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University of Montana protest: 'Ceasefire Now' • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2024

University of Montana protest: 'Ceasefire Now' • Daily Montanan

More than 100 people at the University of Montana demonstrated Wednesday to protest Israel’s bombing of Gaza and to show solidarity with protesters arrested this week on other campuses.

“Israel, Israel. Stop the slaughter. Gaza must have food and water,” they chanted.

The UM demonstrators asked spectators to keep their focus on children who are dying, a count the Washington Post put at 13,000 this week.

“While you are here watching us, children are being murdered with your tax dollars,” said one demonstrator with a bull horn.

Nearly 1,000 arrests had taken place on campuses across the country as of Monday including in violent clashes between police and pro-Palestian protestors from New York to California, according to a count from the Associated Press.

UM student Journey Lynn said their values in social work align with supporting the lives of innocent people in Gaza. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

The demonstration at UM in Missoula was peaceful. A law enforcement SUV was parked near the Oval but rolled away after the group started marching.

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 34,000, according to a report this week from the Wall Street Journal citing health authorities. However, the story said it’s becoming difficult to keep up with the number of fatalities because many hospitals aren’t functioning, and people are buried under rubble.

Students from UM and also high schools were among those demonstrating with chants, chalk art after the rain subsided, and signs.

Some signs called on the UM Foundation to divest, joining calls at more than 80 other campuses across the country to redirect higher education investments from funding war, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The UM Foundation is the university’s fundraising nonprofit, and in a statement, it said its board “is committed to responsible investment stewardship” to generate the “highest levels of returns” to support UM for generations.

“The Foundation’s endowment portfolio has no direct investments with weapons manufacturers,” said the UM Foundation board in a statement.

Journey Lynn, a UM graduate student in social work, said they joined the demonstration because the crisis in Gaza is deplorable: “I think that calling attention to the genocide is imperative.”

Lynn also said as a student pursuing a master’s in social work, they believe the protest aligns with the code of ethics from the National Association of Social Workers.

“The essence of a lot of those values are to honor and value all life,” Lynn said.

Jon Murphy said he wanted to support Israel’s right to exist as a country. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

At least one legislator, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Missoula Democrat, joined the protest. Demonstrators started the action in front of Main Hall and then marched around the Oval carrying signs raised with their messages.

“Free Palestine.” “Israel Bombs Hospitals.” “Food Is Not A Weapon.” “Ceasefire NOW.” “Fund Schools Not Genocide.”

As the demonstration began, one man carrying a flag of Israel walked in front of the group and yelled at them. Jon Murphy stayed with the demonstrators in their march around the Oval.

He told the Daily Montanan he wanted to stand up for Israel’s right to exist as a state. Murphy said he is not a student at UM but lives in the community.

“I don’t agree with everything that Israel does, but it has a right to exist, and the people have a right to live there without getting the rockets and missiles sent at them,” Murphy said.

Demonstrators drew messages with chalk around the Oval. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

The recent war started in October 2023 after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel and killed at least 1,200 people. Israel then launched military strikes in Gaza, a small strip of land 25 miles long between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea.

A recent food insecurity analysis said famine is imminent in at least the north of Gaza, and it projects more people will die. The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (FRC) said the entire population of 2.23 million faces acute food insecurity.

“The FRC concludes that famine is imminent unless there is an immediate cessation of hostilities and full access is granted to provide food, water, medicines, and protection of civilians as well as to restore and provide health, water, and sanitation services, and energy (electricity, diesel, and other fuel) to the population in the northern governorates,” the report said.

The IPC describes itself as an initiative to improve food security and analysis based on science and one led by a global partnership of 15 organizations.

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Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

7 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

19 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

BUTTE — MSU-Northern and Montana Western pulled a pair of upsets Saturday at the Butte Civic Center to wrap up the quarterfinal round of the Frontier Conference women’s basketball postseason tournament.

The fifth-seeded Skylights started the day with a red-hot shooting performance to down No. 4 Rocky Mountain College 82-74. Western, the sixth seed, used a third-quarter surge to defeat No. 3 Carroll College 65-56.

MSU-Northern (17-11) and Western (14-13) now advance to Sunday’s semifinal round, where the Skylights will play No. 1 seed Dakota State at noon and the Bulldogs will face No. 2 Montana Tech at 2:30 p.m.

MSU-Northern 82, Rocky Mountain College 74

MSU-Northern sizzled in the first quarter, making seven 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead, and put together a crucial third-quarter run to get past Rocky and advance to the semifinal round.

Becky Melcher splashed four 3s in the first 10 minutes, and Taya Trottier, Canzas HisBadHorse and Shania Moananu added one apiece as the Skylights built a 29-13 lead. Melcher scored 14 first-quarter points and finished with a game-high 30 on 10-of-19 shooting (7 of 15 from 3-point range). She added 11 rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals to her stat line.

Rocky battled back to tie the game at 36-36 in the second quarter on a Brenna Linse basket, but MSUN responded with consecutive triples from Trottier and Melcher and took a 44-38 lead into halftime. The Bears eventually stole the lead back in the third quarter following a 9-0 run capped be an Isabelle Heggem bucket.

But the Skylights again answered — this time with a 13-2 run to take a 60-51 lead. MSUN led 66-59 going to the fourth and wouldn’t trail the rest of the way. The Skylights trailed for less than two total minutes of the game.

As a team, MSUN made 14 of 26 3s in the game. Ciera Agasiva was 3 for 3 from behind the arc, and Trottier was 2 for 3. Trottier had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Agasiva had 13 points.

Paige Wasson led Rocky (20-9) with 29 points but was 0 for 10 on 3-point attempts. Heggem had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Montana Western 65, Carroll 56

After neither team led by more than five points in the first half, Western broke open a 25-25 tie game by outscoring Carroll 20-9 in the third quarter.

Bailee Sayler scored 10 points in the quarter, including making two 3-pointers, to help the Bulldogs take control. They led 45-34 going to the fourth, and Carroll wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.

The Fighting Saints were just 18-of-65 shooting (27.7%) for the game.

Sayler scored an efficient 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting. She was 2 for 3 from 3-point range and 6 for 7 at the free throw line. The Missoula native also had nine rebounds.

Isabella Lund added 16 points for the Bulldogs, and Keke Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Carroll (19-10) was led by Kenzie Allen with 12 points. Willa Albrecht and Meagan Karstetter scored 11 points apiece for the Saints.

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