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Thursday, Aug. 1st, 2024

HRDC Offering Special Streamline Route to Sweet Pea/SLAM Festival, Encouraging All Attendees to Bring Food Donations

BOZEMAN — HRDC is thrilled to be part of the upcoming SLAM Festival and Sweet Pea Festival this weekend.

We will be operating a special Streamline route on Saturday, August 3rd following the Sweet Pea Parade to connect community members in Belgrade to all of the festivities without the hassle of driving and parking a personal vehicle. To view a list of stops and scheduled times, please visit Streamline’s website.

We also invite all SLAM festival-goers to join us in supporting our Gallatin Valley Food Bank by donating food, funds, and grocery store gift cards. You will find HRDC team members next to the Information Tent during the festival hours on Saturday, August 3rd from 10 AM to 7 PM and Sunday, August 4th from 10 AM to 5 PM.

We will be accepting donations of food, funds, and grocery store gift cards. Our food wish list for the SLAM Festival includes:

  • ●  Pasta

  • ●  Cereal

  • ●  Canned fruit

  • ●  Peanut butter

  • ●  Canned tomato products

    The SLAM festival is also hosting a raffle to win a stunning art piece by local artist Nic Fischer. Raffle tickets are available for purchase for $5 each or 5 for $20. All proceeds will directly support HRDC’s food and nutrition programs.

    The rising costs of food and housing have increased the need for our services. This past year alone, we’ve seen a 47% increase in new households visiting our Gallatin Valley Food Bank.

Our food and nutrition programs are mostly funded by local support. We are proud of the community that allows us to keep up with the growing need for food assistance. Together, we can ensure that no one in our community goes to bed hungry.

About HRDC

As a private, not-for-profit Community Action Organization focused on building a better community through its nearly 50 initiatives, HRDC combats poverty in southwestern Montana and believes everyone deserves the opportunity to be financially stable. Donors, volunteers, and community members can learn more at https://thehrdc.org/

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Montana State doctoral student awarded prestigious Gilliam fellowship


Montana State University graduate student Lauren Gedlinske is pictured Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. MSU photo by Colter Peterson

BOZEMAN – Montana State University graduate student Lauren Gedlinske is one of 50 students from across the U.S. – and the first ever from MSU – to receive a prestigious Gilliam Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  

The award recognizes students and their advisers for outstanding scientific research and commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in science. It provides each student-adviser pair with $53,000 in support each year for up to three years of the student’s dissertation research and enrollment in a one-year course that provides leadership training, professional development and support in promoting healthy and inclusive graduate training environments.

Joshua Hall, senior program officer for the Gilliam Fellows program, said recipients were selected not just for their scientific accomplishments, but also “for the unique ways each and every one of them makes the science ecosystem a better place.”

For Gedlinske, who has been interested in community ecology since she watched insects visiting the wildflowers in her grandmother’s garden as a child, the award recognizing her support for the graduate student community is meaningful.

“It’s a huge honor and pretty humbling,” said Gedlinske, who is pursuing a doctorate in ecology and environmental sciences in the Department of Ecology in MSU’s College of Letters and Science.

Gedlinske, who aspires to a career in research and ultimately in science policy, studies how floral scents emitted by wildflowers affect pollinator behavior and the associated reproductive success of plants. She said most prior research relied on studies of plant traits that could be seen, such as the number and size of flowers, because methods to effectively quantify floral scent compounds didn’t exist until recently. She expects her work to add to fundamental knowledge and hopes it will one day assist with ecosystem management.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Oregon in 2013, Gedlinske chose MSU for graduate school because it offered the opportunity to work with ecology professor Laura Burkle, whose writing she had studied and admired. Burkle is now her faculty co-adviser.

Since she arrived at MSU in 2021, Gedlinske has advocated for graduate students by helping to survey them about the local cost of living and working to improve graduate student stipends. She is active in Graduate Women in Science and Engineering, or WISE, a student organization whose goal is to support graduate students of all genders in science, social science, math and engineering by providing opportunities for professional and social development.

