The Bozeman Symphony launches its “Ode to Joy” campaign starting on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2021. The Symphony Board of Directors has pledged $75,000 to encourage members of this thriving arts community to share the joy of orchestral music by supporting the Bozeman Symphony. For every dollar donated, Board members will match what the organization raises up to $75,000 for a total of a $150,000 goal to continue the success of this long-standing beacon of the arts.

Throughout this global pandemic, one thing is clear to Board of Directors Chair Stephen Schachman, the arts are a powerful healer in dark times. “This past year has been a huge challenge for so many but has forced us to reevaluate what matters and what we take for granted,” said Schachman. “The importance of the arts and the joy they bring to our daily lives has never been clearer to me.”

Despite the challenges of this past year, the Bozeman Symphony continues to keep symphonic music alive in the community. Since his appointment in June 2020, Music Director Norman Huynh has conducted two sold-out Ranch Around concerts, hosted three free livestream concerts, and hired the organization’s first-ever Composer-in-Residence Scott Lee. Altogether, the Bozeman Symphony has brought the joy of music to more than 10,000 households this season with their free livestream concerts and video premieres.

“I am grateful to the team at the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Choir for their continued creativity to bring live symphonic music virtually to us in the safety of our homes,” said Schachman. ‘“These moments of reflection and connection have brightened the ‘stay-at-home’ experience and bring joy to so many during these difficult times.”’

Looking forward, the Symphony plans to continue its mission to provide high-quality live musical performances to the community featuring the talented musicians of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Choir. Music Director Norman Huynh plans to expand the symphony’s season subscription concert offerings, connect to the community through virtual and in-person events, and grow the organization’s Far Afield education outreach program.

“Even if you don’t consider yourself a ‘symphony’ person, the musical programming of the Bozeman Symphony will captivate you and help you connect in its own special way,” said Schachman. “Our incredibly talented musicians will bring joy to your heart and help you take a moment to reflect on the simple pleasures.”

Help keep the joy of symphonic music alive in the community by supporting the Bozeman Symphony’s “Ode to Joy” campaign from February 14 – March 14, 2021, by donating online at bozemansymphony.org/donate. The Symphony wishes to thank David Ross and Risi for their season sponsorship and the season subscribers, donors, and patrons who have provided support this 2020 – 2021 concert season. For more information about the “Ode to Joy” campaign, please contact the Bozeman Symphony at (406) 585-9774 or info@bozemansymphony.org.

Stephen Schachman is Chair of the Bozeman Symphony Board of Directors. He is a retired senior executive who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, Georgetown University, and Stanford University. Stephen has served as the senior executive of a natural gas distribution company, a cellular company, and wholly owned subsidiary of an international law firm. He was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps and has lived in Bozeman since 2011.

The Bozeman Police Department is requesting the community's help in solving the police department’s only unsolved homicide.

In the early morning hours of February 10, 1985, Randal “Randy” Church, was shot and killed while working as a shift supervisor at Pizza Hut on West Main Street in Bozeman. Randy’s homicide has undergone several investigations as fresh leads and new forensic technology became available. We want the public to be aware of this case in the hope that information will come forward to help us identify the person(s) responsible.

Detective Benjamin King is the investigator and his mission is to give a voice to Randy, to provide answers and closure to Randy’s family and loved ones, and to learn who committed Randy’s murder. Randy’s family continues to remain vigilant, as they have for the past 36 years, that Randy’s killer will be brought to justice. We implore anyone with information to help us solve this case.

Please contact the Bozeman Police Department Cold Case Tip Line at 406-582-2025, or coldcasetips@bozeman.net if you have information.

Tipsters can remain anonymous. Tipsters may be eligible for up to $10,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest in this case.

After Montana State University’s Bryce Hughes published research in 2018 showing that undergraduate students who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer were 7% less likely than their heterosexual peers to complete their STEM degree, he was contacted by someone who expressed their appreciation for the research.

In fact, others in science, technology, engineering and math fields who identify as LGBTQ have told Hughes over the years that they have felt like they were the only person in their field who identified as LGBTQ or that every person they interacted with socially was outside their field.

