringing the international think they know—they know about what they “The government is more focused on the fellows to Missoula, Mansfield Center Direc- will do will harm the environment,” Hung economic development brought by the dam, tor Deena Mansour explains that program said. “But that is not their priority.” but not on the impact—the long-term im- participants “come from countries where forpact,” Labarosa added. “You have all the re- eign investment in mining and dam developeditor@missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [9]

[opinion]

It’s all words How the first presidential debate helped define this election by Dan Brooks

Donald Trump inadvertently summed up his whole political philosophy about a half-hour into the first presidential debate. “It’s all words,” he said. “It’s all sound bites.” He meant to dismiss Hillary Clinton’s warning that his business experience wouldn’t translate to government. But he might as well have been describing the deal he’s offered this country since he announced his candidacy last summer. At the level of words, Clinton won the debate. She was well prepared— shockingly better prepared than her opponent, in a way that brought home the absurdity of a former senator and secretary of state running neck-andneck in the presidential election against a game show host. Trump spoke like a rich kid giving a class presentation on a book he hadn’t read. He had the confidence, but his performance seemed to convince him more than anyone else in the room. At the end of the night, he told the crowd he had been planning to say something “extremely rough to Hillary, to her family,” but had decided not to because it wouldn’t be nice. One got the feeling he hadn’t come up with anything for that, either. Between these two bizarre assertions, he told a series of lies. He claimed to have been against the invasion of Iraq in 2003—an exploitation of hindsight that Esquire debunked extensively in 2004. He denied ever saying that global warming was a hoax invented by China to stunt U.S. manufacturing—something he tweeted on Nov. 6, 2012. Each of these lies is easily disproven with a 30second Google search. We’re not talking about Keyser Söze, here. We’re talking about a man who either has no memory of his past positions or no worry that voters will care. It’s probably the second one. Trump’s mind isn’t exactly a steel trap, but he has built a lucrative career on two things: his father’s money and the conviction that what he does is not as important as people’s broad impres-

[10] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

sion of him. That’s why so many of his buildings bear his name in enormous letters—even the boondoggles. That’s how he came to host a TV show in which young entrepreneurs learn about business from a man who has taken companies into bankruptcy four times. That’s why, whenever someone asks him for a specific plan to address some problem, he begins by saying

“That almost nothing he said made sense—and what little did turned out to be untrue—might not matter.”

how important it is to solve that problem and concludes by assuring us his solution will be great. It might also be why he’s now running even with Clinton for the office of president of the United States. Last night found the secretary at her most glib and charming, which is to say a little less glib and charming than your average real estate agent. Clinton is one of the most qualified candidates in American history, but she talks like the animatronic mask Arnold Schwarzenegger wears in Total Recall. Her answers last night were cogent and specific. She admitted past mistakes and articulated relatively detailed

plans for the future. She gave the broad impression of an ambitious drudge: a little smug and owly, but ultimately better at this than anyone else. Meanwhile, Trump gave the broad impression of a blowhard—a man who hadn’t studied up for the debate because he already knew everything. It was repellant, even insulting, to those of us who cared about the content of what he said. But to other blowhards, it was probably thrilling. That almost nothing he said made sense—and what little did turned out to be untrue— might not matter. It’s all words. Trump’s performance last night, in which he showed that he hadn’t bothered to prepare for the most important 90 minutes of his life, augured a bad future for his presidency. But to his fellow blowhards— the people who are certain this country is run by idiots, even though they can’t say specifically who or what those idiots are doing wrong—it continued the promise he has made since he announced his candidacy. You don’t have to pay attention to what anything means, he suggested, because I will take care of it, and I am great. That would still be funny if he and Clinton weren’t tied. The Trump candidacy is a referendum on how many Americans are engaged with the rhetoric and ideas that are the lifeblood of our democracy, and how many are so angry they can’t think. It’s terrifying the numbers are even. I’m angry, too. But I never solved a jigsaw puzzle by shaking the box, and I never said much of value when I didn’t know what I was talking about. It just doesn’t work that way. Earlier this week, Trump showed he doesn’t intend to work any harder to get it right. He’s doubled down on the presumption that we don’t care. For our sake, I hope he is mistaken. Dan Brooks writes about people, politics, culture and charlatans at combatblog.net.

[offbeat]

INSANITY DEFINED – Police and prosecutors in Dallas, appropriately sensitive at having been the site of the 1963 killing of President Kennedy, have apparently taken out their shame on assassination buff Robert Groden. As the Dallas Observer reported in September, Groden has been ticketed by police dozens of times for operating book sales booths near the “grassy knoll” (site of the alleged “second shooter” of the president) – and yet he prevails in court every single time (82 straight, and counting). (Tip for visitors from the Observer: Never publicly utter “grassy knoll” in Dallas, as it seems particularly to offend the police.) THE CONTINUING CRISIS – Stephen Mader, 25, native of Weirton, West Virginia, and former Weirton police officer, is fighting to get his job back after being fired for not being quick enough on the trigger. When Ronald Williams Jr., in May, made a hamhanded attempt at “suicide by cop,” it was Mader who, rather than shooting, tried to talk Williams down (based on his Marine Corps and police academy training), but when Williams pointed his unloaded gun at two of Mader's colleagues, and one of them quickly shot the man to death, police officials fired Mader for having been insufficiently aggressive. Can't Possibly Be True: Few U.S. forces in Afghanistan speak the native Pashto or Dari, and the war prospects would be dim were it not for courageous Afghan civilians who aid the U.S. as interpreters under promise of protection and future emigration to the U.S. However, the congressional battle over immigration policy has delayed entry for about 10,000 interpreters, who (along with their families) face imminent death if they remain in Afghanistan. Some in Congress also regard Afghans as riskier immigrants (despite the interpreters' demonstrated loyalty). SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED – Master baker Stefan Fischer filed a lawsuit recently against Bakery of New York for wrongful firing – because he refused to use “bug-infested” flour to make batches of bread. According to Fischer, when he informed management of the bugs in the facility's 3,000-pound flour silo, he was told simply to make "multigrain" bread, which Fischer took to mean that fewer diners would complain if they heard "crunching" while eating multigrain. LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS – News Corporation Australia reported in September the enviable success of a 16-yearold British entrepreneur, Ms. Beau Jessup, who has so far earned about $84,000 with a simple online app to help rich Chinese parents select prosperous-sounding English names for their babies. Users choose among 12 personality traits they hope their baby to have, then receive three suggestions (including a list of famous people with those names). Jessup got the idea when living in China and noticing that some babies of the rich were given lame names, such as “Gandalf” and “Cinderella.”

SCARECROWS ON DISPLAY from October 7-October 13, 2016

PEOPLE’S CHOICE VOTING Fri. 10/7 5-9 pm and Sat. 10/8 9am-1 pm

AWARDS CEREMONY Sat. 10/8 3 pm

FREE HORSE AND WAGON RIDES FRIDAY NIGHT! 25-30 scarecrows will line the walkway into Stevensville. Deadline for entries: 9/30

(1) Chinese Management Techniques: About 200 employees at a travel service in Shandong Province were fined the equivalent of $6.50 each recently for failing to comply with orders to “comment” (favorably, one supposes) on the general manager's daily posts to the Twitter-like internet site Sina Weibo. (2) In June, a motivational trainer working with employees of the Changzhi Zhangze Rural Commercial Bank reportedly told the poor-performing bank personnel (among the 200 at the session) to “prepare to be beaten.” He then walked among the workers, whacking some with a stick, shaving the heads of the males and cutting the hair of the females. WEIRD SCIENCE – Trees talk to each other and recognize their offspring, according to Australian ecology researcher Suzanne Simard (most recently lecturing on the influential video series TED Talks). Trees are not independent organisms but belong to arboreal "families" with characteristics identifying them to other family members. According to Dr. Simard, “mother” trees that ordinarily expand their roots wildly may hold back to give nearby “kinfolk” tree roots a chance to spread. Using "isotope tracing," she learned of trees passing healthful carbon, via fungi, to neighboring family seedlings, which she said renders the seedlings more resistant to future stress. CAN'T STOP MYSELF – (1) The lifelong pickpocket known as “Auntie Sato,” 83, who has spent nearly 30 years of her life behind bars, was sentenced again (two years, six months) in August for a purse-snatching from a traveler in Tokyo's Ueno Station. "Why," asked the judge, does Auntie Sato keep at it, especially since she also owns property and has rental income. Said she, “I thought about (stopping),” but “gave up. It's hopeless." (2) Faisal Shaikh, awaiting his cellphone theft case to be called at the Thane sessions court in Mumbai, India, in August (one of several theft charges pending), wandered up to the court stenographer's desk and swiped her cellphone. He was apprehended shortly afterward near the courthouse. OOPS! – By August, Raymond Mazzarella was fed up with the tree in his neighbor's yard in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, as it was continuously dripping sap onto his car – and so grabbed a chainsaw, cut through the 36-inch-wide trunk, and (he thought) fixed the problem. However, the tree fell directly onto Mazzarella's small apartment house, dispossessing five tenants and, ultimately, forcing inspectors to condemn the entire building. RECURRING THEMES – Popular Fetishes: (1) A middle-aged man was reported in three incidents in the Aberdeen, Scotland, area in August and September to be approaching women and asking for piggyback rides. He was still at large. (2) In September, England's Derby Crown Court sentenced Sanjeev Sandhu, 29, to six months in jail because of the "extreme" pornography on his phone. One image was of children having sex, but the judge also noted images featuring humans having sex with dogs, a donkey, a bull and in another case, a fish. HOW TO TELL IF YOU'RE DRUNK – Dave Little, 27, vacationing on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, Spain – and partying hard, apparently – was at press time still haggling with eBay, trying to get out of his "successful" auction bid (blamed on a fingering misadventure on his phone) of 28,500 British pounds (about $37,000) for a Scania Irizar Century bus. eBay, of course, warns that bids are legally binding. Little believes that his dad had earlier searched bus information on the phone and that alcohol then affected his own navigation between screens. Thanks this week to Gerald Sacks and to the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors.

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [11]

y life as a single mother has often meant looking up, helpless, waving goodbye like Wile E. Coyote, after I’d realized the ground had dropped out from under me. A car breaking down, an illness that prevents me from working, or losing government funding has often been enough for me to sit at home, staring out the window, chewing my nails through waves of anxiety so great my vision grew fuzzy. Several times in my years of working while putting myself through college, or working to start my freelancing career, the reason for this stress has been not qualifying for any form of child care assistance and not being able to afford it on my own. It’s not a problem reserved for single parents. Working families throughout Missoula struggle to find affordable care, and it’s something Grace Decker at Child Care Resources has been trying to address for a long time. Decker’s spent 20 years in child care and early education, serves on the board of trustees at Missoula County Public Schools and, for the last four years, has helped Missoula parents pay for care through CCR. She’s seen the problem from every angle. “Child care availability in Missoula is at crisis proportions,” she recently wrote on social media. “At the same time child care workers are paid starvation wages, literally, and several large programs have closed over the past couple of years. It’s a huge problem. And yet we treat it as though it’s each individual family’s personal private problem.” That last sentence rings true, though I’d never realized how much. As a single mother for almost a decade, I am not a stranger to difficulties in finding any kind of child care, and long ago knew that places like Montessori schools and other high-quality programs would not be available to my family because of the high cost of tuition. But good luck finding an affordable program in Missoula that accepts babies. I sat with Grace recently in Bernice’s Bakery to talk about solutions to a problem every working parent faces. It wasn’t the first time. She’d been an empathetic ear during my past struggles. Now, I was speaking to her not as someone in desperate need of help and guidance, but as an ally in helping her advocate for families who’d been in the same situation I had.

