UPDATE: BZN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL!
Third Annual Event Features Films, Interviews on Online Platform

July 31, 2020 Bozeman, Montana: The Third Annual BZN International Film Festival will take place Thursday, August 27th –  September 5. Out of an abundance of caution we have decided to take the Festival to an online-only platform. The virtual event will include over 60 interviews with filmmakers, actors and community members, as well as all of 2020’s films and selected films from 2018 and 2019.

Our focus this year is on solution-based films that offer strategies to help heal ourselves, our families, businesses, the country and the world during this challenging time.    

Please visit bzn2020 for more information. Online pass pricing will be available next week; Montana residents will receive a discount! We would still appreciate your assistance in promoting this community-enriching event and would be happy to provide you with an online pass in exchange for coverage.

Gallatin Valley Mall will be hosting a Back to School Food Drive benefiting the Gallatin Valley Food Bank KidsPack Program during the month of August. Did you know? 1 in 6 Montana children struggle with hunger. Although back-to-school will look a little different this year, one thing that remains the same is the importance of making sure all the children in our valley have nutritious meals to eat.

The Gallatin Valley Food Bank KidsPack Program provides nutritious, kid-friendly foods over the weekend during the school year. The bags are distributed to elementary children across 21 schools in Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison counties. Each week they distribute an average of 450 bags. While KidsPack bags aim to support the children in a family, they often supplement the entire family’s food budget. Gallatin Valley Mall invites the public to donate items from the KidsPack wish list to help ensure that children arrive at school fed and ready to learn on Monday.

To view the Wish List, visit gallatinvalleymall.com/events. Donations can be dropped off at GVM Guest Services (located near Macy’s) between August 1st- 31st.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has joined the Recreate Responsibly Coalition. This national coalition is a working group made up of land managers, nonprofits and outdoor businesses developing and sharing best practices to promote common sense guidance about getting outside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

FWP’s participation in the coalition coincides with the launch of Montana Aware, the state’s safe travel initiative being led by the Montana Department of Commerce in partnership with 17 Convention and Visitors Bureaus and six tourism regions. The campaign promotes safe and responsible behavior among those traveling in the state. The two efforts focus on educating travelers and recreationists on the best way to safely enjoy Montana and help slow the spread of COVID-19. ​

“We are all finding respite and rejuvenation outdoors this summer, but some of our most treasured spots are seeing an unprecedented amount of use,” said Martha Williams, director Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. “This high level of use can impact resources, experiences, and neighbors’ tolerance.   Recreating responsibly means being able to ensure we protect these treasures, opportunities, and relationships for others to enjoy as well. The outside is in us all and we want to keep it that way.”

 The Recreate Responsibly Coalition guidelines are:

• Know Before You Go—Check the status of the place you want to visit. If it is closed, don't go. If it's crowded, have a backup plan.
• Plan Ahead—Prepare for facilities to be closed, pack lunch and bring essentials like hand sanitizer and a face covering.
• Explore Locally—Limit long-distance travel and make use of local parks, trails and public spaces. Be mindful of your impact on the communities you visit.
• Practice Physical Distancing—Keep your group size small. Be prepared to cover your nose and mouth and give others space. If you are sick, stay home.
• Play It Safe—Slow down and choose lower-risk activities to reduce your risk of injury. Search and rescue operations and health care resources are both strained.
• Leave No Trace—Respect public lands and waters, native and local communities, and private property. Take all your garbage with you.
• Build an Inclusive Outdoors—Be an active part of making the outdoors safe and welcoming for all identities and abilities.

Messaging for Recreate Responsibly and Montana Aware will be delivered to audiences in-state and out-of-state through a variety of mediums including social media.

For more information on the Recreate Responsibly Coalition, visit https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/. For more information about Montana Aware, visit MTAWARE.COM.

Public welcome to provide thoughts, discuss ideas with project team

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is looking for more public input on the Highway 84 – East of Norris Corridor Study by hosting two virtual open houses for the project. These meetings will be held via Zoom on August 5 at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The virtual open houses are opportunities for the public and media to learn more about the study and provide their thoughts on potential safety solutions. 

Attendees can expect a one-hour webinar-style event with a presentation from representatives of both MDT and engineering consultant, Morrison-Maierle. This will be followed by a question and answer session as well as an opportunity to provide comments. Registration is required to receive access to the events. To register, visit bitly.com/highway84. 

“Open houses are important as they provide us with an opportunity to hear residents’ concerns directly,” William Fogarty, Butte District Administrator at the Montana Department of Transportation, said. “However, we are cautious about hosting these types of events in-person due to COVID-19 concerns. Like many, we are using Zoom to ensure everyone remains safe while still having the opportunity to get information, ask questions, and offer comments.” 