The comments made Hughes curious.

“I started asking some questions and started talking about differences between the relationships (people in STEM who identify as LGBTQ) have with colleagues, as well as the relationships they have with people outside of their field,” said Hughes, an assistant professor of adult and higher education in MSU’s College of Education, Health and Human Development.

Those questions have morphed into a productive line of research. Now, Hughes will further study the experiences of LGBTQ undergraduates in STEM as the recipient of a five-year, $695,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award. The CAREER grant is considered the premier award given to early-career researchers.

“It’s pretty wild,” Hughes said of receiving the award. “I was quite pleasantly surprised.”

Hughes said his project will explore the experiences of LGBTQ undergraduates in STEM fields to better understand the systemic barriers they face to participation, as well as identity policies, practices and interventions to address those concerns.

To do that, the project will explore three areas. First, Hughes will examine the social networks of LGBTQ STEM students and compare those networks with the networks of heterosexual peers whose gender corresponds with their sex assigned at birth. The study will look at the strength of STEM students’ ties to STEM and non-STEM colleagues, acquaintances and friends to see whether heterosexual, cisgender STEM students generally have stronger STEM networks, as Hughes hypothesizes.

Participating LGTBQ STEM students will also rate the degree to which they disclose information about their sexual orientation and gender identity within their networks. Hughes anticipates the social network study will involve students from a handful of campuses, including MSU.

“My hypothesis is that LGBTQ students in STEM fields may be afraid that if they bring up some aspect of their personal life, people might respond negatively,” Hughes said. “I imagine for heterosexual students revealing similar aspects of their personal lives might not matter as much."

The amount to which students feel they can reveal themselves is important, he noted.

“For LGBTQ students, I think we might find that they have some friends in STEM that welcome them, but I imagine that to a large degree they’re finding their sense of community outside of STEM,” Hughes said. “That could make them feel isolated in STEM, which might draw them to other areas.”

In addition to his work related to students’ social networks, Hughes will compare STEM degree completion rates nationally between undergraduate LGBTQ students and their peers, specifically the rates for completing degrees in four, five and six years. The study will also examine differences in overall college degree completion rates between LGBTQ students and their peers. Hughes will use data from the National Student Clearinghouse, the Higher Education Research Institute and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Finally, Hughes will explore the discipline-based identities of LGBTQ STEM students. For example, he’ll examine if the students describe themselves as a future scientist or future engineer. By exploring their discipline-based identities, as well as how the students describe their vision for their future career in STEM, the study aims to understand not only how students view themselves relative to their discipline but also their expectations for the future.

John Paxton, professor and director of the Gianforte School of Computing, is an adviser to MSU’s chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or oSTEM. He said that he has observed a need for work related to the experiences of LGBTQ students in STEM.

“In STEM fields, it is often simpler for an LGBTQ+ student to separate their personal identity from their classroom identity,” Paxton said. “However, studies show that bringing one's full self to the classroom (or to one's professional career) results in greater career success and a happier personal life.” 

Paxton added that Hughes’ work has the potential to bring real benefits to students and others.

“Because the LGBTQ+ identity is one that is historically marginalized, Dr. Hughes' NSF CAREER award is an important step for learning how universities can better support and retain LGBTQ+ students in STEM fields,” Paxton said. “I anticipate that Dr. Hughes' findings will have great benefit to LGBTQ+ students, their universities and society at large.”

MSU has a long line of NSF CAREER award recipients, but Hughes is the first recipient from the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development, according to records from the NSF and MSU’s Office of Sponsored Programs.

College of Education, Health and Human Development Dean Alison Harmon said she is proud of Hughes’ early career success.

“It is so gratifying to see an example of scholarship that also supports our university’s diversity and inclusion values,” Harmon said. “Dr. Hughes’ preliminary work suggests that having a supportive network and feeling part of a community is important for student success. I suspect his results will help us understand how to support other underrepresented groups in STEM, as well.”

