One of Montana State University’s research and teaching farms was recently ranked among the 40 best college farms in the nation by College Ranker, an independent online college decision source.

The Arthur H. Post Teaching and Research Farm at MSU was ranked number 28 out of 40 of the best college farms nationwide. The rankings are based on hands-on experience, student involvement, community outreach programs, workshops, classes, lectures, volunteer opportunities and degree plan options.

David Gettel, farm operations manager of the Arthur H. Post Farm, said the farm was honored to be recognized for its many efforts.

“We have an incredibly active farm in terms of research, activities and community engagement,” Gettel said. “The people that are involved in plant breeding, pest management and crop rotation studies are absolutely the best in the nation. It’s not surprising that we are nationally ranked. This farm and the people that are conducting research here are a priceless asset to Montana State University and the state of Montana.”

The Arthur H. Post Farm is one of 12 active teaching and research farms affiliated with MSU, the MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. The farm encompasses more than 254 acres of wheat and barley variety trials, cropping systems, pest management studies, and trials for Foundation seeds, or seeds developed by the experiment station for potential commercial production.

Additional institutions that made the list were Penn State University, Dartmouth College, Yale University and Cornell University.

First Choice Home Health is the best home health care agency in Gallatin County, according to the new Medicare star rating system. Consumers now have a new way to compare home health agencies, and the nurses and therapists they invite into their homes for skilled care.

First Choice Home Health, the only locally owned home health agency in Gallatin County, received four out of a possible five stars, which not only puts it above the other agencies in Gallatin County, but above the Montana and national averages for quality of care and patient experience.
First Choice out-ranked the other two Medicare‐certified agencies in Gallatin County, both of which scored Medicare star ratings below the Montana and national averages.

The new star rating system is part of Medicare’s Home Health Compare website that allows consumers to compare care provided by home health agencies, based on results from third party surveys of actual patients, regarding their perception of the care provided. Patients are asked questions about their recent home health care experiences, with topics covering the home health care team’s professionalism, communication, and the likelihood that they would recommend the agency to others. The star rating also incorporates various clinical data, which reflects specific process measures and patient outcomes.

To learn more, visit FirstChoiceMontana.com to learn more.


Livingston Women in Business (LWIB) is kicking off the 1st Annual Spread the Warmth Winter Clothing Drive. Donations of new or gently used winter clothing will be collected October 28-November 18 at various locations throughout Park County. We are in need of coats, hats, mittens, gloves, snowpants, boots, socks and scarves for men, women and children.

All donations collected will be distributed November 21-22 to those in need in our community to help Spread the Warmth as winter approaches.

DONATION DROP SITES

Livingston: Ace Hardware, Albertsons, Katabatic Brewing Co., Markouture, Printing For Less (8-5, M-F), The Shane Center, Town & Country Foods

Clyde Park: Drinking Horse Coffee Cabin

Wilsall: Ace Roofing (9-2, M-F)

Donation site collection hours are regular business hours for each location unless otherwise noted.

CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION

The Community Closet Motor Home will be loading up all of the donations and heading out to distribute them to the community.

November 21st
Food Resource Center - 10am-12pm
Loaves and Fishes - 2-4pm

November 22nd
Community Closet's Alley Annex 10am-1pm

More information can be found online at www.livwib.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lwibspreadthewarmth

Thirty books were selected as finalists in ten categories for the ninth annual High Plains Book Awards. Twenty-four different publishers from Canada and the US were represented in this year’s competition. Of the 34 finalists, 13 were from Montana, and eight are from Canada.
 
Winners in each category received a $500 cash prize at the Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana. The Awards Banquet is a signature event of the Billings Public Library. More information and reviews of the books can be found at highplainsbookawards.org.

 
The 2015 winners are:
 
Fiction – Laura Pritchett, Bellvue, CO.,  Stars Go Blue, Counterpoint
Nonfiction – Bryce Andrews, Missoula, MT, Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West, Atria Books
First Book – Bryce Andrews,  Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West
Woman Writer – Carrie La Seur, Billings, MT., The Home Place, HarperCollins
Poetry – Shann Ray, Spokane, WA., Balefire, Lost Horse Press
Art & Photography – Larry Len Peterson, Sisters, Oregon, Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend, University of Oklahoma Press
Short Stories –Jamie Lisa Forbes, Greensboro, North Carolina, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, Pronghorn Press
Young Adult Book –  Brenda Baker, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Camp Outlook,  Second Story Press
Children’s Book – the late Cheryl Chad, Stittsville, Ontario, Canada,  Back to Batoche, Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
Culinary –  Seabring Davis, Livingston, MT.,  A Taste of Montana: Favorite Recipes from Big Sky Country, Farcountry Press
 
204 books were nominated for the 2015 High Plains Book Awards. All the nominated books were read and evaluated by community volunteers in the first round of the selection process. The finalist books in each category were judged by writers who have significant connections to the High Plains region, many who have won in the particular category he or she judged.