As a panelist for WISE discussions, she has spoken not only about her journey as a scientist but also about the struggles she faced adjusting to the structure of graduate school. Those ultimately led to her being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

“It was my inability to manage my own timelines, motivate myself without urgent deadlines and maintain organization on the various moving parts of my projects that initially led me to seek out a diagnosis,” she said.

Inspired by her experience, Gedlinske helps connect peers who grapple with similar challenges to local resources. She also works with the MSU student group, Society for Neurodivergent Graduate Students, to raise awareness on campus about those students’ specific challenges.

“I would definitely like to do more to support and advocate for my neurodivergent peers in the future,” she said.

She added that she looks forward to applying what she learns in Gilliam Fellow workshops about fostering equitable and inclusive environments in graduate programs.

“I hope I am able to take some skills from these workshops and use them to continue to advance the causes and initiatives that mean the most to me,” she said.

A portion of the fellowship funds are allocated to the research team for projects that enhance a healthy and inclusive experience for graduate students. Burkle said ecology department faculty members and students have expressed strong interest in trainings related to equity and inclusion, and she is looking into workshops provided by various organizations.

About MSU’s first Gilliam Fellow, Burkle added, “This is a real honor for Lauren – we’re very proud and excited for her. It’s a testament to her scientific work, as well as her commitment to advancing equity and inclusion at MSU.”

 

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Tuesday, Jul. 30th, 2024

HRDC’s Southwest Montana Community Land Trust Offers Affordable Condo For Sale for $255,000

BOZEMAN — Over 30 years ago, HRDC formed Montana’s first community land trust (CLT) to help create and maintain affordable housing for residents in Southwest Montana. Today, the land trust stewards over sixty homes in Gallatin and Park Counties, with one currently available for purchase.

HRDC’s land trust features a shared equity homeownership structure that creates homes affordable to households earning local wages. The deed restriction sets forth the terms for the use of the homes, including resale restrictions to ensure the home remains affordable for subsequent purchasers. Homeowners are responsible for repairs, maintenance, and taxes, as well as program fees of $50 per month and HOA dues, if applicable. When CLT owners decide to sell their homes, sales appreciation is capped at 2% annually of the home's base price.

A CLT is an innovative and low cost way to create affordable housing. It relies on a homeowner's desire to pass along an opportunity they had, which is now unavailable to the majority of people who live and work here. This scattered site land trust approach has enabled HRDC to successfully develop and maintain over 60 homes in Gallatin and Park Counties to date.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining and expanding affordable housing options. Our community land trust is a vital tool in achieving this goal. Enabling over 60 moderate-income households to own a home in Bozeman, where the median home price currently sits at $760,000, and in Livingston, where it is just over $600,000, is a significant achievement we take great pride in,” said Heather Grenier, HRDC’s President and CEO.

This month, a community member, inspired by our mission to make housing more affordable, has partnered with us to list their home at $255,000, about 30% below market value. Once a buyer is found and the sale is finalized, this home will be added to our land trust, ensuring its affordability for future generations through a deed restriction that caps appreciation.

We are deeply grateful for this support and for all those who have contributed to our community land trust over the years. Community members who share in HRDC’s vision to maintain housing affordability for all and are interested in learning more about how to donate a home, or a portion of the full market value of a home, to HRDC’s Community Land Trust can visit our Southwest Montana Community Land Trust website at www.swmthousingtrust.org.

Interested homebuyers can learn more about the condo currently available for purchase by emailing SWMTHousingTrust@theHRDC.org or visiting https://www.swmthousingtrust.org/.

