Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s column:
- Best Small Cities in America
- Black Bears Euthanized
- Campaign Mailers
- Trump’s Political Ads
- One More Thing
BEST SMALL CITIES IN AMERICA:
From my friends at WalletHub…
With small cities often offering significantly lower costs of living than large cities, the personal-finance company WalletHub released its report on 2026’s Best Small Cities in America, as well as expert commentary, to identify which places offer the best quality of life while remaining affordable.
WalletHub compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 across 45 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and school-system quality to the number of restaurants per capita and the crime rate.
Montana has four cities making the list: Bozeman (94), Missoula (74), Helena (73), and Great Falls (48). The higher the number, the better the ranking.
Check out the complete report from WalletHub HERE.
BLACK BEARS EUTHANIZED:
In a press release, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said game wardens and wildlife staff recently responded to a report of alleged supplemental feeding of wild black bears at a residence north of Bozeman.
FWP said that on Sept. 24 and 25, investigators found bears on the property that were extremely food-conditioned and habituated to human presence. Due to human safety concerns from the bears’ behavior, 14 bears were captured and humanely euthanized. One cub was taken to FWP’s Montana WILD facility in Helena for possible placement at an accredited zoo.
This news is truly heartbreaking, and it’s completely understandable to feel deeply frustrated and upset by it. It is incredibly painful to see wildlife suffer because people were irresponsible enough to feed them, and those individuals absolutely need to be held accountable for putting these animals in danger.
Hearing that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (Montana FWP) euthanized 14 bears is devastating. It is hard to accept that in a state as vast as Montana, a safer, more remote relocation option couldn’t be found to give these bears a second chance at life.
CAMPAIGN MAILERS:
New readers – I keep track of the campaign literature received during the campaign season. The literature is what I receive in the mail and what is left on my door.
Some of the better mailers will be shown here at The Western Word.
So far this General Election campaign season, I have received 12 campaign mailers.
That is through Tuesday, September 29.
Please make sure you save your mailers and recycle them!
TRUMP’S POLITICAL ADS:
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the Department of Homeland Security has tapped $20 million to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying President Donald Trump that have drawn widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats as a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars that likely runs afoul of anti-propaganda law.
The White House defended its government-funded advertisements as public service announcements, according to the AP. In reality, these are not neutral public service announcements. The Trump administration is violating established boundaries by using taxpayer money as a political tool to keep Donald Trump in office.
It’s as simple as that.
ONE MORE THING:
Live your life in such a way that if the escalator stops, you don’t assume it’s because people hate you. (Background)
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