[12] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

nfant care in Missoula is nearly nonexistent, and parents are growing more and more exasperated. In a recent live video post on Facebook, Missoula mom Jacole Johnson was emotional after learning her infant daughter’s child care center was abruptly closing. “Here in Missoula we have an abundance of amazing preschools,” said Johnson. “But for early care, you have to get on a waitlist when you get that positive pregnancy test.” In the video, Johnson speaks of her experiences working in early childhood education, which she received a degree in, and how difficult it was to afford operating her own center. She also speaks of the hoops many families have to jump through to guarantee a safe place for their infants to attend once maternity leave ends and both parents go back to work full-time. “Many families are paying for their infant’s spots before their babies are even born,” Johnson said. These are common scenarios, according to Kelly Rosenleaf, CCR’s executive director. “For some centers, the waiting list is so long, your baby will be 2 by the time their spot is available,” she says. “So families have to pay when their spot opens, even if they’re still pregnant.” Rosenleaf says in Missoula, Ravalli and Mineral counties, there are 162 licensed child care facilities, 47 of which are centers and 115 are in private homes. But only 19 of those centers are licensed to take children under 2. Most of the homebased centers are licensed for infants, but simply can’t afford to take on a monthsold baby. “If I had a partner, I’d be willing to provide infant care,” says Denise RohanSmith, who has operated Little Dipper Daycare out of her Missoula home for 33 years. “But it’s difficult to give an infant the attention he or she deserves while having to do everything else myself, like preparing meals, taking the kids outside, toilet-training other children.” Rohan-Smith’s home is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and she also spends time outside of that on training and cleaning inside and outside her house. Even then, she struggles to get by and pay not just her own costs, but those of the daycare. “I’m making a little over $11 an hour,” she says. “June, July and August it was about $8 [due to fluctuating enrollment]. May was probably less. It’s difficult to plan or budget.” I found Rohan-Smith’s daycare center through a friend and felt lucky she had a part-time spot open for my daughter, who was 18 months at the time. I had searched

for nearly nine months for part-time care and had only ended up on a few waitlists, like many families with children under 2 years old.

t the start of summer last year, I’d tried and failed to find adequate funding to pay for child care through a state grant. My youngest daughter was born a month after I graduated college. I had an English degree and a handful of freelance editing and writing jobs to keep me, the baby and my oldest daughter mostly afloat, but I still qualified for food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

wanted court documents, child support payment histories, birth certificates and proof of income for the last five months. It was degrading to fill out the paperwork, only to have it questioned. Rosenleaf at CCR nods empathetically as I tell her this during a recent interview. She says when Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, came into existence in 1996 during welfare reform, we as a nation looked at people collecting government assistance with scrutiny. “We became very punitive about poor people,” she says. “We assumed they didn’t work.” When then-President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress reformed wel-

ties like job searches and technical training during the week, which are difficult to do with small children around. “But those aren’t covered by Best Beginnings,” Rosenleaf says of the scholarship program. “It’s a work support program. Not all states support working students. We still don’t support grad school.” When I first moved to Missoula, I qualified for the Best Beginnings scholarship as a working student, but I ended up paying close to $600 a semester out of pocket. The grant didn’t cover the hours between work and class, which I thought was ridiculous. Daycares often don’t charge by the hour, and I was physically walking, then driving, directly from one place to the

There are 162 licensed child care facilities in Missoula, Ravalli and Mineral counties, 47 of which are centers and 115 are in private homes. Only 19 of those centers are licensed to take children under 2. I was fortunate that I could work at my own pace from home, even in the days before and after my daughter was born. For her first year, I worked while she slept on my lap, either during the day or late into the night. The bigger she grew and the more work I had, the less this was possible. By the time she approached her first birthday, I worked 20 to 40 hours a week for four different clients in addition to writing freelance articles. When I applied for a Best Beginnings scholarship grant through CCR, they’d only pay for 12 hours of care a week, and I had to find someone with an open spot in 30 days or my application would close. Even as I juggled my parental and professional responsibilities, the application process—the thick packet of paperwork I had to submit to receive a scholarship through CCR—was by far the most stressful part of my life. They

fare, they created TANF, a welfare-to-work system that provides cash assistance under very limited rules. The system is still in place, and it’s what most think of as welfare. TANF provides families small amounts of cash through the Electronic Benefits Transfer card used for SNAP, so it is often confused with what most call food stamps, but the two programs are very different. While it is a streamlined process to receive money for food, qualifying and staying on TANF is nearly impossible due to its restrictions and interview process. Rosenleaf says when reform happened 20 years ago, a surge of new daycare centers opened, since most people easily transferred from one program to the other. But they didn’t stay on TANF for very long, and not because they worked their way off of it. To be on TANF, you are required to complete work-related activi-

next. Those times are currently left for parents to pay on their own. Even a half-hour commute can add up fast. Rosenleaf wants the Best Beginnings program to change so that it pays providers by the month, like a private payer would do. Currently, her staff must constantly calculate grant payments by tallying how many hours parents are physically in school or at work. In addition, the scholarship doesn’t pay the full amount of the actual cost of care. The federal government provides states with funds called the Child Care Development Block Grant to assist low-income families in paying for child care. Providers will either charge the family the difference, or eat the cost. A recent report released by the Montana Budget and Policy Center found an estimated 70 percent of low-income fam-

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [13]

ilies who received the Best Beginnings scholarship were working. Those who weren’t were between jobs, had been laid off or were searching for jobs. Currently, there is a grace period of 30 days for when this occurs, but Rosenleaf hopes that will change to 90 by the end of the year. The same report also estimates that Best Beginnings only serves 14 percent of the low-income population in need of child care assistance. Families who don’t qualify are either working nontraditional jobs like I did, couldn’t afford to put an estimated 4 percent of their income toward copays and costs the scholarship doesn’t cover, their application got held up in the process because employers did not submit the proper paperwork within the 30-day window the application is held open, or the family is just over the income limit, which for a family of three is only about $2,500 a month.

ith all of these hoops to jump through, many families simply aren’t able to work, or have to get creative with child care when they do. In a larger picture, these low-income families not putting their children in daycare means less business for operators of child care. “There has been a steady decline of child care centers in the last 10 years,” says Rosenleaf, speaking on a national level. In Missoula, however, two centers that accepted infants have closed just in the last month. One gave families 30 days notice while the other, Rosenleaf says, closed its doors in a day. “They closed because they can’t attract and retain staff,” she says. “The providers can’t afford to pay their staff more than minimum wage, so they leave for higher paying jobs.” These closures have made it nearly impossible for people at all income levels to find good quality care for their infants. Centers and home facilities simply can’t afford to care for an infant. In a home like Rohan-Smith’s, of the six children she’s licensed to care for, she’s not able to accept more than four children under the age of 2. Providers might charge more for infant care, but it doesn’t mean more money at the end of the month when you consider the extra time involved for diaper changing, feeding and constant care. The result, Rosenleaf says, leaves children vulnerable at a critical time of development. “Why do we care about it at age 5 and not before?” Rosenleaf asks. “Ninety percent of the brain is developed before age 5. We should be investing more in the base of child care.” Yet child care providers have been hit from all sides. They can’t afford to pay their staff a living wage, so the staff leaves

for a better job. When providers increase the cost of care to a level that many people can’t afford, low-income or working families look for alternate care options. Most often, that alternative becomes a private solution, with each family figuring out something on their own. Families with infants might have family members move to town, juggle a schedule with several other families who have infants the same age, or look to hire a nanny. “People get through these child

recent report by the Center for American Progress cites the drastic effects of this decision on our economy. “For some families, a full-time, athome caregiver is an optimal and financially viable choice,” wrote Michael Madowitz, coauthor of the report and an economist at the liberal Washingtonbased research institution. “But increasingly, single parents are the sole breadwinners and two-parent families need both incomes to make ends meet.

issue? Why is this still considered, as Decker says, an individual family problem? Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton released a plan to fund child care costs through tax credits so the total cost wouldn’t be more than 10 percent of a family’s income. On a local level, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s Early Edge program proposes public preschool funding that would benefit local community providers. Hiring a nanny part-time was the route I was eventually forced to take. CCR

“Child care availability in Missoula is at crisis proportions … It’s a huge problem. And yet we treat it as though it’s each individual family’s personal private problem.” crunch years and forget about it,” Decker says. “But there’s a huge crisis in access. Centers close because they can’t keep staff because of the low pay. They can’t make a living. So it’s better to be a nanny.” Yet paying a nanny isn’t affordable to everyone. Most daycare centers have a day rate ranging from $35-$50 a day, which comes to around $4 or $5 an hour. A nanny

In addition to lost wages, parents who interrupt their careers earn less when they return to the workforce and those effects also reduce their retirement savings and social security benefits.” The authors give an example of a 26year-old woman earning $30,253 annually in 2014. If she decides to take five years off for caregiving, she’d potentially lose

only approved me for 12 hours a week and all of the centers I toured required my daughter to attend full-time to keep the slot filled. At the time, I couldn’t afford to pay the extra $400 to $500 a month. Even if I did, because of my self-employment status, I’d have to reapply for the grant every few months, filling out a new packet of paperwork, sending in every invoice

photo courtesy of the Office of the Governer

Gov. Steve Bullock proposed an Early Edge program that would provide free preschool for Montana’s 4-year-olds, but lawmakers eliminated funding for the project during the last legislative session. in Missoula costs anywhere from $10-$25 an hour depending on experience. With these options, many two-parent households choose to have one stay-athome parent to care for the children during their infant years or until they can afford to take them to preschool, and that lack of double income often causes them to either teeter on the brink of poverty or pushes them further into it.

$467,000 over her entire career. That represents a 19 percent decrease in lifetime earnings. “Previous research has attempted to calculate the cost to the U.S. economy as a whole,” the report states, “finding that businesses lose more than $4 billion per year due to inadequate child care.” With such a drastic impact, I wonder why we aren’t we talking more about the

[14] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

and payment. After several months of trying, I gave up, let my application expire and hired a nanny a few hours a week. Fortunately, my career took off and I could afford to pay the nanny for more hours. I could eventually afford part-time daycare at Rohan-Smith’s, supplementing those hours with the nanny. When a fulltime slot opened up at Little Dipper, I checked to see if I’d qualify for the Best

Beginnings scholarship and didn’t. My income was $100 over the limit. Most families working their way off of government assistance experience similar situations. “Many providers know of people who lost so much simply because of a small raise at work,” says Rohan-Smith. Rosenleaf maintains hope that proposed policy adjustments will change this.

he Montana Policy and Budget Center proposes a list of solutions to help lift the child care system out of crisis. They want to expand “job search” allotments to 90 days, expand the income threshold to federal recommendations, streamline the application process, invest in pre-kindergarten and increase state funding to providers so their staff can be paid a living wage. When I ask Rohan-Smith how she’d change the system, she says, “I wish people valued home care,” meaning private centers like hers that are based out of homes. The word “value” is the one that sticks out. Rohan-Smith works a lot. She gets to sit down when she reads the kids a story, when she has one of the children on her lap or if she finishes picking up the daycare early during the two-hour nap time. I try to imagine her day, with anywhere from four to six children bouncing around her house, and I can’t. And she does it for almost 50 hours a week for about $10 an hour. Both Decker and Rosenleaf hope changes are on the horizon. Rosenleaf points to the Best Beginnings State Advisory Council, which will discuss infant and toddler support currently available and the supply and demand challenges at a work group meeting in Helena on Oct. 5 and 6. Representatives to this council are appointed by the governor’s office and will advise the state on early childhood issues like scholarship policy, licensing and professional development. “Pace of change is slow,” Rosenleaf adds. “It’s hard to change systems and public opinion. ” I consider myself extremely lucky that I found a way to work from home during those early weeks and months of my baby’s life. It would have felt impossible to hand over my baby then to someone I barely knew. For most parents in Missoula, they don’t have the ability to choose a provider who matches their parenting philosophies and feels safe. With more centers closing, families who need full-time infant care are left without a choice, and are left with nothing instead. Hopefully, with more people talking about the difficulties they have, more legislators will start to listen. editor@missoulanews.com

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She loves the water. Her favorite game is chasing the spray of the garden hose. Ellie is a deva and wants to live the spoiled life. She doesn't think she should have to share it with any other pets or children. If you think you have what it takes to give Ellie the luxurious life she dreams of, come visit her!

