Saturday, Sep. 4th, 2021

The Top 5 High-Class Yet Affordable Places Where You Can Dine In Bozeman

Just like any other city in the United States, Bozeman has numerous upmarket restaurants that serve pleasant food and drinks. While many of these eateries can cost an arm and a leg, it comes as no surprise that some remain ridiculously affordable despite the class. Wondering which restaurants those are? Fair enough, here are five restaurants I thought you should know:

Montana Ale Works

Montana Ale Works is one of the best high-class yet affordable restaurants in Bozeman. The 4.6-star eatery is located at 611 E Main St, Bozeman, MT, United States. That is not to mention that it's open daily from 4-10 pm. A wide range of mouthwatering and well-prepared delicacies are served here. These include Caribbean dishes, Spanish dishes, salads, trout, steaks, bison burgers, bison potstickers, baked pasta dishes, and sandwiches. Ale Works serves the best burgers in town, at least according to customer feedback.

Customers can choose either dine-in, delivery, or curbside pickup service options. The third option allows you to order and collect your order(s) from a local store partnering with the hotel.

Montana Ale Works is also an affordable place to drink beer. There are Happy Hour specials daily from 4-6 pm. During these hours, you and your friends can get to enjoy a range of beer selections for less.

Feast Raw Bar & Bistro

Feast Raw Bar & Bistro is situated at 270 W Kagy Blvd Ste C, Bozeman, MT 59715, United States. Open from 5-9 pm daily, this upscale restaurant serves delicious seafood dishes, raw snacks, plus cocktails.

Here's where you'll get the chance to enjoy a well-prepared ceviche(a South American delicacy consisting of seafood or marinated raw fish), raw oyster, bison carpaccio, or poached shrimp. They also serve Vietnamese chicken wings, chickpea Panelles, French fries, crispy Brussels sprouts, and steamed mussels. You can also order some tasty salt-roasted oysters or mezze platter here. What sets Feast Raw Bar & Bistro apart from other high-class yet affordable restaurants is the basis of their meals and the type of ingredients used to make them. The meals are inspired by cuisines from around the world and made with seasonal organic ingredients.

Happy hours are from 5-6 pm. If you order during these hours, you'll enjoy their offerings for much less. The service options are dine-in and takeaway. Unfortunately, the restaurant doesn't do deliveries.



Blackbird Kitchen

Located at 140 E Main St, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA, Blackbird is another incredible place where you can enjoy quality food for less. The restaurant serves North American and Italian cuisines, for the better part. Their main menu consists of different kinds of food categories. These include pizza, meat(beef sirloin, leg of lamb, and pork belly), and salad(Romaine, chopped greens, & kale). Another category is starters(Blackbird bread, cheese board, roasted broccolini, and so on). The restaurant is open daily from 4.40-9 pm. There are only two service options; dine-in and curbside pickup. Just like Feast Raw Bar & Bistro, this restaurant doesn’t do deliveries.

Dave’s Sushi

Just like the name suggests, Dave's Sushi is a Sushi restaurant even though it also serves a few other non-sushi delicacies. It's located at 115 N Bozeman Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715, United States. Its menu consists of nigiri sushi, temaki sushi, maki sushi, and sashimi. Salads, noodles, specialty rolls, starters, and spice-it-ups are also parts of it.

Dave's Sushi offers dine-in and curbside pickup options only. As such, this might not be the right option if you are looking for restaurant food delivery.

The beauty of this eatery is that it offers more business hours, at least 10-1/2 hours per day. Plus, it opens daily, not to mention that the business hours vary from some days to others. For example, the restaurant is open from 11 am-9.30 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, its business hours are from 11 am-10 pm.