Boyne Resorts recently announced a renewable energy purchase commitment with CMS Enterprises, a CMS Energy subsidiary, that entirely offsets electric energy consumption at its resorts and facilities throughout North America as of Jan. 1, 2021.

The purchase is among numerous environmental initiatives and newly established goals that are part of the company’s evolving, long-term sustainability plan, named “ForeverProject”. The plan’s marquee goal is to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 and working with CMS Enterprises accelerated the effort by eliminating approximately 70% of the company’s carbon footprint driven by its electrical usage. Additionally, a 1.7-megawatt solar array will be installed at Boyne Mountain Resort in collaboration with a separate CMS Energy subsidiary.

“Human driven climate change is an urgent issue for the world and most certainly for the snowsports industry. Though we have been a thoughtful steward of our resort properties over the last eight decades, it was clear to our team that we were not doing enough and fast enough if we are to truly help reverse the effects our carbon footprint has on the planet’s climate,“ said Stephen Kircher, Boyne Resorts president and chief executive officer. “Our commitments guiding ForeverProject, starting with moving to 100 percent renewable electric energy, reduce a significant portion of our carbon footprint and give us a huge head start on our efforts to become completely carbon neutral by 2030. We have always tried to take the long-term perspective on our business and this environmental sustainability initiative steps up our efforts to positively affect the lasting implications our resorts, team members and guests have on the planet.”

The new level of urgency was initiated in October 2019, in part facilitated by Boyne Resorts’ sponsorship of and involvement in the Mountain Towns 2030 Net Zero Summit, through collaborative discussions with the ski industry’s largest players who have shown leadership by aggressively embracing sustainability efforts, and the rollout of NSAA’s (National Ski Area Association) Sustainable Slopes initiatives. CMS Energy is a longtime energy provider to Boyne Resorts’ Michigan operations and following the Net Zero Summit, discussions between the two began in earnest, culminating in this significant and impactful clean energy arrangement.

CMS Enterprises develops, owns and operates utility-scale wind, solar and energy projects for large customers. CMS Enterprises will tap its in-house energy marketing group and U.S.-based clean energy portfolio to help Boyne Resorts capture renewable energy credits (RECs). The RECs will help Boyne substantiate renewable energy use claims and maximize value for its renewable energy investment.

Through facilitation of the RECs purchase, sharing baseline and consumption tracking models now utilized companywide and leading additional projects to support the company’s goals, CMS Enterprises is today regarded as a true partner on both a regional scale and to Boyne Resorts globally.

“CMS Enterprises is proud to help Boyne Resorts power its facilities in Michigan and throughout North America with renewable and clean energy,” said DV Rao, Senior Vice President of Strategy for CMS Energy. “Through implementation of energy efficiency programs, the electrification of Boyne’s vehicle fleet, on-site solar generation and other advances on tap in Michigan, Boyne Resorts is poised to become an industry leader in clean and renewable energy and sustainability.”

Preparations are underway for the solar array being installed by a CMS Energy subsidiary at Boyne Mountain Resort. The 1.7-megawatt system stands to power the equivalence of the resort’s 300+ homes and condominiums, and is the first of its size for Boyne Resorts. Solar is a resource of strong interest and this project is to serve as a pilot for potential installations at locations across the resort network.

For information on Boyne Resorts’ 73-year history of sustainability efforts and further steps toward its net zero emissions goal, and for details of and the many resort-based ForeverProject initiatives being led by the company’s passionate and valued resort teams, please visit boyneresorts.com/sustainability.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park staff are pleased to start off our 2021 events by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count needs people like you to reveal the “big picture” about what is happening to bird population numbers across the globe. It is a feat no team of scientists could hope to accomplish alone.

What began as the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds now attracts more than 265,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide to join the four-day count each February. This is the fourth year Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park has participated. Last year the Great Backyard Bird Count had participants in almost 200 countries and counted more than 6,900 species of birds.

Come join us for a series of events in our largest birding event of the season. We will kick off the event with a short zoom talk covering what the Great Backyard Bird Count is, the importance of citizen-science projects, and tools like eBird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In addition, throughout the event we will be encouraging birding within the park and providing guides and data recording methods for anyone that wishes to participate.

