Clean out those closets and donate your gently used or new winter clothing. Montana Matriarch’s 3rd Annual Spread the Warmth Winter Clothing Drive is kicking off November 3rd and runs through December 1st at locations throughout Park County.

Donations of winter clothing for infants, children, youth and adults are being accepted to help spread the warmth in our community.  Items for infants and children are in high demand and have run out very quickly in previous years. If you have children’s items to spare, please consider donating them this year.

Donation Items Needed:
Coats and jackets
Hats, ear warmers and ear muffs
Mittens and gloves
Snow pants and bibs
Boots
Scarves
Socks
Sweaters, fleece and sweatshirts
Long underwear
Blankets

Donations will be collected November 3rd through December 1st at the following locations throughout Park County.

Donation Locations:
LIVINGSTON
Ace Hardware
Katabatic Brewing Co.
Livingston HealthCare's Cafe Fresh
Livingston Home Outfitters
Markouture
Montessori Island School
Opportunity Bank
The Office Lounge & Liquor Store
The Shane Center
The Spur Line
Town and Country Foods

EMIGRANT
The Old Saloon

WILSALL
Ace Roofing

CLYDE PARK
Sunnyside Pizza

BOZEMAN
Wild Joe's Coffee

Look for the big boxes wrapped in holiday wrapping paper with the Spread the Warmth sign on them. Donation site collection hours are regular business hours for each location. Additional incentives from some of these businesses will be posted on the Spread the Warmth Facebook page to encourage donations.

Distribution of the donations will take place on December 9th from 9:30am-12:30pm at the Livingston Civic Center. Organizations that serve members of our community that may be in need of these donations are encouraged to contact Montana Matriarch to help promote the distribution to ensure that these items get in the hands of the people who need them most.

More information can be found online at www.montanamatriarch.com/spreadthewarmth or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mmspreadthewarmth.

The Blackstone LaunchPad at Montana State University recently hosted 16 female entrepreneurs who were visiting Montana as part of World Montana, an organization that partners with the U.S. Department of State to build stronger ties with international business leaders. The 16 hailed from Bolivia, Cuba, Spain, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The Blackstone LaunchPad at MSU, which is housed under the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, is an entrepreneur resource for students, alumni and faculty across the university and community that offers coaching, ideation and venture creation support.

“As an AmeriCorps VISTA serving with Montana Campus Compact, it’s important to me to bring in the type of diversity World Montana represents,” said Connor Harbison. “At the Blackstone LaunchPad, we know that people from diverse backgrounds bring new ideas to the table and make the team stronger as a result. I am always looking for new opportunities to work with groups like World Montana.”

World Montana, which operates out of Helena, brings groups of international leaders in business and academics to Montana in order to highlight the state’s economic development and programs.  

As part of their campus visit, the visiting entrepreneurs heard from Suzi Berget-White, a representative of Prospera and the Women’s Business Network, who highlighted the role Bozeman women have taken in business.

In addition, two female entrepreneurs – who are also current MSU students – spoke: Kathy Rolin, founder and CEO of Cowboy Cricket Farms, a sustainable food company focusing on edible insects, and Jessie Madeson of Farmented Foods, a business that offers a line of fermented foods in order to reduce food waste on local farms.

Finally, Kregg Aytes, dean of the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, spoke about the work of the college in fostering entrepreneurial skills among the student body. The event concluded with members of the MSU community speaking with the visiting entrepreneurs.

"The visit to MSU was one of the most relevant visits in Montana,” said Jasna Trengoska, president and co-founder of Startup Zone in Macedonia. “Some of the key learnings are related to empowering students to start their businesses, and I look forward to further collaboration with Blackstone LaunchPad."

"MSU is one of the best resources for our international exchange programs for professionals,” said Sasha Fendrick, executive director of World Montana. “Blackstone LaunchPad team is a real treasure for MSU and Bozeman. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with this great group of women entrepreneurs."

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens are asking the public to help identify the person or persons responsible for the illegal killing of at least one elk on private property just east of Canyon Ferry recently.

