Daines avoided BLM nominee's record, and then avoided follow-up questions.

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

“If your taxes went down $500, somebody else’s taxes in your school district, your city, your county, went up $500 because this is just a shift. It’s not somebody up in the Yellowstone Club or somebody up in Flathead Lake or Whitefish Lake … It is someone else in your tax jurisdiction, and most likely it’s another Montana full-time resident like myself. It’s a Main Street business owner.”–Montana state Sen. Greg Hertz, a Republican of Polson, on property tax changes.

Due to a technical glitch and concerns about residents needing tax relief, Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Department of Revenue have extended the deadline for property owners and landlords to qualify for the new property tax rate.

Another group, the Center for Biological Diversity, adds a lawsuit that asks a federal judge to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to identify the critical habitat for wolverines and start protecting the species, which has Endangered Species Act protection. The service is months behind on identifying the range for the wolverines in the Lower 48 states.

It’s an election year, and the control of Congress is both tight and very contested as Democrats try to wrest it away from Republicans. On Thursday, GOP leaders warned that the entire Trump administration and its progress could be undone with a victorious Democratic election. An analysis by our Washington, D.C., capitol bureau team shows that while elections are happening in every state, control of Congress will come down to just a handful of select states.

Democrats in Congress hold a session where they invited leaders to Washington, D.C., to discuss the impacts of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI stances. Those policies are having an outsized impact on colleges, universities and higher education institutions, which primarily serve minority students.

Democrats and Republicans are still engaged in a stalemate for funding the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats want reforms in how police are handling American citizens. Meanwhile, Republicans fear losing their momentum in carrying out the immigration plans from President Donald Trump.

Columnist George Ochenski says that even though Montana, like so many other states, wants to lure large data centers and their massive hunger for power, what we don’t know should stop leaders in their tracks. Montana could get burned by the latest technological craze.

Today, the staff of The Daily Montanan notes with sadness the passing of our colleague, Mike Smith, who was a part of the Montana Standard newsroom. Several staff members had either worked with him or gotten to know him. And, even though this is a big, old state, as you can probably imagine, there are not a ton of journalists in it (sadly). That makes it a pretty small club, and we tend to recognize each other’s good work, especially because we all know how difficult it can be.

Even though the industry has changed so much — even during his time in Butte (since 2013), Mike remained a consummate professional. He was a solid, workhorse type of writer who could be trusted with just about any story.

When he moved out West because he loved the area and the mountains, he became a fixture, falling in love with Butte. And honestly, who can blame him?!? But we would note that Butte is quirky and ferociously guards its history. But Mike embraced it. Some people come to Montana because of its portrayal in literature or movies, and discover, after upon arriving, it doesn’t quite match. That disappoints some. But others — those lucky others — get here and realize its more than what they’ve seen. There's something spiritual, rugged and wholly authentic about these places, and there’s probably nowhere where that’s more true than Butte.

A story written by Duncan Adams and Tracy Thornton in the Standard can be found here.

Journalists can be an itinerant bunch — moving from place to place — but Mike found a home in Butte and stayed. Though he didn't have a Silver Bow pedigree that could be traced back through the generations or the hard rock mines, he loved Butte, and Butte knew it because it's something you simply cannot fake. Sure, his friends will miss him, but Butte just gained one more character who will become a permanent part of its collection of characters.

Tap ‘er light, Mike.

It’s Friday, and we made it to another work-week’s end. It seemed as if this one may have lasted just slightly longer than normal. Maybe it was the record-setting State of the Union speech, maybe it's just because it’s just before Spring sets in, which means warmer weather and longer days. However, we need a bit of music that helps get us in the weekend mood.

Previously on “The Hook," I have written about rediscovering songs that I heard everywhere on easy listening stations in grocery stores, department stores and dentists offices — you know, the kind of music that is just familiar enough to blend in, but not good enough to sing along with, or even play loudly. There were a whole cast of most inoffensive characters from Pat Boone to Ray Coniff Singers who were about as exciting as unflavored soda water.

And yet others — after decades of collecting dust — may be worth revisiting. I have been listening again to Henry Mancini. And recently, I collected a few Earl Grant records. He was best known for his hit single, “The End." He was a talented multi-instrumentalist who died before his 40th birthday in a car accident.

Nevertheless, Grant has an impressive catalogue of mostly instrumental hits, which sound like they were lifted from a 1960s cocktail party or the type of lounge that was jungle-themed and covered in vinyl. There is a certain lush, exuberant overkill to this music, something that would not be so unlike the complex synthesizer music of the 1980s. Something about this music feels luxurious and familiar, and that’s why today, I am pulling Grant’s version of the classic “Deep Purple," which he put out on the 1961 album, “Ebb Tide." Seems like a good song to play at the end of the day during cocktail hour.

If you have a song that you’d like to share, or would like to get in touch with us, please send us a note at [email protected]

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