UM-Missoula is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to "The Best 357 Colleges," the 2005 college guide just published by The Princeton Review.

The book's profile on UM says students here love the "gestalt of their school, telling us that 'Missoula is one of the best places to be: friendly people, supportive faculty, a great sense of community, fantastic educational opportunities, and beautiful, beautiful scenery!' Montana receives praises for its offerings in a broad range of subjects -- English literature, wildlife biology, business and communications are just a few our respondents named ...."

Montana Tech of UM in Butte was the only other Montana school to make the book's cut.

Although stunt helicopters failed to snatch a space capsule out of the sky Wednesday when its parachutes didn't open, Dan Reisenfeld still hopes information aboard the capsule will help scientists learn how the solar system formed.

A new UM-Missoula assistant professor of physics, Reisenfeld is closely involved with the Genesis project, a NASA effort to collect particles from solar wind and return them to Earth. Launched three years ago, the Genesis probe is designed to reveal the composition of the sun and how our solar system formed from stellar dust.

Reisenfeld last worked at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, where he was one of three people to build the probe's concentrator -- an instrument that passively gathers solar material on tiles made of silicon, diamond, gold, sapphire and other materials.

"It is hard news to take, indeed," Reisenfeld said after the crash. "Although intact, the insides of the canister were pretty shredded. However, it looks like they will be able to salvage some of the samples. All is not lost."

Two new grants totaling $550,000 will enable UM's innovative reznet program to expand via the Internet and teach journalism to more Native American students across the country.

The grants came from two prominent national foundations -- $475,000 over the next three years from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and $75,000 from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Reznet is based at UM's School of Journalism. It is a Web-based student newspaper that hires 20 Native American college students each year as reporters and photographers to cover their tribal communities and colleges. Now in its third year, reznet won the 2003 Native Media Award for Best Internet News Site from the Native American Journalists Association.

The School of Business Administration's entertainment management program is putting on a Mannheim Steamroller concert in Billings as a benefit for the program.

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, at the MetraPark Arena. Arena prices range from $29-$59 per seat, while table prices vary.

Mannheim Steamroller's visit to Billings is part of its Christmas Tour. The concert features a full orchestral accompaniment with the band, as well as large video screens with music videos and images of nature.

A town hall meeting to discuss using the Internet safely will be held in the Hamilton High School Commons Room at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15.

The event is sponsored by Hamilton High School, i-Safe America and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS in Schools grant at UM's Division of Educational Research and Service. Additional sponsors include Internet Connect Services and the Montana Auditor's Office. I-Safe America is a nonprofit, government-funded Internet safety foundation.

The women's soccer team battled the defending Mid-American Conference champion Kent State Golden Flashes to a 1-1 tie in the opening match of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Fila Classic last weekend.

The Griz lost their final match of the Classic, falling to UNLV 3-0 Sunday. The Rebels held a 9-5 corner kick advantage and recorded 13 shots to UM's nine on the way to their third-straight victory.

This weekend UM will compete at the Soccer Etc. Nike Classic in Boise, Idaho, battling the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at 3 p.m. Saturday and the Boise State University Broncos at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The now second-ranked Grizzlies held off No. 11 Maine 27-20 in their season opener Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The Griz offense was effective with a rejuvenated passing attack. Quarterback Craig Ochs threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns. The defensive line, anchored by veteran tackles Jonny Varona, Blake Horgan, John Cahill and Alan Saenz, held firm against Maine's running game, establishing a base for UM's young secondary.

The Grizzlies advanced from third-ranked to second in the I-AA polls because of former No. 1-ranked Delaware's loss last weekend.

UM hosts the Hofstra University Pride this Saturday, Sept. 11, in a non-conference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.