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  • Profile: New GPD Chief Brien Gault

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 29, 2018

    Brien Gault was sworn in as chief of the Glasgow Police Department on Aug. 20, at the regular city council meeting. Gault received the post after being unanimously confirmed by the city council and sworn in by Mayor Becky Erickson. Gault sat down with the Glasgow Courier to discuss his background in law enforcement, firefighting and community service as well as his goal for the department. Born in Devil's Lake, N.D., to a railroading family, Gault moved to Hinsdale with his family in 1981,...

  • Chicken Ordinance Fails 4-1

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 22, 2018

    In a heavily attended city council meeting the night of Monday, Aug. 20, the City Council rejected a measure to allow the keeping of backyard chickens in city limits by a vote of four to one, with Stan Ozark casting the only vote in favor. The meeting was attended by dozens of Glasgow and surrounding area residents who provided comments for the better part of an hour followed by questions and then comment by the council members who then cast their vote.The architect and momentum behind the initiative, Madelyn House, spoke first offering up her...

  • Profile: Tom Boyer Write-in Candidate for Sheriff

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 22, 2018

    To say Tom Boyer is not the typical candidate for sheriff is a bit of an understatement. Boyer has only a few years of law enforcement experience and unlike many, his reasons for running are not to cap off his career, or change a flawed policy. Instead, Boyer was thrust into the position of sheriff candidate by circumstances far outside his control. So who exactly is Deputy Tom Boyer? Boyer, 49, is originally from Missoula, and he says that as a young man he had intended to pursue law...

  • Exciting Things Happening for Irle PTO

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 22, 2018

    The recently formed Irle School Parent-Teacher Organization has seen some fast success in the months since they established back in spring 2018. In that time, the organization has set their priorities, initiated safety programs and successfully lobbied in support of a fence around the playground at the elementary school, a project currently in the works. The Irle PTO President Kim Turner sat down with the Courier to discuss the organization's priorities, plans and fundraising efforts as they...

  • Boyer Steps In, Strommen Steps Out

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 15, 2018

    According to the Valley County Clerk and Recorder's Office as of Monday, Aug. 13, Luke Strommen had removed his name from the running for Valley County Sheriff. Strommen was unable to be reached for comment as to why he pulled out of the race. Strommen was placed on administrative leave on June 15, for an undisclosed incident being investigated by the Montana Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. Since that time no update has been given on the investigation and no charges ha...

  • Meet the Face Behind the City's Ordinance to Allow Chickens

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 15, 2018

    With the city of Glasgow's ordinance to allow chickens set for the first reading next Monday, Aug. 20, the Courier sat down with the person behind the push to end the prohibition on the birds in backyards. Madelyn House says that when she moved into her new house she was overly excited to continue on her tradition of keeping backyard chickens. Needless to say she was shocked that city ordinances prevented chickens from being kept within city limits. House said that a couple weeks after learning...

  • Scottie Wrestling Camp Draws Crowd of 120 from Across Montana

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 15, 2018

    The Glasgow Scottie Wrestling Club held their annual wrestling camp at the Glasgow Civic Center last week. The program drew a crowd of 120 wrestlers ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, and spanning from Glasgow to Billings. By comparison, last year the program drew 97 wrestlers, and the first year, held four years ago, brought in 50. Organizer and Glasgow High School coach Jory Casterline, developed the camp four years ago bringing in Iowa State University Assistant Coach and NCAA National...

  • Outstanding Year Wraps Up for Warriors on the Water

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 8, 2018

    The Montana Warriors on the Water wrapped up their flagship week on July 28 with a feast, an auction and a concert by the Southern Drawl Band. But not before helping 18 veterans get out on the beautiful waters of Fort Peck Lake and snag some amazing fish, build camaraderie and help them reach out for support from the dozens of programs that offer them help. According to one of the groups many organizers and volunteers, Jace Ball the emergency department physician's assistant at FMDH and a...

  • Ten-Year Odyssey With Cancer Leads to Hope and Grace

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 8, 2018

    It will be 10 years on Aug. 28, since Carol Neufeld first found out she was living with ovarian cancer. She says she walked in the clinic that day alone stating, "I never thought in a million years that what was wrong was major." Neufeld came alone due to her family's need to get the fields harvested. When the doctor arrived and told her the news and started talking about treatment options Neufeld's first thoughts were, "What's the use." Still she persisted with treatment and surgery. Following...

