Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Update: The National Weather Service in Glasgow confirmed an EF-2 tornado hit Glentana. A tornado-warned storm went through Glentana July 18. The small community experienced extensive damage with initial estimates to be in the millions of dollars. No injuries or deaths occurred. The highest recorded wind gust known was 109 mph. One witness reported a funnel structure touching down a few miles from the town. A team from the National Weather Service office in Glasgow was on site today, July 19,... Full story
An EF-2 tornado directly hit the small community of Glentana July 18 causing extensive damage to property but, to the relief of residents, community members emerged unscathed. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Glasgow, the tornado touched down 5.5 miles southwest of Glentana at 5:47 p.m. and moved to the northeast ending at 5:56 p.m. The average path width was 457 yards and then traveled 8 miles. NWS reported a peak wind of 120 miles, classifying the tornado as an EF-2...
The National Weather Service in Glasgow, in conjunction with county Disaster and Emergency Services directors, will be hosting a series of SKYWARN Weather Spotter training classes in May. The dates for the classes are: May 16, 5:30 p.m. STAT Air Hangar 81 Airport Rd, Glasgow May 17, 5 p.m. Sidney Fire Hall 1105 3rd St NW, Sidney May 25, 5:30 p.m. Dawson County Courthouse 207 W Bell St, Glendive May 26, 5 p.m. Phase 3 Building 501 Medicine Bear Rd, Poplar If you have any questions, email Patrick Gilchrist at patrick.gilchrist...
The past week's rain and snow throughout Valley County was welcomed and even elicited comments such as "Thank goodness for this rain!" "I don't like snow this time of year but it's better than nothing!" and "We need all of the moisture we can get!" throughout the community. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Glasgow, every little bit of moisture helps, but it would sure be helpful if Mother Nature did even more. The last 15 months, January 2021 to March 2022, have been some of th...
Dear Editor, For over a century, passenger rail has been part of Montana's heritage, culture, and economy. It's currently a lifeline for Hi-Line communities. And, without a doubt, it is part of Montana's future. In the fall of 2020, 12 Montana counties, stretching from Sanders to Wibaux, came together to establish the first regional passenger rail authority in the history of Montana-the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. Over the course of the past year, we've added five additional counties to...
The Glasgow Courier welcomed back Michelle Bigelbach on March 7. Bigelbach returns to the Courier to take up the mantle of Publisher/Editor after a hiatus of just over a year from the paper. She first joined the Courier in the summer of 2016 as Copy Editor. She moved into writing after demonstrating an ability for editing without sacrificing the original tone of an article. Bigelbach said she made the move "grudgingly" because as a new resident of the area "I didn't feel I could provide the voic...
Valley County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) held a tabletop exercise Feb. 15 at the Cottonwood. For three hours “players” from various local organizations confronted a fictional passenger train derailment to test their response capabilities. Representatives from Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital, Valley County DES, Valley County Transit, Valley County Road Department, the Health Department, Dispatch, National Weather Service, the Sanitation Office, Long Run Fire Department, Bell Mortuary, the Sheriff’s office, Glasgow Police...
After record high temps, winter arrived early in Valley County Saturday with four inches of snow accumulating on the ground, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Glasgow Office. "We actually had a high temperature of 69 on the Dec. 1. Unofficially, we got to 70," said Ted Jamba, NWS Glasgow Meteorologist. "Then, the temperatures started falling starting Thursday. I think today [Monday] has been the coldest day so far. We've got 8 degrees right now [at 2 p.m.]. It is pretty cool." High...
Valley County experienced a brief warm spell over the weekend, with temperatures expected to above normal through at least Thursday. The warm weather is not normal, Mark Avery, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Glasgow, told The Courier Monday. "Not even close." The high for Nov. 29 is usually 34 with a low of 15, Avery said. "We are 52 right now, so that is an 18" degree difference. "Last year it was 40 for a high and 12 for a low," Avery continued. "The high was six above...
In response to the severe drought conditions in the West and Great Plains, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today its plans to help cover the cost of transporting feed for livestock that rely on grazing. USDA is updating the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) to immediately cover feed transportation costs for drought impacted ranchers. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will provide more details and tools to help ranchers get ready to apply at their local USDA Service Center later... Full story
It is time to break out the shorts and iced tea, with triple digit temperatures possible throughout July. "We have maybe some very minor relief compared to what we have seen for the last couple of days," Cory Mottice, National Weather Service Glasgow Lead Meteorologist, told The Courier last week. "For the next week, and beyond we could be pushing the mid- to upper-90s, maybe even triple digits." The late spring and summer have already been hotter than usual, Mottice said. "For the month of...
Scout uniform? Check. Scout Oath recited verbatim? Check. Tent pegs inserted securely? Check. S'mores over a campfire? Check. Eagerness to get back to nature and learn lifelong skills? Double-check. With the summer season rapidly approaching in Glasgow, the Scouts of Troop 861 are eager to go camping. This weekend, the Scouts spent the weekend at the Missouri River Recreation Area for Youth near Fort Peck Dam setting up tents, cooking meals, flying Old Glory, shooting shotguns and boating. "You...
