On February 10, 2024, at 2:34pm, West Yellowstone Police Department Dispatch received a 911 call from a snowmobiler who was recreating with a friend when their group was flagged down by a snowmobiler who had sustained serious injuries. The caller indicated the injured snowmobiler was unable to ride their snowmobile out and was in need of immediate medical treatment near Cabin Creek, 17.5 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue (GCSSAR) volunteers from the West Yellowstone detachment, GCSSAR Big Sky detachment, Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District, and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the request for aid. The GCSSAR team members, along with law enforcement, communicated with the initial caller over cell phone to establish critical details leading to how best to serve the injured individual. Due to the remote backcountry location of the victim, it was determined the best and most efficient way for responders to assist would be through utilization of a helicopter. Billings Clinic Medical Flight Team was dispatched to assist with the rescue. Quick-reaction teams from GCSSAR West Yellowstone and Big Sky also responded with snowmobiles and a specialized snowmobile towed ambulance. The victim was air lifted from the remote backcountry location in Cabin Creek to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer would like to commend the passerby snowmobilers whose quick action, effective communication, and GPS capabilities allowed the proper resources to be dispatched to ensure a hasty and efficient response from rescue teams.

Two Montana State University RadPC payloads pictured in a MSU lab on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. Both computers spent time on the International Space Station before being returned to MSU. MSU photo by Colter Peterson

BOZEMAN – Montana State University doctoral student Hezekiah Austin recently received two packages with a unique return address: that of the International Space Station.

Each box contained a computer specially developed by MSU researchers to withstand the unforgiving environment imposed by outer space, known as RadPC.

Austin, who has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MSU, was introduced to the RadPC project when he applied to pursue his Master of Science in electrical engineering, which he earned this past spring.

“Brock LaMeres interviewed me,” said Austin. “He mentioned that he had multiple grants available, one was going to the ISS. He eventually put me on that project.”

LaMeres, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, originally designed RadPC as an alternative to the large and expensive computers that are standardly used on spacecraft. The standard space computers can cost around $250,000, explained Austin, due to the parts inside them requiring special materials to withstand the radiation in outer space.

“RadPC is looking at a price somewhere between $5,000 to $20,000,” said Austin.

This difference in cost is due to the nature of the computer’s design. RadPC uses a processor that could be found in normal desktop computers, but it’s running special MSU-developed software that allows the machine to continue to function even when struck by a disruptive radiation particle whizzing through space.

Throughout the project, MSU researchers and students worked closely with San Mateo, California-based Stottler Henke, a company focused on artificial intelligence development for aerospace applications. During his research on the project, Austin outfitted RadPC to successfully interface with the company’s hardware and software.

Two payloads containing RadPC were sent to the ISS while Austin was working on the project. The first payload was in orbit for five months before it was sent back to Earth. Upon the computer's return to MSU’s campus, Austin and the team began to study the data from the computer's trip.

“This is the first time that RadPC has been used in a stressful environment as a full computer,” said LaMeres. “The unique part of it is that the payloads came back in time for Hezekiah’s master’s degree. It’s rare that you get anything back.”

The data presented from the ISS told the MSU researchers that their recovery mechanism was good, but that the computer’s design was not well-suited to be programmed by anyone other than members of the MSU team, explained Austin. He used that feedback to streamline things so that RadPC could be programmed more easily by anyone.

Soon after, Stottler Henke informed the researchers of another opportunity that would allow them to send this new iteration of RadPC back to the ISS.

“Naturally, we said yes,” said Austin.

This time, RadPC stayed in orbit for 13 months, and it took an additional seven months to get the payload back after its return. But, despite the long wait, the ISS payloads are both home and can be viewed in Norm Asbjornson Hall 324 inside the window display.

“By this upcoming August, we are looking to get RadPC as a commercially viable product that can be sold,” said Austin. “Long term I’ll be doing my Ph.D. research on adding in the capability of in-flight image processing.”

For more information about RadPC and its history at MSU, visit Brock LaMeres’ research overview website.

HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will implement changes this year to the reservation process for state park sites. The changes will create more opportunities for recreationists to enjoy state parks and comply with legislation passed by the 2023 Legislature.  

Starting this year, visitors will have up to three months prior to their planned arrival date to make campsite and lodging reservations or purchase tour tickets. This is a change from the six-month booking window in the past. Visitors need to be aware that the maximum stay per site changed from 14 consecutive nights to 7. The last change allows at least 20 percent of state parks’ campsites to be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sites are reservable from the third Friday in May through the third Sunday in September. People can start making reservations on Feb. 17 at 9 a.m. by visiting  fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/ or calling the call center at 855-922-6768.

