This issue of the Mineral Independent will be my “Swan Song.” After this, I will be heading into a new adventure where I will be moving to Conrad with my significant other, Gus Chambers. For those unfamiliar with the small town, it is located one hour north of Great Falls. There we have a nice farm house with 20 acres in the middle of an alfalfa field!

I’ve been the MI reporter going on four amazing years. Coming from a background in fundraising, the job has been challenging and interesting, and I have learned so much from the experience. After living in Alberton for 13 years, where my two children graduated, it’s now time to move onto a new chapter in my life.

As your county reporter I was welcomed into your homes, businesses, events, meetings and into your lives. What I discovered were people who are friendly, accommodating, resilient, and tough-as-nails. Characteristics found throughout our great state. A breed spawned from the crusted earth, broad skies, and the relentless pounding of Mother Nature’s demands at people’s doorstep every day.

Those demands are sometimes life-threatening — ranging from wildfires to the hazards of winter weather. Sometimes they stem from the simple economics from living in a rural area where limited resources like housing and jobs along with changing demographics, make life in Mineral County unique and challenge its resident’s fortitude.

But through it all, people here manage to make a living, raise their families, help one another and thrive in a lifestyle they love. As a reporter, I tried to capture that spirit and share it with other readers. Through school sports and events; fundraisers; meetings; accidents; accomplishments; human interest stories; economics; and politics.

I hope you enjoyed reading those stories as much as I did writing them. I also hope that you will welcome the new Mineral Independent reporter, Maggie Dresser. She is a University of Montana journalism graduate and started her new position on April 1. I will pass community leaders’ contact information along to her but if you want to reach her directly, her email is: mdresser@vp-mi.com. You can also contact our main office in Plains at 406-826-3402 or email: editor@vp-mi.com.

I hope our paths may cross again, and until then, “happy trails!”