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GINGER• Ginger is a 3-year-old female Orange Tabby. She spends most of her day lounging in her cat bed. When she wants your affection, Ginger has the most adorable habit of standing on her hind legs and reaching up to meet your hand so you can pet her. Ginger thinks the shelter is too busy of a place for her and only comes out of her shell when foot traffic is minimal. AUGUST• August is a 4-year-old male LongHaired Tuxedo. He is a very gentle and easy going cat who loves to sit up high in his cat bed and take it all in. August is a very social boy who would enjoy curling up in your lap for an evening movie date, and keep your pillow warm while you're away. He'd make the perfect companion for a book lover, a movie buff, or anyone who loves to lounge about on the couch.

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EMILY• Emily is a 4-year-old female Dilute Tortie. She is a fun loving girl that is eager to follow you from room to room, keeping up on the latest gossip and trends of the household. Emily is a social butterfly and wants to be part of everything, but she's not overly pushy with her demands. She is a very gentle cat and doesn't get too worked up during play time.

RUTHIE• Ruthie is a 13-year-old female Border Collie. She is a sweet old girl who loves belly rubs, leaning against people's legs, and going for walks. Ruthie is looking for a retirement home where there will be no contest for attention or affection. Come meet this sweet old girl and see why they are called the golden years.

These pets may be adopted at the Humane Society of Western Montana 549-3934 SALLY• Calling all hound fans! Sally may just be your girl. This pretty girl is very excited to get hiking all over Western Montana, and would love to check out all the trails with you. She's a blank slate and would love to bond with her new person by taking a class or private lessons. Learn more about Sally online at www.myhswm.org

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HECATE• Hecate is a friendly, independent and playful long-hair Tortie. This 7-year-old beauty is looking for a home where she can be told how pretty she is and sometimes sit in your lap and be held . She’s lived with other cats and dogs, and is ready to find a comfortable home in Western Montana. Come visit Hecate at the shelter 5930 Highway 93 South in Missoula.

STEWART•This 2-year-old Aussie mix is a very active guy. He would love an adult family who can keep him busy! Whether it’s a long walk/hike or learning new skills in a Humane Society basic manners class, Stewart would like to stay occupied. Come visit Stewart at the shelter: 5930 Highway 93 South in Missoula.

SPENCER• Spencer is a shy guy whose favorite spot is hanging out in his cat tree and catching a bit of sunshine. This gentle cat loves his toys, being held, sleeping and hunting. He is ok with older cats and basically ignores smaller dogs. Come see if this active, independent guy is the kitty catch for you.

AUDREY•We’re still looking for a home for sweet Audrey who’s been at shelter since February. This young German Shepherd has some livelong medical needs, though it doesn’t slow her down. She loves people and gets along great with other dogs. Learn more about the kind of home Audrey needs by visiting us at 5930 Highway 93 South in Missoula. Open Sundays starting October 2 at noon.

LEAH• This one-year-old gal was out exploring Western Montana on her own, but decided she wants a cozy place to crash this fall and winter! Is her new home with you? Learn more about Leah on our website www.myhswm.org or visit her at the Humane Society of Western Montana. Open Sundays starting October 2!

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missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [15]

[arts]

Yelling back Missoula’s Lily Gladstone talks native roles, art as activism and her new star-studded film, Certain Women by Erika Fredrickson

ily Gladstone’s phone has been blowing up nonstop with Twitter and Facebook alerts, texts and phone messages. The theatrical trailer for Certain Women, featuring Gladstone alongside veteran movie stars Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams and Laura Dern, was released just over a week ago and the film screens Oct. 7 at this year’s Montana Film Festival. And because of that, the Missoula actress is experiencing the hype of stardom firsthand. Ever since the film—adapted from a book by Helena native Maile Meloy— premiered at Sundance in January, Gladstone has garnered attention in the press for her role as a lonely Montana rancher who finds herself drawn to Stewart’s character. Gladstone was labeled a “breakout star” by Rolling Stone and critics praised her for the way she showed emotional depth with very few words. The actress, who grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation, graduated from the University of Montana and has made her home in Missoula, is also an activist. After a recent return from Standing Rock, Gladstone spoke with the Indy about art, activism and life on the Hollywood roller-coaster. What were you drawn to in Certain Women? Lily Gladstone: I don’t know if I was drawn to it or it was drawn to me. There’s such intersectionality in this role and it’s not a trope. It’s not a device. It’s not a statement, it just is … My character is the most subjective in some ways but also the most emotionally open. Her agenda is pretty much visibly worn on her sleeve in that she doesn’t really have [an agenda]—except she wants to get closer to this person who has just kind of lit up her life temporarily. It’s a sweet story about this attraction and the ground you feel out when you’re going through it. A lot of my gay friends, my trans friends, they say when you’re getting to know someone it’s difficult— you have to eke out if someone’s straight or not. So all of those things were swirling around in my head, plus a lot of the things I pulled from Maile’s work. What was it like acting opposite Kristen Stewart? LG: I didn’t see Kristen’s current body of work until I started working with her. It

film and I weren’t in it, it would still be, to me, kind of a fixture in the New West. You will be working with Oregon Shakespeare Festival next year in a lead role. What did you do for your audition? LG: I picked out and pieced together small snippets from Caliban [from The Tempest] because his speech to Prospero is about colonization. It’s the Indian—the oppressed—yelling back. The piece we’ll be doing is called Off the Rails. It’s Measure for Measure, but set during an 1890sera boarding school. It lends itself really well to the dichotomy of somebody who’s coming from one culture and having to basically learn to walk in another one— and trying to figure out which one is right.

Lily Gladstone stars as a Montana rancher in the upcoming Certain Women.

was great to get to know her as an actress, in between takes. But she saves it all up— and I agree with her method—because she knows when you make the discovery during the scene that’s when the camera should capture it. She’s a remarkably generous actress in that she stays with you emotionally even when it isn’t her coverage, when the camera isn’t on her. What projects have you worked on since the trailer came out? LG: I had my first hack at pilot season in LA, though I only went for a week. It’s funny, I could have pushed it a lot harder but I didn’t want to. I wasn’t quite ready to separate from here yet. It’s a little manic when you have such a big boom—I feel like I have to get in everyone’s line of sight right now. But like with a business, you want slow growth if it’s going to be a sustainable thing. I just keep coming back to what [UM acting professor] Jillian Campana kept telling me: “Stay interested and you’ll stay interesting and stay active as an activist and it will only benefit your acting.” A political activist? LG: Yeah. Once it just becomes about the performance you don’t really have anything to pull from, you don’t really have anything to diversify or add any texture. Jillian is the one who introduced me to the Theatre of the Oppressed. What I like about it is it’s an abstract means of explor-

ing very real oppressions by the community with the shared oppression. So they can rehearse tactic in a controlled environment before implementing it in reality. Has activism always been important to you? LG: Art is the catalytic converter of [Native American] society. Speaking of car analogies, I tell this story all the time but it’s so pertinent: I was lucky, I got to have coffee with John Trudell before he passed away. Talk about art meeting activism—that’s his whole life! Trudell thought very symbolically, as well as pragmatically. He wed the two so beautifully when he helped organize during [American Indian Movement]. I was talking to him about how our generation has Idle No More, which was already losing some of its steam. I said … “I don’t know what our cause is yet. We’re finding it, but I don’t know if we’re doing enough.” He said that if Indian Country was a broken-down van, then AIM was the jack that lifted it up off the road. But you can’t drive the van with a jack. “You guys are driving and that’s scary because you shape where we’re going,” he said. “But we did what we did so you would be able to have the freedom of expression that we didn’t have.” He also said your most authentic voice as a human being is your artistic voice. Everything else we say has agenda, is postured. What’s been challenging about this postmovie buzz?

[16] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

LG: It gets a little bit trippy sometimes. It’s a little overwhelming. Even though I’m easy to talk to—personable and everything—there’s a moon side to that. I really prefer to be alone and keep very few people around me. But through this kind of growth and transition you have to be outward and you have to be careful about the words you speak. I keep going back to these mentors, like Trudell, who help me stay balanced and centered throughout all this. What’s the importance of this role to you as a Native American actor? LG: One critic said it well, which is, while it’s important to carve out roles for minorities and people of color in media and cinema, it’s just as important to focus on roles that do so tacitly. My character’s a native in this story—that’s not a thing [by itself]. Yes, it informs my choices, my dialect and some of the dissonance between her and Kristen’s character. There is a cultural divide. But it’s subtle. What do you think director Kelly Reichardt brought to this film? LG: When she examines the West she has such a sharp eye for animals and land and minimalism that you feel like you’re sitting in it. And she trusts and works with amazing actors who stay present and are woke people. Kelly’s really, really good at finding cultural consciousness whether she means to or not … If I were to watch this

How does your experience at Standing Rock intersect with your art? LG: There were all these synchronicities and serendipitous events. But one was, when I was at Standing Rock I got the message I was going to be featured in Out magazine … And one of the [camp] protectors said they would be shocked if [Out] ever featured indigenous two-spirit people because they haven’t yet—which surprises me. But I thought it was incredibly important that the second I set foot there I heard from Out and then I heard from those who felt underrepresented. The only time I find any ease or desire to push my name out there at all is if it’s bringing attention to something more important. What kind of roles are you looking to in the future? LG: I can’t drag myself out of bed sometimes or away from [a project] I find more interesting [just] to go to rehearsal for something I find frivolous. I know it frustrates my management team sometimes. I’m not ungrateful. But any work I take it feels like it needs to lead to something greater than the sum of its parts. Certain Women screens Fri. Oct. 7 at 8 PM at the Roxy Theater as part of the Montana Film Festival, which runs Thu., Oct. 6–Sun., Oct. 9. Visit theroxytheater.org for a full schedule. efredrickson@missoulanews.com

[music]

Good medicine Take off your shoes with Spider+Octopus Although it has not yet been proven by scientists in a controlled study, and although it has not yet been approved for this specific use by the FDA, I am positive that Spider+Octopus’ new EP, Dark, Deep and Lovely, significantly lowers your blood pressure. From the first seconds of the opening track, “Dark Corners,” the shimmering, pretty, almost consoling experience of the album knocks a little something loose in your heart and slows the breath–without being boring, too slow, too sad or too muted. Led by Bozeman-based Chad Bishop and backed by Ian Smith (formerly of The Oblio Joes), Ian’s brother Elgin Smith and Roger Johnson, Spider+Oc-

topus have created a soothing, gentle lo-fi indie folk sound that could accompany you on everything from a barbecue to a nighttime drive to savasana. The songs are diverse–there’s a folky knee-slapping ditty, a smooth waltz and a shoe-gazing ballad, to name a few–but the overall sound is consistently calm, confident and pleasant even with the slight genre-shifting from track to track. On one of the standout songs, “St. Ignatius,” Bishop delightfully suggests that you put aside your worries, “Drink some wine/ lay across the floor/ take off your shoes/ dance in the living room.” You know what? I think I will. I am feeling just great. (Sarah Aswell)

Parsonsfield, Blooming Through the Black First and foremost, Parsonsfield sounds like they are having a lot of fun. The five-man band is a boisterous and enthusiastic explosion of folky strings (think banjos and mandolins and steel guitars) and vocal harmonies (think O Brother, Where Art Thou?), to the point where you can almost hear their boots keeping time on the sawdust-covered floor of the old ax factory where they recorded the album. The band’s blend of Americana, folk, bluegrass and pop rock feels like a delightful barn party is about to break out, or rather like the band members are already having a party and that there will probably be some singing along, if everyone knows what’s good for them. At some point, during the track “Ties That Bind Us,” someone shouts,

“Wooo!” during an instrumental break, as if they just can’t contain themselves. However, there is also nothing very deep here. The lyrics and songwriting are simplistic and generic, and the short-andsweet album is a 10-song set of pleasing but formulaic three-minute jaunts. This is not an album for reflection. This is not an album that you start over from the beginning when it is over. This is more the album, I suspect, that you buy while having a really great time at a Parsonsfield show and listen to later to remember the good time you had at the Parsonsfield show. And that’s okay. (Sarah Aswell) Parsonsfield play Stage 112 Sat., Oct. 1. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. 18 and over. $10.