Portland, Oregon-based musician/engineer/producer Steve Drizos, a professional touring musician for more than twenty-seven years and studio owner, can currently be found behind the drums for Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons or helming the board at his SE Portland recording studio, The Panther, is gearing up to release his sophomore full-length album, i love you now leave me alone (Cavity Search Records) on February 16th.

Having worked with countless artists at The Panther, including Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), Debbi Peterson (The Bangles), Spencer Tweedy, Chris Funk (The Decembrists), and Scott McCaughey (R.E.M., Minus 5, The Young Fresh Fellows), as well as his wife, The Decemberists' Jenny Conlee, Drizos is no stranger to both sides of the studio, culminating in his debut solo album, Axiom, which was released on Cavity Search Records in 2021. Written and recorded during the start of the pandemic, Axiom was Drizos' chance to experiment in the studio and make a solo album, playing most of the instruments himself. However, with i love you now leave me alone, he decided to demo everything and build a band around the songs, resulting in a powerful follow-up that finds the songwriter side of him growing and evolving, delivering another strong collection of eight powerful songs that find influence in 90s guitar-rock, pop, and folk.

"My first record, Axiom, got a lot more attention and positive feedback than I ever could have imagined, so I felt really motivated to release a follow up as soon as possible," Drizos says discussing the birth of i love you now leave me alone. "And where Axiom was very much done on my own, I wanted this project to be a band, tracking the songs live and having much more collaboration. Once I had a batch of songs that I felt good about, I assembled the players and got to work."

The band includes drummer Joe Mengis (Eels), Tim Murphy (RoughCuts) on bass and backing vocals, Todd Wright on electric guitars and backing vocals, and his wife, Jenny Conlee on piano and electric piano.

"I spent a decent amount of time making demos of these songs that were pretty fleshed out," he says. "The versions of the songs on the album are not very far from those demos, just played much better and with some much cooler ideas added in."

Whereas Axiom was introspective and about Drizos and his newfound sobriety, i love you now leave me alone focuses more on Drizos' loved ones and his relationships with them.

"Most of the songs on this album are about my relationships with those closest to me. Some songs are pretty direct, like 'troubled heart' is a song directly for my wife, while others are more of an amalgamation of people in my life. My first album was much more introspective, so I wanted this one to be looking out and talk about some of those relationships."

But, even with deep love for those closest to him, the self-admitted introvert decided to title the record with a saying he feels a lot. "I think it relates to the album in that the sentiment of 'I love you, now leave me alone' is relatable to most introverts like myself," he confesses. "Deeply loving those closest to us, but at the same time being pretty happy to be left alone. I had the title before I had any of the songs finished or even started. It kind of gave me a compass direction as to what the record was going to be about."

On the bouncy, warm pop-rocker "kick into touch," which builds into a driven rocker, Drizos sings:

Everyone I call home
Something I want you to know
You lift me up, you fill my soul
I love you, now leave me alone

"I think that pretty much sums up how I feel a lot of the times. I was worried that people would take that as being rude or insulting, but most everyone that's heard the lyric or I tell them the album title laughs and says, 'I get it!' I'm not the only one who feels this way."

When asked what the highlight of the album is for him, Drizos beams with excitement about the energy of the record, thanks to playing the songs live in the studio with a full band.

"Overall, I think the energy of a band playing in a room together was captured very well on this record. Even though there was a decent amount of overdubs, the foundation of the songs were all tracked live and I think you can really feel that. Songs like 'boomerang' and 'beautiful nothing' especially capture the energy."

Not only did Drizos work with a full band on his sophomore effort, but he also worked with a vocal coach to better deliver his vocals on this release.

"I worked with an amazing singer and good friend, Rebecca Sanborn, as a vocal producer/coach and she really pushed me to do things that I didn't think I could do. She took me out of my comfort zone and made me work for it and I could not be more pleased with the results. As someone who doesn't consider myself a strong vocalists, I am really happy with the results on this record."

While the record sounds fresh and contemporary, it is heavily rooted in and influenced by 90s rock, something Drizos contributes to the music he keeps coming back to.

"[90s rock] resonates with me the most," he admits. "Maybe at 50 years old it reminds me of a more innocent time in my life, maybe it's just really familiar and comforting. I love the energy and larger than life aspect of music from that era. Can it be overly earnest from time to time? Absolutely. But I'm not afraid to go there! As long as it's not ALL like that. I guess it doesn't feel like it was a choice to go in the direction of 90s rock, its just where I live most of the time."