 
A maximum of 10 participants can also join park staff on Sunday, Feb. 14, for an approximately four-mile hike along the park road to the upper picnic area and back to see which birds call the park home this winter. Birders will meet at the Main Visitor Center near the park entrance at 10:30 a.m. The walk will last two to three hours, so dress for variable winter conditions, wear solid walking footwear and bring your binoculars. You may also want to bring a snack, water and a camera. Please do not bring dogs.

 
Whether you are an avid birder or a complete novice, your participation in this event will contribute to a global effort to create of an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.

For more information call the park visitor center at (406) 287-3541. Or check out our Facebook page: Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.


What: Great Backyard Bird Count
 
When: Zoom Talk: Thurs. Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81037877649?pwd=SjVnNTV0NlFVYklOUEZzTUkxVTBCdz09&fbclid=IwAR2kE-l9AlsdK_erjw8eUU4YUnucwRDKav0pg-APryJdcem6cFMY6QwO0Yw#success

Meeting ID: 810 3787 7649
Passcode: L&CC

            Park Supported Birding: Fri. Feb. 12 – Mon. Feb. 15
           
            Guided Birding Walk: Sun. Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m.
 
Where: Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, 25 Lewis & Clark Caverns Rd, Whitehall, Mont.
http://stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns/
 
From the exit 274 on I-90 we are 13 miles south on Highway 287 and 5 miles west on MT 2.

From the Cardwell exit 256 on I-90 we are 7 miles east along MT 2.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park features one of the most decorative limestone caverns in the Northwest filled with spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and helictites. The park also features camping, trails to hike or bike, a state-of-the-art visitor center, interpretive displays, a gift shop, food and beverage concessions, amphitheater, and interpretive events presented during the summer months.
Visit Montana State Parks (stateparks.mt.gov) and enjoy camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, boating and more and discover some of the greatest natural and cultural treasures on earth.

Missoula County, the City of Missoula, the City of Bozeman, and the City of Helena this week entered into an interlocal agreement pledging to pursue a green tariff to advance their shared clean energy goals. Over the past two years, all four local governments have adopted resolutions committing to 100% clean electricity by 2030.

The interlocal agreement authorizes the four local governments to jointly hire a consultant with technical expertise in green tariffs and utility rate design to work collaboratively with NorthWestern Energy and inform the development of a green tariff that most effectively advances the local governments’ 100% clean electricity goals. All four local governments had previously allocated funds in their FY21 budgets to support this effort.

A green tariff is not a tax. Rather, it is a mechanism by which customers of regulated utilities have the option to buy power from newly developed renewable energy sources through a special rate (or “tariff”) on their utility bills. In 2019, the Montana Public Service Commission directed NorthWestern Energy to initiate a stakeholder process to explore the development of a green tariff. This stakeholder process is currently underway, and Missoula County and the cities of Missoula, Bozeman and Helena are participating in it.

The Missoula City Council approved the interlocal agreement on Feb. 1; the Bozeman City Commission on Feb. 2; the Missoula Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 4; and the Helena City Commission on Feb. 8.
 
Elected officials from all four local governments expressed enthusiasm for the partnership.

Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier: “We’re so pleased to be partnering with the cities of Missoula, Bozeman and Helena. The green tariff is an important step in the right direction, but it’s only the first step. I look forward to our partnership continuing beyond this interlocal agreement as we continue to pursue our shared 100% clean electricity goals.”

Missoula City Council President Bryan von Lossberg: “It is eminently clear that Montanans value clean energy. And anyone looking forward sees we have the innovative expertise and resources to meet that vision. We invite other communities to join our collaborative effort to build the statewide energy portfolio Montana’s future demands.”

Bozeman City Commissioner Terry Cunningham: “Bozeman’s ability to meet its stated goals is dependent upon a rapid transition to renewable energy sources by the utility. Together, our communities represent about a quarter of NorthWestern’s customers, and this partnership is our best chance to exert the collective influence that will be required to facilitate this transition.”

