The 405 Aired Oct 3th, 2025

Much like everyone else in America, Malta MT has seen its share of changes. O.K. also reminds us of some of the things here that haven't changed.

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Episode Transcript

OK Solberg (00:00):
I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee

(00:02):
Break, guys. Friday, weekend'scoming. Get your cup of coffee,
glass of ice, bottle of water.Let's see what's happening out
there. Spring wheat $5.17 abushel.
550lb steer calf $4.40 a pound.I kid you not. Butcher hog in

(00:24):
Iowa, 61¢ a pound, and a lambthat's fat in Billings weighing
a 100 pounds will fetch you $2and a penny. $2.01/lb, but guys,
there's more, much more. Sowhat's it gonna be today?
Any ideas? What if you had tocome up with a five minute

(00:47):
segment each day? What would youwrite about? I like an old
saying that Paul Harvey used touse from time to time. It went
just like this, the more thingschange, the more things stay the
same.
You might think, what has stayedthe same? Well, well, did you

(01:10):
realize that the railroad camethrough a siding called Siding
54 back in 1887, and that samerailroad track is still active
in our little Siding 54 nowcalled Malta, Montana even now
in 2025. Did you realize thatmore recently, yet still fifty

(01:33):
years ago, fifty two years agoto be exact, I was required to
take a typing class in MaltaHigh School, and the teacher was
miss Higgins. And she started usout on the typewriter with f f f
space, f f f space. And as I'mpreparing this episode, I am

(01:56):
using those same skills learnedfifty two years ago to type out
this episode on my keyboard.
Now listen once again. The morethings change, the more things
stay the same. That actuallymakes some good sense. But, oh,
man, the changes we've seen. Doyou remember the pay telephone

(02:21):
booths and the pay telephones?
How about VHS tapes? RememberVHS tapes when they became
popular? And we had Tom Didi'sfirst video store in Malta,
Montana, right there in thecorner of the Pit Crew on
Central Avenue. Try and buy aVHS tape today. Oh, you can find

(02:45):
them, but they're noteverywhere.
Not to mention eight tracks andcassettes. We have seen things
constantly change. But here's achange that isn't as evident to
us here in Malta, Montana, butit has changed. Oh, how it has
changed. When I was going toschool and beyond, we had a

(03:09):
segment in our local PhillipsCounty news titled justice and
traffic court.
You old guys remember. If yougot caught by law enforcement,
your name showed up in thepaper. I'm looking at a clip
from January 1980, 01/03/1980edition of the PCN. It has this

(03:34):
list. Oh, it has this long listof names of people who got
caught and had to pay a fine.
In this 1980 edition underjustice and traffic court, I
count a 122 differentinfractions listed for a one

(03:56):
month period of time. A 122different infractions and the
names of the guilty partiesright there in the paper for all
the world to see. And to add tothat, at the end of the listing
it reads, 206 daytime speedingtickets were issued during the
above period of time. Did youhear that? A 122 different

(04:21):
infractions, like drivingwithout current registration or
night speeding or stop signviolation or even following too
closely to a law enforcementvehicle, totaling 122 different
infractions within a monthperiod of time, plus 206 daytime

(04:42):
speeding tickets.
Wow. Us kids knew back then theworst thing about getting a
ticket wasn't the fine you hadto pay, it was for everyone to
see your name in the paper.Well, fast forward to the
current PCN. This week, Malta,Montana, Phillips County News

(05:06):
dated 10/01/2025. Now we havethe Phillips County Sheriff's
Report, and it comes out inevery new paper.
And we have things like femalereported a snake in her garage
at Malta Duplex. ACO handled thecall. Or here's a favorite of

(05:29):
mine. Deputy performed a welfarecheck on a vehicle parked along
Highway 2 East Of Malta. Allfound to be okay.
Just an out of state personwanting a better look at the
stars. Guys, that's justbeautiful. I don't care what you
say. I too love to get away fromthe streetlights and enjoy God's

(05:54):
handiwork. So, guys, there's achange that happened right
before our eyes, and we mightnot even have noticed it.
The PCN going from justice andtraffic court to the now current
Phillips County Sheriff'sreport. I'm gonna do some
checking and see if I can findout when that change took place.

(06:18):
It was still clicking off in1980 from a stop sign violation
to a person out enjoying thestarry sky. Listen to our bible
passage for today. O lord, ourlord, how majestic is your name
in all the earth.
You have set your glory abovethe heavens. Out of the mouth of

(06:40):
babes and infants, you haveestablished strength because of
your foes to still the enemy andthe avenger. When I look at your
heavens, the work of yourfingers, the moon and stars
which you have set in place.What is man that you are mindful
of him and the son of man thatyou care for him? Psalm

(07:04):
8 verses 1-4
Look at the heavens, the work ofhis fingers, the moon and stars.
You can view them tonight, anddon't forget the football game
tomorrow, 01:00. Go blue. Sountil next time. As you go out
there, remember now. Don't bebitter.