South 9th Bistro

South 9th Bistro is a beautiful restaurant housed in a renovated Victorian building. This eatery is situated at 721 S 9th Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715, United States. It offers a distinctive menu that consists of different food categories;

i. Appetizers-hummus, smoked trout rillettes, and tartine.
ii. Gluten-free salads-Paris spinach, Bozeman beet, and Nicoise.
iii. Gluten-free entrees-roast chicken, sauteed trout, and pork glace.
iv. Desserts-banana bread pudding, crack tart, and gluten-free chocolate espresso hazelnut mousse. Beer and wine are also sold here at very pocket-friendly prices.

Customers can choose to dine-in, takeaway, or order for delivery. There's no curbside pickup option, though. Please note that the venue is open Monday through Saturday from 1-10 pm.

Final Thoughts

Eating good food at a nice restaurant in Bozeman shouldn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg when you know where to go. Try each of the following restaurants, and you can thank me later; Montana Ale Works, Feast Raw Bar & Bistro, Blackbird Kitchen, Dave’s Sushi, and South 9th Bistro. Each of these upmarket restaurants serves perfect foods prepared to high standards. Take advantage of the Happy Hours offered by some restaurants to save even more on mouth-watering delicacies and drinks.

By the way, Sun Basket offers two delicious kinds of mezze platters. One consists of chicken and spicy tahini dressing. The other one has lamb, eggplant, and hard-cooked eggs.

The reason why I mentioned Sun Basket is that it's one of the top-rated meal kit providers out there. It compares to the likes of Green Chef, Purple Carrot, Veestro, and Fresh n’ Lean. That’s not to mention Splendid Spoon, Factor, Daily Harvest, and BistroMD.

Having said that, the August 2021 review post talks about each entity in detail. Find out what are the best features of Sun Basket, plus the other organic meal kit providers above by reading the post. Discover the flexible meal plans that Sun Basket offers, and so much more from the article.

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Thursday, Sep. 2nd, 2021

OLLI at MSU to host talk about impacts of rapid growth and local government cooperation


The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Montana State University will present “The State of the Bozeman and Gallatin County” for its first Friday Forum of the fall semester. The event will take place virtually from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10. It is free and open to the public.

Bozeman Deputy Mayor Terry Cunningham, Gallatin County Commissioner Scott MacFarlane and community planning specialist Randy Carpenter of Future West will provide insights, examples and recommendations for how the city of Bozeman and Gallatin County currently work together and could work together in the future to meet the needs of the rapidly growing communities.  

The panel will address the ramifications of rapid growth on water resources, infrastructure, housing, transportation and open space. The need for ongoing regional cooperation and examples of how local governments can coordinate will also be discussed. 

Participants must register no later than 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 10. For more information or to register, visit montana.edu/olli/register. Upon registration confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Zoom link and instructions to join the program.

Friday Forums are offered on the second Friday of each month, September through May, by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at MSU. OLLI at MSU is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach. ATO works across the university to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.

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Montana State research expenditures hit all-time high


For a third year running, Montana State University recorded an all-time high for research expenditures, tallying more than $193 million for the fiscal year ending in June. 

That figure marks a 16% increase over the previous year’s total expenditures of $167 million reported to the National Science Foundation and adds to more than a decade of research expenditures topping $100 million, according to Jason Carter, MSU’s vice president for research, economic development and graduate education.  

"Despite the disruptions of the pandemic, research at MSU had another remarkable year because of the commitment of our faculty, staff and students," Carter said. "Their passion for what they do every day really shined through."

According to Carter, the past year showed diversified investment across MSU's research entities, substantially addressing “grand challenges” identified in MSU’s strategic plan, “Choosing Promise,” including community wellness, food and fuel security, and environmental stewardship.

The College of Agriculture recorded the largest figure, nearly $46 million, followed by the College of Letters and Sciences at $22 million and the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering at $18 million. The College of Nursing tallied $7 million, with the College of Education, Health and Human Development at $5 million. MSU's MilTech had a total of $22 million in expenditures, while the Western Transportation Institute had $5 million and the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity had nearly $3 million.