Helena City Commissioner Sean Logan: “This agreement represents a novel and promising approach to advancing clean energy in Montana. We are optimistic that this historic collaboration between the communities and NorthWestern Energy will deliver important environmental and economic benefits to the citizens of our state.”

                                                                                                                                                                      Photo by Taylor Deas-Melesh on Unsplash
                                                                                                                    
The longer you're together, the stronger your love becomes, but that doesn't mean your marriage will always give you butterflies. There are many couples who, amidst jobs, responsibility and family, find themselves bored in their relationship. This can naturally bring about feelings of guilt as well, especially if you don't have any real issues with your partner and don't want to hurt them by vocalizing how dull things have begun to feel around them.

While you might feel like you've hit a roadblock in your marriage, there are many ways you can breathe new life into your relationship and rediscover your partner. First, make sure that you talk to them. The worst thing you can do in a marriage is stop communicating your feelings and needs; not only does it make you feel bad, but it leaves your partner feeling left out as well. This slowly erodes trust, which compounds into more difficult conversations and avoidance.

So, once you've sat down and let your partner know that you miss spending time with them, try to bring up fun ideas you could do together. Ask them for their input. Make it a game. There are a lot of ways to reconnect and address feelings of loneliness in your marriage without acting like either one of you is on trial.

Start Leaving Each Other Love Notes Again
Love notes are such a wonderful surprise during the early stages of dating, and many couples continue to leave them for their spouse throughout their marriage. You might be out of your honeymoon phase, but does that mean you've outgrown the need to surprise and be surprised by small expressions of affection? A simple "I love you" on a Post-It note in their car can make your partner's day; you can even make it a game to hide different notes for each other around the house and find them in unexpected places. The effort of leaving love notes is minimal, but their impact is profound. We can know someone loves us with their entire being, but that doesn't mean we ever stop needing to hear it, too.

Surprise Them with Flowers
It could be a birthday bouquet or Valentine's surprise, but flowers have always been one of the most romantic expressions of love. You can really take your spouse by surprise and arrange for them to receive flowers unexpectedly; a flowers subscription box like BloomsyBox.com delivers sustainably sourced, farm-grown flowers to your loved one. Choose a traditional bouquet or specify which flowers you'd like your love to receive. The gesture itself is enough to bring a smile to their face, but the strong visual reminder is an added bonus.

Make Each Other a Playlist
You can discover so much about your spouse through the music they like. Whether it's a strong bass that gets them dancing or heartfelt lyrics, ask them to make a mix of their favorite tracks while you do the same. Throw in some old songs you enjoyed together, and offer a description of new songs and why you like them or decided to share them. Even if you have different musical tastes, the experience of listening to music together is a great bonding experience. You may even be surprised by some of your spouse's picks and have great conversations learning about each other's interests.

During a special meeting held Feb. 8, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission extended the late elk season in hunting district 580.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Montana State University, formerly MSU Wonderlust, will collaborate with the Bozeman Public Library’s One Book One Bozeman program to host a Friday Forum titled “A History and Future of Native Sovereignty: Controversies and Perspectives.” The talk, which will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, is free and open to the public. The selection for this year’s One Book One Bozeman event is “The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich.  

The forum will be presented by Alex Harmon, an assistant professor of English and American studies in the College of Letters and Science at MSU. Harmon will explore issues of federal Indian law, including the federal policy of termination and the erosion of tribal sovereignty. She will also address the current crisis surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Harmon will also offer perspective on “The Night Watchman,” its National Book Award-winning author Erdrich and Erdrich’s place in contemporary American literature. Published in 2020, “The Night Watchman” is based on the life of Erdrich’s grandfather, who worked as a night watchman at a factory in North Dakota and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota to Washington, D.C. Harmon’s scholarly and teaching interests include contemporary Native American literature and film, federal Indian law, and ethnic and critical race theory. 

Registration is required for the presentation and can be found at montana.edu/olli/register. Upon registration confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Webex link and instructions to join the program.

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