  • City Chicken Ordinance Goes to First Reading Aug. 20

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 8, 2018

    In a packed Glasgow City Council meeting Monday, Aug. 6, the council decided to move a proposal for a city ordinance to allow the raising of chickens in city limits to go to a first reading at the city council meeting, which will occur at 5:30 p.m., on Aug. 20. For weeks, organizers and supporters of allowing chickens in city limits have worked with the city to draft an ordinance that would change the current law and allow the birds to be raised in town. During that same period, those organizers have built support, over a dozen of whom were...

  • Candidate for PSC Visits NE MT Fair

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 8, 2018

    Democratic Candidate for the District 1 seat of the State Public Service Commission Doug Kaercher visited Glasgow last week during the Northeast Montana fair to meet and greet locals and educate the voting public on his background and motivation for running for the commissioner position. Kaercher sat down with the Courier to do the same. After being raised on the Hi-Line and graduating from Havre High School, Kaercher made his way into the commercial pilot trade before moving back to Havre to...

  • Civics, Chickens and Change

    A.J. Etherington, From the Editor|Aug 8, 2018

    Regardless of how you feel about having chickens in town, there is no denying that Madelyn House has taken an issue she is passionate about and engaged the community in a positive and impactful way. I think the result of that labor was on full display at Monday night's city council meeting where over a dozen people showed to support the initiative and express their opinions to their governing body. In the end, House’s initiative and supporters managed to move the ordinance, which allows chickens in city limits, to move forward to a first readin...

  • Vet Warns Against Common Preventable Diseases in Pets

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 1, 2018

    According to Dr. Chelsie McAllister, DVM of Valley Vet Clinic in Glasgow, canine parvovirus and distemper virus in Valley County are much higher in this region than in most. According to McAllister, the high rates are due to a lack of proper vaccination in puppies, which she says can lead to costly treatment or even death despite being preventable. Canine parvovirus targets the dog’s gastrointestinal tract causing bloody diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite and lethargy. According to Dr. McAllister, the disease can be cured with costly t...

  • Domestic Violence Awareness Kickball Tournament Raises over $2,500 for Victims

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 1, 2018

    The Domestic Violence Awareness Kickball Tournament raised over $2,500 for victims of domestic violence in northeast Montana, according to organizers Lacie Brown, Jenny McCabe and Shelly Ramsey. The event was organized to help raise funds for the Love Shouldn't Hurt organization which supports victims' services for those affected by domestic violence in Valley, Phillips, Sheridan and Daniels counties. Proceeds raised help with crisis intervention situations faced by the victim services...

  • Local Bronc Rider Looks for Good Showing in Home County

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Aug 1, 2018

    Chase Redfield, of Opheim, is looking forward to a few good rounds of bareback bronc riding this year on his home turf at the Northeast Montana Fair. Redfield has been riding pro for nine years qualifying for the Montana Pro-Rodeo circuit finals for seven of the last eight years. For Redfield, rodeo has not just been a hobby or a job, but rather a passion. Redfield's passion for rodeo is apparent as he tells the story of how he got started saying, "I always watched my hometown rodeo, my dad...

  • Trio of Med Students Train at Glasgow Clinic

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 25, 2018

    Three medical students from the University of Washington, School of Medicine are training at the Glasgow Clinic as part of the school's Targeted Rural UnderServed Track or TRUST. The students, who are third-year med student Keenan Kuckler, two-year med student Alex Kurtz and one-year med student Mike Robinson, are each at different levels of their medical training and are in rural Montana to learn about the differences in providing care in rural regions. For the most part, TRUST is a program... Full story

  • Frazer Fire Chief Looks to Future

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 25, 2018

    When Wes Sibley took the job of Fire Chief in Frazer and Wiota, Mont., last January his hope was to help out the communities he has always called home. Since starting Sibley has faced challenges and has taken each one in stride while looking towards the future to improve the service and help out the community. Currently Frazer has no fire truck and technically they are served by the Valley County Long Run Fire Department, but no truck presently exists in Frazer. As a result Sibley says they... Full story

