A Montana State University-based program that provides nutrition education and training in schools has been recognized nationally for its continued leadership in the farm to school and farm to early care and education (or ECE) movements in Montana.
 
The Montana Team Nutrition Program, which is housed at MSU, has been selected as the 2017-2019 National Farm to School Network Montana Core Partner.
 
From school gardens and farm field trips to local food on lunch trays, farm to school and ECE practices help children learn about where food comes from and to make healthier choices, while also creating new markets for local and regional farmers and food producers.
 
More than 40 percent of Montana schools are now engaged in farm to school efforts that contributed an estimated $1.6 million to Montana businesses in the 2013-2014 school year, according to Aubree Roth, Montana Farm to School coordinator with the Montana Team Nutrition Program.
 
In addition, nearly 150 sites are currently participating in the Montana Harvest of the Month program, a collaboration of the Montana Team Nutrition Program, the Office of Public Instruction, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, MSU Extension, Gallatin Valley Farm to School and FoodCorps Montana, which showcases a different Montana grown or raised food each month in school meals, snacks, taste tests and educational activities, Roth said.

According to Roth, Montana Team Nutrition has provided a central leadership role in growing farm to school efforts through coordinating the Montana Farm to School Leadership Team, leading the development of the Montana Harvest of the Month program, providing training and guidance for individuals throughout the state and supporting the Montana Beef to School Coalition. The Montana Beef to School Project, a three-year collaborative project between several Montana beef producers and processors, schools and stakeholders represented in the Montana Beef to School Coalition, explores how to make beef to school programs successful and encourages the use of local beef in every Montana school, according to the website (http://www.montana.edu/mtfarmtoschool/beeftoschool.html).

 
The National Farm to School Network has selected Core Partner and Supporting Partner organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories to collaborate on efforts to strengthen the farm to school and ECE movements nationwide and ensure its benefits are available to all children. These partners will support the development of new information and resources, grow awareness of the movement and its benefits, advocate for supportive policies and provide vision for the growth and evolution of the farm to school and ECE movements.

To learn more about Montana’s partnership with the National Farm to School Network, visit http://www.farmtoschool.org/our-network. To learn more about farm to school efforts in Montana visit www.montana.edu/mtfarmtoschool.
 

When Montana State University mechanical engineering major Aaron Benson graduates summa cum laude in May and launches a unique career, he can count his grandfather and William Shakespeare among his influences.
 
It was childhood trips to where his grandfather worked, at NASA’s largest rocket engine test facility, that first sparked Benson’s interest in engineering. But it was during a trip he took with a high school drama program to London’s famed West End – a mecca for live theater – that he realized he could make engineering come alive on-stage.

Watching a production by London’s National Theatre, Benson marveled at the hydraulic machinery that allowed the stage hands to rapidly switch sets, in one instance lowering an entire two-story house below the stage surface. “That blew my mind,” he said.
 
When he entered the Honors College at MSU with a Presidential Scholarship, Benson majored in mechanical engineering and worked as a set designer on two productions at MSU’s Black Box Theatre. During a summer break, he trod the boards in the title roles of Macbeth and Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Square productions in Rapid City, South Dakota.

He even channeled his passion for theater into co-developing an upper-division Honors College course called Discovering Shakespeare, which he also helped teach.
 
“I’ve always been passionate about Shakespeare,” Benson said. The course, he said, was designed to enrich students’ understanding of the Bard by studying his works as they were meant to be experienced — “through live performance.”
 
When it came time to select an intensive, year-long capstone project, which all engineering students must complete in order to graduate, Benson pioneered a collaboration with the School of Film and Photography in MSU’s College of Arts and Architecture.
 
Knowing that Black Box Theatre would soon produce the Tony award-winning Spring Awakening, Benson proposed that MSU engineering students design and build the play’s central prop: a 12-foot-diameter turntable that would spin as cast members performed the rock and roll musical on its surface.
 
As Benson and five other engineering students (Daniel Moore, William Blomquist, Lisa McEnnerney, Gookhyun Jeong and Steve Ferestad) took on that challenge, they also designed and built a large scissor-lift for the rear of the stage, to elevate actors during dramatic scenes. Both machines would need to be operated from a control booth off-stage.

“The largest challenge by far was not only building a structure that would meet the desired performance criteria, but also simultaneously designing a structure that can be easily moved into and out of a space and that will last for years to come,” Benson said. “In addition, these systems needed to be completely silent.”

Benson’s team completed the hardware, which cost about $3,000, on schedule. They also wrote a manual that gives instructions for operating the equipment safely.
 