As a private, not-for-profit Community Action Organization focused on building a better community through its nearly 50 initiatives, HRDC combats poverty in southwestern Montana and believes everyone deserves the opportunity to be financially stable. Donors, volunteers, and community members can find out what we have in common at https://thehrdc.org/

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Monday, Jul. 29th, 2024

Montana State scientists publish evidence for new groups of methane-producing organisms

BOZEMAN – Montana State University scientists have provided the first experimental evidence that two groups of microbes thriving in thermal features in Yellowstone National Park produce methane – a discovery that could one day help develop methods to mitigate climate change and provide insight into the potential for life elsewhere in our solar system.

The prestigious scientific journal Nature this week published the findings from the laboratory of Roland Hatzenpichler, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Letters and Science and associate director of the university’s Thermal Biology Institute. 

The two scientific papers describe how MSU researchers verified the first known examples of methane-producing single-celled organisms to exist outside the phylum Euryarchaeota, which is part of the larger branch of the tree of life called Archaea. 
Alison Harmon, MSU’s vice president for research and economic development, said she is excited that the findings with such far-reaching potential impact are receiving the attention they deserve.

“It’s a significant achievement for Montana State University to have not one but two papers published in one of the world’s leading scientific journals,” Harmon said.
The methane-producing single-celled organisms are called methanogens. While humans and other animals eat food, breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, methanogens eat small molecules like carbon dioxide or methanol and exhale methane — a process called methanogenesis.

For decades scientists believed all methanogens belonged to the Euryarchaeota phylum, but about 10 years ago, microbes with genes for methanogenesis began to be discovered in other phylums, including one called Thermoproteota. That phylum contains two groups of microbes called Methanomethylicia and Methanodesulfokora.
“All we knew about these organisms was their DNA,” Hatzenpichler said. “No one had ever seen a cell of these supposed methanogens.”

Hatzenpichler and his researchers set out to test whether the organisms were living by methanogenesis, basing their work on a study published last year by former MSU graduate student Mackenzie Lynes. 

They harvested samples from sediments in Yellowstone National Park hot springs ranging in temperature from 141 to 161 degrees Fahrenheit (61–72 degrees Celsius). Then, MSU doctoral student Anthony Kohtz and postdoctoral researcher Viola Krukenberg grew the Yellowstone microbes in the lab. The microbes survived, thrived and produced methane. 

One of the newly identified group of methanogens, Methanodesulfokora, seems to live only in hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents, but the other, Methanomethylicia, are widespread, Hatzenpichler said. They are sometimes found in wastewater treatment plants and the digestive tracts of ruminant animals, and in marine sediments, soils and wetlands. Hatzenpichler said that’s significant because methanogens produce 70% of the world’s methane, a gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Hatzenpichler said the experiments answered an important question but also generated many more that will fuel future work. For example, most methanogens use CO2 or acetate to make methane, but Methanomethylicia and Methanodesulfokora use compounds such as methanol. This property could help scientists learn how to alter conditions in the different environments where they are found so that less methane is emitted into the atmosphere, Hatzenpichler said.

His lab will begin collaborating this fall with MSU’s Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm to research the methanogens found in cattle. In addition, new graduate students in Hatzenpichler’s lab will determine whether the newly found microbes produce methane in wastewater, soils and wetlands.

Methanomethylicia also have a fascinating cell architecture, Hatzenpichler said. The microbe forms previously unknown cell-to-cell tubes that connect two or three cells with each other. 

“We have no idea why they are forming them. Structures like these have rarely been seen in microbes. Maybe they exchange DNA; maybe they exchange chemicals. We don't know yet,” said Hatzenpichler.

The newly published research was funded by NASA’s exobiology program. NASA is interested in methanogens because they may give insights into life on Earth more than 3 billion years ago and the potential for life on other planets and moons where methane has been detected, he said. 

Hatzenpichler has discussed the results of the two studies in an online lecture and on a recent Matters Microbial podcast, and produced this infographic on methane cycling. To learn more about his lab visitwww.environmental-microbiology.com or send an email to roland.hatzenpichler@montana.edu. 