 
Nominations for the 2016 High Plains Book Awards, honoring books first published in 2015, will open January 8, 2016
 
Award Sponsors: Billings Public Library Board of Trustees, The Billings Clinic Foundation, Billings Public Library Foundation, Stella Fong & Joe Dillard, Friends of the Billings Public Library, Sharon Ilie, Robert & Susan Lubbers, MSU-Billings, The Ucross Foundation, The Writer's Voice, Yellowstone Art Museum, and the Zonta Club of Billings.

 
About the High Plains Book Awards: The Billings Public Library Board has established the High Plains Book Awards to recognize regional authors and/or literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

The Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture is seeking exhibit proposals for our Weaver Room and Lobby Galleries. Art works must be wall hung and original by local and regional artists. We are taking submissions now with availability starting this winter. For more information and proposal guidelines please check our website or contact Alissa, education@theemerson.org.

The Bozeman Winter Farmers' Market continues in its eighth season on Saturday, October 10, 2015. Do your grocery shopping at the Bozeman Winter Farmers’ Market! Shoppers can find hot breakfast, coffee, eggs, cheese, artisan meats, soaps & salves, wool, and summer’s bounty in the cozy Emerson Cultural Center Ballroom from 9 a.m. to noon. The market dates for 2015-2016 are: October 10 & 24, November 7 & 21, December 19th, January 9, 16 & 30, February 6 & 20, March 5 & 19, and April 2 & 16. You’ll be surprised on how much Montana has to offer during the fall, winter, and spring season!

Each market will feature live music, coloring for the kids and drawings for BWFM tote bags filled with products from featured vendors. The market is pleased to continue the Farmers' Market Fan Cards program. As shoppers leave the market with purchases, volunteers will stamp their Fan Cards. Cards that are filled with six (6) stamps by noon on April 16th (the end of the eleventh market of the season) will be entered into a drawing for prizes from some of the market's sponsors.

This weekend’s market kicks off the 2015-2016 winter market season. With the fine fall weather Montana has been experiencing, there is still plenty of summer’s bounty to still enjoy!

The BWFM is sponsored by Downtown, Bozeman, Community Food Co-op, Gallatin Valley Botanical, Montana Parent, Rocky Mountain Gardening, Bozeman Magazine, and Broken Ground. Join us for another season of fine local foods!  Who’s your farmer?

For more information, visit www.bozemanwintermarket.com or contact Stephanie Archer, Market Manager, at wintermarketbozeman@gmail.com.

One of Bozeman’s most popular off-leash dog parks will be getting some much needed improvements next week. The 37-acre, fully fenced park is the largest of its kind in Bozeman. It was created in 2008 by the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) and the City of Bozeman with an investment of over $100,000. The park now boasts over two miles of trails, a veritable paradise for dog owners and non-dog owners alike.

 
On Monday, October 5th , GVLT is beginning construction on a parking lot expansion and fencing project .  For safety reasons, Snowfill Recreation Area will be closed through Friday, October 9th.
 
Snowfill is a popular place and that often means parking overflows onto Mcllhattan Rd.  “It is one of the most highly used parks in Bozeman. Because of its popularity, demand for parking is high. We're hoping these improvements will mean a safer entry to the park for both dogs and people”, says GVLT Associate Director, Kelly Pohl. The parking lot expansion will add 10 new parking spots, a 50% increase in parking capacity.

 
During the construction and park closure, GVLT is asking all Snowfill users to plan accordingly and be understanding as improvements are made. Alternative off-leash dog parks in the area include the Gallatin County Regional Park, Burke Park, the Softball Complex, and Cooper Park. The park will be closed again later in the fall for the installation of a vault toilet, the only public restroom for miles.

 
The improvements at the park will cost over $50,000. GVLT has had tremendous support for this project from Allied Engineering, Andrea Dumke and Michael Manship, the Recreational Trails Program, and countless individual donors who gave through the Potty Trot Run and Chamwiggly events.
 
Gallatin Valley Land Trust builds, maintains, and enhances trails on the Main Street to the Mountains trail system in Bozeman, MT.  The Main Street to the Mountains trail network boasts over 80 miles of trails that connect throughout town. For more information or to find out how to purchase a trail map, visit www.gvlt.org.

September brought both ups and downs for the Montana State Bobcat football team. Fort Louis was the Cats first home game, played under the lights at Bobcat Stadium on September 3. After a rocky start the Cats came back to capitalize with an extraordinary second half of football, the Bobcats came out on top with a 45-14 win.

