A Toast to the Harvest
Author Brent Zundel
By Brent Zundel
For the MSU Exponent
October 25, 2012
As the year’s first snows blanket Bozeman, it’s time to pause for a minute and toast a special time of year: the harvest. While the end of the summer growing season has historically been important in brewing various beverages, today the dropping temperatures signal a new round of seasonal beers and a shift in many people’s drinking preferences.
Crisp, lighter beers cool us off during the hot summer months, but many folks want a different kind of drink to warm their bellies and ward off the nip of cool fall nights. Here are a few options to consider. Read More…
The Last Best Hunting Grounds
A bow hunter gazes out across a ridge. Photo by Samantha Katz, MSU Exponent
By Brent Zundel
For the MSU Exponent
October 18, 2012
The most important season of the year
When cool winds turn Montana’s leaves shades of gold and red and the year’s first snows dust our mountain peaks, a special time of year has arrived in Big Sky Country: hunting season. For many Montanans, this is the most important season of the year. It is deeply embedded in our state’s culture and identity, even though it can seem bizarre and, perhaps, barbaric for the uninitiated. Read More…
The Right to Roam: A New Land Ethic for Montana
Space to roam in the backcountry of the Crazy Mountains, north of Big Timber, Mont. Photo by Brent Zundel
By Brent Zundel
For the MSU Exponent
October 11, 2012
Montana has a strong tradition of public lands access. Our lands have united generations of hunters, anglers and hikers, but they’ve also bitterly divided private landowners, out-of-staters and just about everyone in between at some point.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) currently estimates that private landowners and businesses own a jaw-dropping two-thirds of the entire state. One need only try to find a patch of public land to hunt deer or elk in the Crazy Mountains or cast a fly in the Ruby or Shields Rivers to feel the stinging immediacy of this dilemma. For a state so firmly rooted in wild places, accessing those wild places can be an exercise in maddening frustration. Read More…
Atomic Ale
Author Brent Zundel
By Brent Zundel
For the MSU Exponent
October 11, 2012
Quick: What would you do if a nuclear bomb exploded over Bozeman? After the shock wave passed, what would you do amidst the roiling chaos that surrounded you? Futilely wish you’d joined the Church Universal and Triumphant so you could live out the rest of your days in their underground end-of-times bunkers near Corwin Springs? Drive as fast as you can against the prevailing wind?
What about cracking a cold one, sitting on your porch and just watching the world go to shit? Read More…
Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg to Students: ‘I’m Just Like You’
By Brent Zundel
For the MSU Exponent
October 4, 2012
Note: This column originally appeared as part of the Exponent’s Sugarbeet page, a satirical biweekly feature that attempts to stimulate discussion of critical community issues.
Last Friday, Sept. 28, Montana Rep. Dennis Rehberg — or “Denny,” as he is reportedly known while relaxing among lobbyists — visited the Montana State University campus on an impromptu campaign stop. After unsuccessfully attempting to pal around on the Mall with college students who desperately avoided eye contact, Rehberg spoke to a small crowd of supporters in the Student Union Building.
His speech’s overarching message was tailored to the occasion. Rehberg emphasized his concern for students, repeatedly saying, “I’m just like you!” before telling stories about his “wild nights” in an attempt to connect with members of the younger generation.
“Just like any college student, I have a solid record of making questionable life decisions involving alcohol,” Rehberg claimed. “Why, when I was in Kazakhstan with [former] Sen. Burns, I once got drunk, fell off a horse, and proceeded to call my local hosts ‘cone heads’ while making alien noises!” Read More…
Author
Mountain Solitaire Author Brent Zundel
MOUNTAIN SOLITAIRE 