Lydia Loveless, Real “If I say another word, I know it’ll be my last/ I can tell by the color of your face you’re mad.” These chilling words kick off Real, which—if there’s any justice in this phallocentric world—should be the breakthrough album for Lydia Loveless. Her blunt, achingly emotional lyrics coupled with a powerfully vulnerable voice get bolder with each album. Musically, she’s becoming more sophisticated as well. Where 2014’s Somewhere Else featured a tendency to build two-chord riffs that bloomed into a fuller chorus, this album finds Loveless wearing her musical influences on her sleeve a bit more. The Brit-pop shimmer of “Heaven” beautifully supports a vocal swimming in reverb. “Longer,” with its chewy guitar and snappy drums, sounds like a Nick Lowe song he forgot to bring

to Rockpile. Less thrashy than Somewhere Else, this album has a more textured, pop feel to it. But Loveless is hardly pulling punches: “Sitting in the dark, talking about my plans/ To anyone who can hear over this shitty Indianapolis band.” In the darkly hilarious “Midwestern Guys,” she spits her disdain for men who “want to make love, not fuck” as they go out after dark to look at the stars (“You sure know the way to my heart, honey.”) Like Lucinda Williams, Liz Phair and other women before her who kicked in the door of music’s boys club with brutally honest poetry, Loveless continues to fearlessly examine the dark corners of her own soul while she grants no quarter for the culprits responsible for that darkness. (Ednor Therriault)

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [17]

[music]

Hashtag that Unpacking the indecipherable world of Young Thug by Dan Brooks

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The first time I listened to Jeffery, Young Thug’s weird and endlessly intriguing new mixtape, I broke a personal rule. I wanted to know if Quavo was saying a particular word in his guest verse on “Guwop,” so I turned to Rap Genius. I wish I hadn’t. One of the singular pleasures of hip-hop is learning the code: the combination of genre conventions, new slang and allusions that make a rap album baffling on first listen and something more like a conspiracy each listen thereafter. It feels good to figure something out. That’s what made hip-hop thrilling in the ’80s, when black music was almost totally excluded from the mainstream and rap felt like a message from a secret world. Now that hip-hop has usurped rock as the dominant form of non-pop music, that pleasure is fading. Heads understand this problem. Once you get into hip-hop, you begin to hear how derivative it is. Rap—particularly Southern rap—is club music, and it relies on familiar tropes to get people onto the dance floor or around the pole. The listener who learns to recognize these conventions is excited at first, then smug, then bored. That’s why I love Jeffery. It makes rap interesting again by making it almost totally unintelligible. This is not to say it operates outside any recognizable style. Young Thug is definitely of the Atlanta scene, Autotune division. His conspicuously computerized vocals evoke T.I., and his beats sound like those of Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame—all of whom he has collaborated with. In his cracked voice and freely associative lyrics, he most resembles Lil Wayne, an artist he has openly admired, possibly to the point of trolling. His ill-conceived plan to name his first album Carter 6, as an homage to Lil Wayne and his upcoming Tha Carter V, is a saga in itself. But Thug’s drug-addled personal behavior is staid compared to his vocals. At first, it sounds like he is just making noises. “Harambe,” one of Jeffery’s best tracks, begins with a line of guttural, assonant spondees whose only discernible word is “that,” plus

maybe “hashtag.” In fact, he is saying “Catch ’em down bad/ beat ’em with a bat/ hashtag that,” but he elides all but the most important words, swallowing the other syllables like James Brown. Young Thug partakes of

[18] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

Brown’s vocal range, too, moving from growls to screams to an exaggerated bellow that would be comical, if the lyrics were not so raw. The trope of the rapper as wealthy murderer has desensitized us to a lot of lyrics that would seem awful otherwise. But even as he operates within this persona, Young Thug finds ways to make it audacious again. After threatening to pull up and bust the listener’s mother on “Harambe,” he constructs a series of parallel lines that promise to “aim at your fucking family/ I’ll aim at your whole clique/ I’ll aim at your motherfucking money/ I’ll aim at your fucking dick.” In addition to being superficially crass, these lines literally take aim at the only two values modern rap holds sacred: money and masculinity. Throughout Jeffery, Young Thug manages to make hip-hop’s campy nihilism feel shocking. Almost the entirety of “Future Swag” is about his plans to “fuck on your baby mama” and possibly borrow money from her. The awfulness of this threat grounds a familiar rap motif—the woman raising your child, whom you no longer care for but remain connected to—in the real, human tragedy it describes. His sexually voracious baby mama is something different from Kanye’s gold-digger. These lyrics are made more raw by the knowledge that Young Thug, age 25, has six children. Why would he do that? Such behavior falls into the same category as his arrest in 2015, when, after he threatened a mall security guard, marshals raided his house and found felony quantities of marijuana, cocaine and guns. Young Thug seems determined to ruin his life at an early age. His maniacal recklessness is of a piece with his bizarre vocals. He seems to be a genuine wildman, but how much of it is hype? By the same token, how much of his dynamic style is just studio wizardry? Jeffery sounds like the opus of a visionary rapper, but maybe it is only the work of a clever producer. This, too, is unknowable in a tantalizing way. Hearing this new step in his career is like watching a pro wrestling match where the

wrestlers start actually fighting. The kayfabe feels real again, and therefore thrilling. With Jeffery, Young Thug has satisfied an admonition that has vexed poets for almost a century: He made it new. Young Thug

arts@missoulanews.com

[film]

Real disaster Deepwater feels trapped between tragic facts, genre by Scott Renshaw

Where are the “Good Vibrations”?

The disaster movie is a particularly curious beast. Like action movies, it’s built around the kind of spectacle that seems to demand a big-screen experience. Like horror movies, it expresses a cathartic need to confront terrifying scenarios in a safe space. And like melodrama of all kinds, it’s about emotions writ large—love and hate, life and death—with little space for nuance. But one of the most fundamental requirements of a disaster movie doesn’t usually need to be expressed: It’s not about real people. Director Peter Berg smacks face-first into that rule in Deepwater Horizon, which deals with the April 2010 events on the offshore oil-drilling rig that made national headlines. The focal point of the story is Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg), an electronics technician who is just starting a 21-day stint aboard the rig when trouble begins. The site’s supervisor, “Mr. Jimmy” Harrell (Kurt Russell), questions the way BP executives have taken shortcuts around safety tests as the creation of the well runs overbudget and behind schedule. And even after additional tests suggest the possibility of unsafe pressure building below the surface, operations continue— until a massive eruption of oil and gas leads to an explosion that threatens the lives of everyone on board. Berg, along with screenwriters Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand, demonstrate an impressive willingness to drop viewers into the world of the Deepwater Horizon without much hand-holding. The dialogue is heavy with technical terminology, addressing matters like the heavy mud used to keep oil from backflowing through the drill pipe, and various safety tests and systems. While there are occasions when a specific line might not be immediately decipherable, the overall sense of the place becomes instantly apparent: This is a remarkably complicated piece of machinery, requiring a huge amount of careful inspection and maintenance, some of which it is not receiving. The problem is that structurally, the script for Deepwater Horizon doesn’t resemble a harrowing fact-based

story like Berg and Wahlberg’s last collaboration, Lone Survivor, as much as it resembles something like The Towering Inferno in its reliance on disaster-movie tropes. We get a group of BP executives—represented by John Malkovich, talking about the corporation’s interests in a Cajun purr that adds to the villainy—thwarting Mr. Jimmy’s efforts to do the right thing. To make sure there’s something at stake as the characters fight for their lives, we get backstory about Williams’ wife back home (Kate Hudson), who can make anguished phone calls as news of the explosion begins to leak out. And there’s plenty of foreshadowing, from the bubbles ominously erupting from the ocean floor around the well, to the school presentation by Williams’ daughter about his work that sends cola blasting through a straw. Yet as much as Deepwater Horizon keeps preparing audiences for a Roland Emmerich-style disaster yarn, this is the story of an actual disaster, which cost 11 people their lives. Berg has the ability to bring a gritty physicality to his action sequences, as he did in Lone Survivor and The Kingdom, and here he creates several squirm-inducing moments. It just becomes hard to negotiate the collision between real-world facts and genre conventions. On some level, it’s obvious that Berg understands this tension. For most of the final hour, which deals almost entirely with rescue and escape efforts, Deepwater Horizon abandons almost all extraneous details, resulting in a climax that feels like an endurance test, not just for the survivors, but for the audience. The denouement makes it clear that those survivors face the kind of traumatic aftermath we rarely see in conventional disaster epics. For all its intensity, Deepwater Horizon seems uncertain when it’s permissible to be entertainment. Deepwater Horizon opens at the Carmike 12 Fri., Sept. 30. arts@missoulanews.com

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [19]

[film] scroll through Facebook and think about writing a novel while worrying about student loan debt. Stars Louis C.K., Kevin Hart and Dana Carvey. Playing at the Carmike 12.

OPENING THIS WEEK DEEPWATER HORIZON Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, the oil strikes back! Rated PG-13. Stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson. Playing at the Carmike 12 and the Pharaoplex. (See Film.)

SNOWDEN Did somebody say secrets? Keep them away from this computer professional. He has a conscience. Rated R. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Melissa Leo. Playing at the Carmike 12.

MASTERMINDS He stole a cool million dollars, but he still couldn’t afford a decent haircut. Rated PG-13. Stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Playing at the Carmike 12 and Pharaoplex. MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN Being the new kid at school is always tough, especially when all the other students are a little peculiar. Also some of them are literal monsters. Rated PG-13. Stars Eva Green, Chris O’Dowd and Samuel L. Jackson. Playing at the Carmike 12 and the Pharaoplex.

NOW PLAYING 1991: THE YEAR PUNK BROKE Before conquering the music world, Sonic Youth and Nirvana were up-and-coming punk bands slouching their way through a 1991 festival tour. Not Rated. Playing at the Roxy Thu., Sept 29 at 8 PM. THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS Behind-the-scenes footage of their early years show that despite being the biggest band in the world, the Fab Four were still just mop-topped lads from Liverpool. Not Rated. Playing at the Roxy. BLAIR WITCH Director Adam Wingard takes us back to the woods hoping to find the Blair Witch, and make everyone forget about Book of Shadows. Rated R. Stars Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott and James Allen McCune. Playing at the Carmike 12 and the Pharaoplex. BRIDGET JONES’S BABY Bridget Jones is 43, single and pregnant. Is the father McDreamy or Mark Darcy? Rated R. Stars Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey. Playing at the Carmike 12 and Pharaoplex.

