Nothing better demonstrates Montana's GOP struggle than property taxes

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

“There’s been some really helpful information there that I don’t think we would have but for those portals. We are grateful to the community, not only for their resistance to what’s been going on here, but for their attempts to help us find accountability in these cases.” — Mary Moriarity, Hennepin County (Minnesota) Attorney, on threatening to sue the federal government for information about the Immigrations and Customs shootings.

Columnist George Ochenski says that dark money groups are taking after state Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, because he stood up against the “urban party bosses” to help pass a solution that gave Montanans property tax relief. He should be thanked, not pilloried.

A California woman has been found guilty of trying to defraud a Montana bank of more than $170,000. Kristine R.Z. Edwards faces as many as 30 years in jail on each of her felony counts, plus as much as $1 million in fines after a jury convicted her.

“Da Bears” just doesn’t sound right if you put “Indiana” in front of them, rather than Chicago. But the reality of the beloved National Football League franchise moving from the Windy City to northern Indiana just got a bit closer to reality on Thursday after the Indiana Legislature created a bonding authority to lure a stadium across the border to Hammond.

In Minnesota, both county and federal prosecutors have been stymied by the federal government, including the FBI, which is refusing to cooperate and turn over evidence in the officer-related shootings in Minneapolis. So, local and state authorities put the feds on notice that they’re willing to go to federal court to sue for the evidence.

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Our first story comes from our next-door neighbors in Idaho, where lawmakers and Gov. Brad Little are trimming the state budget by as much as 5%. That doesn’t sound like much, but it represents millions of dollars. Different state departments and agencies are warning of problems, including public defenders, who say they’re already swamped with caseloads — this may result in fewer attorneys, leading to a terrible cycle.

Here’s something I never contemplated, but now can’t stop thinking about: Chins. You know, that little peninsula on the south-end of your face. We are the only species who has such a defined chin, and scientists have always puzzled at its existence. Some have said it may be a function of larger brains and how our jaws form. But, now researchers have a different theory, according to Smithsonian magazine.

Speaking of humans: We’re not the only species that has sibling rivalry. Researchers looking at baboons have discovered that siblings often get jealous and throw tantrums when their mothers are grooming or paying attention to a different baboon, according to the Smithsonian magazine.

Among the bazillion odd emails I get everyday, there are always surveys that you didn’t think existed, and some that you wonder: Why did they decide to survey people based on states favorite flavors of toothpaste? OK, I made that one up, but I’ll look for it in a future email.

Recently, a word-search tool, called The Word Finder, tracks pronunciation and subtle regional dialectical differences from around the U.S. Most people are familiar with the syrupy Southern accent found south of the Mason-Dixon line. Others may do their best imitation of Boston accents when they say “wicked.” But the survey tracked other endangered accents, including the top one that seems to be disappearing, which is from Appalachia. Some theorize that it may be falling out of favor because of the dwindling number of people who grow up isolated in that region. Others fear that it could be because of judgment that Appalachia is rural, backwards or depressed.

For example, the description of the Appalachian accent is defined as “Musical vowels and the storytelling rhythms of mountain culture, Appalachian English is one of America’s most recognizable dialects — yet younger speakers increasingly code-switch to avoid stereotypes. Many say the sound is still beloved, just used more selectively.”

Surely, I didn’t bring you this far in the newsletter to talk about Appalachia, though. Instead, the survey identified the “Rocky Mountain Accent” as being on the endangered American accent list.

Wait.

We have an accent? Having lived all over the country, no one has ever accused me of having a “Rocky Mountain Accent,” though I have been accused of many other speech irregularities, including a penchant for painting word pictures through entire strings of uninterrupted cursing. Even in college, as we studied linguistic patterns (welcome to being a language nerd), Montana and the surrounding West was seen as a sort of flat-affect, indistinct speech that was perfect for say, television announcers, because it was so hard to detect a regional leaning, and it could be more easily understood than, say, a surfer from California, dude.

Yet our friends who “study” this sort of thing beg to differ.

Here is their characterization of the Rocky Mountain Accent: “A subtle accent compared with East Coast sounds, Rocky Mountain English, spoken by many in Montana, mixes Western flatness with local quirks from the mountain states. Migration from both coasts has diluted the region’s older speech patterns, and respondents say that newcomers blend quickly into a more nationalized accent. It’s the dialect that many admit they ‘didn’t realize existed until it started fading.’”

Heck, I am still not sure it exists.

We’ll end this week with a continuation of our series on cover songs. Today, with a hat tip to Alan Walston, we’re going to also send this regular work-week off in style — with Cher. And Alan’s tip is a reminder that there is a mountain of music gold buried in those albums.

In 1975, Cher released her “Stars” album. On it, she recorded “Mr. Soul,” a song originally written by Neil Young and performed by Buffalo Springfield. You’d be hard pressed to find two versions that sound so different, but both hold up well. Cher’s version is everything you should love about Cher — rich vocals, a flare of disco, and a song that exudes style. Buffalo Springfield produces a jittery, quick and edgy rock anthem.

The song was written by Young after he had an seizure, the result of epilepsy, and thought he was going to die. Luckily for the world of music lovers, he kept on rockin’ in and beyond the free world.

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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