by Travis Mateer
The editorial change at the Missoulian means Lee Enterprises decided to swipe left on Rob for Steve Kiggins–or SKIGGY, if you’re following him on X. What does this mean for locals who have come to accept the shitty news landscape in Zoom Town? Beyond the inevitable song I have written for Skiggy, probably not much, though Griffin Smith’s article on Mineral County’s war with itself was certainly encouraging to see.
I wanted to thank Griffin in person for his coverage, and perhaps offer a scoop or two on how a tune might change for a formerly-fired Sheriff Deputy, but the newsroom now run by our new editor from Twin Falls is STILL the same cowering newsroom hiding behind paper (the irony!) and key-card access.
Did I peek above the paper barrier to confirm there was news-reporting activity going on behind this door? Yes, and I also checked out the official entrance to see if the same messaging from last time I visited was still there. Maybe someone should tell our new editor that the pandemic is over?
Is it exciting to work in such apparently clandestine conditions? I don’t know, my bricks and mortar attempt to feel all newsy and legit got yanked out from under me, while at the same time the Missoula Current LARP taught me how my limited purpose fame keeps me from being able to defend myself against defamatory bullshit shoveled out as “news” by Gomer.
And who can resist kicking a man when he’s down? Not the Missoulian, it would appear, so pardon me if Skiggy’s desire to meet his new community doesn’t inspire immediate confidence within my poetic bowels that he’s NOT just another piece of chewy media control to consume and poop out.
From the link:
The work we do inside our newsrooms in Missoula, Billings, Helena, Butte and Hamilton must not only reflect our cities and counties but also inform, educate and entertain. We should explore key issues. Cover breaking news. Celebrate local success. And, as necessary, ask the tough questions. It’s a tall responsibility, made easier only when we get to know you and spend time together.
Words, Skiggy, are easy to string together for us wordsmiths, but it’s that whole consistency-to-your-principles thing that can be difficult to sustain in a world gone crazy by incremental frog-boiling fuckery–a process we really need to stop allowing ourselves to be slowly cooked by.
For anyone curious about the geography Skiggy has covered, here’s some more background on our new editor:
Kiggins was born in California, raised in Oregon and began writing for a bi-weekly paper in Gresham, Oregon when he was just 16 years old, he said.
Kiggins also boasts a resumé that includes positions in Alaska, Wyoming (three times), Idaho, Seattle, Florida and Utah (three times).
“There’s no place I’d rather be than right here in Southern Utah,” Kiggins said.
Cool, I pooped in two of those states recently and wrote poems about it, poems I plan on sharing soon because they are excellent representations of the skills I acquired at the University of Montana.
But let’s not focus on what human butts do to keep these human machines going because Montana, I have this strange feeling, is about to pop-off, and it’s connected by a metaphysical umbilical cord that may or may not correlate to underground transportation corridors. Are you with me?
If not, oh well, things are moving fast and those who can’t keep up are going to be left behind. So let’s shift from MY shit to the weird shit that went down recently at the Air Force Base in Great Falls. Apparently, Sheriff Slaughter (yes, his real name) isn’t happy about the jurisdictional friction this curious incident created. From the link:
Malmstrom Air Force Base was under lockdown for a couple hours on Thursday, after receiving reports of an active shooter on base the same day a training exercise was held.
“A suspicious person was reported on base as an active shooter,” Malmstrom posted at 12:43 p.m. on Facebook. “There were no confirmed shots fired and there are no casualties or injuries reported. There is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.”
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter expressed frustration at a news conference later in the day, saying there were jurisdictional issues between his department and Malmstrom. He said that at one point his staff was prohibited from entering or leaving the base once the lockdown was in place.
Is this something a person (me) investigating real active shooters in real towns–derived from the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska in the show True Detective–should be unsettled by?
Nah, fear is a waste of fucking time, so let’s look at this incident in Ennis, Montana:
In the early hours of the morning, around 2:00 a.m., on Saturday, June 14, 2003, 44-year-old George Harold Davis drank alone at the Silver Dollar Saloon bar, on Main Street in Ennis, Madison County, Montana. After buying multiple alcoholic beverages and getting heavily intoxicated, Davis got more and more frustrated and was unable to pay for the drinks. Another patron, Michael Carroll, paid Davis’ tab, hoping he would leave. Davis left the bar and walked over to his car, a gold Ford Taurus, which was parked just outside. He retrieved a .45 semi-automatic pistol from the vehicle and then opened fire on people outside the bar. He seriously injured six people (including Carroll) and fatally shot 27-year-old Jamie Roberts. After the shooting, Davis fled the scene in his car and drove for nearly two-hundred miles toward Ravalli County, Montana.
At around 8:00 a.m. Ravalli County Sheriff Deputy Bernie Allestad spotted Davis speeding on U.S. Highway 93. Allestad pulled over Davis, who immediately leaped out of his vehicle and opened fire on Allestad. Allestad returned fire but was shot in the shoulder and became badly wounded. Davis was also hit in the abdomen during the brief shootout, but he managed to escape and speed away. Davis then entered Missoula County, Montana, where he encountered Missoula County sheriff deputy David Conway and tried to run him off the road in a head-on collision. Conway dodged the collision and chased after Davis. Montana Highway Patrol officer Jason Hildenstab also joined in the pursuit.
What else have I been researching that makes this incident resonate? White Supremacy? Check.
George Harold Davis (born June 20, 1958) was identified as the man responsible for the shooting rampage in Ennis. He was a proponent of white supremacy and anti-Semitism. He was also a trained killer and a paramilitary veteran, who had served as a mercenary in Nicaragua.
Davis was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, and moved to Washington in the early 1990s. Prior to the shooting, Davis had only recently moved to the Ennis area from Washington. At the time of his shooting spree in Ennis, Davis worked as a ranch hand on a nearby ranch. Davis had also worked as a carpet installer in Washington throughout the 1990s.
Moving on, there’s also an Ennis in Texas, and Texas is getting LOTS of attention right now over Eagle Pass and the recent news of the militarization happening over this flashpoint of jurisdictionally contested geography.
With my recent travels identifying shit brewing in Texas, and writing about stuff like tornadoes and corruption, it’s of course interesting to find tornadoes and corruption on the southern border where Montana’s Governor is busy because Montana is doing just fine.
On April 24, 2007, at 7:00 pm CDT, a tornado tore through outside of Eagle Pass and caused loss of life and property damage. The community was paralyzed for more than a week. This tornado tore through the southern part of the town, and major damage was done. At the Rosita Valley Elementary School, one child was waiting with his teacher to be picked up and as the dangerous storm approached, the child was picked up and his teacher left the campus too. Minutes later, the school was flattened with nothing to spare. Since then, the school has been rebuilt, and the community lives life normally.
…
On August 8, 2012, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Del Rio indicted five Eagle Pass residents, including a former Public Works Department employee, in connection with an estimated $70,000 credit-card fraud scheme. According to the indictment, during 2011, City of Eagle Pass employee Edgar Aguilar obtained five City of Eagle Pass-owned Fuelman credit cards designated for fuel purchases for Public Works department vehicles and distributed them to his accomplices to purchase fuel for their own vehicles and to purchase fuel for others at the city’s expense.
Is anything else happening in this part of the country soon? Credit where credit is due, this synchro-mystic got interested in Eagle Pass because it’s where the eclipse in April will be entering the American frame of view.
Anything else? How about a rock band with a lead singer who didn’t mind sharing a stage with Damien Echols releasing an album titled Dark Matter just in time to help get their pal, Senator Tester, reelected? Check.
Is that all? Almost. To finish, here’s my tune inspired by Skiggy. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading!