What extreme weather we have had this summer! Floods, fire, drought, hail, grasshoppers, even tornadoes. If you were spared of one weather pattern, you likely experienced another.

On November 8, 1889, Montana was admitted to the union as the forty-first state, and pioneering townsfolk in Lewistown were happy to finally call their centralized hamlet, “The Heart of the State of Montana.” 

No kegger, though, in the history of keggers could compare to the mother of all of them: Aber Day, which was held in May.

Given its proximity to Montana and Wyoming locals, Yellowstone National Park is the perfect place to enjoy during the off season and there’s time now before tourists swarm the sites.

For those gardeners whose space is a premium, the remedy just might be growing vegetables vertically.

The Fort at 49, a restaurant and campsite in Custer, Montana, quickly becomes a blur in the rearview mirror while cruising between Billings and Miles City.

We filled this issue with good things. Reminders that even though all is not well in our nation and world, there is still much to be grateful for and enjoy.

The Red Lodge Songwriter Festival will bring the kind of music to town that will guarantee to touch you in a way like never before. Hit song writers and rising stars from Montana, Nashville and around the country will congregate for three full days, in June.

Being in the middle of nowhere hasn’t stopped Whitney Klasna from making an impact in the agriculture community in the state of Montana and, in fact, in the nation.

Richelle Barrett would be the first to say she had no idea when she began sharing her thoughts on social media that today she would be a well-known agriculture advocate.

If operating two ranches isn’t enough, Cheyenne Wilson also is a writer and photographer specializing in social media marketing and the promotion of agriculture.

Winter is finally behind us and it’s time to enjoy the great outdoors. Whether it’s for work or play, it’s always good to be prepared with some great food!

In today’s changing world, a dozen Sweet Grass County women decided brushing up on gun safety and self-defense may be a good idea.

For her project, Kenny’s plan was to develop a podcast that featured individuals in the ag industry with disabilities. That project launched her into what has become a successful startup company that makes a difference in the lives of farmers and ranchers suffering from injuries, accidents, disabilities, and mental health issues. She even touches on suicide prevention.

There’s something about Montana folks when they rally. It’s an impressive movement. Be it hay for ranchers whose crops burned or to help a neighbor put up their harvest. Generosity is a given when it comes to need.

When residents of Denton, Montana, evacuated on Dec. 1, 2021, in the face of the raging West Wind Fire, no one knew what to expect when they returned. The inferno destroyed more than 20 homes, and many others were severely damaged. In the days and weeks that followed, love of community shone like a lighthouse beacon, and that radiance continues months later.

Kardy and Leonard Eickhoff own the only grocery store in town. In fact, it’s the only store in the county and it’s their commitment to make sure they have what the people of Petroleum County need.

On a recent winter day, three muddy diesel trucks sat idling outside the Melstone Mercantile on main street in Melstone. Inside the warm, inviting store, the owners of those pickups, guys wearing blue jeans, Carhartt coats, cowboy hats and mud-covered boots, were talking and laughing with each other as the proprietor, Becky Stensvad, made their coffees.

For three small communities in eastern Montana, the owners of multi-purpose businesses, or what we call general stores, have dedicated their lives to accommodating their communities by offering as many products as possible. They are unsung heroes as they work to fill the needs of their customers at the cost of long hours, marginal profit and rare time away.

Ski-joring is an action-packed winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse and rider over a snow-packed course of gates, jumps and obstacles. It’s the bringing together of two entirely different kinds of people, cowboys and skiers, and teaming their talents to compete against the clock and entertain the crowd.