SONGS MY BROTHER TAUGHT ME The reservation lives of a brother and sister get complicated when their absentee cowboy father suddenly dies. Screening for free at the Roxy Fri., Sept 30. 7 PM.

So is this a new X-Men movie or what? Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children opens at the Carmike 12 and Pharaoplex. DON’T BREATHE Three down-on-their-luck burglars think they’ve hit the jackpot when they break into a blind veteran’s house, only to find themselves stuck in a death trap. Rated R. Stars Jane Levy, Stephen Lang and Dylan Minnette. Playing at the Pharaoplex and Carmike 12. EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS Learn more about Frank Zappa than you thought possible with this trippy documentary. Rated R. Playing at the Roxy. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK This one-eyed death machine has to save the British President of the United States of America from the ruins of New York before the government blows up his head. Nice. Rated R. Stars Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence and Isaac Hayes. Playing at the Roxy Wed., Oct 5 at 7 PM. THE EXORCIST Make sure you pay the priest or else you’ll get repossessed. William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece screens at the Roxy. Rated R. Stars Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow and 50 gallons of pea soup. Sat., Oct 1 at 9 PM. HELL OR HIGH WATER The bank is foreclosing on your ranch just after you’ve discovered oil. The only sensible thing to

[20] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

do is turn to bank robbing. Rated R. Starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster. Playing at the Roxy. KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Ancient vendettas and mysterious spirits send a young man on a quest to find an ancient suit of magical armor in a beautiful, stop-motion animated adventure. Rated PG. Stars the voices of Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey. Playing at the Carmike 12. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Beleaguered townsfolk enlist seven outlaws to defend them from a corrupt industrialist in this remake from the director of Training Day. Rated PG-13. Stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke. Playing at the Carmike 12 and the Pharaoplex. MECHANIC: RESURRECTION Arthur Bishop thought he was out of the globe-trotting assassination game until his past pulls him back in. Now he has to kill three high-profile targets, and make them all look like accidents. Rated R. Stars Jason Statham, Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones. Playing at the Pharaoplex. THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS The creator of the “Minions” series lets us in on what our pets do while we’re at work. If they’re anything like humans, I imagine they probably

STORKS Instead of delivering babies, these storks find themselves delivering packages for a giant online retailer. Rated PG. Stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Katie Crown and Jordan Peele. Playing at the Carmike 12 and Pharaoplex. SULLY Who would have thought crashing an airplane would have been the best thing to happen to him? Rated PG-13. Stars Tom Hanks, Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart. Playing at the Carmike 12 and Pharaoplex. TARGETED: THE GUN CONTROL AGENDA A 20-year-old filmmaker thought America was out of touch, and decided to make a documentary about why firearms are what really makes this country great. Playing at the Carmike 12 Thu., Sept 29. THE WILD LIFE (ROBINSON CRUSOE) Being shipwrecked isn’t that bad, unless you have a pair of murderous cats out to get you. Rated PG. Stars the voices of Yuri Lowenthal, Joey Camen and Sandy Fox. Playing at the Carmike 12. Capsule reviews by Charley Macorn. Planning your outing to the cinema? Visit the arts section of missoulanews.com to find upto-date movie times for theaters in the area. You can also contact theaters to spare yourself any grief and/or parking lot profanities. Theater phone numbers: Carmike 12 at 541-7469; The Roxy at 728-9380; Wilma at 728-2521; Pharaohplex in Hamilton at 961-FILM; Showboat in Polson and Entertainer in Ronan at 883-5603.

[dish]

Cast iron bibimbap by Gabi Moskowitz One of the weirdest questions I was asked multiple times during the year I spent planning my wedding was whether I would be doing the food myself. My response was similar to how I felt when my grandmother, confused as to how I managed to book a plane ticket for a trip we were going on together without using her travel agent, asked me how I had “hacked into the Alaska Airlines ticket system.” In both cases, I was a little shocked to be asked such a question, but utterly flattered that the asker thought I was capable of executing such a feat. I know some people cater their own weddings, and I tip my veil to them because that is incredibly impressive. But I am a mere mortal and so I hired a catering company. (I also did not hack into the Alaska Airlines backend, in case you were still wondering.) Oh yeah. Sorry to bury the lede, here. I’m thrilled to tell you that I got married this summer. That, and a wonderful honeymoon, are part of the reason I’ve been away from my kitchen. But I’m back now, slowly readjusting to real life and new matrimony—and trying new recipes. I’ve alway loved bibimbap, a Korean dish of rice, meat and vegetables, typically served in a stone pot, which serves to keep it hot and also to crisp the rice. I had never made it at home before, because I assumed I needed an actual stone pot. But a few weeks ago, as I was garnishing a panful of crispy roasted chicken legs, it occurred to me that my cast iron frying pan could probably produce the same results. I am happy to tell you that was right. Ingredients 1 ⁄3 cup gojuchang paste salt and pepper 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 3 cups cooked brown rice (about 1 cup uncooked) 5 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil divided ½ pound frozen spinach 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 2 eggs (or more, depending on how hungry you are) 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional 6 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

BROKEASS GOURMET 2 carrots, sliced with a peeler or shredded, optional kimchi to taste, optional (Recipe serves 2) Directions Mix the gochujang paste with enough water to make it pourable (3-4 tablespoons should do the trick.) Pour half of the gochujang mixture into a gallonsize plastic zip-top bag. Reserve the second half for serving. Season the chicken with a big pinch of both salt and pepper, add the seasoned chicken to the bag, and mix well to coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (or as long as overnight). Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes per side, until cooked through and slightly charred on the outside. Remove from the pan and let rest. Wipe the pan out using a paper towel. Add a second tablespoon of oil to the pan over medium-high heat, and add the spinach and garlic. Stir well to combine and cook just until the spinach is hot and the garlic is softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the spinach into a bowl and set aside. Heat a third tablespoon of oil in the cast iron pan. Fry the eggs to your desired doneness. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan over medium-high heat. With wet hands, carefully pat the rice into the hot pan, being careful not to touch the pan itself. Let the rice cook for 4-5 minutes, just until it begins to get crispy. While the rice cooks, slice the chicken into strips. Remove the pan from heat and top with all the toppings. Drizzle on the reserved sauce. 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 editorin-chief and author of The BrokeAss Gourmet Cookbook and Pizza Dough:100 Delicious, Unexpected Recipes.

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [21]

[dish] Asahi 1901 Stephens Ave 829-8989 asahimissoula.com Exquisite Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Try our new Menu! Order online for pickup or express dine in. Pleasant prices. Fresh ingredients. Artistic presentation. Voted top 3 People’s Choice two years in a row. Open Tue-Sun: 11am-10pm. $-$$$

$8.00 Sushi Lunch Combo with miso soup and green salad It will get you through the day!

Bernice’s Bakery 190 South 3rd West • 728-1358 Welcome back students!! Happy Fall!! Fall is Bernice’s time of year. The smell of fresh baked goods wafts around the Hip Strip as Bernice’s prepares to serve a rockin’ cup of Joe, danishes, cookies, croissants, muffins and a whole lot more. The crisp Missoula air is the perfect compliment to a slice of apple pie in the afternoon or a warm Tipu’s Chai around 6pm. Fall BBQs are topped off with Bernice’s Parker House Rolls, Curried Chicken Salad and 8" Chocolate Chocolate Cake for dessert. Stop by the UC Market and Book Exchange to see what goodies Bernice’s is showcasing this school year. A pesto croissant just before class is a great wake-me-up! Or swing by Bernice’s and wake-up with our newly added espresso! xoxo bernice. bernicesbakerymt.com $-$$

406-829-8989 1901 Stephens Ave Order online at asahimissoula.com. Delicious dining or carryout. Chinese & Japanese menus.

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. $-$$

COFFEE FOR

FREE THINKERS SINCE 1972 SINCE 1972

BUTTERFLY HERBS 232 N. HIGGINS • DOWNTOWN

ALL DAY

MONDAY & THURSDAY SATURDAY NIGHT

BUTTERFLY HERBS COFFEES, TEAS AND THE UNUSUAL 232 N. HIGGINS • DOWNTOWN

SUSHI SPECIALS

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. $-$$ Burns Street Bistro 1500 Burns St. 543-0719 burnsstbistro.com We cook the freshest local ingredients as a matter of pride. Our relationship with local farmers, ranchers and other businesses allows us to bring quality, scratch cooking and fresh-brewed Black Coffee Roasting Co. coffee and espresso to Missoula’s Historic Westside neighborhood. Handmade breads & pastries, soups, salads & sandwiches change with the seasons, but our commitment to delicious food does not. Mon-Fri 7am 2pm. Sat/Sun Brunch 9am - 2pm. $-$$ Butterfly Herbs 232 N. Higgins 728-8780 Celebrating 44 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. $-$$ Good Food Store 1600 S. 3rd West • 541-FOOD The GFS Deli features made-to-order sandwiches, Fire Deck pizza & calzones, rice & noodle wok bowls, an award-winning salad bar, an olive & antipasto bar and a self-serve hot bar offering a variety of housemade breakfast, lunch and dinner entrées. A seasonally-changing selection of deli salads and rotisserie-roasted chickens are also available. Locallyroasted coffee/espresso drinks and an extensive fresh juice and smoothie menu complement bakery goods from the GFS ovens and Missoula’s favorite bakeries. Indoor and patio seating. Open every day 7am-10pm $-$$ 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 micro-distilleries. Your headquarters for unique spirits and wines! Free customer parking. Open Monday-Saturday 9-7:30. $-$$$ Hob Nob on Higgins 531 S. Higgins • 541-4622 hobnobonhiggins.com Come visit our friendly staff & experience Missoula’s best little breakfast & lunch spot. All our food is made from scratch, we feature homemade corn beef hash, sourdough pancakes, sandwiches, salads, espresso & desserts. MC/V $-$$ India Grill & Curry House 400 E. Broadway 926-2021 facebook.com/indiagrillandcurryhouse Experience Missoula’s only authentic Indian restaurant! Try our unique, daily vegetarian or meat combos prepared with house-made curries and spices imported directly from India. Served with rice, naan bread, salad and dessert all served on traditional Thali-style plates. Also try our house-made Chai, Mango Lassi or our special Lemon Juice. New menu items and combos daily! Special orders and catering available. Mon-Sat - Lunch 11am-3pm / Dinner 5pm-9pm. $-$$ Iron Horse Brew Pub 501 N. Higgins 728-8866 ironhorsebrewpub.com We’re the perfect place for lunch, appetizers, or dinner. Enjoy nightly specials, our fantastic beverage selection and friendly, attentive service. Stop by & stay awhile! No matter what you are looking for, we’ll give you something to smile about. $$-$$$

Not available for To-Go orders

[22] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

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

[dish] 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 36pm, Dinner M-Sat 3pm-close. $-$$ Liquid Planet 223 N. Higgins 541-4541 Whether it’s coffee or cocoa, water, beer or wine, or even a tea pot, French press or mobile mug, Liquid Planet offers the best beverage offerings this side of Neptune. Missoula’s largest espresso and beverage bar, along with fresh and delicious breakfast and lunch options from breakfast burritos and pastries to paninis and soups. Peruse our global selection of 1,000 wines, 400 beers and sodas, 150 teas, 30 locally roasted coffees, and a myriad of super cool beverage accessories and gifts. Find us on facebook at /BestofBeverage. Open daily 7:30am to 9pm. Liquid Planet Grille 540 Daly 540-4209 (corner of Arthur & Daly across from the U of M) MisSOULa’s BEST new restaurant of 2015, the Liquid Planet Grille, offers the same unique Liquid Planet espresso and beverage bar you’ve come to expect, with breakfast served all day long! Sit outside and try the stuffed french toast or our handmade granola or a delicious Montana Melt, accompanied with MisSOULa’s best fries and wings, with over 20 salts, seasonings and sauces! Open 7am-8pm daily. Find us on Facebook at /LiquidPlanetGrille. $-$$ 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. $$-$$$ Korean Bar-B-Que & Sushi 3075 N. Reserve 327-0731 We invite you to visit our contemporary KoreanJapanese restaurant and enjoy it’s warm atmosphere. Full Sushi Bar. Korean bar-b-que at your table. Beer and Wine. $$-$$$