When Spring Awakening was performed during a two-week period in April, “the audiences and the actors were blown away” by the new stage equipment, said Black Box Theatre technical director Tom Delgado. During the play’s climactic moments, the spinning turntable played a key role by allowing audience members on all side to see the emotion on the actors’ faces, he said.

The unique collaboration between the School of Film and Photography and the College of Engineering may be a first for those programs, said Shanon Reckinger, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the faculty adviser to the capstone project.
 
According to Reckinger, Benson’s blend of enthusiasm, technical aptitude and leadership were central to the project’s success. “Aaron has been passionately working towards a career in stage automation.”
 
Upon graduation, Benson will head to a job as a mechanical designer for TAIT Towers, a live-event production company listed as one of Fast Company magazine’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017. There, he will create structures and equipment showcased at Disney's theme parks and with Cirque Du Soleil productions around the world.

That, Reckinger said, “is a dream job for any engineer.”

Knitting Factory Presents (KFP) announced today that they have finalized a multi-year partnership with Big Sky Brewing Company (BSBC), the locally owned and operated brewery based in Missoula with distribution in twenty-four states.

With this announcement comes the news that KFP and BSBC have broken ground on several key infrastructure improvements after more than a year of in-depth planning. The venue will now feature an engineered amphitheater bowl, improving sight lines for all concert goers and allowing for multiple mixed configurations, including general admission and reserved seated options. The new stage house will provide artists with a state of the art performance space and upgraded production capabilities. The venue offers scenic views of Lolo Peak and beautiful big sky country sunsets.

"Big Sky Brewing Company has had a great time hosting concerts such as Bob Dylan, Pretty Lights, Wilco, The Decemberists, Chris Young, Lindsey Stirling and more in our backyard over the past six summer seasons,” said Neal Leathers, president and co-founder of BSBC. “These concerts have allowed us to contribute nearly $500,000 to local non-profit organizations serving the Missoula community at large. Now, after nine months of designing the site improvements, obtaining construction permits and hiring contractors, we finally broke ground on our new and improved venue. We can't wait to show it off to concertgoers and for the 2017 concert season to begin!"

To date, KFP and BSBC have hosted over sixty concerts at the brewery’s current home in Missoula and the 2017 Summer Concert Series is off to a running start with 8 shows announced, to date. The Trey Anastasio Band will serve as the headliner for the grand-reopening of the venue on Saturday, June 3rd, and other performers include Rebelution June 23rd, Sublime with Rome July 4th, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals July 18th, UB40 Legends Ali, Astro and Mickey July 19th, Michael Franti & Spearhead September 11th and the debut of Travelers’ Rest August 12th and 13th, a new weekend festival presented by The Decemberists.

A full slate of events will be announced over the next few weeks giving BSBC its biggest season yet!

Nine wild mustangs stepped foot onto Montana State University’s Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm on Jan. 3. They came to MSU virtually untouched, hailing from Bureau of Land Management facilities in Burns, Oregon, then were adopted by the Montana nonprofit, Heroes and Horses, to ultimately be used for therapeutic mountain pack trips with combat veterans.

Heroes and Horses is a program that uses horses and the remote wilderness to challenge and inspire combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The veterans learn horsemanship skills and wilderness survival, then embark on progressive, multi-day horse pack trips in order to overcome their difficulties and replace devastating memories with positive ones.

A handful of MSU students, with the help of local trainers and volunteers, assisted in gentling and training the adopted wild horses over the course of nearly 90 days as the first step in helping these horses transition into a life of mountain adventure. The horses, gelded males ranging from 2 to 6 years old, left MSU on March 28, headed to Arizona to begin the second phase of their training.

“The horses trained by MSU students, faculty and staff will ultimately serve as tools to teach military veterans new skills to start a post-military life,” said Dr. Shannon Moreaux, DVM and an associate professor of equine science in MSU’s Department of Animal and Range Sciences in the College of Agriculture.

“By using BLM feral horses for this service learning project, we are also providing a far-reaching service,” Moreaux said. “The horses will be uniquely repurposed and will have a better life than living in a long-term holding facility; we will have provided a significant amount of publicity for the BLM Wild Horse adoption program. And, ultimately, we save taxpayer money while helping to protect sensitive ecosystems from overpopulation.”

Professional trainers, including renowned horse trainer Buck Brannaman, along with his proteges Isaac Johnson, Noah Cornish, Wesley Fazari and Jon Ensign, began the gentling process, taking about a week to work with the mustangs upon arrival at MSU. During this initial phase, five horses were paired with volunteer students based on horse temperament and student experience, while the remaining horses continued their training under MSU equine faculty, staff and volunteers.

Each of the students selected to work with a mustang had prior horse-training experience, having taken MSU’s colt-starting class as part of their equine science studies. However, this was the first time several of the students had worked with mustangs.