The Highway 84 – East of Norris Corridor Study is exploring safety improvements between Warm Springs Boat Launch and Red Mountain Campground - the section of highway that has sharp curves and more crashes than the statewide average for similar highways. The study will explore potential options for improvements and identify the most cost-effective, feasible solution. Comments received during the open houses will inform and influence how the study moves forward. 

Those who cannot attend either event can still provide comments by contacting Takami Clark at takami@bigskypublicrelations.com or calling the project hotline at 406-207-4484 during business hours. For more information about the study, visit bitly.com/highway84. 

The Department of Transportation will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in these open houses or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact the Department of Transportation no later than July 24 to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need. Please contact Matt Maze, Office of Civil Rights, P.O. Box 201001, Helena, Montana 59620; telephone (406) 444-5416; Montana Relay 711; facsimile (406) 444-7243; or e-mail to mmaze@mt.gov.

Many people in the world feel adrift and cannot achieve things no matter how hard they work. They lack one important thing – good planning. If you have set some strong life goals for yourself, you’ll know what to aim to accomplish.  Your goals will, in return boost your motivation and make you work harder.

Goals are the results we aim to reach through actions. What we do and how we act can either move us closer to the desired result or farther away from it. For example, if your goal was to pass an important test, studying will take you closer to accomplishing it. If you choose to procrastinate and do nothing, this will take you in the other direction.

Successful people set their goals. Here are some tips on how to create life goals and put them into action.

Set the Big Goals First
You need to start with the big things. What do you want to accomplish in your life? Go broad and consider a distant time in the future. Based on your big goals, you can set smaller goals that will help you get there. This will also give you an overall perspective and help shape your decision-making processes.

There are many areas of life you can cover with big goals. You will probably need several goals in your list. Some will apply to your family life, other to your career, and of course – educational goals. There are also financial goals, athletic or physical goals, etc.

Start by brainstorming the things you’d like to accomplish in life and choose the goals that best reflect your desires. When choosing the big goals, pick the ones that you personally want to reach, not the ones that your family or friends inflict on you.

Whenever you create a goal, use the SMART technique. This applies to Specific or Significant, Meaningful or Measurable, Attainable or Action-Oriented, Rewarding or Relevant, and Trackable or Time-Bound.

Set Smaller Goals Next
Once you have lifetime goals to strive to meet, you need shorter, smaller goals that will get you there. What is your five-year plan? What’s your list of accomplishments you want to do by the end of the year? What is it that you want to have done by the end o1f the month, week, or day?

All of these small to-do lists should slowly take you to complete the big goal. For example, if you plan to graduate from school, you need to start with subjects. If you study psychology and have to pass this to obtain your degree, you need to attend classes, study for exams, and write many papers. If you have a paper due in a few days, you need to make sure that you can fit the work into your schedule. Your to-do list will tell you when you need to have it done, and you can choose useful psychology essay examples to get some inspiration and motivation for your paper.

Stay on Course
When you get started, the biggest task you have is to remain on course. Review your to-do lists, update them constantly, and scratch off all those things that you’ve completed. Crossing things off a list gives you a magical feeling and will motivate you to keep going.

Some Other Tips for Setting Achievable Goals
In addition to these three crucial steps, you can use some of the following tips:
Make your goals a positive statement;
Be accurate and precise with goals (put in times, dates, and any amounts that are measurable);
Set your priorities straight;
Keep all operational goals as small as possible. This will make them achievable and you’ll be more motivated to work to reach them;
Set realistic goals only. Don’t go over your head. If you cannot achieve a goal, do not put it on a list. This will make you lose motivation and focus;
Work on various techniques to beat procrastination and laziness. There are many ways to keep yourself motivated.

Final Thoughts
All of us strive to accomplish things in life. Those who have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish can create a clearer path toward their final goals. This is why, if you want to truly be successful, you need to do some planning. If you don’t know what you want to achieve, how will you be happy with any results?

Robert Everett is a motivational speaker and a former psychologist. He worked with college students in helping them overcome obstacles in life. Right now, Everett shares his knowledge and expertise on forums, in blog posts, journals, as well as holds private sessions for people who need him.

The mention of a book report assignment usually sends most students into a scary state. It is an assignment that is both challenging and demanding for the students. It requires you to read a book and then provide an overview of the information contained in it. The reading part is what makes the assignment, not every student’s cup of tea. In essence, a book report is an informative essay that objectively discusses a given book.