MSU is recognized as R1, or "very high research activity," by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, more frequently know as simply the “Carnegie Classification." Montana State is one of only 131 universities nationwide in that category and the only one in the five-state region of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and North and South Dakota, as well as one of only two nationally also classified as having very high undergraduate enrollment.

A total of 516 faculty and professional staff served as principal investigators or co-investigators on competitive grant projects. There were 672 new grants or contracts awarded, totaling nearly $121 million, a 21% increase from the prior year. That funding will be expended over time frames ranging from months to years. Research expenditures in 2020-2021 directly supported more than 450 graduate students and more than 500 undergraduates.

Scholarship highlights from the past year include: 

Also among the funding MSU received during the past year were two grants totaling $1.5 million through NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation program, which supports acquisition of state-of-the-art scientific equipment. The two infrastructure grants enabled purchase of a specialized device for MSU’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility and a versatile, custom-made microscope housed in the Center for Biofilm Engineering, which was also supported with a $513,000 grant from the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust. Over the two-decade history of the NSF Major Research Instrumentation program, MSU has received 26 grants totaling $13.2 million, ranking it No. 1 among other peer institutions, ahead of Oregon State University, Virginia Tech and Clemson University.

This year's research funding and accomplishments have extra significance because they come amid the pandemic, Carter said. Although some universities almost entirely shut down their research operations with the rise of COVID-19 cases, MSU was able to put safety procedures in place that allowed researchers to mostly continue their projects. The effort to understand and contain the spread of the coronavirus also led to multiple MSU research teams retooling their labs to help.

“It was incredible to see a number of our faculty and researchers pivot their programs to study the virus,” Carter said. “This included research on wastewater, mental health, epidemiological modeling, how the virus impacted rural and tribal communities, and much more.”

MSU research is well-known for its engagement of undergraduate students in research and is a national leader in securing prestigious Goldwater Scholarships. A total of 82 MSU students have won the award, the nation’s premier scholarship for undergraduates studying math, natural sciences and engineering. Also this year, three MSU graduates drew upon their undergraduate research experiences to win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, and three current MSU graduate students also won that award. And numerous MSU graduate students and postdoctoral researchers won prestigious awards, including the Ford Fellowship

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Tuesday, Aug. 31st, 2021

Why Read Out Loud?


Throughout many decades people couldn't stop stressing the importance of reading. The process of reading is associated with a variety of benefits, including stress relief, enhanced imagination, better memory, vocabulary expansion, cognitive mental stimulation, and many others. However, one thing that people don't talk about quite as much is the importance of reading aloud.

Most of us are long used to reading silently. Either due to the desire to gain some privacy in the process, because we don't want to bother people around us, or maybe just because it feels weird. Regardless of the reasons, this habit has rooted in many of us deeply enough.

But have you ever thought about what benefits you can get from reading out loud? If not, read on to find out the most significant reasons to start doing it now.

Personal Benefits of Reading Aloud

This approach to reading has a number of personal benefits that you can feel when reading out loud alone.

First of all, if you are still a student, it can be very helpful to read your academic papers, especially personal statements, aloud. Regardless of whether you've written the work yourself or asked admission essay service professionals for help, most likely, you will want to proofread the paper before submitting it. And, you may not know this yet, but simply reading it silently won't help you make it truly flawless.

The thing is that when we read the text out loud, we receive the same information, but from a different angle, which enables us to notice things we might've missed before. Namely, it will help assess the logical flow of the ideas. When reading aloud, you can't jump back and forth from one page to another. So, all that is left is following the order of ideas as they appear in the paper. And that's when you can start noticing if your work doesn't sound logical and coherent.

Apart from evaluating the flow of ideas, reading your papers aloud also helps spot errors in sentences. For example, when you accidentally leave out words, make typos or grammar mistakes, or use a wrong word, you may not always notice this when reading silently. But you probably will if you read it out loud. However, it is worth noting that this approach to proofreading works best for native speakers.