On Sunday, Oct. 15, responding to a call from a landowner, game wardens discovered a badly decayed bull elk and a more freshly killed cow elk on private land between Ray Creek Road and Dry Gulch Road off Highway 284.

Upon investigation, it appeared the cow elk had been shot within a few days of being discovered. This coincides with a witness’ account of hearing multiple gunshots the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 11 near the discovered elk.

Given the state of the carcass, no determination could be made in the field about the bull elk’s cause of death.At the time of this incident there was no legal season in place for the rifle hunting of elk in this area.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Warden Josh Leonard at 406-439-0451, or 800-TIP-MONT. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

At 10:10 a.m. on October 10, Bozeman Mayor Carson Taylor joined The Trust for Public Land, National Recreation and Park Association, and Urban Land Institute in launching an historic “10-minute walk” parks advocacy campaign, establishing the ambitious goal that all Americans, and all residents of Bozeman should live within a 10-minute walk (or half-mile) of a high-quality park or green space.

This bipartisan group includes mayors from all across the country and represents cities large and small, including America’s four largest cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston) and diverse communities across the country. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents more than 1,000 U.S. mayors, also unanimously passed a resolution at the 85th Annual Meeting urging all mayors to actively pursue the 10-minute walk to a park goal.

“Parks are a critical part of the infrastructure for the City of Bozeman. Everyone deserves to live within walking distance of a quality public park, no matter where they live in our city. This mayor’s coalition is a great step forward to ensure that Bozemanites and all Americans have a quality park within a close walk of home so that they get to enjoy the multitude of benefits parks provide,” said Bozeman Mayor, Carson Taylor.

Studies show that high-quality parks provide a wide range of benefits to urban residents and cities themselves. These include physical and mental health benefits, by providing opportunities to be physically active and to interact with nature; economic benefits by boosting business and helping to revitalize neighborhoods; community-building benefits by providing opportunities for neighbors to interact with each other and work together to improve their surroundings; and environmental benefits by cleaning and cooling the air, improving climate resilience, and providing opportunities for environmental education.

Partnering with cities to advance the 10-minute vision
The campaign marks the start of a multi-year partnership with cities and mayors across the country. Beginning in 2018, the campaign—led by The Trust for Public Land in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association, and Urban Land Institute—will be working with select cities across the country on measurable policies and strategies to advance the 10-minute walk vision.

Reaching 100 percent served in cities nationwide will require major advances in park finance and construction; zoning changes to encourage park development; embedding this goal into city parks master plans; the expansion of “joint use” agreements that open school playgrounds, tracks, and gyms for public use after hours and on weekends; and other innovations.

Partner organizations on the 10-minute walk campaign
“Everyone deserves to have a park within a 10-minute walk—that is why we are in the midst of mapping park access for every city and town across America through our new platform, ParkServe®,” said Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director of city park development for The Trust for Public Land. “We have already mapped more than 100,000 parks in close to 7,700 communities across the country, and as our research shows, more than 100 million Americans currently don’t have access to the countless benefits parks provide. These mayors deserve enormous credit for endorsing the 10-minute walk.”

“On issues from climate change to infrastructure development, U.S. mayors have shown that cities can lead. Mayors aren’t waiting on Washington; they are acting boldly and independently. Urban leaders have declared that parks are a priority, and mayors have joined together in this historic campaign to ensure that everyone has access to a high-quality park,” said Barbara Tulipane, president and chief executive officer of the National Recreation and Park Association.

“Thoughtfully designed parks make a positive difference in the quality of life in communities, serving as a respite, a source of civic pride, and a draw for investment activity,” said Patrick L. Phillips, global chief executive officer for the Urban Land Institute. “We are excited to work with these distinguished mayors and other urban leaders to promote the 10-minute walk campaign and help improve park access in their cities as well as urban areas across the country.”

Generous support for this effort has been provided by The JPB Foundation.

Millions of people flocked to the 70-mile-wide path of the 2017 total solar eclipse to get a glimpse of the perfectly obscured sun, but Montana State University professor Joe Shaw and his father, Glenn Shaw, went there to answer a decades-old riddle.
 