A book report should not be confused with book reviews. In the review, a student is expected to provide critical analysis of the book’s content, including determining its importance. In some cases, it may require you to decide whether or not you can recommend the book to future readers.

However, the book report is concerned with providing an objective summary of the work in terms of the characters, plot, and recurrent themes. But how do you go about producing a quality book report? The following article provides you with tips on how to write a great book report.

Pick the Book to Read
The first step to writing a book report is picking an appropriate book and read it accordingly. Choosing a book is an important step if your teacher has not assigned you a specific text. If not provided with one, the most important rule about selecting the book is picking one that excites you and is in line with your interests. Moreover, consider the time you have to read and write the report.

Carefully Read the Book
Once you have finally settled on the book, begin cracking the pages. There are no shortcuts on this step. The thing you have to note is that teachers will always know a book report is written without having read the book. Therefore, avoid the temptations to cheat on this assignment.


 There are ways you can read and enjoy your book. Begin by skimming through the content to get a rough idea of what the book is about. Later, deeply read the book having in mind the objectives you hope to accomplish in the report. Also, have a notebook and pen near you as you read. It will make it easier for you to highlight the crucial points.

Develop Your Report Outline
A great essay writer always develops a good outline of their work before beginning to write anything. It is the structure that helps you arrange your thoughts logically. In your case, having an outline enables you to determine what to include in your summary. The framework will also fuel your creativity because you already have a great idea of what information goes where.

In short, you already have the backbone of your report, and the only remaining work is filling it up with content. The following are some of the important sections to include in your reports outline.

Introduction
It is usually the first section of your report. The section introduces the reader to the book you are going to discuss, including the name of the author. Talk more about the book’s genre, it's setting, and the storyline presented in the text. The introductory paragraph also lays out the basis of all the issues you are going to discuss in the report. Finalize the introduction with a thesis statement that presents your educated opinion on the book.

Remember, you will have to give facts and examples to support this statement. You can find examples of excellent book report introductions from “write my paper” service providers.

Body Paragraphs
In this section, your objective shall be presenting the objective summary of the book. Engage in a discussion of the book’s plot, characters, and the themes identifiable from the text. In each of these aspects, describe how they affect the storyline and the sequence of events. You can refer to the notes you scribbled when reading the book.

Also, try to establish a link between all of these aspects. Ensure that the content you provide in these paragraphs supports your thesis statement. Remember to also include examples in your text.

Conclusion
It is the final section of your book report. Provide a summary of the issues you have discussed in your report. Always remember to restate your thesis statement and how you have supported it in the report.

Correctly Format Your Work
If you read the instructions carefully, your professor will always indicate the expected formatting style for your book report. Every formatting style is unique and has its own set of rules on how it should appear. However, there are those formatting guidelines that are common amongst them all. They include:

• Use a font size of 11-12 preferably Times New Romans
• Your report should be double spaced
• Use a uniform margin of one inch on all sides of the paper
• Indent every paragraph at the beginning

Proofread the Report
The final and equally important tip of writing a book report is proofreading your work. The unfortunate thing about this stage is that most students always ignore it. They end up presenting reports that are full of avoidable grammatical and structural errors. Therefore, avoid losing vital points in your book report because you failed to read through and edit your work.

Conclusion
Book reports can be a challenging assignment for most students. Some hate because they have to spend time reading a book then presenting a summary about it. However, with the tips provided in this article, this can be an assignment you finally get to love.

Students become lazy when they get a task they are uninspired by. When this happens, they need a motivation boost to get them moving. You’ll often find yourself feeling overwhelmed by your academic situation, or too fatigued to be productive because of all the work you’ve been doing.

Unfortunately, being lazy makes you procrastinate and if you do this, you cannot complete your academic tasks. To prevent all this from happening, here are 15 excellent tips.

Find What Causes Your Laziness
The first step in solving any problem in life is to discover what caused it. Only if you know what made you lazy in the first place can you truly address the issue. Are you uninspired? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Is it tiredness that prevents you from completing your tasks? Is it fear of failure that prevents you from acting? Discover the root of your laziness and then act on it!

Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness can solve many things in life. This is the antidote to being lazy. If you’re mindful, you can find why you developed a tendency to procrastinate and make a choice on how to act.

Don’t Be Harsh on Yourself
A lot of the time, your laziness is caused by your self-judgment. Remember that at the end of the day, you are your biggest motivator and advocate. If you keep punishing yourself and keep up with the negative self-talk, you’ll keep feeling worthless and lazy.

Ask for Help When Needed
If the cause for your laziness is fatigue and tiredness, there’s one perfect solution for this – ask for help. Asking for help is not a bad idea when you have too much on your plate. Check out this source https://writix.co.uk/help-with-dissertation-writing to get some assistance with your academic papers.