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? $-$$$ Pearl Cafe 231 E. Front St. 541-0231 pearlcafe.us Country French meets the Northwest. Idaho Trout with King Crab, Rabbit with Wild Mushroom Ragout, Garden City Beef Ribeye, Fresh Seafood Specials Daily. House Made Charcuterie, Sourdough Bread & Delectable Desserts. Extensive wine list; 18 wines by the glass and local beers on draft. Reservations recommended for the intimate dining areas. Visit our website Pearlcafe.us to check out our nightly specials, make reservations, or buy gift certificates. Open Mon-Sat at 5:00. $$-$$$ Pita Pit 130 N Higgins 541-7482 pitapitusa.com Fresh Thinking Healthy Eating. Enjoy a pita rolled just for you. Hot meat and cool fresh veggies topped with your favorite sauce. Try our Chicken Caesar, Gyro, Philly Steak, Breakfast Pita, or Vegetarian Falafel to name just a few. For your convenience we are open until 3am 7 nights a week. Call if you need us to deliver! $-$$ 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. $-$$

White Claw Hard Seltzer

HAPPIEST HOUR What it is: “It’s like LaCroix, but with alcohol in it,” as an Indy staffer’s friend proclaimed at a recent house party. White Claw—which is unaffiliated with LaCroix—comes in fruit flavors, spiked with booze and topped with bubbly water. White Claw was released in spring by Chicago-based Mark Anthony, the same company that makes Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Diane Sayler, director of brand experience for Mark Anthony, says their goal is to appeal to the more health-conscious drinker. Each can clocks in at a mere teaspoon of sugar. “Consumers out there are trying to live a life that has some balance to it,” she says. “They want to have drinks, but they care what’s in them.” Where to find it: Most local supermarkets and liquor stores, plus “anywhere an active lifestyle would be common,” Sayler says, such as golf clubs, beaches and pools. And Red’s: The Indy office isn’t very close to any golf clubs or beaches, but the conveniently located Red’s Bar on Ryman Street also stocks White Claw. Manager Von Richter says since they brought it on a few weeks ago, it’s been surprisingly popular with some of the clientele at the long-running sports bar. “Females usually order it,” Richter says. “And they love it.” How it tastes: Pretty much like LaCroix, but with a mild taste of alcohol. Fruit flavors like black cherry and grapefruit make White

photo by Kate Whittle

Claw seem sweeter than it really is, and at 5 percent ABV, it packs the same punch as most regular beers. More to come: Look for more flavors and a variety pack hitting Montana shelves soon. A six-pack of White Claw retails for a suggested price of $9.99. Find a 12-ounce can at Red’s for $3.75. —Kate Whittle Happiest Hour celebrates western Montana watering holes. To recommend a bar, bartender or beverage for Happiest Hour, email editor@missoulanews.com

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 • September 29–October 6, 2016 [23]

FRI | 10PM | BADLANDER JPOD the beat chef is whipping up a fresh batch of EDM at the Badlander Fri., Sept. 30. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. $15/$10 in advance.

TUE | 8PM | WILMA

WED | 8 PM | WILMA

Dweezil Zappa plays whatever he wants, and that's the truth. Come see what he's playing at the Wilma Tue., Oct. 4. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $35–$75.

Hey, I can make up numbers too, Satan. The Devil Makes Three deliver a mix of bluegrass, rockabilly and folk to the Wilma Wed., Oct. 5. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $25-$30.

[24] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

THU | 9-29| 10PM | VFW General Mojo’s high-energy psychedelic rock comes to the VFW Thu., Sept. 29. 10 PM. $2.

SUN | 7 PM | WILMA Atmosphere returns to the Wilma for a night of hip-hop Sun., Oct. 2. Doors at 7 PM. $29.50–$33.50 at thewilma.com

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [25]

Friday 9-30

9-29

Thursday That old fortune-teller did tell me that canned corn was going to get me lost one of these days. Every nonperishable food donation you bring for the Missoula Food Bank gets you free entry at the MissoulaMaze. 10 AM– 8 PM.

Did you know UM is the official arboretum for the state of Montana? Did you know such a thing existed? Celebrate 25 years of planting and maintaining over 2,000 trees on campus with the ribbon cutting of a new interpretive space. Main Hall. 10 AM.

nightlife

Postwar America had a big role in how we view contemporary printmaking. Present Tense, running through December 8, highlights the advent of idiosyncratic language. Things kick off with a reception at the Museum of Art & Culture. 5 PM–7 PM.

Throw on your best pink suit and make your way to downtown Missoula for drinks and fundraising for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 5 PM–8 PM.

I shouldn’t have to give you the hard sell to see the fantastic music of Andrea Harsell at Draught Works. 6 PM–8 PM. Free. Find out why Montana writer Mary MacLane was one of the most controversial figures in the Treasure State’s past in The Intrepid Audacity of Youth, a new play by Susan Faye Roberts. Stage 9 in Hot Springs. 7 PM. $14. Brooks and Browns Big Brains Trivia Night. Get cash toward your bar tab for first place, plus specials on beer. 200 S. Pattee St. in the Holiday Inn Downtown. 7:30–10 PM. Was this a Fallout 3 quest I missed? Megaton Gypsies make their debut performance with a special hour of music at the Eagles. 8 PM. Free. Dead Hipster Dance Party is so cool even I don’t know about it. The Badlander, 208 Ryman St., with $1 well drinks from 9 PM to midnight. 21-plus. My name is Cal-essi and I’m here to say, I like rap music in a major way! The Palace hosts September Cavalcade, featuring the best local rap talent. 9 PM. Free. 21-plus. Start spreading the news! There’s Karaoke today! You don’t need to be a veteran of the Great White Way to sing your heart out at the Broadway Bar. 9:30 PM. Free. Yak Attack at the Top Hat! I would be really good at writing headlines. But seriously, check out the music of Yak Attack at the Top Hat. 10 PM. Free. General Mojo’s high-energy psychedelic rock comes to the VFW. Joined by Tiny Plastic Stars and Ticket Sauce, the music starts at 10 PM. $2.

Bring an instrument or just kick back and enjoy the tunes at the Irish Music Session every Friday at the Union Club from 6–9 PM. No cover. Who told you about the Captain Wilson Conspiracy? There certainly isn’t a Captain Wilson Conspiracy, and even if there was, they certainly wouldn’t be playing Ten Spoon Vineyard at 6 PM. $8-$10. Sunday’s Finest are playing on a Friday. They’re still really good for non-Sundays though. Montana Distillery. 6 PM–8 PM. Free. Is there a better way to celebrate the end of the harvest than with a fivecourse German-style dinner and beer tasting? For the life of me I can’t think of one. Burns St. Bistro hosts the festivities. 6:30 PM. RSVP at 406-543-0719. $55. I’d like to go, but I’d be afraid of running into those star-bellied fellows that insult the way I look. Missoula Children’s Theatre presents Seussical Jr, a wild and wooly adventure through the mind of Dr. Seuss. 7 PM. $5-$10. Calling all alumni! Head downtownto Holiday Inn at the Park for an all

Terror Pigeon helps celebrate KBGA's birthday bash with SugarBeats, Nintendeaux and Fuuls Fri., Sept. 30, at the Palace. 8 PM. $13/$10 in advance. alumni social. Enjoy the live music of the UM Marching Band and Alumni Jazz Band. 7 PM–12 AM. Free. Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Darla Sweeney plays Break Expresso. 7 PM–9 PM. Free. Join the University of Montana Alumni Association at the Yell Night Pep Rally and lighting of the M. 8 PM at the Oval. It’s time for KBGA’s 20th birthday bash. Instead of spending it the way I spend my birthday (alone at Denny’s) everyone’s favorite college radio station is spending it with SugarBeats, Nintendeaux, Terror Pigeon and Fuuls. The Palace. $13/$10 in advance. 8 PM. 18-plus.

Dusk comes to the Eagles. That’s not just a bad day in Philadelphia, it’s also a great night of music at the Eagles Lodge. 8 PM. Free. What’s that rumbling? Hopefully it’s just the thumping funk of Shakewell and not another city bus crashing into a wall. Catch the music at the Top Hat. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. $5. Are sucker MCs getting you down? Here’s your chance to cook them like a pound of bacon as Monk’s hosts Rap Battle for $1,000. $50 gets you your chance to lose yourself. 9 PM. For entry sign up and more info email dexeastwoodmusic @gmail.com.

Spotlight With a cool grand on the line, WHAT: Rap Battle for $1,000 and the crowd at Monk's cheering for you, it's still important to remem- WHERE: Monk's Bar ber that not knowing what you're WHEN: Fri., Sept. 30 at 9 PM getting into can be disastrous. Just ask Busy Bee Starski, the first person HOW MUCH: Free to watch, $50 to to ever lose a rap battle. compete Excluding the other various points in history where people in- MORE INFO: dexeastwoodmusic @gmail.com to sign up sulted each other to their faces while rhyming (something we as humans are apparently crazy about), lenged the Zulu Nation member to a the first recorded rap battle took one-on-one freestyle duel. Busy Bee place near the end of 1981 when Starski, not really knowing what to Kool Moe Dee, annoyed at the boast- expect in this brand new format, trotful words of Busy Bee Starski, chal- ted out his usual method of calling

[26] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

JPOD the beat chef is whipping up a fresh batch of EDM at the Badlander. Joined by Logisticalone, Paravoid and Wildcard, the doors open at 9 PM, show at 10. $15/$10 in advance. Are these the same guys who Dorothy dreamt about after getting flattened by that twister? Idle Ranch Hands play the Union Club. 9:30 PM. Free. What do you get when you throw Sam Waldorf, Squirrels on Mars, Milky Way, Kickboxer and Big Shade into the blender that is Stage 112? The Local Mashup’ is coming for you. Doors at 9 PM, shows at 10. Free 21-plus/$5 18-20.

lose yourself out zodiac signs and using prewritten verse to get the audience going. Kool Moe Dee went for blood. He ran verbal circles around Starski, completely and utterly defeating him with deft rhymes and cutting insults. So now it's your chance to show Missoula what you've got as you try to spin metrical meters of mockery at Monk's. The contest will be decided by crowd participation and three anonymous judges. Don't be a Busy Bee, be Kool like Moe Dee.