When Drizos recorded and released Axiom, he had no intentions to play any of those songs live, and thus didn't. However, he approached i love you now leave me alone differently, with live shows in mind.

"I approached the writing and the producing of the album with the idea of playing live shows in mind, which I did not do with Axiom. I hope that the live shows are a pretty close representation of what the album sounds like. Since I don't really play live shows, at least as a band leader playing my songs, I'm not sure what to expect. I feel like I have found a great group of players that I feel really comfortable with, so I would love to bring these songs to a live audience."

The album's first single, "brooklyn 97202," is about his SE Portland neighborhood.

"I chose this as the first single because I really wanted to release it in the summer. It's a summer song, as well as a good example and introduction of what the band sounds like."

"Almost everyday I walk the same route around my neighborhood," he continues. "Most of the lyrics for this album I came up with on these walks. Last summer I felt hyper aware of the phenomenon that happens in the Pacific Northwest, after a long and dreary winter/spring, the lights come back on and everything turns from grey to technicolor overnight. And there is a collective lift in everyone's mood. The lights coming back on has definite parallels with the seasonal depression that a lot people suffer living in this area."

With the album's first single set for release July 21st, and the album set for release in early 2024, Drizos is excited for people to start hearing the record. And, while he made the record for himself, something he would listen to, he's not shy about admitting he wants people to hear it and connect with it.

"All I'm doing is making music that I enjoy making and listening to, and hope that others will get something out of it. I try my best to ride the line of believing this record is really good, wanting people to hear it and enjoy it, and at the same time not take any of it too seriously and remember its another record in a long line of records that have come before and will come after.

"I hope it gets to people's ears and they find something that they can relate to in it. I'm in a unique position where I'm not making a record for a particular fan base or planning a big tour around the release of the album. So the stakes are relatively low in those regards, which takes some of the pressure off. I love making records, I love collaborating with people I trust and respect, and I will keep doing that regardless. But at the same time I'm an insecure artist who wants people to like what I create."

On February 9, 2024, at 12:12pm, West Yellowstone Police Department Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a cross-county skier who had encountered a fellow skier who had injured their leg and lost consciousness for an unknown amount of time. The caller indicated that the skier was in need of immediate medical treatment near Jerry’s Journey on the Rendezvous Ski Trail, 2 miles south of West Yellowstone, Montana.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue (GCSSAR) volunteers from the West Yellowstone detachment, Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District (HBRFD), and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the request for aid. The GCSSAR team members established due to groomed snow conditions and the injured skier’s location on the Rendezvous Ski Trail, a tracked four-wheeler and a snowmobile response would serve the patient best. GCSSAR members arrived on scene and assisted the patient. The patient was transported from the scene of the accident by a specialized tracked four-wheeler towed ambulance to a waiting HBRFD ambulance for further evaluation. The injured skier refused further medical treatment and was released after being evaluated.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer would like to commend the passerby skiers who provided detailed information pertaining to the location and extent of the skier’s injuries and waited with the injured skier until emergency services arrived on scene. Sheriff Springer would like to remind outdoor recreationists that having the proper equipment to establish location and contact emergency services leads to the quickest and most efficient response from emergency personnel.

Layla of Belgrade is 11, soon to be 12, and dealing with the challenges of Scoliosis—a curvature of the spine. Knowing what it’s like to wear a hard plastic torso brace 24/7 to middle school, dealing with bullies, and worrying about having spinal surgery to correct the growing curve, she wants other girls with scoliosis to know they are not alone. Layla was diagnosed with scoliosis during a routine exam with her pediatrician at age 7. She has been wearing a brace 20 to 23 hours per day ever since, until now. Layla was able to hold back her curve with bracing, but now is scheduled for spine fusion surgery in April and will be adding that to her scoliosis journey.

Curvy Girls brings girls together to raise awareness and to support one another at monthly meetings, hospital visits, and brace-wear shopping trips. Because teens with Scoliosis typically feel self-conscious about their appearance and often have to wear a hard plastic torso brace up to 23 hours a day, they tend to isolate and may experience depression. Support groups provide an important opportunity to share concerns and information.  

Curvy Girls of Bozeman is a chapter of an international group started in 2006 by then 13-year-old Leah Stoltz of Long Island, N.Y. Since being featured on national television’s Nickelodeon HALO (Helping and Leading Others) Awards Show in 2009, and the 2017 Inégal campaign in collaboration with TeenVogue and model Martha Hunt, Curvy Girls has grown to over 100 chapters throughout the world.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a medical condition of unknown cause in which a preteen/teen has an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. On an x-ray, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line. Conventional treatment is through bracing, scoliosis-specific exercises and surgery. Scoliosis progresses 10 times more frequently in girls. In an attempt to halt curve progression and avoid spine surgery, bracing is continued throughout the growing years.