The implications of the riddle - really a somewhat obscure scientific question - are more important today than in 1973, when Glenn traveled to Kenya to document a total solar eclipse that crossed Africa.
 
In the scorching desert, with lions roaring at sunset, he and his colleagues “trained and trained and trained” for their experiment for two weeks, Glenn recalled recently. Their primary objective was to measure how dark the sky got during the eclipse and to compare that to his mathematical models.
 
“I just thought it would make an interesting experiment,” said Glenn, who earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering at MSU in 1963 and went on to become a professor of physics at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.
 
When the eclipse finally came, the scientists used special motor-driven cameras to scan the sky, and found that it was about 10,000 times darker than during a normal day, which agreed with their predictions. They also measured the sky’s polarization and were surprised to find that it changed remarkably during the eclipse.

 
Polarization occurs when waves of light are aligned. The same scattering of light that causes the sky to be blue also polarizes light to varying degrees in different parts of the sky. Polarization cannot be discerned with the naked eye, although sunglasses and camera lenses make use of the phenomenon to reduce glare. Glenn’s experiment was the first time that anyone had ever measured the changes in polarization across the entire sky during a total solar eclipse.

 
“He’s pretty well-known as the guy who pointed out that sky polarization during an eclipse is symmetric about the zenith,” said Joe, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering.
 
“Symmetric about the zenith” looks like rings concentric around the center of the sky. Normally, polarization is more linear, a gradient from east to west. The change could be partially explained by Glenn’s models. But “his measurements showed a slight asymmetry,” Joe said. The rings were slightly higher on one side. That became the riddle.

 
Glenn and others had theories about what caused the anomaly: the reflectance of a nearby lake; the effects of distant clouds; the sky changing while the scans slowly happened. But nobody provided a definitive answer, in part because total eclipses are relatively rare, occurring somewhere on the planet only every one to three years.

 
Meanwhile, Joe developed a specialty in atmospheric optics and advanced his own research at MSU. Over time, his work converged on polarization, which was becoming increasingly important for detecting satellites and spacecraft too small to otherwise see, among other things.
 
“If you’re on Earth looking at a satellite in space, you have to look through the sky,” he said. To do that reliably, “the polarization that exists in the atmosphere has to be understood, it has to be predictable.”
 
In 2008, he made very accurate measurements of normal, daytime sky polarization from the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. The results, which suggested that the reflective properties of the volcano’s lava fields had influenced the polarization measurements, brought him face-to-face with the same questions that Glenn’s 1973 experiment had raised.

 
Not long after that, Joe started thinking about the 2017 eclipse and talking with Glenn about answering that riddle once and for all.
 
“Other people had looked at this issue but nobody had made a good set of measurements with all the supporting data,” such as ground reflectance and cloud distribution, he said.
 
Their goal would be to make the most well-documented measurements of the sky during a total eclipse using new, powerful cameras that Joe had developed at MSU. “We have many capabilities that (Glenn) didn’t have,” he said.
 
After four years of preparation, their plan came to fruition on Aug. 21, 2017 in Rexburg, Idaho, where Joe and Glenn together measured the polarization of the sky using both a replica of Glenn’s scanning system as well as the new all-sky imagers. And they were joined by four MSU graduate students and three undergrads from Brigham Young University’s Rexburg campus. Another undergraduate student from Colorado State University had helped develop the camera systems, but was unable to join the team in Idaho.

 
“We know enough now to know that it was a big success,” Joe said after the eclipse.
 
So, has the riddle been answered?
 
“I don’t have the final answer yet, but I’m very excited about what we’re seeing,” Joe said. The team will analyze the data in the coming months.
 
But he’s increasingly confident saying that the asymmetry that Glenn measured was caused in part by the limitations of his equipment. As the eclipse’s shadow swept across the Earth during the 1973 eclipse, the sky polarization was changing while the camera was making its scans.
 
With the specialized optics that his team developed for the darkness of the eclipse, Joe is now dreaming up new experiments to measure polarization in the nighttime sky, which perhaps would create new questions for researchers to answer in coming decades.
 