Andrew Couch, a sophomore from Gardiner majoring in animal science and livestock management, said this was the first time he had worked with mustangs under guidance, learning how to prepare a horse for future situations.
Students worked with the horses for four hours, six days a week, beginning at 6 a.m. at MSU’s Bob Miller Pavilion, teaching the horses to stand quietly, accept a saddle and bit and respond softly to leg and bit pressure.

As the horses progressed, the students were also able to take them off campus to expose them to new surroundings, as well as varied terrain, said Stefanie Herrera of Helena, a 2016 fall graduate of the Department of Ecology in MSU’s College of Letters and Science. After graduating in December, Herrera began volunteering for the MSU Horsemen’s Club and was one of the students asked to work with the mustangs.

“Horses will show where the challenges are for veterans,” Herrera said, speaking on the connection between horse and rider. “If (a veteran) is angry or closed off, the horse will show it. This is (the horse’s) job. The horse has to be able to help that veteran out. Heroes and Horses is giving these horses and these people a purpose.”

Herrera added that the horses are rehabilitation horses as much as they are pack-and-saddle horses.

“I believe in the Heroes and Horses program,” Moreaux said. “It is important we honor the men and women who have suffered in foreign wars by ensuring they can reintegrate into a nonmilitary society.”

And, Moreaux said, it is important for students to participate in these types of service learning opportunities.

“Service learning is an educational application that integrates knowledge transfer with a social need,” he said.

“Service learning enriches the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility and strengthens communities.”

“It was a pretty neat experience,” Herrera said. “I learned a lot and it was very humbling to be able to work with something wild that puts that much trust in you. I’m quite happy I got to be a part of that, and impact a horse that will go on to affect so many lives.”

Contemporary expressions of color and texture highlight Bozeman artist LeeAnn Ramey’s paintings.  Ramey will exhibit her work in the Atrium Gallery at the Bozeman Public Library May 1 through June 30, 2017. The Bozeman Public Library Foundation, sponsors of the exhibit, will host an artist’s reception on Friday, May 5, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m., free and open to the public.


“My paintings are contemporary expressions of color and texture. I am curious by nature and love the prospect of discovering something new — whether it’s experimenting with different mediums, paint, texture, subjects or the effect of a varnish or ink, I want to have fun and explore,” states Ramey.  A native Nashvillian, Ramey worked as a graphic designer in the country music industry for over 25 years while also painting part-time. After relocating to Bozeman in 2014, she made the decision to pursue her life-long passion and focus her career on painting.

She is a self-taught contemporary acrylic painter.  Her work has been accepted in several juried shows in the South and she won first place in the 12th Annual Art’s Revive Juried Art Show in Selma, Alabama and Instructors’ Choice Award at the Alabama Art Colony Group Show in Alexander City.  She has also exhibited in Helena, Three Forks and Bozeman.  LeeAnn recently gave a nod to her new environment by saying “I am excited to call Montana my home and look forward to finding out how life in the West will influence my work!


”The exhibition will be on display during Library hours.  A percentage of sales will go to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation to ensure continuation of cultural programs at the Library for public benefit.  For more information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call Sarah DeOpsomer at 582-2425 or email sarah@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org.

Where other people may see gray concrete ramparts, artist Marina Zumi envisions glittering constellations, the magic of the quantum theory and the human-nature connection.
 
That is the vision that Zumi, a South American graffiti muralist with an international following, is using along with more than 200 cans of spray paint to transform the first floor of the new Montana State University parking garage into a massive mural.
 
The Argentinian street artist, who is based in São Paulo, Brazil, is braving the inconsistency of Montana spring weather to paint a magical-realist vision that emanates from a giant bobcat head and radiates outward in waves of mountains, clouds and stars. Nearly a week into the 12-day project, the work is drawing interest, admiration and quite a few smiles.

“A lot of people stop by and like it,” said Zumi, who largely spray paints the design freehand as she goes. Zumi said that there is no way to learn how to do the large-scale murals other than by practicing it.
 
“I learned to do this in the street,” she said about the complex image. Zumi said she came to street art through the world of fashion, and “there is no university where you can learn to do this. You just have to do it.”
 
Zumi, who is used to a more tropical climate, bundled in a parka and gloves to paint in the garage during weather that has been unseasonably chilly. She has used a special type of spray paint adapted to adhere in weather extremes that is called “Montana.”
 
“This project reflects MSU’s vibrant energy and the transformational power of education,” said MSU President Waded Cruzado. “Turning a parking garage into a space for artistic expression helps our students see how creativity can shape their campus and make the world a more exciting place in which to live.”