After two weeks of rest the Bobcats found themselves in Cheney Washington facing the University of Eastern Washington Eagles. A rocky start would be an under exaggeration to describe the Bobcats performance at the start of this game. This would be a non conference game for the Cats, but the outcome would leave the winner with bragging rights in the FCS and the Big Sky. Some questionable calls on the coaching staffs behalf left the Bobcats fighting from behind 21 points at the end of the first quarter, with the score 28-7 Eastern Washington.

The Bobcats did prove one thing in the game, that they are a second half team. Coming out in the second half, the Bobcats offense dominated for most of the second half. Biting and scratching their way back into the game, it was not enough to catch Eastern Washington’s lead. The Bobcats yielded a total of 763 offensive yards, you just don’t see that kind of offensive yardage in FCS football very often. Combined with Eastern Washington’s 656 total offense this was an offensive showdown for the record books, Bobcats falling to Eastern Washington 55-50. This is going to make an interesting matchup if the Bobcats and Eastern Washington meet in the playoffs in December.

After the unbearable beating by Eastern Washington the Bobcats returned home September 26 for the homecoming matchup against Cal Poly. The Bobcats needed to make a mark in the Big Sky Conference with a good showing against Cal Poly. Dakota Prukop and the Bobcat offense came out with all pistons firing, chalking up 21 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. That was just the start, the Cats had a commanding lead at halftime 31-21.

Coach Ash was incredibly proud of the Bobcat defense only allowing 7 points in the second half. He contributed the defense success to going back to the basics. “We just simplify things for the defense and it seemed to work well, very proud of my defense.”

#90 Taylor Sheridan defensive end said, “We had no specific play for the defense, we were to just go out and do our assignments.”

The defense had a major part in the 45-28 victory over Cal Poly. This victory placed Montana State as one of the power house teams to watch out for in the FCS this year.

The Bobcats will travel to Northern Arizona to play the Lumberjacks October 3, then return home October 10 to take on Sacramento State at Bobcat Stadium, game time 5:05pm. Games can be seen on ROOT Sports, or listen on Bobcat radio network, or tune into real game highlights at Bozeman Magazine Facebook page or Jacks kidcatchat on Facebook.

Wisetail Works, the charitable giving arm of Bozeman technology firm, Wisetail, announced a $100,000 grant to Montana Code School to support the program’s efforts to train the next generation of tech sector talent in Montana.

The Montana Code School is a community-driven initiative based in Missoula dedicated to expanding the pipeline of programming talent in Montana through a 12 week course. Montana Code School students can begin with little or no programming skills and emerge with skills necessary to enter junior level programming positions.

The Wisetail Works grant will support the Montana Code School’s development of a virtual learning environment as the core platform for students, instructors and mentors in the business and tech community to collaborate, share learning results and best practices. By powering learning at the Montana Code School, the Wisetail Works grant will allow instructors to track learning, record results, develop programming and deliver curated curriculum, allowing Montana Code School students access to the most leading edge technology on the market.

 “We know from experience, Montana is an excellent place for tech innovation and we’re thrilled to support the forward-thinking approach spearheaded by the Montana Code School,” said Justin Bigart, CEO of Wisetail. “We owe our success to the people, infrastructure and backdrop Montana has to offer and can think of no better way to pay it forward than to invest in opportunities for students to learn specific skill sets to land well-paying jobs right here in Montana’s tech community.”

The Montana Code School will welcome its inaugural class on Monday, September 28th 2015.
 
“Wisetail Works' support will give the Montana Code School an additional edge. Bringing a learning management tool into the mix with the Montana Code School will effectively augment our classroom and mentoring experience. It allows us to capture rich resources and learning pathways for current and future cohorts. It is a sincere pleasure to partner with Wisetail on this endeavor," said Montana Code School Instructor Doug Odegaard.

Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at the University of Montana and member of the Montana Code School’s founding team, Paul Gladen calls the partnership a game-changer. “As a global leader in its field, Wisetail's commitment to the Montana Code School sends the message far and wide that not only is this training opportunity welcomed by students, but the tech community is eager to engage with individuals who complete the program. Wisetail Works' support is a major boost to the program," said Gladen.

Montana-native and UM Business School graduate, Justin Bigart bucked the Silicon Valley tech startup culture by building Wisetail without venture capital, dedicated to being an independent, profitable and self-funded company. Since its inception in 2008, Wisetail has grown 100% per year with more than 1 million users and counting. Wisetail Works launched in June 2015 as the charitable giving arm of Wisetail, actively working to benefit social, economic and environmental causes in the state.

Past Wisetail Works grant recipients include the Gallatin Valley Land Trust’s bridge project and Montana’s Crisis Intervention Team, (CIT Montana) which is an umbrella group that coordinates crisis intervention training and development across the state.

Learn more about opportunities at the Montana Code School.