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Saturday, Jul. 27th, 2024

High water temps prompt hoot-owl fishing restrictions on portion of Yellowstone River

BILLINGS – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has issued hoot-owl fishing restrictions on the Yellowstone River from the Highway 89 Bridge Fishing Access Site (FAS) east of Livingston to the Highway 212 bridge in Laurel due to high water temperatures and low flows. The restrictions will go into effect Saturday, July 27, at 2 p.m. Hoot-owl restrictions prohibit all fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. The restriction will stay in effect until conditions improve.  

FWP's drought policy provides for angling restrictions when flows drop below critical levels for fish, when water quality is diminished or when maximum daily water temperatures reach at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout. The United States Geological survey stream gauge at Big Timber has recorded water temperatures above 73 degrees for at least three consecutive days and water flows in both the Yellowstone River and area tributaries are significantly below average.  

These restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when conditions like this exist. One short-term strategy to address heat-induced stress in Montana's wild trout is to reduce catch-and-release mortality by alerting anglers to fish only in the morning.  

If high temperatures and extremely low flows persist, anglers may want to consider fishing areas with less stressful temperatures and conditions, such as larger lakes or reservoirs, or higher elevation waterbodies. 

Along with monitoring stream temperatures, FWP also monitors stream flows and in some streams holds instream flow water rights. FWP’s water program can issue a call on junior water users, when appropriate, to contribute to stream flows through the late summer and early fall. For more information on FWP water rights, click here. 

For the latest waterbody restrictions and closures, click here. 

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Thursday, Jul. 25th, 2024

Bozeman Symphonic Choir Invites New Members for 2024-25 Season

BOZEMAN –The Bozeman Symphonic Choir, the esteemed vocal arm of the Bozeman Symphony, is seeking experienced singers of all voice types to join its ranks for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
 
This all-volunteer, 90-member chorus collaborates closely with the orchestra, presenting a repertoire of masterworks and concerts throughout the season. Members are expected to demonstrate a high level of proficiency and commit to weekly rehearsals, held on Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m., with additional rehearsals leading up to performances.
 
“Being a member of our choir requires commitment and dedication, but the return is rewarding—performing in front of a live audience with the Bozeman Symphony and some of the finest guest artists in the country,” said Choir Conductor Dr. Maren Haynes Marchesini.

Auditions for prospective members will be on Thursday, August 30, and September 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. Auditions include vocalizations and sight reading; no prepared repertoire is required. To schedule an audition, contact Dr. Marchesini at maren@bozemansymphony.org.

During the 2024-25 season, audiences can hear the Bozeman Symphonic Choir at Mozart’s Requiem on November 14-16, 2024; the annual Holiday Spectacular on December 13-15, 2024; The Stones Sang: Celebrating the Land on April 4-5, 2025; and A Spiritual Awakening:  Verdi, Simon, Ives on May 17-18, 2025. Tickets are available at bozemansymphony.org or by calling 406-585-9774.

For more information about the Bozeman Symphonic Choir, visit https://www.bozemansymphony.org/choir

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Counties in south-central and southwestern Montana placed under fire restrictions

HELENA – As dry, hot weather continues across Montana, fire restrictions are expanding to additional counties. Stage I fire restrictions went into effect today at 12:01 a.m. for Yellowstone County in south-central Montana, and Beaverhead and Jefferson counties in southwestern Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks follows the counties’ lead in placing fire restrictions on its properties within each county.

FWP-managed properties in Yellowstone County include:

  • Yellowstone Wildlife Management Area 
  • Blue Creek Fishing Access Site (FAS) 
  • Broadview Pond FAS 
  • Bundy Bridge FAS 
  • Buffalo Mirage FAS 
  • Captain Clark FAS 
  • Duck Creek FAS 
  • East Bridge FAS 
  • Gritty Stone FAS 
  • Manuel Lisa FAS 
  • South Hills FAS 
  • Voyagers Rest FAS 
  • Pictograph Cave State Park 

FWP properties within city boundaries are exempted from restrictions; for Yellowstone County, this includes Lake Elmo State Park.

