New West Network

My Page: Brianna Randall

weekend essay

If you’re planning a trip to Montana, odds are good March won’t be your month of choice.

January calls out to skiers and snowboarders, June and July bring out the fishers and kayakers, and September is prime backpacking weather. But the shoulder seasons are tough in the northern Rockies, and the start of spring is an especially long, drawn-out and muddy affair.

I can wake up any morning between now and mid-June and see either tulips budding under a cheery sun, or a few inches of snow burying those same tender green shoots. In fact, many Montanans plan a trip out of the Big Sky state right about now, in search of warmer reaches after our going-on five months of winter.

But let’s not write off March completely, especially in Missoula. The mystery of the slow-budding interspersed with the occasional arctic blast is what makes it magical. [more]

commentary

Would you set up a tent on an empty highway?

Paul Hansen, a former University of Montana professor, asked this question at a February streamside setbacks workshop in Kalispell. Though the answer may be a simple one for many folks, a similar question has generated extensive public comment across several western Montana counties: would you build a house in the flood plain?

Hansen reminded Flathead County residents that just because you might not see cars coming when your tent goes up doesn’t mean you won’t get run over when the traffic starts. And the same holds true for building a house right on the banks of a beautiful creek or river: though that land is dry at the time, streams tend to roam over time, which might include a wet side-trip right into your living room. [more]

montana legislature

Here’s a piece of trivia on what makes Montana unique: it’s the only state (and maybe the only place in the world) that allows double proxy marriages. Translation: neither the bride nor groom has to show up to the wedding.

Stand-ins, usually attorneys, can exchange the vows of matrimony on behalf of the blissful, but physically absent, couple. While three other states offer proxy weddings—California, Colorado and Texas—these states still require that at least one of the parties appear before the civil authorities.

Unfortunately, the double proxy marriage law—a classic example of Montana’s live-and-let-live attitude—is now straining the State’s “resources,” as Representative Deborah Kottel (D-Great Falls) pointed out Tuesday morning on Montana Public Radio while discussing related House Bill 361, which she sponsored. Apparently, couples from as far away as China and Sweden are getting married in Montana, while never leaving their respective separate homes, much less countries.

Slightly bizarre, isn’t it? In the age of globalization, internet dating, and a jet-setting cosmopolitan couples, double proxy marriages now seem more and more appealing. But the increase in non-English speaking marriage license applicants is sapping valuable time from the county employees (namely in the District Courts) processing the licenses. A procedure that usually lasts 30 minutes can take up to two hours when staff work with foreigners, due to language barriers, name misspellings, and other snafus. [more]

Local Culture

The beginning of April signifies many things for different people: Easter and chocolate bunnies, rebirth and renewal, and, of course, the tail-end of Montana Snowbowl’s lease with the U.S. Forest Service. In some circles, the latter event involves almost as much ritual and tradition as religious ceremonies. Folks came up to “The Bowl” in colors and costumes of all kinds to celebrate—and properly mourn—the end of the ski season on Sunday, April Fool’s Day. Bikinis, fur coats, pirate costumes, Hawaiian shirts, evening gowns, and plenty of crazy hats decorated the slopes. Discarded capes, pajamas, '80s outfits and boas littered the slushy snow around the Last Run Inn as revelers soaked up the spring sun (and the remaining Snowbowl beer) after removing their skis and snowboards for the last time. [more]

Events

Lineage Dance, a professional contemporary dance troupe from Los Angeles, will be returning to Missoula this Thursday to offer a whirlwind fare of classes, performances, and feel-good community outreach.

Unlike most dance troupes, Lineage donates all profits from their concerts to local nonprofit and community groups. Created by Hilary Thomas in 1999, they've raised money for organizations nation-wide, and perform with the goal of making the arts accessible to all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. During their last visit to Missoula in July 2006, Lineage Dance performed the beautifully choreographed and emotionally charged “Healing Blue: Dancing for a Cure” as a benefit for the Montana Breast and Cervical Health Program.

This year, the Missoula International School (MIS) is hosting Lineage’s visit. Any proceeds from Lineage's performance of "Dancing Through the Ages" this Saturday will be donated directly to the MIS art program. Lineage will also perform an assembly for MIS students, faculty and parents, as well as offer dance classes to the public.
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Montana Legislature

Last week, I narrowly squeezed into Mayor John Engen’s extremely busy schedule to discuss Missoula’s legislative priorities. He shepherded me into his corner office and said, “I can give you at least eight minutes between rousing committee meetings and yoga class.”

Lately, the Mayor’s already-packed schedule is bursting at the seams -- Montana’s biennial legislative session now occupies a chunk of his energy. Almost every City and County office in Missoula has a stake in the goings-on in Helena during the next few months.

Missoula government is paying attention to public health initiatives, education reforms, transportation fund distribution, energy and power production bills, land use regulations, and taxation proposals.

Here’s a look at my conversation with Mayor Engen on the City’s role in Helena politics: [more]

Honeymoon of Champions

Most women envision a Hawaiian honeymoon spent lounging on a sunny beach while sipping a Mai Tai. Linsey Corbin, Montana's only professional female triathlete and one of the youngest women in the pros, found her post-wedding bliss preparing for a different sort of Hawaiian vacation -- training for the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona.

The Ironman is an endurance race comprised of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run in succession. Everyone's idea of a dream honeymoon, right?

But the dream shifted when, three days after her August 26th wedding in Bend, Oregon, 25-year-old Corbin was hit by a truck while biking. Not only did the Toyota 4-Runner mangle her road bike, it also snapped her collarbone in four places and imprinted permanent scars on the left side of her body. And it was less than two months before the world championships. [more]

Harvesttime

I picked a peck of peppers. And then I made them into jelly. The spicy green goo joined a chorus of jam jars already on my shelves, made from the mounds of peaches, apples, plums, and cherries dripping from Missoula's trees a few months ago.

The colorful jars light a little glow in my belly on these cold, rainy days. Harvest's bounty lends a warm cheer to the house, making the snow-topped hills less forbidding as winter slides toward Montana. [more]

Open Lands

A simple message framed on a green sign -- "Yes to Open Space" -- stood behind Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss this morning as she officially launched the campaign to pass a $10 million open space bond in Missoula County this November.

A group of around 30 supporters and reporters gathered at 11 a.m. for this launch on the viewing deck behind Caras Park. Advocates of the bond, including Mayor John Engen, spoke against the backdrop of the already-protected open lands of Mount Sentinel to their right and the roar of the Clark Fork River funneling down Brennan's Wave at their back. [more]

What to do?

On several occasions I’ve heard Missoulians lament the lack of “culture” in town, usually folks who have lived in a big(ger) city at some point. I, too, have felt bereft of entertainment choices on a Friday night, especially when comparing Missoula’s repetitive line-up of bands and bars to the nightlife of my last hometown, San Diego.

But anyone, including me, who next complains about having “nothing to do” on a weekend in Missoula needs to take a second look at the listings for what’s shaking in our hip little city. If you can’t find an event you’re dying to attend, I bet you’ll at least get a chuckle out of Missoula’s unique means of combining art, recreation, and food.

This weekend we’re offered an odd but impressive array of everything from fashion shows and food drives to antique exhibits, bike parades and poetry pig roasts—many of them in tandem. Check out this diverse variety of cultural offerings in the Garden City: [more]