– Charley Macorn

10-1

Saturday Missoula’s Farmers Market offers produce, flowers, plants and more. Several food and drink vendors are on hand to provide shopping sustenance and there’s usually live music. Every Saturday through October, 8 AM–12:30 PM. Located at the XXXXs at the north end of Higgins Ave. Missoula’s Clark Fork Market features vendors offering local produce and meats as well as locally made products, hot coffee and prepared foods. Music starts at 10:30 under the Higgins Bridge. 8 AM–1 PM every Saturday through October. Join Five Valleys Audubon for a fivehour field trip to the old SmurfitStone plant to look for late migrating shorebirds and early winter arrivals. Meet at 8:20 AM in the northwest corner of UM’s Adams Center parking lot for carpooling or at the intersection of Mullan and Pulp Mill roads at 9 AM For more info call Larry at 406-549-5634. What better way to celebrate Homecoming than by busting your butt on a 5K run? Get to your starting blocks for Homecoming Hustle at Higgins and Broadway. 9:45 AM. Sprint to runnersedgemt.com for registration and more info. There are over 100 floats created by students and community organizations revved and ready for the annual Homecoming Parade. Catch them at Higgins and Broadway. 10 AM. Yoga and Beer: the two cornerstones of Missoula. The Yoga Spot and the Sweat Shop host yoga

every Saturday morning at Imagine Nation Brewing. Class and a beer for $8. All money goes to Free Cycles. Join the Killdeer Artisans for the opening of the Fall/Winter Show at Hangin’ Art Gallery featuring the oil and watercolors of Jerry and Janet McGahan. 12 PM–2 AM. Free. The University of Montana Grizzlies go head-to-head with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds for a homecoming game sure to leave you on the edge of your seat. Why is Utah’s team named after a motel, anyway? 2:30 PM. Teton Gravity Research premiere their new feature length ski and snowboard film Tight Loose at the Wilma. Doors at 4:30 PM, show at 5:30 PM. $15/$12 in advance. (See Mountain High.)

nightlife Take a musical cruise when Geoff Lake plays Missoula Brewing. 6 PM–8 PM. Free. Just like Don Draper’s preferred cocktail, Good Old Fashioned plays Draught Works. 6 PM–8 PM. Free. You win some, you lose some, but Awesome Possums are gonna kick off autumn with live music at Ten Spoon Vineyard. Music starts at 6 PM. $8-$10. The John Floridis Trio unite like a Voltron made of music at Bitter Root Brewing. 6 PM–8:30 PM. Free. Dusk comes to the Eagles. That’s not

just a bad day in Philadelphia, it’s also a great night of music at the Eagles Lodge. 8 PM. Free. DJ Kris Moon completely disrespects the adverb with the Absolutely Dance Party at the Badlander, which gets rolling at 9 PM, with fancy drink specials to boot. No cover. Combining Appalachian anthems with out-of-control beards, Parsonsfield stop by Stage 112. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. $12/$10 in advance. (See Music.) My favorite band with a name that sounds like a d20 prestige class, Sunraiser is joined by VTO, Base Crazies and Empty Gun Fight to get the Real Lounge shaking. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. Free. \m/(>.<)\m/. Catch the metal of Universal Choke Sign, Shot Stereo and Earthbound at the Badlander. Doors at 9 PM. Free. 21-plus. I don’t know if it’s fair to say the Ruins are here to save rock and roll, but gosh darn it they’re going to try. Join the revolution at the Dark Horse. 9 PM. Free.

OCT

ATMOSPHERE

GLASS ANIMALS

OCT

DWEEZIL ZAPPA

OCT

COLD WAR KIDS

OCT

DEVIL MAKES THREE

CHASE RICE

OCT

THIEVERY CORPORATION

OCT

INDIGO GIRLS

OCT

NAHKO & MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE

OCT

THE LIL’ SMOKIES

08 GHOST - POPESTAR

05 06 07 OCT

OCT

OCT OCT

30 OCT

07 OCT

08 OCT

THE 4ONTHEFLOOR THE BOXCUTTERS

SEAN HAYES

TIM CARR, CORY MON

THE STRUMBELLAS

THE LAST REVEL

PINKY & THE FLOYD 3 DIFFERENT ONES

BEN FOLDS & A PIANO

OCT

THE FELICE BROTHERS

OCT

HONEYHONEY

17 18

TWIDDLE

KITCHEN DWELLERS

TICKETS & MORE INFO AT THE TOP HAT TOPHATLOUNGE.COM • THEWILMA.COM

Even though I’m more of a fan of Groucho ND, Harpo WY and Chico MN, I still love the live music of Zeppo MT. The Union Club. 9:30 PM. Free. This is one of the rare times where the band’s name is bigger than the price of admission. 20 Grand plays a free show at the Top Hat Lounge. Doors at 9:30 PM, show at 10.

10-2

Sunday The Missoula marathon running class is designed for beginning to advanced runners. Meet every Sunday morning at 8 AM, Run Wild Missoula in the basement of the Runner’s Edge, 304 N. Higgins. $100. Get to know about the herbs that grow in the Missoula area with a medicinal herb walk at Green Path Herb School. $35. Head to green pathherbschool.com for more info. Family Storytime offers engaging experiences like storytelling, finger plays, flannel-board pictograms and more at 11 AM on Sat. and 2 PM on Sun. at the Missoula Public Library. Free.

nightlife You could make a pretty decent old-fashioned with Jameson. Brent

Jameson that is. Catch the rock powerhouse at Draught Works. 5 PM–7 PM. Free. Newtflix, a curated film screening and drunken banter session hosted by Newton Wise, brings the timeless tale of murderous robots protecting a mall from sex-crazed teenagers to the VFW. It’s Chopping Mall. 6 PM. Free. What goes together better than beer and laughter? Check out Sunday Funnies Comedy Showcase. First Sunday of every month at Great Burn Brewing, 6:30 PM. Musicians Naomi Moon Siegel, Sean Woolstenhulme, Caroline Keys and Jeff Turman are on hand for the premiere of their new music video, directed by local filmmaker

Erin Hale. Catch the show at 7 PM. The Roxy. $10. Atmosphere returns to the Wilma accompanied by Brother Ali, Dem Atlas, Plain Ole Bill and Last Word for a night of hip-hop. Doors at 7 PM. $29.50–$33.50 at thewilma.com. Open mic at Lolo Hot Springs’ Bear Cave Bar and Grill offers cool prizes like cabin stays, bar tabs and hot springs passes, plus drink specials, starting at 7 PM. Call 406273-2297 to sign up. No cover. Sundays are shaken, not stirred, at the Badlander’s Jazz Martini Night, with $5 martinis all evening, live jazz and local DJs keepin’ it classy. Music starts at 8 PM. Free.

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [27]

Relax and realign with Yoga for Wellness at the Learning Center at Red Willow, 825 W. Kent Ave., Mondays from noon–1 PM. $45 for six classes, or $10 dropin. Call 721-0033 or visit redwillowlearning.org.

nightlife You can’t keep the Dead in bed for long. The Top Hat Lounge hosts Raising the Dead, a tribute to the Grateful Dead from 5 PM to 7 PM. Free. Prepare a couple songs and bring your talent to Open Mic Night at Imagine Nation Brewing. Sign up when you get there. Every Monday from 6–8 PM. Bingo at the VFW: the easiest way to make rent since keno. 245 W. Main. 6:30 PM. $12 buy-in. Former deputy managing editor for the Los Angeles Times, Melissa McCoy, gives a lecture on what the media communicates about mental illness. 7 PM in the University Center Theater. Free. Get mindful at Be Here Now, a mindfulness meditation group that meets Mondays from 7:30– 8:45 PM at the Open Way Mindfulness Center, 702 Brooks St. Free, but donations appreciated. Visit openway.org. Oh shoot, what if ‘80s star Rockwell was right? The President’s lecture series welcomes Dr. Alfred McCoy and his presentation Surveillance and the Future of U.S. Global Power. University Center. 8 PM. Free. Aaron “B-Rocks” Broxterman hosts karaoke night at the Dark Horse Bar. 9 PM. Free. Vinyl connoisseur Sol spins all manner of funk, soul and reggae at Jukebox, the Badlanders newest DJ-residency night. Doors at 9 PM, show at 10. Free. Live in SIN at the Service Industry Night at Plonk, with DJ Amory spinning and a special menu. 322 N. Higgins Ave. 10 PM to close. Just ask a server for the SIN menu. No cover.

Sit Meditation invites folks who’ve already dabbled in meditation to a weekly class at Learning Center at Red Willow, Thursdays noon–1 PM. $35 for four classes or $10 drop-in. Visit redwillowlearning.org. Shootin’ the Bull Toastmasters help you improve your public speaking skills with weekly meetings at ALPS in the Florence Building, noon–1 PM. Free and open to the public. Visit shootinthebull.info for details. It’s Mule-Tastic Tuesday, which means the Montana Distillery will donate $1 from every cocktail sold to a local nonprofit organization. 12–8 PM. The Blind Low Vision Support Group meets every second Tuesday of the

month at Summit Independent Living. Meetings are held from 1-2:30PM.

nightlife Play a round of disc golf in a local park. Missoula Parks and Rec and Garden City Flyers set up a course in a local park each Tuesday. This week’s folf adventure meets at Silver Park. 5 PM. Free. Dust off that banjolin and join in the Top Hat’s picking circle, 6–8 PM every Tuesday. All ages. Join the Montana Dirt Girls every Tuesday for an all-women hike or bike. Find locations at facebook.com/ MontanaDirtGirls. 6 PM.

Dweezil Zappa plays whatever he wants, and that’s the truth. Come see what he’s playing at the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $35– $75. Take a love ride to thewilma.com for tickets. John Edward, star of “Crossing Over,” comes to the Holiday Inn Downtown to do a Q&A with spirits of the dearly departed. $150-$225. 7 PM. Learn the two-step and more at Country Dance Lessons at the Hamilton Senior Center, Tuesdays from 7– 9 PM. $5. Bring a partner. Call 381-1392 for more info. Grab your partner, thin or fat, dance on down to the Top Hat.

Come do-si-do with the Top Hat’s monthly square dance. 8 PM. Free. Show off your big brain at Quizzoula trivia night, every Tuesday at the VFW, 245 W. Main St. Current events, picture round and more. 8:30 PM. Free. Our trivia question for this week: Which state is home to the world’s longest bridge? Hint, it was built in 1956 and is 23.87 miles long? Answer in tomorrow’s Nightlife. Mike Avery hosts the Music Showcase every Tuesday, featuring some of Missoula’s finest musical talent. At the Badlander, 9 PM–1 AM. To sign up, email michael.avery@ live.com.

Wednesday 10-5

Sip a fancy cocktail for a cause at Moscow Monday at the Montgomery Distillery, 129 W. Front St. A dollar from every drink sold is donated to Blackfoot Challenge. Bring the family! 12 PM–8 PM.

Tuesday 10-4

10-3

Monday

Lil’ Bugs Early Childhood Program is a chance for bug lovers and their parents to learn about insects at the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium. First and third Wednesday of every month, 12:15–1:15 PM. Visit missoulabutterflyhouse.org.

nightlife In honor of National Fossil Day, which is absolutely a real holiday, the Charles H. Clapp Building opens its Research Collections Room for the only time this year. Head to hs.umt.edu/paleo for more info. 5 PM–8 PM. Wednesday Night Brewery Jam invites all musicians to bring an instrument and join in. Hosted by Geoffrey Taylor at Imagine Nation Brewing Co., 6–8 PM. Free. This open mic is truly open. Jazz, classic rock, poetry, spoken word, dance, shadow puppets—share your creative spark at The Starving Artist Café and Art Gallery, 3020 S. Reserve St. Every Wed., 6–8 PM. Free. I honestly don’t see the difference between the two. Novelist Megan McNamer reads from Children and Lunatics at Fact & Fiction Books. 7 PM. Free. 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, 1609 W. Broadway Ave. 7 PM. Trivia answer: Louisiana. Crowder’s Christian rock can make the devil run, but the real test is to see what he can do at the Dennison Theatre. Tedashii and The New Re-

[28] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

Crowder's Christian rock can make the devil run, but the real test is to see what he can do at the Dennison Theatre. Tedashii and The New Respects join him Wed., Oct. 5. 7 PM. $25–$55 at ticketfly.com spects join him for a night of music. 7 PM. $25–$55 at ticketfly.com Grand ideas are welcome but hemlock tea is frowned upon at the Socrates Cafe, an informal meeting to discuss philosophy using the Socratic method. Missoula Public Library, the first Wednesday of every month at 7 PM. Hey, I can make up numbers too, Satan. The Devil Makes Three deliver a fresh batch of bluegrass and folk to the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $25-$30. Skulk on over to thewilma.com for tickets.

