THE LOCAL NEWS OF THE MADISON VALLEY, RUBY VALLEY AND SURROUNDING AREAS

Keely Larson

Toot, toot!

We’re not one to toot our own horn, but here at The Madisonian we know when to make an exception. We and our sister paper, the Lone Peak Lookout, recently stood out from the crowd at the annual Montana Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest, taking home a combined 17 awards for our 2020 stories, ads and design.

Other items of importance to Shaw included mental health, trade schools and teacher’s salaries. Here he sits at his seat in Jan. 2019. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAY SHAW

Across the aisle

Walking into the Montana House of Representatives Chamber, one steps through an aisle in the center and looks towards a Charlie Russell painting. Democrat representatives sit on the right, if you are facing the painting, and Republicans on the left.

Representative Ray Shaw described the aisle in between as Montana.

Trends

Housing prices are going up and inventory is going down across the Ruby and Madison Valleys.

The Madison Valley has experienced a huge jump in prices from 2019-2020 while the Ruby Valley felt a more modest increase from 2018-2020 due to more limited inventory.

“It’s hard,” Lee described the work done during the pandemic. “It started to feel like Groundhog’s Day,” she said. “We talk about that a lot in the lab.” Left to right: Lana Moyer, bioterrorism program specialist; Jeanne Lee; Lorna McIntyre, clinical lab technologist; and Tammy Buckley, clinical lab specialist. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBORAH GIBSON

‘Invisible heroes’

Writer's note: my mom, laboratory QA safety specialist at the state lab, used to walk my sister and I through the halls and different components of the lab when we were little. I thought Debbie was the coolest woman then, especially after I started hearing about all the ultras she ran, and still feel that way now.

Map of the Madison River showing changes and discussed areas during the commission meeting on Nov. 18. PHOTO COURTESY OF FWP, EDITS MADE BY KEELY LARSON

Three years and six hours

The Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously voted to adopt the Madison River Recreation Rules as recommended by Fish Wildlife & Parks (FWP) and approved amendments to recommended rules including a cap on outfitter numbers and the rest/ rotation and walk/wade schedules on Nov. 18.

Background

Jade Fuqua and Janet Marsh preparing meals at the Shovel and Spoon for the Sheridan Senior Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF JANET MARSH

Coming together

Sometimes people just need to know that someone cares and is thinking about them, Dr. Roman Hendrickson at the Ruby Valley Medical Center (RVMC) said. Additionally, sometimes people need to be given a vessel for caring for others as they are able.

Virginia City community members work hard to decorate the town for the holiday season. PHOTO COURTESY OF KIM JORCZYK

Heartbeat and backbone

Local shops, stores and restaurants are what make small towns and communities special. The call to shop local is not just a fun marketing campaign, but it asks consumers to look beyond the act of shopping and on towards the people and communities behind the stores.

More Information

The Madisonian

65 N. MT Hwy 287
Ennis, MT 59729
406-682-7755
www.madisoniannews.com

Cori Koenig, editor: editor@madisoniannews.com
Susanne Hill, billing: s.hill@madisoniannews.com 
Ad orders, inserts, classifieds: connect@madisoniannews.com 
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