Finally, reading out loud your academic papers can help you spot mistakes other than grammar. For example, when your sentences are too long or when there are too many repetitions, you will easily hear them. It can also help in assessing the tone of voice.

There are also a number of benefits directly linked to your language and vocabulary. If you are a native speaker, reading out loud may not make any real difference, though it will give you some extra practice. However, if you are not a native speaker, reading aloud can really help you train your pronunciation and expand your vocabulary.

In addition, specialists claim that reading aloud helps children, as well as adults, improve their attention spans. When we read silently, many of us tend to cut down words and whole sentences, jump from one paragraph to another, and, thus, skip a large part of the information. However, when you read out loud, you remain much more concentrated.

The last one of the significant personal benefits is enhanced cognition. When you are concentrated and exposed to sophisticated literary language, your cognitive abilities strengthen. This way, reading aloud can also provide you with long-term benefits.

Social Benefits of Reading Out Loud

In addition to the personal benefits one gets when reading aloud on their own, there is also a number of "social" benefits that occur when students are reading out loud in a group. First, when teachers incorporate this method into the program, it helps create a stronger classroom community. Students learn to speak out and listen to each other. This way, we can foster mutual respect and a stronger bond.

Another big benefit is the improvement of listening skills. We all know how important these skills are, and making reading aloud a form of instruction is one of the ways to build them.

In addition, reading a shared text out loud is typically followed by a class discussion. And it also brings a number of benefits. Namely, such discussions are proven to hone students' critical thinking skills. This method encourages students to be attentive, connect ideas, and use the knowledge they have to analyze the piece.

So, the benefits are real. Not without reason, professors always read lectures to the class aloud instead of asking students to read the text silently.

The Bottom Line

Apart from many well-known benefits of reading, doing it out loud can offer even more perks.

After reading this article, you know what specific social and personal perks it can bring. So, if you are not using it to your benefit yet, it is just the right time to start!

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Effects of Distance Learning on Students' Academic Performance and Health


When the impacts of COVID-19 hit the educational sector in full force, schools scrambled to adapt to the pandemic. They adopted a new system of learning that'd keep both students and educators safe from the virus.

And this switch led to significant changes in the educational system, the most notable being the mass adoption of distance learning systems.

As parents and students alike tried to adapt to the challenges of the necessary switch to distance learning, educators did not consider the effects of distance learning on students' academic performance.

In this article, we will discuss how changing to distance learning has affected students' performance worldwide.

Reliance on Alternative Academic Resources

After the switch to online learning, students lost access to libraries and other school-provided academic resources.

Some schools attempted to provide online resources to fill this void, but it was largely insufficient. As a result, most students had to look for alternative resources to keep up with school work.

Students also had to rely on YouTube videos and other educational apps to help make the transition to distance learning more manageable.

Moreover, most students pay someone to write my paper and essays to keep up with assignments and school work in general. This has ultimately improved the performance of most students.

Lack of Physical Contact with Peers

A significant reason why students want to return to in-person classes is because of the physical interactions. 

Teachers have attempted to use interactive ed-tech tools to make online classes engaging, but the fact remains that it's not a substitute for actually being surrounded by classmates. 

More than 50% of students who switched to distance learning still find the lack of personal interaction with peers distressing. And this possibly affects their concentration levels and overall performance.

The Absence of Pressure to Perform

Research has shown that academic pressure is the most significant challenge students encounter nowadays, placing it above peer pressure.

Given the structure of distance learning and the fact that the transition might be difficult for some students, schools have become more lenient with grading and coursework.

Some schools have entirely modified their grading system to lessen the burden on pupils by implementing a 'less judgmental' system.

Unfortunately, the long-term effects of this lax grading system are still unknown. 

Struggles with Mental Health

If you've heard the term "Zoom fatigue," you'll have an idea of the mental strain that online learning places on pupils. Zoom fatigue refers to the exhaustion that people experience after spending a lengthy period on video conferencing classes.

