“If you see my yard signs, they are blue and gold. My Grizzly friends ask, “Well why would you do that?” I tell them that I already have the votes from Griz Nation and I wanted to make some inroads with the Bobcats.”
It got me thinking of university rivalries in the state, and how a lot of people went to different places.
I went to UM, my mom went to MSU and my dad graduated from Carroll.
I had one aunt go to Montana Tech, two more go to UM, and an uncle that went to MSU Northern. My grandpa taught at MSU Northern for a time.
So I don’t put much stock into that whole university rivalry thing, myself.
As to the ‘making inroads,’ well…that’s a good idea. It goes for Missoula in general.
Last year we had a 71% turnout, but in 2014 it was around 49% and in 2013 it was 41%
This is an off-year like 2013 and 2014.
Getting turnout in places like Missoula might seem like a good place to put resources, but maybe it’s not.
Maybe the Quist campaign should just say to hell with Missoula.
The city’s going to vote for him anyways.
Places that went narrowly for Bullock in the 2016 election probably won’t go for him, however.
Ask James Douglas – he knows the exact districts.
Those’d be good places to put resources.
I wonder where the MT Dems are putting resources. Their April finance report still isn’t up on the FEC website, but I suspect it will be by Thursday.
I’ll have more then.
I see Gianforte was in Missoula this morning talking on KGVO News Talk radio.
I know he was here yesterday at some event, the same as Governor Bullock, so I suppose he stayed overnight, probably doing some private fundraiser in the evening.
I bet most of the calls he received were positive. I did ask on Facebook why he’s spending $389,000 with 7 different out-of-state companies and just $12,000 with a Montana company, but I don’t think that question was posed to him.
To my way of thinking, the more campaign money you spend here in the state, the more jobs you create here in the state.
That’s why it’s so disheartening to see both our special election candidates spending so much outside Montana.
Looking at shake-your-head Missoula news, last night the Missoula City Council approved $1 million in funding for Mary Avenue improvements.
These costs are in addition to the $7 million the city gave to the mall developers to expand.
Coming up in two weeks, the City Council will discuss whether or not they should pay someone $48,000 to look at the parking gates at 3 downtown parking facilities to see if they need any work.
This at a time when the Parking Commission already has a budget of $1.7 million.
What I find surprising is that the Commission is spending $122,000 a year in upkeep for the new parking meters they just bought a year ago...which cost the city $1.6 million, by the way.
Over at Logicosity they mention UM’s mind-boggling plan to go after all the students that dropped-out.
Like the 340 the site mentions that dropped out between fall and spring of this academic year.
The Montana Kaimin – UM’s newspaper – has some ideas on that in an article they did on March 29.
I wonder if any administrators read that paper. I believe it was a 4-day-a-week paper when I was a student, but now I think it’s weekly.
Damn budget cuts.
Anyways, one of those 340 students was a history major named Greighsen Serrano. She left UM after three years because “most of her time in college was spent in a full-on panic.”
We’re talking about stress and anxiety, and the Kaimin tells us that 47% of UM students found their schoolwork “traumatic or very difficult to handle,” with 13% feeling “tremendous stress.”
In addition, 21% of UM students were treated for anxiety and 18% for depression.
The article profiles two UM students and one MSU student and it’s worth a read.
They left college, now have jobs, and are happier.
Mainly, college isn’t the answer for everyone…whether it’s a 2-year or a 4-year school.
When we’re charging up the wazoo for that education, however, it makes it easier to say no to college.
I think more young people should say no to college. You’ll save a lot of money and probably find a job you like.
There’s always time to go to school – or back to school – later. I guess that’s what UM is trying to foster with this marketing effort, but to me it stinks.
Students left for lots of reasons. The only reason the U wants them back is for their money.
That’s cheap.