2018 year in review
January 4, 2019
As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to take a look back at some of the highlights.
Perhaps the biggest story of the year was the late winter and early spring weather. 2018 began cold, and stayed that way for many months. Broadus had a recorded low on January 1, 2018 of -28, and some late 2017 snows stuck around and kept piling on, into March.
A large portion of the county kept several feet of snow on the ground into spring, with areas accumulating up to six feet of snow over the course of the winter, and breaking snowfall records across the area.
The snow, combined with cold temperatures, made for an absolutely dismal calving season. Through February and much of March, temps stayed cold, and storm after storm pelted the area. Ranchers spent days plowing out roads and calving grounds, only to have them drift back in with the slightest breeze, though those slight breezes were usually on the order of 20+ mph blowing winds.
It was said that if a rancher hadn't lost more than a handful of calves, he either didn't have more than a handful to begin with, or was lying.
Fortunately, the weather turned around nicely in late spring and summer, with a good amount of moisture dumped on the area, but this time in the form of rain. After the horrible summer of 2017, and the 2017-18 winter, the summer moisture was a godsend, helping ranchers to stay on their feet and stock to get fat and happy on the tall grass.
During the Fair, temperatures topped 100 degrees for four straight days, topping out at 106. This, on a summer which was by and large fairly mild in terms of temperature.
Early fall stayed fairly cool and moist, and then dried out into November, with some snow falling on December 1 and sticking around through a good portion of December in the form of ice, though warm temps dried things out before Christmas. A snowstorm on December 26, and another on December 31st filled out the year, leaving around 4-8" of snow on the ground in total.
Broadus finished the year with 19.36" of precip, which was over 5" above average. This compared to 14.80" in 2017, and really impressive compared to the 7.86" in 1988!
In other news, on January 1, 2018, I, Billy Stuver, officially purchased the Powder River Examiner. While the purchase wasn't exactly a secret, I held off on printing news of the change in ownership until now.
The Broadus Independent, as the local paper was known in 1919, began in April of that year, and run as such until 1935. The name was changed to the Powder River County Examiner in 1935, and in 1965 was shortened to the Powder River Examiner. According to Joe Stuver, publishers included RL Lindner, a fellow from Sheridan by the name of Champlain, Ashton Jones, Hardy Sickles, Aubrey Larson, Ken Alexander, and eventually my predecessor and uncle, Joe Stuver. Joe began in the winter of 1979, bought the paper in the late 1980s, and continued on with ownership until January of last year. I took over editor duties for a period in 2012 and 2013, before coming on full time in January of 2017.
As of this writing, Joe is traveling through Mexico, on his way to spend the winter on the beach near Puerto Vallarta, and I'll be continuing with the paper for its 100th year of business in the community.
In regards to other locals and their goings on during 2018, early in the year Kaitlin Kolka, daughter of Dean and Jill Kolka of Broadus and Robin and Tom Nansel of Colstrip, was named Miss Rodeo Montana 2018. She went on to compete at the at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant in Las Vegas, where she won the photogenic category.
While local rodeo star and 2017 PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood's 2018 season wasn't quite as eventful as the previous year, he managed to place first in four different PBR events, including The American Rodeo in February, where his payout included a big $100,000 check. Jess will continue his career in 2019; according to the PBR he will ride this weekend in New York City.
In local sports, the Broadus Girls Basketball team took 4th in Districts, only to end their season at Divisionals. The Boys lost out at Districts.
Dalton Amsden won 4th at Divisional wrestling and went on to wrestle at State, where he did not place.
Troy Amsden won 4th at State in Boys Golf, which is a tremendous accomplishment especially in light of 2018 being the first year of Boys Golf in Broadus.
Broadus Track athletes performed very well throughout the season, with the standout individual athletes, Kiarah Coulter and Luke Herzog, making to State in multiple events. The 1600 meter relay of team of Kyle Minow, Kye Stanley, Kole Hand, and Luke Herzog also made it to State.
In the first year of Girls Cross Country, Coach Ashley Emmons' team of three Freshmen – Rachel Rasmussen, Abbie Heacock, and Lea Aye, won 9th at State: an amazing performance for a first year program.
The Lady Hawk Volleyball team finished third in the conference in regular season play, and lost a heartbreaker at District Tournaments against Circle to finish out their season.
The Broadus Hawk Football team finished their season 5-4, finishing the season one win short of playoff contention.
Broadus hosted an interesting 6-man football game pitting Montana State Champs Westby-Grenora against Wyoming State Champs Kaycee. Westby-Grenora snapped Kaycee's 31 game winning streak, with a 54-12 victory for the Montana team.
A three-way County Commissioner Primary race, between incumbent Darold Zimmer, and challengers Don McDowell and Lee Randall, became hotly contested when the subject of full time pay came up. The Powder River County Commissioners are currently paid a full time wage, despite only working in the office six days per month, which means the position of County Commissioner garners around $79 per hour.
Lee Randall won the primary, and eventually the general election and has said he will work with current commissioners Rod Schaffer and Donna Giacometto to change to part time in the future.
The only other contested local election, between Kesa Copps and Pat Phillippi, was won in the primary by Pat, who will continue on as Treasurer.
As we move into 2019, we remember 2018 with some fond memories, and others of challenges overcome and even failures. May your New Year be an improvement over last!
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