Montana's 'Griz in chief' begins work.

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

Today, we get our first introduction to the Griz-in-chief. And we continue to hear from our state leaders that bison don’t belong on state land, even though history might tell us something different.

Speaking of history, no matter how you celebrate Independence Day, the staff of the Daily Montanan would like to extend our best wishes for a safe and happy holiday. As journalists, we appreciate the freedom this country allows us to do our job, and we couldn’t do it without your support. God bless this country, and bless you for reading.

Columnist George Ochenski says that if President Donald Trump has done anything with the way he’s handled the 250th celebration of our nation’s birth, he says it’s been unifying the public against the idea of going to one of his Washington, D.C., attractions. 

AND

Columnist and longtime journalist Jack Zaleski writes that as much as Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum want to claim Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy as Republicans, the way they treat the outdoors and the environment would have caused Roosevelt to run them back out on the rails.

Republicans cheered on the decision to allow states to decide the topic of abortion, but they couldn’t muster enough support in Congress to keep a provision of the “one big, beautiful bill” from expiring. And that means Medicaid funds can be used to provide abortions.

Even though President Donald Trump and others in Medora, North Dakota, have spoken about the great outdoors and the conservation legacy of Teddy Roosevelt, their records demonstrate the opposite.

Police are continuing to use artificial intelligence as it becomes available and as they develop new investigative techniques. But in many places the use of AI has went largely unchecked, and law enforcement is left in a legal gray area.

Note: some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall

Our first two stories come to us courtesy of our hard-working friends at the Tennessee Outlook, who have had a number of protests at the Capitol over gerrymandering, the National Guard and Republicans stripping all Democrats of committee assignments. They’ve been busy. But in one of the most recent reports, it appears as if advocates for legalizing marijuana have a new pitch: Pot for potholes. In other words, revenue from marijuana sales would be used for road construction and repair.

Gov. Bill Lee has been asked to order an investigation into a botched execution attempt before anymore death penalty sentences can happen. The review stems from a failed attempt in which authorities could not find a vein to administer the IV that contained the lethal cocktail of death-inducing drugs.

Finally, in what is pretty heated rhetoric — even by 2026 standards: Republicans gathering in Florida are warning residents not to vote for Democrats because they are “socialists,” “psychos” and “anarchists.”

If you’re like me (and I am not sure I’d wish that on anyone), and you haunt the second-hand stores and garage sales, it’s almost guaranteed you’re going to hit a few Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis or odd compilations of orchestral and band music. Sometimes I am amazed and amused that there are so many records with different marches and other instrumental songs. I don’t know that I have ever thought, “You know what I need to hear? Marching band songs. In fact, what I really need is an entire album full of them.” But you can find album after album from notables such as Mitch Miller to recordings of high school bands that feature instrumental songs, including marches. Then again, maybe those albums haunt those stores because of sagging demand.

But just like Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around The Christmas Tree” means it’s Christmas time, and Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” means it’s Halloween, it’s not really Independence Day until I hear John Philip Sousa’ “Stars and Stripes.” I don’t know how many times I need to hear it during the course of this weekend, but it makes me think of parades, barbecues and fireworks.

I started to wondering about the first recording of the song that most any American today could easily recognize. And as it turns out, the song is one of the first kind recorded, and also was recorded on a disc, instead of what I had expected — a cylinder or tube.

This particular recording, which sounds scratchy and woozy to our ears, was recorded in 1897 in New York. And while the style may have changed, it’s still an easily recognizable song, recorded when America was much closer to 100 years old than 250. And while our Founding Fathers and Mothers may have marveled at what became of 13 colonies, it’s also inspirational to know that generations of Americans have shared a common song that became the backdrop of this very important holiday.

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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