“Scoliosis affects us both physically and emotionally. While the back brace supports our bodies, Curvy Girls is our emotional brace,” says founder Leah Stoltz. “We need to help our girls feel better about themselves from the inside out.”  

Layla welcomes girls with Scoliosis to contact her so that together they can continue to make a difference. Visit www.curvygirlsscoliosis.com and learn more about Layla and Curvy Girls of Bozeman.

GREAT FALLS – The deadline for Smith River float applications is Wednesday, Feb. 14. The permit drawing will be held on Feb. 22. Permits are required to float the 59-mile section of river between Camp Baker and Eden Bridge and are issued each year through a lottery.

To apply for a Smith River float permit online, go to the FWP Online Licensing System. A $15 nonrefundable permit application fee is required. Successful Smith River applicants will be notified via email shortly after the lottery drawing is conducted. 

This year is the first time applicants can buy a bonus point for the Smith River Permit. A bonus point is essentially an extra chance you can purchase for the permit drawing. These points accumulate year after year if you are unsuccessful in the drawing. Residents can purchase a bonus point for $5; nonresidents can purchase a bonus point for $50. The bonus point is applied to your application the year it is purchased. You can apply for a permit through FWP’s Online Licensing System..

Another change this year, FWP staff will remove pit toilets at the boat camps along the Smith River this spring. All float parties will be required to pack out their human waste from the Smith River corridor. This requirement is similar to many other river systems in the West and necessary to keep the corridor pristine for visitors now and for decades to come. The rules implementing this pack-out system were passed by the Montana Parks Board in early 2022.

Floaters will need to pack portable toilet systems. To see a list of FWP-approved, portable, hard-sided toilets that will be allowed, click here. Alternative waste disposal systems, including bag systems, such as Clean Waste and RESTOP2, will not be allowed. 

Floaters can clean and sanitize their portable toilet system with a SCAT (Sanitizing Containers with Alternative Technology) machine, which has been installed at the Eden Bridge take-out. To watch a video of how the SCAT machine works with FWP-approved toilets, click here.

Finally, starting in 2024, the number of permits available for nonresidents may not exceed 10 percent of the available permits. This new law was passed as part of House Bill 846 in the 2023 Legislative Session.

In addition to the permit lottery, the public may purchase as many $5 Super Permit chances as they wish. FWP issues one Super Permit each year through a separate lottery. The recipient of the Super Permit will be allowed to launch on any date of their choosing for that float season.

The opportunity to purchase chances for the Smith River Super Permit will be available through March 22. The Super Permit drawing will take place on March 26. Super Permit chances may be purchased online through FWP’s Online Licensing System.

For more information about Smith River State Park visit: http://stateparks.mt.gov/smith-river/

BOZEMAN — Montana State University is offering a free program to help entrepreneurs take their business ideas to the next level. 

The Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s 406 Labs is accepting applications for its spring 2024 incubator. The 10-week program aims to help those who have developed business concepts or researched a potential new business to create solid business plans and identify the steps needed to clarify their approach to markets, customers, strategy, financials and more.  

Montana residents and MSU students, faculty, staff and alumni are eligible to apply for the program. MSU faculty and graduate students with research projects working toward commercialization of a technology are especially encouraged to apply. Details and the application can be found at montana.edu/business/entrepreneurship/406labs.html. The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 20. The program is free to all participants. 

Ron June, a professor in MSU's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, participated in the 406 Labs incubator program in 2023 with a venture idea called OpenBioWorks with co-founder Priyanka Brahmachary, a research associate in the engineering college. 

"406 Labs was an incredibly valuable experience for our new startup,” June said. “We gained valuable tools and key metrics to help move our company forward.  I'm confident that these tools and lessons have improved our position compared to where we'd be without them, and I strongly recommend this for any academic entrepreneurs at MSU.” 

Pat LaPointe, managing director of Frontier Angels and the founder of Early Stage MT, is the facilitator for the spring group. 

406 Labs is also looking for established entrepreneurs and subject matter experts to mentor those accepted to the incubator. The mentor application can be found on the program website. 406 Labs is hosted by MSU’s Blackstone LaunchPad, an arm of the business college that supports the MSU community in entrepreneurial endeavors. 

For questions about 406 Labs and the incubator program, call 406-994-4383 or email info@msulaunchpad.org.