Up in the 406

What was it like, living in western Montana in its earliest days? That’s been the essence of my stories over the last decade. Sure, I do make occasional references to the kind of history you would find in a textbook, but mostly I’m interested in the people and their way of life, the good and the bad. So, let’s jump on the way-back train.

Shania Twain opened the Independence Day weekend with a concert at Washington Grizzly stadium in Missoula.

The Big Sky Mudflaps have been successful as a band but more as a band of friends.

For more than 100 years, the Rocky Mountain Labs have conducted lifesaving research into deadly diseases, including COVID-19, SARS-1, MERS, Lyme disease and Ebola. As I wrote in 2020, the Bio-safety Level 4 Labs have a colorful and controversial history, dating back more than a century to the initial reason for their existence: Black Measles, known today as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

The event featured top teaching artists from across the country and was backed by the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child initiative.

The issue of declining church attendance takes us back to June 25, 1890 when a letter to the editor of the Missoula Weekly Gazette, submitted by someone identifying himself as “An Old Deacon,” offered up his opinion on the subject.

The Pride parade drew thousands of people to downtown Missoula on Saturday.

Authorities have identified human remains that were found on May 18 in the Upper Rattlesnake area.

William Munoz writes, "They are Americana at its best and on a co-headlining tour with St Paul & The Broken Bones, they stopped at the banks of the Blackfoot River to play at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater."

William Munoz writes, "Given the sold-out concert at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater, they are doing it right and making music that is resonating with an increasing number of fans."