Ukraine was not the country frozen in destruction I had imagined from afar. It was a place where grief and routine coexist, where war is constant but life is louder.

"Across our Helena Public Schools, our buildings are aging — the average facility is over 70 years old — and decades of deferred maintenance have taken a toll," district officials said. "Failing systems, outdated learning environments: if our buildings could speak, they'd be telling us that they can't keep up with the needs of our students."

“I no longer trust the leaders of Helena Public Schools. I know that I don't trust them with my money. And if it weren’t for the wonderful teachers and educators at the schools, I wouldn't trust them with my children,” Hanna Warhank, a Hawthorne parent, said.

The Canyon Creek Rural Fire District board chair was recalled Tuesday night by 97 votes in a special election, leaving some trustees with hope for the future to heal.

"You pretended to be aloof and disorganized in order to distract me from what was really going on," Mogstad said. "... It was an act to distract me while you stole money. This was not an impulse. This was not a simple error in judgment."

"When we went out for the safety and security (levy), I was tasked by our board to keep our programs," Superintendent Rex Weltz said. "So the ask last year was to keep our programs because what we do in Helena is fantastic and we don't want to change that." 

"With the fail of the levy, then came the consequences for us and we had to make choices," he added.

"When an animal gets taken, it's sad, but then you guys remember about the things that happen in the future of days that will have gone by. You guys will be providing food to a lot of people," Ground said.

A poster board, two containers, knowledge and curiosity were all a sixth grade student needed to gain state agency attention after he presented his science fair project at his school that included a look at arsenic levels in the water.

While spending time outdoors, the students of Helena Field School have learned lessons about the environmental impacts of controlled burns versus uncontrolled burns as well as sought out bugs and fungus that break down plants.

"We introduce a topic, but most of the time nature teaches the kids," said Lesly Valiton.

The Office of Public Instruction’s implementation of a new through-year testing model caused mixed emotions from piloting district representatives even though the office claimed positive feedback.

Photo Credit: Thom Bridge, Independent Record

A new business in downtown Helena aspires to give residents more food options, even though the owners know it may not "a-peel" to everyone.

Dear Potato started as a food blog during the COVID-19 pandemic and launched into a brick-and-mortar store in the old Nosh Café space.