Exercise
There are many physical, but also mental benefits from exercising often. Create a workout routine for yourself to boost your metabolism, have a good figure, and improve your motivation and focus.

Make a Checklist
Checking things off a list can be incredibly satisfying. Take a couple of minutes to make a checklist of the things you need or want to accomplish. When you’re done with one, cross it off the list. This will give you a tingly feeling that will keep you going.

Reward Yourself
Whenever you cross something off that list, give yourself an incentive to keep working. To help yourself in overcoming laziness, give yourself small rewards to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be anything big. A short break and a cup of coffee is a perfectly good reward.

Accept That You’ll Feel Lazy Sometimes
Many times, your laziness won’t be something you can fix. If the cause of it is tiredness, the only way to stop being lazy is to get to sleep. This might prevent you from doing what you need to do. Laziness is natural in some cases. Accept it.

Break the Routines
Routines can make your life dull and repetitive. This will undoubtedly make you lose focus and become lazier. Break some routines from your daily life. Change unhealthy habits, study in a new environment, etc.

Work on Reasonable Goals
At times, people are lazy because they set goals that are impossible to meet or too intimidating. Look over your goals and make sure that they are all reasonable.

Take Baby Steps
By breaking big tasks into small ones, you can accomplish things more frequently. This will motivate you to complete the rest of the tasks.

Shut Down the Distractions
What are the things that you go to when you’re lazy? If it is your TV, unplug it. If it is your phone, turn it off. Shut down the escape routes you use when you’re feeling lazy.

Be Less of a Perfectionist
Perfectionism is good in some cases but very often, it is the enemy of your productivity. It can make you feel lazier and less motivated. Try to be more productive and less perfectionist.

Surround Yourself with Positive People
Negative people can truly bring you down. Bad attitudes are often contagious. If you’re surrounded by people who are often lazy and procrastinate, you’ll probably start sharing the same feelings. Surround yourself with positive, happy people instead.

Get a Partner
It is much easier to remain focused and motivated when you have a partner in this. Have someone by your side and motivate each other.

All people are lazy sometimes. This is natural in the life of a person. As a student with a tremendous amount of tasks in your to-do list, this darker side of you can come up quite often. But, there are also many ways to overcome laziness. Just make small things to motivate yourself and keep yourself productive.

Robert Everett is a motivational speaker. He creates vlogs and contributes to many journals, blogs, and websites online. He has a degree in psychology and has dedicated his life to helping people.

Hunters interested in purchasing licenses or permits left over from the special license and permit drawing will find a different process this year. The old process was vulnerable to long lag times, confusion, and a perception of inequity for those unable to use the first-come, first-served online option starting at 5 a.m.

New this year, hunters need to sign up for licenses and permits through MyFWP on the FWP website. The resulting Surplus License List will be randomized with hunters at the top of the list contacted via email with instructions to finalize their purchase within a specified time.

Family legacies are often more than just property or money left behind in a will. They may include family values, memories, or hopes that the dying may wish to pass down for younger generations.

According to Montana State University Extension educators, individuals can create what is called an ethical will, in addition to an estate plan, to express those values and pass them on to surviving family members.

According to Wendy Wedum, MSU Pondera County Extension agent, and Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension family economics specialist, an ethical will has no legal significance and does not pass property to anyone. An ethical will is a special kind of letter, also called a “legacy letter” or “forever letter.” Common themes of the letters include lessons learned, gratitude toward people or events, and hopes for the future.

“Letters and journals can help soothe grief and become cherished items by those who receive them,” Wedum added. “Writing one can be good for you, too. Supporters of ethical wills say creating one can help you focus and articulate your values. This can help you live more intentionally from that point on.”

Wedum and Goetting suggest focusing on love and encouragement in ethical wills and avoiding criticism or judgement. Addressing difficult topics like regrets, apologies and family secrets, however, can bring closure and peace.

“If you want to write about a bad experience you had, try to use it as an example of a lesson learned, one that made you stronger and more resilient,” Goetting said.

Wedum and Goetting encouraged writing an ethical will on paper, instead of on social media or digitally. A paper copy, in the form of a journal or handwritten letter, can be passed down and saved for future generations. Examples, they said, can be searched out on the internet for inspiration.

Beyond general values, other topics that could be included in the ethical will are wishes for a spouse or partner, children and grandchildren; an experience or person who gave your life meaning; advice to overcome hardships and poor choices; tips to make difficult decisions; meaningful family traditions and memories; moments that brought you joy, inspiration or gratitude; and more.