Although there is no formal diagnosis, it is still a common concern for students today. Besides, sitting in front of a screen for long hours is emotionally tasking.

Students experience emotions of loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and depression due to a lack of social engagement. This all goes back to that lack of physical contact with peers. And while adults can cope to some extent, most students struggle to manage with this enforced loneliness. 

Adaptation to New Learning Methods

Distance learning focuses on digital tools, most of which are relatively new to academia. Learning platforms like WolframAlpha and other virtual labs have become part of the regular curriculum. And as a result, students have to adapt to these services in a very short time.

Adapting to distance learning was quite a challenge at the onset of the pandemic because it was entirely new to most students.

However, few activities like orientations and seminars have helped students adapt better. Before the pandemic, most students did not have functional study spaces, but the transition to online learning has emphasized the need for one. 

Better Time Management with Self-Paced Learning

Online learning may be a new learning curve for students, but adapting to new learning methods has its advantages. Students can self-pace themselves and better manage their time, resulting in more efficient learning. 

Rather than sitting in class all day, students are now taking more breaks to exercise and unwind before returning to work, which has proven highly advantageous to their grades.

Decline in Cases of Abuse and Discrimination

Some students might miss physical learning and school in general, but the switch to online learning has been a blessing to others. Students who get picked on and abused in school have had a far better time learning from home and are reluctant to return to the status quo.

Although cyberbullying is on the rise, students can easily report the bullies without fear of retribution. Also, teachers can identify and punish bullies, thereby making the classroom safer for students.

Lack of Motivation to Study

One of the factors that motivate students to study is peer relationships. In every class, there's always a healthy sense of competition that drives students to perform better to get bragging rights.

But the forced isolation and switch to online learning has deprived students of that extra bit of motivation.

Besides, the leniency in grading has also contributed to this lack of motivation. Even the top performers no longer feel the urge to put in their best efforts in class. After all, there is no incentive to burn the midnight oil.

Conclusion

The long-term effects of the switch to distance learning should be a cause for concern. Although there are positives to distance learning, the well-being of students must take priority moving forward. School administrators must take measures to make sure students come out of this phase with good physical and psychological health. 

As more information about the effects of online learning comes to light, parents and teachers must be proactive to mitigate the adverse effects. We should all work together to make online learning a safe and viable learning method until everything returns to normal.

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Monday, Aug. 30th, 2021

Mussel boat number 50 intercepted

On Thursday, Aug. 26, watercraft inspectors at the Nashua station inspected an outboard motorboat with mussels on the transducer, gimbal and other areas of the transom. The motorboat was traveling from Lake Erie to Kalispell. This is the 50th mussel-fouled boat intercepted this year, surpassing the total number of 35 mussel-fouled boats intercepted in 2020.

The Nashua watercraft inspection station, located on Highway 2, is operated by the McCone Conservation District under a contract with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. 

Statewide, 94,800 watercraft inspections have been conducted this year, slightly down from the 112,300 number of inspections conducted at this time last year.

FWP reminds anyone transporting motorized or nonmotorized boats into Montana that an inspection is required before launching, and stopping at ALL open watercraft inspection stations is required. Failing to stop at an inspection station can result in a fine of up to $500. 

Boaters should ensure their watercraft, trailer and all equipment that is in contact with water (anchor, lines, swim ladder, etc.) is clean, drained of water and dry. 

Learn more at CleanDrainDryMT.com or call the FWP Aquatic Invasive Species Bureau at 406-444-2440.

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Fish and Wildlife Commission adopts 2021/2022 wolf hunting and trapping regulations

HELENA – After a public comment period that drew more than 26,000 comments, the Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted several changes to the 2021/2022 wolf hunting and trapping regulations at its meeting on Aug. 20.

Changes include eliminating quotas, increasing the number of wolf trapping and hunting licenses allowed for individual hunters, extending wolf trapping seasons and the allowance of snares for trapping wolves.