  • Boat Fire at Fort Peck Marina

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 18, 2018

    A boat was engulfed in flames at the Fort Peck Marina on July 15, at about 1:30 p.m. According to the Fort Peck Fire Chief Landon Holt, the only injury was minor burns. The boat, however, was completely destroyed by the ensuing fire. The vessel ignited while docked in the marina slip and was pushed out by responders to the blaze before drifting into land. According to Holt, no other structures or boats were affected by the fire. The occupants escaped the boat and were able to notify 911. A...

  • NWS Warns of Gap in Receiving Severe Weather Alerts

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 18, 2018

    A two-day bout of severe weather July 9 and 10 has prompted concerns from the National Weather Service in Glasgow that many northeast Montana residents may not be aware of severe weather alerts. According to Chief Meteorologist of the NWS in Glasgow Tanja Fransen,, the only automatic alerts sent to cell phones are tornado and flash flood warnings. Fransen told the Courier that in the case of last week's storms, the macroburst thunderstorm in Plentywood was warned due to the threat of a tornado,...

  • Storms,Time and International Borders

    A.J. Etherington, From the Editor|Jul 18, 2018

    We were standing in a field looking at radar on an iPhone and trying to figure out our next move. The storm we wanted to chase was rapidly moving north into Canada, and I was without a passport. My companion wasn’t going to mention it but you could tell he was disappointed that we were going to miss out on that particular storm. So, Sean Heavey and I made our way south out of Whitewater and back towards Saco. We kept anxiously checking the radar as a supercell was “blowing up” outside Malta and moving eastward as quickly as we could drive south...

  • Milk River Inc. Bringing Back Recycling

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 11, 2018

    Milk River Inc. has told The Courier they have restarted their recycling program and have started taking corrugated cardboard. According to Michelle Eliason, the group has not started taking aluminum, plastic or paper due to the fact that the baler is not strong enough to handle those products. She hopes in the future the program can be expanded to include these items. “We are trying to do cans but the baler does not have enough oomph, and we are putting in a grant for a better one,” explained Eliason. She added, “We did take in quite a few c...

  • Northside Fire Destroys Two Rooms, No Injuries

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 11, 2018

    A fire destroyed two rooms and the contents in a home on the north side of Glasgow just after 10 a.m. on July 5. According to Glasgow Fire Chief Brandon Brunelle no one was injured. The volunteer fire department responded with their command vehicle, three engines and a truck. A total of 18 firefighters were on scene. Brunelle told The Courier that the crews had a really great response time and everything at the scene went relatively quickly and well. Brunelle also added, "Thanks to the Long Run...

  • Bar Owner Finds New Purpose at Frazer Council

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 4, 2018

    For the first time in its history, the Frazer Community Council has opened a community office to provide services, guidance and resources to the residents. That effort has been led and funded in large part from a local businesswoman who found a new calling in life helping her community become "clean and sober" by providing a grass roots system of change. When Angie Toce's brother finally made the decision to get sober, she was on it. Calling the Spotted Bull Treatment Center in Poplar but...

  • Barstad to Retire After 32 Years as Chief

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jul 4, 2018

    Bruce Barstad has announced his retirement from the Glasgow Police Department after 32 years of service to the region. Barstad sat down with the Courier to reflect on his years of service and the changes the department has seen over the decades. Barstad began his law enforcement career studying criminal justice at Dawson Community College in Glendive. The year was 1986 and he had taken on an internship during the summer and weekends with GPD. Following the completion of that internship, he began working seasonally in dispatch and juvenile...

  • Meth Lab Discovered by GPD, One Charged

    A.J. Etherington, The Courier|Jun 27, 2018

    The Glasgow Police Department told the Glasgow Courier that on Friday, June 22, Leighton Scott Hughes was arrested and charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to dangerous drugs. As of press time, Hughes had been charged with the operation of a clandestine laboratory for the production of a dangerous drug, namely methamphetamine; the possession of dangerous drugs for both marijuana and meth; possession of drug paraphernalia; criminal possession of dangerous drug precursors for...

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