by Tracy Ellig

Bozeman - The Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University will play host to a document signed by President Abraham Lincoln and considered a "national treasure" from Sept. 2 through Oct. 2, 2010.

The Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862 is considered by the National Archives to be one of the 100 "milestone documents" that influenced the course of American history. It shares this designation with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act.


Caption: Museum of the Rockies Registrar Pat Roath, right, holds a light so National Archives conservator Terry Boone can check the glass housing of the Morrill Act for fingerprints. The rare document was installed Wednesday at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham.

by John Q. Murray

Community Health Centers are an excellent way to provide health care to the entire community, according to the executive director of such a center in Bellingham, Washington.

Mineral Community Hospital recently announced its intention to organize a Community Health Center. The Chronicle spoke with Desmond “Des” Skubi to find out how such a center works.

by Kathy Weber

Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus yesterday called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move to allow all Montana ranchers to actively protect their livestock. Baucus pressed the Service to make the change now as he crafts legislation to put Montana wolves back under the state’s successful management plan.

"This debate on wolves has gone on long enough. I'm working to craft a bill that will put wolves in our state back in our control once and for all, because nobody knows how to better manage wolves in Montana than Montanans,” Baucus said. “In the meantime, the Fish and Wildlife Service needs to do the right thing and allow all Montana ranchers protect their livestock regardless of arbitrary boundary lines.”

by Joyce Doyle

The Big Read is coming to Missoula. Missoula Public Library is orchestrating a community-wide reading of Dashiell Hammett’s classic detective novel “The Maltese Falcon.” The library will be giving out more than 2,200 copies of the book thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and partnering with multiple community groups and businesses to hold six weeks of “Maltese Falcon” programs Oct. 5-Nov. 13.

by Penny Henderson

Each year Bonnie Plants sponsor The Crazy Cabbage contest throughout the United States. They provide giant cabbage plants to all third graders interested in competing. They award a $1,000 college savings bond to the winner from each state. In 2006 John Holecz, from Superior, won the savings bond for Montana.


[Caption: Five Superior students participated in the Crazy Cabbage giant cabbage growing contest this summer. Standing: Margaret Parkin, Jacob Tufts, Kathryn Parkin. Kneeling: Kaylee Cahalin, Kade Parkin.]

by Melynda Harrison

BOZEMAN – Faculty at Montana State University, the University of Colorado, the University of Idaho and collaborators at the USDA Forest Service received a $3.85 million grant to study fire and climate change in sensitive forests in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.

Volunteers needed; informational meeting Sept. 14 in Missoula

by Megan Fochs

CASA of Missoula has recently received a $23,420 grant allowing us to expand our program to Mineral County, and we are looking for dedicated and caring individuals who might be interested in volunteering for the CASA program. Once the Mineral County community knows more about the impact they could make, we can work towards making sure every child in Mineral County has a safe home and a chance for a positive future.

by John Q. Murray

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) expressed his strong support for biomass energy production and pledged to support Montana-based projects, such as the Mineral Community Hospital woody biomass project.

The senator made his statements in response to the Clark Fork Chronicle during his monthly chat with Montana newspaper reporters earlier this month.

Senators, Representative say as long as Montanans are in Iraq, ‘we’re not done'

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) Tuesday released statements in response to the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq.

Sen. Baucus said: “Bringing our combat troops home from Iraq is the right thing to do. As we welcome our brave service members home, we must also hold in our thoughts and prayers the Montanans and men and women across the country who continue to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We are so fortunate as Americans to have the best military in the world, and proud that more Montanans volunteer for service overseas than anywhere else in the nation. As long as there are American troops still serving in harm’s way, I will continue my commitment to ensuring they have the resources they need to accomplish their mission and come home safely.”