“Everything we’ve been doing in the daytime, we can start doing at night,” he said. “Nobody has ever done that. This whole world opens up to us now.”

Situated on more than a mile of Yellowstone riverfront, Sage Lodge will become a year-round destination for fly fishermen, outdoor enthusiasts, and those looking for a rejuvenating escape from the everyday. This rural resort is scheduled to open in summer 2018 and will offer 50 guest rooms, including a 34-room lodge and four stand-alone cabins. Guests and locals will be able to enjoy a Montana-inspired restaurant and bar complete with a wood-fired grill, a versatile event barn for private meetings or special occasions, and a full-service luxury spa. Located 30 miles from Yellowstone National Park and less than an hour from Bozeman, the lodge looks out at the majestic Emigrant Peak and features expansive views, unparalleled experiences and distinctive Montana hospitality.

Through a partnership with SAGE, an innovative, world-class manufacturer of performance fly fishing equipment, Sage Lodge will provide guests with a multitude of fly fishing experiences, from beginner’s casting instruction to guided excursions to the best locations in Paradise Valley. Year-around outdoor activities will include hiking, horseback riding, birding, dogsledding and snowshoeing. The resort will also include an on-site fitness center with an outdoor workout space.

Conceptualized by interior design firm Degen & Degen, the guestrooms will bring the outdoors inside with décor and materials that reflect the surrounding landscape. The spacious and comfortable rooms will include a gas fireplace and ample storage to house outdoor gear. The freestanding cabins will feature four rooms that can be booked individually, or collectively to sleep up to 16 people. The common spaces will include a full kitchen, dining room, living room, loft space and outdoor patio in each cabin, as well as a hot tub shared between the cabin cluster. Room rates are projected to start at $300 per night.

The property will have a ranch-like composition of outbuildings, with a wood-fired grill and bar housed in an event barn separate from the lodge, offering indoor and outdoor dining where guests can sip on local beers, wine and craft cocktails while enjoying cured meats and fish from around the region. In the main lodge lobby, a separate bar area will mirror the main restaurant with a more relaxed environment and limited menu.

Indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces for up to 150 people will be available, creating multiuse rooms for a variety of occasions. These will include a 2,500-square-foot event barn, three small meeting rooms and 1,800 square feet of pre-function space. All guests will have access to the lodge’s lawn, where they can enjoy activities and games.

The Joshua Green Corporation (JGC), owner of the lodge and SAGE Manufacturing, is a large contributor to the local community and remains active in supporting area enhancements and preservation, regularly contributing to conservation efforts. “Sage Lodge truly speaks the language of adventure seekers and those looking to be inspired by the great outdoors,” said Stan McCammon, president and CEO of the JGC. “The Green family, now in its sixth generation, is comprised of fly fishing and outdoor enthusiasts, and this magnificent property will offer endless opportunities for generations of families, friends and the community to enjoy.”

In addition to Degen & Degen, JGC partnered with general contractor Northfork Builders, Inc., architecture firm Jensen Fey, landscape architecture firm ELM and developer Touchstone Corporation to bring to life its vision of an outdoor hub inspired by its surroundings. Columbia Hospitality, a Seattle-based management company, will manage and operate the lodge. Columbia also manages The LARK hotel and Rialto theater in Bozeman, MT.

“Sage Lodge will undoubtedly become a must-see destination for travelers, whether they’re looking for outdoor adventure or a peaceful getaway in one of the most beautiful destinations in the country,” said Columbia Hospitality founder and CEO John Oppenheimer. “We are excited to collaborate with incredible partners on this property and look forward to offering remarkable experiences that create an inspired getaway for our guests.”

Following the Lodge’s grand opening, an on-site spa with several soaking pools, as well as luxury amenities and treatments, is scheduled to open in late 2018.

October 1-31 marks our 3rd annual Bozeman’s Choice Reader poll where we ask you to tell us what you like and don’t like about all things Bozeman. From your favorite places to eat, your favorite bands in the area, your favorite spots and hiking trails, rivers for recreating, local celebrities, and ideas for the future, there is no shortage of people, places and things to weigh in on.