FWP-managed properties in Beaverhead County include:

  • Blacktail Meadows FAS
  • Cornell Park FAS
  • Corrals FAS
  • Grasshopper FAS
  • Henneberry FAS
  • High Bridge FAS
  • Pipe Organ FAS
  • Cornell Park FAs
  • Poindexter North
  • Poindexter Middle
  • Poindexter South
  • Selway Bridge FAS
  • George Grant/Dewey FAS
  • Grasshopper FAs
  • Glen FAs
  • Greenwood Bottoms FAS
  • Kalsta Bridge FAS
  • Maidenrock North FAS
  • Maidenrock South FAS
  • Salmon Fly FAS
  • Selway Bridge FAS
  • Bannack State Park
  • Blacktail Wildlife Management Area
  • Robb-Ledford Wildlife Management Area

FWP-managed properties in Jefferson County include:

  • Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park
  • Elkhorn State Park
  • Sappington Bridge FAs
  • Mayflower Bridge FAS
  • Piedmont Pond FAS
  • Limespur FAS

Under Stage I restrictions, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire at FWP sites is not allowed. Smoking is prohibited except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is cleared of flammable materials. Recreationists may cook on a liquid petroleum gas or propane stove that can be turned on and off.

These restrictions at FWP sites will be in place until further notice. Due to dry conditions and high fire danger FWP urges people to use caution while they are out recreating.

Learn more about wildfire prevention and the latest information on fires in Montana at www.mtfireinfo.org.

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Gallatin College MSU Fall Registration Open

There is still time to register for Fall classes at Gallatin College MSU. With 25 one-year certificates and two-year degree programs, Gallatin College MSU transforms lives and creates opportunities through accessible student-centered education that prepares graduates to enter the workforce with in-demand skills. Gallatin College MSU is affordable, flexible, and small class sizes allowing for individualized instruction and hands-on learning for students of any age. Register today at gallatin.montana.edu.

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Wednesday, Jul. 24th, 2024

Bozeman City Commission Puts First Responder Levy, Fire Station Bond on Ballot

BOZEMAN — Yesterday, Bozeman City Commission voted in favor of putting the First Responder Levy and Fire Station 4 Bond on the November 2024 ballot. Bozeman citizens will now have the opportunity to decide whether they want to fund more firefighters and police officers along with building a new fire station on the west side of the city.

“We’re excited to see this issue be placed in the voter’s hands to decide,” Interim City Manager Chuck Winn stated. “The fact is that we haven’t meaningfully added staff in these departments since the 2007 mill levy and we’re still operating with that same capacity even though Bozeman has nearly doubled in size. We also knew when we relocated Fire Station 2 we would need to fill the gap in service on the west side with a new fire station. These are important things for residents to know and weigh as they make their decision.”

Bozeman voters can expect to see one question on their ballot related to the hiring of 30 new police officers and 22 new firefighters, plus eight new non-sworn positions in Police and three new non-sworn positions in Fire. Hiring will happen in phases with the goal of hiring all positions by fiscal year 2030. The new positions in Fire will be used to staff Fire Station 4 and implement a quick-response vehicle program, while the new Police positions will allow the department to create a dedicated traffic unit and increase crime prevention.


The second question on the ballot is related to the construction of a fourth fire station. Currently, the layout of the three fire stations leaves a gap in service for those on the west side of town, resulting in longer response times for those who live in the southwest corner of the city. If voters support this bond issue in addition to the mill levy, the City will be able to build, equip, and staff Fire Station 4.


Those interested in learning more about the ballot issues can visit the City’s website or call 406-582-2322. City staff will also be giving educational presentations on the issues to any interested group in Bozeman. To request a presentation, email tclark@bozeman.net.

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