An Arctic Air Mass moved in from the north and settled over much of the United States during the last week and a half bringing with it dangerously low temperatures and wind chills across all of Montana. The bitter cold arriving in early February seemed especially harsh in northeast Montana and snapped Valley County out of a relatively warm and mild January and into more than a week's worth of continuous sub-zero temperatures giving the region its first prolonged taste of Winter so far in 2021....
It wasn't as simple as packing a bag and getting on the plane like years before. In fact, getting to Australia as a National Weather Service Incident Meteorologist-IMET for short-required a good deal of preparation, not least of which was applying for an official passport to work as a US government employee overseas. But after answering the call from the Australian Government, filing the paperwork, getting said passport, packing a bag and saying goodbye, NWS IMET Patrick Gilchrist was on his...
The USDA announced on Sept. 18, following a President Trump campaign rally on Sept. 17 in Wisconsin, an additional $14 billion is available for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs due to COVID-19. The funds are being made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and CARES Act to support row crops, livestock, specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture and many additional commodities. Payments will be made for three categories of commodities including Price Trigger Commodities,...
The Valley County Commissioners hosted their required first public hearing on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding on Aug. 4 in the Valley County Courthouse. The hearing was to inform the public about the various programs available and how these programs can be used to serve the community, with particular attention to persons of low to moderate income. Craig Erickson, certified grant writer with Great West Engineering, led the presentation and discussion. He outlined for the gathered interested community members and commissioners...
It was, by all accounts, a beautiful day on May 20. Temps had soared into the 80s, the dew point was high and the wind was low. So, Joe Simmons decided to take his dogs for some exercise. He had just returned at about 9:15 p.m., put the dogs in the kennel and went to go inside. Just about the time he was putting his hand on the garage doorknob to open the door, he heard a roaring sound and turned to look out the carport opening to see his boat blow by in the wind. Just about that same time he...
The National Weather Service in Glasgow has transitioned their free Skywarn weather spotter training course to online as a result of social distancing. The presentation can be viewed on Youtube at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIT9kjI4aWw. This presentation is abbreviated, hitting all the high points that would be normally covered in the training course. The Weather Service will also be hosting three “Ask the Meteorologist” events on social media to answer any questions you may have. (Weather Permitting): Sunday, May 17, at 7 p.m... Full story
March weather conditions started off with warm above freezing temperatures, leading to snow and ice in the region to melt off, which caused minor flooding in low lying areas in Valley County. With cool temps forecast for the coming weekend, the National Weather Service in Glasgow is anticipating a slowing of that current melting and subsequent flooding. In the first nine days of March, the daily temperatures in Glasgow were consistently above freezing. In fact, with the exception of March 8...
January 2019 Buerkle Hangs Up His Hat - Sheriff to Retire After 43 Years in LE Former Undersheriff Faces Rape Charge - State Amends Previous Charge Alleging Intercourse with 14-Year Old Farm Bill Becomes Law With Trump's Signature Scottie Wrestling Wraps Up First Half Of Season - Competition Continues With Upcoming Rotary And Cowboy High School Ice Dawgs Drop Two Vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs New Year's Eve Sees Zero Accidents, DUIs - Search and Rescue Rides Deliver 206 Residents Home Car Shot Up On...
The National Weather Service in Glasgow will be welcoming the new year with an online Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) Winter Training session on Friday, Jan. 3, from noon to 12:30 p.m. Join the meeting at global.gotomeeting.com/join/331948645 and dial into the conference call, 877-929-2703, passcode 8072342#. Please dial into the call a few minutes prior to the training. If you’re a current weather observer for CoCoRaHS and would like to take a refresher on how to best measure and report snow and other frozen p... Full story
In the conference room of the Cottonwood on Oct. 1, an unlikely group met to test their response and capabilities against a hypothetical disaster in Valley County. Consisting of Glasgow and Long Run firefighters, sheriff deputies, elected and county officials, utility workers, nursing and assisted living professionals and hospital executives, the group was challenged by the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services’ Jeff Gates and the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Glasgow’s Patrick Gilchrist to take on a fast moving wildfire just no...
On Sept. 25, as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month was in its final week, Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced his new bill, the Seeding Rural Resistance Act. The proposed legislation creates three initiatives designed to combat rising suicide rates. Acknowledging multiple barriers faced by farmers and ranchers seeking assistance, Tester said, “...they face isolation, they have to travel further to receive basic health services, they are less likely to be insured, and they may not know there are mental health resources available t...
Perhaps the most ironic thing occurring during the National Weather Service’s hydrology workshop last week was that while scientists, conservation district reps, bureaucrats, meteorologists and hydrologist met on the inside, a flood advisory had been issued for a small region of Valley County only miles away on the outside. It was a small example of what the participants of the Glasgow and Billings Eastern Montana Hydrology Workshop were trying to accomplish. The workshop was held at the Fort Peck Interpretive Center from Sept. 11 through 13 a...
Dark clouds, heavy rain and fast winds made for a cold and wet first weekend of summer as a "Closed Low" weather system settled in over Northeast Montana on Friday, June 21. The system was characterized by the National Weather Service as a low pressure system with a cyclonic center. Closed lows are detached from the main westerly current of the jet stream and move slowly, dumping moisture over areas for sustained periods of time. Closed lows form with a perfect storm of weather events and in...
