New West Network

My Page: Kirk Siegler

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New Westerners

Global warming may actually help Connie Poten’s business.

Poten and her husband, Andy Sponseller, own and operate Missoula’s Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard and Winery. Without fail, the couple says, up until a few years ago, a freeze would consistently come on Memorial Day and Labor Day, making even the most resistant of grapes, all but impossible to grow.
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Live Music

Oregon singer-songwriter Tracy Grammer’s latest release Flower of Avalon isn’t your average tribute. Sure, all but one song on the album was written by Dave Carter, and all continue in a tradition of smart pop and folk songs. But Flower of Avalon goes further; it’s a deeply personal tribute to Grammer’s former performing and songwriting partner.

Grammer performs this Wednesday at Missoula's Crystal Theater. [more]

Podcasting

The New West Missoula and Bozeman pages have partnered with the Billings non-profit organization MusEco to bring two fantastic audio programs to our readers.

We’ll be offering the weekly Montana Muse program and the monthly Waste Not Want Not: Conserving the Last Best Place spot on our pages for you to listen to, download or carry around in your mp3 player. The shows are also currently heard on Yellowstone Public Radio.

Montana Muse, hosted by Scott Prinzing is an hour-long music and entertainment show featuring Montana artists. Waste Not Want Not is a news and public affairs program focusing on environmental issues in Montana and Wyoming and hosted by Kris Prinzing.

Look for the link to the podcasts in our "Intelligencer" sections, on the left-hand column of our Bozeman and Missoula pages. [more]

Film

Coal bed methane development and its impacts on Montana and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin is the latest focus of a Missoula-based film company. High Plains Films forthcoming release, Powder River Country looks at the broad push for energy development and the effects, good and bad, on Wyoming’s economy and environment.

Montana is on the cusp of developing its mineral rich deposits, but not if some residents, environmental groups and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe have anything to say about it. The development of clean coal resources is center to Governor Brian Schweitzer’s energy platform.

So the timing couldn’t be better for this film’s release. Powder River Country will debut December 15th on Montana PBS.

Foreign Policy Forum

Globalization, US intervention in Latin American affairs and the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) are on tap tonight on campus.

Salvadoran labor activist Wilfredo Berrios will explain why he thinks the above topics are helping to worsen poverty and widen the inequity of wealth in his home country.

Berrios is instrumental in SUTTELL, a Salvadoran union of telecom workers. He was also an underground organizer for the country’s social movement during its twelve year civil war. His talk starts at seven in the Urey Underground Lecture Hall, and it’s sponsored by Community Action for Justice in the Americas, the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and UM Students for Peace and Justice.

Elections

John Engen coasted to an easy victory in the Missoula mayoral race tonight, taking 60 percent of the vote, to opponent Lou Ann Crowley's 38 percent.

As of ten this evening, unofficial final results show Engen with 7,455 ballots to Crowley's 4,773.

The tightest City Council race saw Bob Jaffe take Ward 3's spot with 50 percent of the vote while Lee Clemmensen came in close behind with 49 percent of the vote.

All total, 33 percent of Missoula's registered voters turned out for the election.

Read on for the final counts. [more]

Growth Policy

Sustainable growth. Livable neighborhoods. Mike Kadas says they can happen simultaneously.

The outgoing Missoula mayor said as much today in what will probably be one of his last pitches for responsible, in-fill development. His speech was part of the Practical Ethics Center’s Ethics at Noon series on campus. [more]

City Elections

The future of Missoula will be decided Tuesday.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit melodramatic. But the race for the Garden City’s next mayor and a handful of council seats, could have serious impacts on growth policy, open space and transportation. [more]

Local Music Sound Off

This week's featured local musician is singer-songwriter Alicia Baylor. Originally from Florence, Montana, Alicia's quickly gaining much deserved attention on the local folk circuit.

Listen to her single Underfallen, a New West exclusive, by clicking here.

When Alicia's not concentrating on her career, she's busy recruiting out-of-town artists to the Garden City, as concert cordinator for the Missoula Folklore Society.

For a complete listing of other featured artists and their music, click on Local Music Sound Off on the left hand side of this page. And remember, if you're a local musician or in a local band and would like to offer a sample of your work, drop us a line at kirk@newwest.net.

Urban Wildlife

Here’s something from the quirky news file: an aggressive six point buck held a teenage paperboy hostage underneath a car for twenty minutes the other morning in Helena.

It’s the latest in a string of clashes between urban-dwelling deer and city residents. In Montana’s capitol city, where second and third-generation urban deer are quite common, city officials are perplexed for a solution. New West’s own Wild Bill Schneider has offered up his proposal on our pages.

With the traditional population control mechanism, hunting, seemingly out of the question (this is a city after all, despite the fact that it’s Montana), it will be interesting to see if a workable solution can be found, one that will protect wildlife, and early morning paperboys.

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