Wolf regulations were adopted as follows:

  • A harvest of 450 wolves shall initiate a commission review with potential for rapid in-season adjustments to hunting and trapping regulations. Thereafter, the commission shall be similarly re-engaged at intervals of additional 50 wolves harvested, if season adjustments allow for additional wolf harvest. Additionally, the following harvests by any region alone shall initiate a commission review with potential for rapid in-season adjustments to hunting and trapping regulations:
  • Region 1 – 195 wolves
  • Region 2 – 116 wolves
  • Region 3 – 82 wolves
  • Region 4 – 39 wolves
  • Region 5 – 11 wolves
  • Region 6 – 3 wolves
  • Region 7 – 4 wolves
  • A non-target capture of one lynx or grizzly bear shall initiate a commission review with potential for rapid in-season adjustments to trapping regulations. Afterwards, the commission shall be similarly re-engaged for any additional non-target capture of lynx or grizzly bear.
  • All non-target captures shall be reported to the department with 24 hours (as currently required) to include captures from foothold traps and snares.
  • Wolf snares include required equipment and setting requirements to minimize the potential for snaring and holding non-target species. Specifically:
  • Snares must be equipped with a loop stop that will close to a loop no smaller than 2.5 inches in diameter (stop placed at no less than 8 inches from end of loop).
  • Snares must have a breakaway device rated at 1,000 lbs. or less installed on the loop end.
  • Snares must be placed such that the bottom of the snare loop is at least 18 inches above the surface.
  • If snares are allowed on public lands, power-assisted (e.g., spring-loaded) snare locks are prohibited on wolf snares on public lands.
  • A relaxing snare lock is required on snares in lynx protection zones (LPZs).
  • Wolf and furbearer seasons will continue to be set by the commission annually to allow opportunity for season adjustments between consecutive seasons based upon review of harvest, population size and conflicts.
  • Hunters will be allowed to purchase and possess 10 wolf hunting licenses.
  • Trappers will be allowed a bag limit of 10 wolves.
  • Season dates for trapping wolves will be the first Monday after Thanksgiving to March 15 for the entire state. For areas inside a designated Grizzly Bear Recover Zone, the trapping season will start on Dec. 15 unless otherwise determined by FWP due to evidence the majority of bears in these areas have begun hibernation. Trappers should be aware that grizzly bears exist in much of the western half of Montana and should always be prepared to encounter a grizzly bear while trapping.
  • Snaring is permitted on public and private lands consistent with trapping season dates, with the exception of those areas federally designated as Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones.
  • Night hunting is permitted on private lands statewide.
  • Use of baits for hunting and trapping wolves is permitted statewide with current wolf trapping bait definition.
  • Eliminate quotas in WMUSs 110, 313, 316.
  • Montana law allows residents and nonresidents to donate their hunting license and or special permit to a disabled military veteran or disabled active duty service member. The disabled veteran or active armed forces member must be working with an organization that uses hunting as part of the rehabilitation process. While one cannot choose the organization to receive a donated license, the disabled veteran or armed forces member who receives the license will be a Purple Heart recipient and have a 70 percent or greater disability rating. Each license must be donated or surrendered before the beginning of the general hunting season. The deadline to donate your license is Oct. 23 at a FWP office or postmarked by Oct. 23. One cannot repurchase the same license again during the license year. For more information on the program, visit FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov. Click Disabled Veterans Hunt License Donation.

For more information on hunting and trapping wolves in Montana, visit fwp.mt.gov.

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Montana State University announces philanthropic gift of $101M, the largest donation ever to a college of nursing in the U.S.

BOZEMAN – August 30, 2021 – Montana State University (MSU) today announced a philanthropic gift of $101 million for its College of Nursing from Mark and Robyn Jones, founders of Goosehead Insurance Inc. (“Goosehead”) (NASDAQ: GHSD), as they seek to help address one of the most defining challenges of our time — access to health care, particularly for rural and frontier communities.