Universal Athletic is proud to announce that the company’s Bozeman retail store will be the permanent home of the Montana Football Hall of Fame. Universal Athletic will be hosting a Montana Football Hall of Fame unveiling event on October 6th.
 
The unveiling event will be from 7pm-8pm at Universal Athletic in Bozeman (912 N 7th Ave) and is open to the public. The event will include speeches from representatives for Universal Athletic and the Montana Football Hall of Fame, door prizes, and the unveiling of the hall of fame wall. Select Montana Football Hall of Fame past and future inductees will be present at the event, and the 2018 inductees will be announced during the event.

The Montana Football Hall of Fame was founded in 2016 by Big Huddle to “honor all of the great accomplishments of past players, coaches and contributors that have helped support the game we all love from across the state,” explains Rick Halmes, Chairman of Big Huddle.
 
Universal Athletic has been in the Montana Sporting Goods industry since 1971, supplying schools and teams with athletic gear and apparel, and operating retail stores across the state. Greg Miller, President of Universal Athletic, stated that “our partnership with the Montana Football Hall of Fame just makes sense. Universal Athletic is a huge supporter of athletics in Montana and we are very proud to be a part of honoring some of the greatest athletes to come out of the state.”

Universal Athletic would like to invite the public to attend the event, as well as media from across the state.

Montana State University will commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day 2017 with a weeklong series of educational and cultural events Oct. 9-13. All events are free and open to the public.
 
MSU President Waded Cruzado will open the week’s events with her participation in a traditional round dance at noon Monday, Oct. 9, on the Centennial Mall, south of Montana Hall.
 
At 6 p.m. Walter Fleming, head of the MSU Native American Studies Department, will make a presentation about Indigenous Peoples Day to the Bozeman City Commission meeting at City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. Fleming will introduce several local Native American artists whose work will be on display beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the MSU Strand Union Building hallway near the Ask Us Desk. The artists include Ben Pease, Alisha Fisher, Casey Figueroa, Carlin Bear Don’t Walk and John Pepion.

A free chili feed for the community in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Christus Collegium, 714 S. Eighth Ave. Kyle Alderman and the band NC Rez Hounds will entertain.
 
An opening for the art exhibit in the SUB will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 10. Indigenous foods and refreshments will be served.
 
Isabell Hawkins, an astrophysicist who is project director of the Exploratorium in San Francisco will speak at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in Room 339 of Leon Johnson Hall.  A native of Argentina, Hawkins’ work focuses on broadening access to astronomy and enhancing participation by all communities through the appreciation of the cultural roots of science. She has received eight NASA awards for her work on NASA education and public outreach.

The film “100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice,” about the late Elouise Cobell, will be screened at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in the Hager Auditorium at the Museum of the Rockies. The screening is free and open to the public. Cobell was a Pikuni (Blackfeet) woman who attended MSU and received an honorary doctorate from MSU. Cobell was the lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class-action suit, Cobell v. Salazar. The suit challenged the U.S. government’s misallocation of Native American land trust funds to nearly a half-million Native Americans. After a 13-year legal battle, the government approved a $3.4 billion settlement for the trust case in 2010. Cobell died a year after the settlement. A panel discussion will follow the film.

Andrea Carmen, director of the International Indian Treaty Council in San Francisco and an expert presenter at the United Nations, will speak at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, in Room 101 of Gaines Hall.
 
Later in October, Cinnamon Spear of Lame Deer will show her documentary, “Pride and Basketball,” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture as part of the Indigenous Peoples Days events.
 
Marsha Small, instructor in the MSU Department of Native American Studies and an organizer of this year’s events, said that Indigenous Peoples Day is an alternative to Columbus Day both locally and on campus. She said she is a member of a group working to have the Montana Legislature officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a replacement for Columbus Day in Montana.

“We need to inform others regionally and nationally,” Small said. “We need to communicate it worldwide. The best way to do this is to bring in speakers that work on regional, national and global levels. Isabel Hawkins and Andrea Carmen both work on all these platforms.”
 
For more information about MSU’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, contact Small at 541-868-7000 or Francesca Rodriguez at 406-994-3881.