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A decade ago, Samantha Riley knew absolutely nothing about Honduras or Latino culture in general when she made a spontaneous decision that changed everything. "I honestly just found ‘Students Helping Honduras’ online and decided to go on the program completely randomly. I didn't realize it would mold the rest of my life.”

Aranza De La Torre arrived in Big Sky four years ago completely unable to speak English. Google Translate and her English-speaking husband were De La Torre’s only methods of communication. Until recently, she worked at the Big Sky Post Office where she was able to provide translation for others.

I was 12 years old when I arrived in Big Sky with my parents. My family had just arrived from Honduras, escaping the violence there, and I remember being the only Spanish speaker and the only person with a different skin color in my 4th-grade class.

Countless hikers hit the trail during fall noting the warm temperatures starting-off  – and then are caught off guard with rain, sleet and snow. A fall hike can run the gamut. This time of year, there is an incredibly thin line between a good time and hypothermia.

Every year there are rumors about new families with kids expected to move to Big Sky, and this year is no exception. Are there fifty? Twenty five? Ten? The real numbers won’t be known until (and if) we start school next fall. One thing is for sure, however.

Local Big Sky teens and college students are wearing their masks to protect others from Covid but say their fears are less of infection than for how this pandemic will impact their immediate and long-term future.

The first time I was in a small town local newspaper, I was less than one year old. My baby picture won a cute baby contest and was published in the paper. Sadly, in terms of looks, I peaked in the first few months of my life and it has been downhill ever since.

Though slowly but surely making its way into more conversations, the coronavirus expedited the idea that physical and mental health are fundamentally related. “To me, this is just a good time for all of us to think about our health.