This gift — the largest ever given to a college of nursing in the U.S. — will:

  • Provide funding for new facilities at each of the MSU College of Nursing’s five campuses in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula equipped with modern classrooms and state-of-the-art simulation labs, where nursing students will hone their critical thinking and practice their skills.
  • Establish five endowed faculty professorships — the first in the history of the MSU College of Nursing. These endowed professorships will position MSU to attract top faculty talent during a nationwide nursing faculty shortage.
  • Develop an endowed scholarship fund that will allow the MSU College of Nursing to keep the cost of nursing education affordable for all students.
  • Create Montana’s only certified nurse midwifery program preparing doctoral level nurses who will significantly increase the number of specialized maternal health care providers capable and willing to provide services to rural and remote communities in Montana.

“It is hard to put into words how moved and excited all of us are at Montana State University by the generosity of the Joneses, who are helping to address some of the most critical health care disparity issues in Montana, particularly in the state’s rural areas,” said MSU President Waded Cruzado. “Straight from the hearts of Mark and Robyn, this gift will forever change health care in Montana, and it will serve as a model for the nation. Thanks to their vision, we will have access to tangible tools, such as high-quality simulation labs, new facilities across our nursing campuses, and more registered nurses, and doctor of nursing practice prepared nurse practitioners and nurse midwives.”

“This is a significant moment for MSU, as we estimate we will now be able to meet the state’s projected shortfall in baccalaureate-level registered nurses by 2030,” added MSU College of Nursing Dean Sarah Shannon.

Access to health care has been a critical issue across the state, with 52 of Montana’s 56 counties classified as medically underserved and health professional shortage areas by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There are many counties in Montana lacking even one primary care, mental health or maternal care provider. The MSU College of Nursing is committed to producing the needed workforce and now, with this gift, has the opportunity to more than double the number of family nurse practitioners and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners graduating from MSU. These health practitioners are educated to address the key health challenges facing Montana, including an aging population, mental health and substance abuse.

"We both grew up visiting Montana with our families, and now it is one of the places we call home," said Robyn Jones. “We've seen first-hand the health care challenges that Montana faces, and we wanted to do something that will make an impact on the people of this beautiful state.”

"Whether in our community or our business, we've always believed that people come first," said Mark Jones. "Montana holds a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to working with the MSU College of Nursing to help transform the health care community here and nationwide."

The Joneses are the founders of Goosehead Insurance, based in Westlake, Texas, and Mark currently serves as Chairman and CEO of the company. Founded in 2003, Goosehead is a rapidly growing and innovative personal lines insurance agency that distributes its products and services through more than 1,800 offices in the United States with a market capitalization of $5 billion.

About Montana State University

Founded in 1893, Montana State University is the largest public or private university in the state of Montana. With 10 colleges, the university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 60 fields of study. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, Montana State is also one of the fastest growing doctoral-granting public universities in the United States, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Additionally, it is the only university in a five-state region to be designated as having “very high research activity” by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and one of only 131 universities nationwide — out of 4,338 U.S. higher education institutions — to be included in this category.

Founded in 1937, Montana State University’s College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, accelerated bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral-level nursing education to produce nurses, nurse leaders, nurse educators and nurse practitioners for Montana. Using a distributed model, Montana State is the largest producer of registered nurses in Montana and is the sole provider of doctoral nurse practitioner education in the state.

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FWP collecting upland game bird wings in southwest Montana


BOZEMAN –
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists will be collecting wings from hunter-harvested sage-grouse, mountain grouse and Hungarian partridge in several areas of southwest Montana.  

Biologists will use these wings to identify birds by species and age class — juvenile or adult. This helps biologists monitor juvenile recruitment among game bird populations.  

Wing collection barrels will be in various locations during the sage-grouse hunting season, from Sept. 1 - 30. Hunters who come upon a wing collection barrel while traveling from a hunt are asked to put only one wing from each harvested bird into the barrel. Wings can also be turned into area wildlife biologists or game wardens.  