 The project is the first of several installations of permanent public art planned for the garage, which opened in January, according to Royce Smith, dean of the MSU College of Arts and Architecture. Smith is the driving force to bring contemporary public art to the garage as well as other spots on campus.

 
Smith said when the subject of public art for the garage was first raised, he immediately thought of Zumi, with whom he had worked when he was the principal curator of the 2015 Asunción Biennale in Paraguay on a Fulbright Fellowship. This is the first project in the western U.S. for Zumi, who has made a name for herself with street art displays in Central and South America, as well as New York, Chicago and Miami.

“I like how her art combines philosophy, science, nature and human connections,” Smith said. He said one of the exciting aspects of Zumi’s project has been the interactions with people stopping by and conversing with the artist and admiring her work.
 
“The mural project has brought together all of the dimensions of the MSU family together. It’s gratifying to see how art can make us more aware of the beauty we have around us every day.”
 
Zumi said she jumped at the chance to work on the MSU mural. “When (Smith) said he had this project at MSU, I said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Zumi said.
 
During her time at MSU, Zumi was also a panelist in the 2017 MSU President’s Fine Arts Event, which was devoted to a discussion of the importance of public art. Zumi said that her art form – street art and graffiti – has grown in popularity in recent years. Among the most well-known artists in the discipline is the secretive artist Banksy.

 
Smith said the university is working toward future installations in the garage that will include Native American-themed murals to be created by Matika Wilber, a Seattle-based photographer from the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes, and a colored glass installation documenting some of Montana’s most prominent geographic features being planned by Tad Bradley, assistant teaching professor in MSU’s School of Architecture. Smith said each of the college’s four schools – the School of Music, School of Art, School of Film and Photography and School of Architecture – will have installations in the garage that will bring together sound, image and space.

 
“And, we’re going to be adding a few surprises, too,” Smith said. “The installations are going to transform the building and, eventually, our beautiful campus.”
 
Smith said the idea of a public art initiative has been well-received on campus.
 
“Our campus is really engaged and enthusiastic, and that makes sense. Universities, especially MSU, are all about supporting new ideas.”

Zumi is scheduled to finish up her work at MSU on Wednesday, April 19. She then travels to a solo exhibition in Berlin.

The City of Bozeman will host Cleanup Day this Saturday, April 22 starting at 8am at the Bozeman Public Library with a welcome and kick-off from Mayor Carson Taylor. Cleanup Day is part of the worldwide Earth Day annual event. The City of Bozeman has coordinated this event locally for 33 years and successfully mobilizes hundreds of volunteers of all ages from community organizations, local businesses, and government agencies each year. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged to sign up to clean up online at www.bozeman.net/CleanupDay and will be given complimentary reusable totes with coupons, flyers, and giveaways in addition to cleanup necessities: gloves, vests, and bags for collecting trash and recyclables at the kick-off. The City of Bozeman encourages all Bozemanites to come together on Saturday to keep Bozeman clean and preserve it for future generations to enjoy. In order to coordinate such a large-scale event, the City of Bozeman is currently seeking community members and corporate volunteer teams to coordinate cleanup sites. 

This event is sponsored by the City of Bozeman Neighborhoods, Sustainability and Solid Waste Divisions and hosted by the Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board. 

For more information and to sign up for the cleanup, please visit www.bozeman.net/CleanupDay or contact Jessica Johnson, Bozeman Neighborhood Coordinator, at 582-2274 or jjohnson@bozeman.net.

Street sweepers will be in your area soon to clean the streets of sand left over from ice control during the winter months.  Moving anything in the street when we are going to be on your street will help considerably; no yard waste or brush should be put into the street.  To find out when we will be on your street please click the link below:

Subdivisions click here

Core Area click here

If you need help navigating the database feel free to call 582-3202 for assistance.

Thanks for your helping with this project, it is very much appreciated.

With only two Saturdays remaining, the market will continue to impress. Montana's spring weather is notorious for being a mixed bag. Despite experiencing the four seasons each week, area farmers will be bringing fresh salad greens, micro greens, kale, bok choy, herbs, hakurei turnips, red radishes, over-wintered parsnips, onions, the last of the winter squash, carrots, potatoes & garlic. 

Shoppers will also find hot breakfast (biscuits & gravy) & baked goods (gluten free too!), coffee & tea, mushrooms, Easter hams & local grass fed meats (poultry too!), wild-caught fish, fresh eggs, cheeses, bread, mushrooms, fresh pasta, jams & preserves, Montana grown grains & oils, fresh flowers, soaps & salves, wool, live music, and much more, all under one roof in the Emerson Center Ballroom from 9 AM - 12 PM in downtown Bozeman.