Nestled in the hills of Laupahoehoe, overlooking the blue waters off the Hamakua Coast sits the Magical Creatures Sanctuary — home to over 100 abandoned, neglected and medically challenged farm animals.

Established in 2018, many of the nonprofit sanctuary’s first residents were rescued from the Kilauea eruption after being left behind as people fled during the evacuation. Now nearly a decade later, the sanctuary is committed to continuing to provide care for these animals while also increasing educational initiatives and playing a more active role in the local community.

Jill Vanderhoef, a previous volunteer at the sanctuary, recently took over as executive director from founder Helena Lundblad, who is transitioning to a more administrative role.

Vanderhoef, who has a degree in economics and management from St. Andrew’s University, is spearheading new initiatives and growth efforts as well as working to ensure the organization’s financial viability. Until recently, the organization was entirely reliant on volunteers.

“When I got involved, I saw that we needed to kind of shift gears. … If we want to really do more and not just barely make ends meet, we need to start developing more programming,” she said. “And unfortunately, or fortunately, you have to — if you want to have a sustainable sanctuary — you have to run it as a business.”

This includes plans to ramp up the sanctuary’s existing tour program as well as create educational opportunities for local students to interact with the animals.

MCS is one of only two accredited sanctuaries on the island, and the only one dedicated to farmed animals. Vanderhoef said its services are especially needed due to the abundance of feral goats, sheep and pigs.

“These animals were brought here by humans. So, the overpopulation of pigs and goats, and all of these things, this is a human-made problem. And we feel compelled to address that to the best of our ability, because they didn’t ask for this, and they don’t have predators here,” she said. “So, it’s just the nature of being on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that’s incredibly remote. The challenges for a sanctuary here are unlike anything on the mainland.”

Sanctuary Manager Gracie Atwell said the site is currently at max capacity, but there is still demand and frequent requests for its services.

“We get calls pretty much every day about animals on the island,” she said. “It’s neglect cases, it’s natural disasters, it’s just people wanting to surrender their animals that can’t take care of their animals.”

She and Vanderhoef said turning down animals is one of the hardest parts of the job, but currently necessary to be able to care for their residents with existing resources.

“When we say yes to taking in a resident, we’re not just saying, ‘OK, we’ll take this animal out of its like current situation.’ We’re saying we will feed them every single morning, every single night, until the day they pass. We will give them the hopefully most peaceful passing that we can,” Vanderhoef said.

“We will always look out for their well-being, get to know them as an individual, to figure out their likes, dislikes, making sure that they’re comfortable. It really is so much more than just that initial rescue.”

While Atwell and Vanderhoef are now full-time employees with paid positions, MCS still depends on volunteers, primarily coming from off the island, for animal care and daily operations. Vanderhoef is hoping to change this through new programs, funding models and community engagement.

“The goal for us is to develop our tour program, so we can connect more humans with animals, and they can form those relationships for themselves. But also to be able to get exposure, so we can expand, and that means hiring local people … .” she said. “There’s so much opportunity here if we can stabilize and start bringing in money to do these things then hopefully be a powerful force in the community… doing so much more than animal care.”

To get involved or donate to the sanctuary, visit www.magicalcreaturessanctuary.org.

Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

The Idaho Legislature won’t eliminate property tax next year. My bold prediction. There will be a few bills introduced, a lot of chatter on talk radio and online, and then action will be kicked down the road. If it looks like a winner in the 2028 Election, it’ll sail through in session a few weeks before the 2028 Primary. Wet an index finger and raise it in the air. Then vote.

As an old Libertarian (with a capital L), I’m familiar with the basic argument. If you own it, why do you have to pay rent? The answer always comes back to, “It’s the best system we have to fund local governments”. Forms have been in place since colonial times, even if scattered geographically. The idea gained steam in the years after the Civil War when a handful of economists blamed property ownership for growing poverty in cities. Property accrued value as space became a premium. So-called reformers believed the tax would balance economic inequality, and appealed to noblesse oblige.

Your Taxes Get Sprinkled Like a Good Rain

I live in Twin Falls County, where we have 78 taxing districts that rely on the current system. If you ask what can replace it, you’re called a Republican in name only (RINO) by compatriots. Obviously, not everything funded by the tax is a waste. First responders and snow plows come to mind. It makes me think of the calls to gut the federal government, but while maintaining Social Security and Medicare. The former makes up nearly a quarter of the budget. Medicare is only 14 percent, but additional health spending brings the tab to another quarter. Historian Niall Ferguson grew up in Scotland, and he summed up Great Britain a couple of weeks ago. People want more, not less, welfare spending. Are we different?

Before anyone in Boise wipes out property tax, legislators need to consider what voters want to stay, and how to fund it otherwise. If they don’t, they’ll see a backlash at the ballot box. Just because I say I want taxes reduced, I didn’t mean the programs that benefit me! The answer won’t be available over 90 days next year.

More than 20 years ago I hosted a weeklong series on tax alternatives. Among the proposals we examined were Flat Tax, Fair Tax, and Automated Payments Tax. People are most familiar with the first. Everyone pays a flat percentage. Say 12 to 15 percent. Of income, I guess. Of course, we need to define income. Professor Gad Saad is leaving Canada for a job in the United States and has to pay an exit tax based on his estimated assets. Estimated is the dirty word! That’s left to bureaucrats.

This Requires Study and Gaming Outcomes

Go ahead and adopt the flat tax, and please the conservatives, however. Many people, even on the right, have paid very little when it comes to present income confiscation. See how they react when they get a wake-up call. The Fair Tax is a national sales tax of 23 percent. Or it was the percentage proposed 20 years ago. That sounds large, but when you consider your overall tax burden right now, if it replaced what currently exists, you would be better off. This isn’t to say that local governments wouldn’t institute their own taxes. If you live in a blue state or city, that’s a given. Proponents argue that citizens have the option of not paying taxes if they choose not to buy. Obviously, you need to buy some things, unless you’re destitute and living exclusively on handouts.

Automated Payments Tax (APT) is a 1 percent charge on every transaction. A company buys steel to build trucks; it pays 1 percent on the steel. And on every other purchase. The dealer buys the truck for his lot and pays one percent. You buy from the dealer and pay one percent. An economist at the University of Indiana told me it would cover the federal budget. We had that conversation in 2005, when the national debt wasn’t even a quarter of what we see today. None of these plans address the debt, but if state and local governments are creative, maybe we can find something that replaces property taxes.

What we’ll get is a commission from the politically connected who’ll meet once a month for bagels and orange juice. In three years, they’ll provide a solution that works best for them.

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 12, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 12 drawing

09-17-22-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 12 drawing

12-21-39-46-48, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
• Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
• Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
• Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
• Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.