Hunters in the Big Hole Valley may also encounter sage-grouse hens wearing GPS devices as part of an ongoing research study. If one of these grouse is harvested, please return the device to FWP’s Butte-area wildlife biologist, Vanna Boccadori.  

For more information, please call 406-577-7900 to contact wildlife biologists Dean Waltee in Sheridan, Jesse Newby in Dillon, or Vanna Boccadori in Butte.  

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5 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

Every student has to complete their lion’s share of essays when obtaining a degree. Yet, few students are prepared for writing due to their background knowledge. The majority has to learn from their own mistakes, teacher’s feedback, and numerous revisions before they can proudly say that they mastered writing. However, there is a chance to prevent major issues and make your learning less stressful.

Whether you’re into blogging, fiction writing, or just have to write all those essays your teachers assigned you, the tips below should be of help. Finally, there is always an option to choose an online essay service to get help with essay writing. Who wouldn’t want that when the deadline is approaching?

Get & Listen to the Feedback

Openness to criticism is one of the most crucial things that will pave your way towards success in writing. Even if you don’t find the comments constructive, ask questions. In the end, you will win anyway: the critic will either give up or give you a bit of guidance. Just don’t be too enthusiastic about pushing the person towards the first option. Note the aspects where you can be better and what to avoid.

Write Batchwise

Crafting a nearly perfect essay or completing homework https://essayservice.com/math-homework-help within a couple of hours is a task only professionals can handle. So, before you become one, always follow the three steps:

• create an outline;
• prepare at least one draft;
• wait at least several hours (better several days) before proofreading the draft for it to become a truly final paper.

Ignoring the algorithm above may even result in off-topic work. So, however tempting it is for you to write an essay in less than a day and submit it, split the process into stages and put the draft away for some time. As you get back to it, you might see inconsistencies and mistakes in the sentences you considered perfect.

Read Different Genres of Literature

Reading a lot is not always a way to come up with proper words or new ideas. If you adore reading (and do read) one single author or genre, it sets limits for your imagination, vocabulary, and style. So, read any book or journal article that meets your eye whenever you can. This way, you will be able to explore various styles and create your own one. With time, the mixture of some styles’ elements you adopted will create a solid basis for the way you will approach the writing. All of this will be possible if you keep practicing regularly, of course.

Write Regularly

One can’t expect their writing skills to develop if they write a page or two once a week. Any skill can be honed if you practice often enough. So, go and practice! 

It’s not about writing only the content that you will publish or submit in the end. This is where the process is important, not the final goal. You can even rhyme or produce a stream of consciousness. Just make it a rule to write about whatever it is in your head at least every two days. 

Destroy What You Created

At least, be ready to do this. Sometimes, practicing writing is about warming up for your best ideas, and the “warm-up” material is not always that good. In fact, it can be awful as you read it a few days later. It’s not a reason to give up, though.

Remember that typical retrospection all of us have every couple of years? The one during which you think how stupid some of your actions used to be and realize what you should never ever do? That’s okay. It’s a sign of growth. It’s the same with writing - the more you write and re-read, the better writer you become.

Actually, you may complete any text and, in a few days, while looking at it, realize that half of it is superficial or boring. Don’t hesitate to delete or rewrite those parts. It’s a typical practice among writers to cut down about ⅓ of what they wrote to give their readers only the best content.

To be able to see which content is not that valuable, use the advice above - do not touch the draft for several days or even weeks. The timeframes depend on the volumes of your text.

Summing Up

Mastering writing is not that easy, especially when you don’t know where to start. The ways above can help you, yet, do not apply only one of them. Combine the methods and be ready to see the flaws of your writing. 

This learning process may help you not only in honing your writing skills but also in preparing you for future criticism everyone has to face sooner or later. There’s no point in being perfect, but it’s worth striving towards being your better self in all aspects. 

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