Get up onstage at VFW’s open mic, with a different host each week. Half-price whiskey might help loosen up those nerves. 8 PM. Free. The Country Boogie Boys ride into the Sunrise Saloon. The showdown starts at high 8:30 PM. Free. Show your Press Box buddies you know more than sports and compete in Trivial Beersuit starting at 8:30 every Wednesday. $50 bar tab for the winning team. Make the move from singing in the shower to a live audience at the Ea-

gles Lodge karaoke night. $50 to the best singer. 8:30–10:30 PM. No cover. Wait, Cal-eesi Jr., is that you? Mommy misses you so much. DiveBar Daughters play the Sunrise Saloon. 8:30 PM. Free. Get your yodel polished up for rockin’ country karaoke night, every Wed. at the Sunrise Saloon. 9 PM. Free. Kraptastic Karaoke indulges your need to croon, belt and warble at the Badlander, 9 PM, no cover.

10-6

Thursday The miniNaturalist Pre-K program at the Montana Natural History Center engages youngsters in the exploration of the natural world through fun hands-on activities, games and play. 10 AM–11 AM. Head to montananaturalist.org for registration and more info.

sing your heart out at the Broadway Bar. 9:30 PM. Free.

nightlife

Tahj and Sweatshop Sneakers creep into the Top Hat Lounge for an evening of social conscious hip-hop and next-level beats. Joined by Partygoers, the show kicks off at 10 PM. Free.

What’s going to happen when people find out I don’t have Imposter Syndrome? Homegrown Stand-Up Comedy open mic at the Union Club. Sign up by 9:30 PM Show at 10. Free.

The University Center Art Gallery hosts an opening reception for Shelby Hanson’s Sonder. Free. The exhibit runs through Thu., Oct 27. The Montana Film Festival is four days of film and fun. For more information and full lineup head to montanafilmfestival.com (See Arts.) This month’s Climate Smart Missoula’s meetup focuses on green building, energy efficiency and conservation. I used to live in a completely green house. All it took was a coat of paint. Imagine Nation Brewing. 5 PM. Thursdays are stupid. Make them better with beer and the music of Andre Floyd at Draught Works. 6 PM–8 PM. Free. Singer-songwriter Eryn Bent returns to Bitter Root Brewing for an enchanting night of music. 6 PM–8:30 PM. Free. Whenever I hear their name, all I can think about are those fat cats and crooks in Congress. Sorry to get so political. Be enveloped by Thievery Corporation’s electronic sound at the Wilma. Doors at 7 PM, show at 8. $48/$44 in advance at thewilma.com

Singer-songwriter Eryn Bent returns to Bitter Root Brewing for an enchanting night of music Thu., Oct. 6. 6 PM–8:30 PM. Free. So you’re telling me Rosemary was a red herring? Well, cumin to Fact & Fiction where author Leslie Budewitz reads and signs Killing Thyme. 7 PM. Free.

Start spreading the news! There’s Karaoke today! You don’t need to be a veteran of the Great White Way to

We really want to know about your event! Submit to calendar@missoula news.com at least two weeks in advance of the event. Don’t forget to include the date, time, venue and cost. Send snail mail to Cal-eesi, Mother of Calendars c/o the Independent, 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801. Or submit your events online at missoulanews.com. If anyone finds a missing dollar bill, let me know. It has a picture of George Washington on the front, and a secret treaure map to Warren G. Harding's gold on the back. Thanks!

Unleash your cogent understanding of the trivium at Brooks and Browns Big Brains Trivia Night. Get cash toward your bar tab for first place, plus specials on bee in the Holiday Inn Downtown. 7:30–10 PM. Dead Hipster Dance Party is so cool even I don’t know about it. The Badlander, with $1 well drinks from 9 PM to midnight. 21-plus.

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [29]

Agenda

photo by Cathrine L. Walters

Jacob Sanchez Diagnosed with autism

The Get Lost for Good Food Drive lets you spend a fun evening getting lost at MissoulaMaze, while helping out our community by donating nonperishable food items to the Missoula Food Bank. This shouldn't be a surprise because corn mazes and charity have always gone hand in hand. When hundreds of thousands of square miles of the American infrastructure was destroyed by the Great Flood of 1993, theme park producer Don Frantz and college student Joanne Marx resolved to do something about it. Inspired by the historic hedge mazes of Europe, the duo decided to grow their own maze, using a local crop directly affected by the flooding. The Amazing Maize Maze, in Annville, Pa.,

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29 That old fortune-teller did tell me that canned corn was going to get me lost one of these days. Every nonperishable food donation you bring for the Missoula Food Bank gets you free entry at the MissoulaMaze. 10 AM–8 PM.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30 The Women in Black stand in mourning of international violence every Friday on the Higgins bridge from 12:15–12:45 PM. Visit jrpc.org/calendar to learn more. Throw on your best pink suit and make your way to downtown Missoula for drinks and fundraising for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 5 PM–8 PM.

MONDAY OCTOBER 3 Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Monica J. Lindeen hosts a special presentation on security and the prevention of investment fraud. Holiday Inn Downtown. 6 PM. Free. RSVP at csimt.gov/ fraudtour. Sip a fancy cocktail for a cause at Moscow Monday at the Montgomery Distillery, 129 W. Front St. A dollar from every drink sold is donated to Blackfoot Challenge. Bring the family! 12 PM–8 PM. Former military members are invited to the Veterans for Peace Western Montana Chapter meeting, which will work to inform and advocate about peace issues. Meets at the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, 519 S. Higgins Ave., on the first Monday

Lack of speech is a sign of autism. Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.

[30] Missoula Independent • September 29–October 6, 2016

was the first of its kind and open for only four days in the fall of 1993. The 3 acres of corn, constructed in the shape of a dinosaur, attracted people from across the country, who all came and paid their $5 admission to wander around the cobasaurus. Every penny the Maize Maze raised, over $32,000, went directly to the Red Cross to aid the disaster victims. So bring your donations to get lost in MissoulaMaze, and help those less fortunate than yourself. –Charley Macorn Bring your donations of nonperishable food to MissoulaMaze on Thu., Sept 29

of every month at 4 PM. Visit veteransforpeace.org to learn more. Find out how the Garden City grows at the weekly Missoula City Council meeting, where you can no doubt expect ranting public commenters, PowerPoint presentations and subtle wit from Mayor Engen. Missoula council chambers, 140 W. Pine St. Meetings are the first four Mondays of every month at 7 PM, except for holidays. Former deputy managing editor for the Los Angeles Times, Melissa McCoy, gives a lecture on what the media communicates about mental illness. 7 PM in the University Center Theater. Free.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4 Shootin’ the Bull Toastmasters help you improve your public speaking skills with weekly meetings at ALPS in the Florence Building, noon–1 PM. Free and open to the public. Visit shootinthebull.info for details. It’s Mule-Tastic Tuesday, which means the Montana Distillery will donate $1 from every cocktail sold to a local nonprofit organization. 12–8 PM. The Blind Low Vision Support Group meets every second Tuesday of the month at Summit Independent Living. Meetings are held from 1-2:30PM.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 5 Nonviolent Communication Practice Group facilitated by Patrick Marsolek every Wednesday at Jeannette Rankin Peace Center. 12–1 PM. Email info@patrickmarsolek.com or 406-443-3439 for more information.

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.

MOUNTAIN HIGH

have skied exactly one time in my life. I was 16, on a class trip and totally afraid of looking like a big dummy on the slope. I mean that quite literally as on my first, tentative run down the trainer hill, my foot came completely out of my boot. I don't know if there's a word for the calm that comes over you when you realize you're about half a second away from disaster, but whenever I felt that same feeling later in my life (realizing I'm driving over a sheet of ice or on my wedding day), I've always flashed back to the day I broke my leg in three places. I never felt the need to ski again—that is until I watched the footage of Teton Gravity Research's

Melissa McCoy

new film. Tight Loose features a who's who from the world of skiing as they shred across the world from India to Alaska. And, as part of their 21st birthday, TGR are hosting the premiere of the full film at the Wilma. Even better, if you're a lapsed skier like myself and want to get back on the board, everyone in attendance will get a two-for-one lift ticket to Big Sky Resort. –Charley Macorn

Former Deputy Managing Editor at the Los Angeles Times and the 2016 T. Anthony Pollner Distinguished Professor

Tight Loose premiers at the Wilma Sat., Oct. 1, at 5:30 PM and 9 PM. $12.

presents

“What the Media Communicate About Mental Illness” Oct. 3, 2016 • 7 p.m. • UC Theater • 3rd floor Free and open to the public

photo by Joe Weston

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Did you know UM is the official arboretum for the state of Montana? Did you know such a thing existed? Celebrate 25 years of planting and maintaining over 2,000 trees on campus with the ribbon cutting of a new interpretive space. Main Hall. 10 AM. I don’t know about you, but wrapping up my workweek by watching some poor cricket getting devoured by a large Chilean tarantula is somehow very satisfying. Tarantula feeding at the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium, every Friday at 4 PM. $4 admission.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1 You’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after Run Wild Missoula’s Saturday Breakfast Club Runs, which start at 8 AM every Saturday at Runner’s Edge, 325 N. Higgins Ave. Free to run. Visit runwildmissoula.org. Join Five Valleys Audubon for a five-hour field trip to the old Smurfit-Stone plant to look for late migrating shorebirds and early winter arrivals. Meet at 8:20 AM in the northwest corner of UM’s Adams Center parking lot for carpooling or at the intersection of Mullan and Pulp Mill roads at 9 AM. For more info call Larry at 406-549-5634. What better way to celebrate homecoming than by busting your butt on a 5K run? Get to your starting blocks for Homecoming Hustle at Higgins and Broadway. 9:45 AM. Sprint to runnersedgemt.com for registration and more info.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 2 The Missoula marathon running class is designed for beginning to advanced runners. Meet every Sunday morning at 8 AM, Run Wild Missoula in the basement of the Runner’s Edge, 304 N. Higgins. $100.

Get to know about the herbs that grow in the Missoula area with a medicinal herb walk at Green Path Herb School. $35. Head to greenpath herbschool.com for more info.

MONDAY OCTOBER 3 Spend Monday morning exploring the fall foliage around Missoula before relaxing with a hot beverage with Coffee Walks. This week explore the Mount Jumbo Saddle. Meet at Currents Aquatics Center. 9 AM-12 PM. $5.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4 Play a round of disc golf in a local park. Missoula Parks and Rec and Garden City Flyers set up a course in a local park each Tuesday. This week’s folf adventure meets at Silver Park. 5 PM. Free.

Never let your gun get in the wrong hands.

Join the Montana Dirt Girls every Tuesday for an all-women hike or bike. Find locations at facebook.com/MontanaDirtGirls. 6 PM.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 5 Head to Missoula Winery for lawn game madness every Wednesday through the summer. Croquet, bocce and petanque (that’s French for bocce) from 4–7 PM. The Missoula marathon running class is designed for beginning to advanced runners. Every Wednesday at 6 PM, Run Wild Missoula in the basement of the Runner’s Edge, 304 N. Higgins. $100.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 6 The miniNaturalist Pre-K program at the Montana Natural History center engages youngsters in the exploration of the natural world through fun hands-on activities, games and play. 10 AM–11 AM. Head to montananaturalist.org for registration and more info.

Photo: Grant Delin

Your family, friends and neighbors are all counting on you. If you own a ﬁrearm and are not using it, please be responsible and be sure that it’s always stored in a safe place. Visit ncpc.org to determine the best ﬁrearms safety solution for you.

NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL

missoulanews.com • September 29–October 6, 2016 [31]