Columns

I remember how exciting it was to go on a field trip as a kid at school: the getting out of the classroom, the bus ride to a new place and the endless chatter between seats, the excitement in the air that something magical might take place on this adventure. Those days are long gone for me, or so I thought. I recently found myself back among the excited chit-chat of kids on a field-trip-bound bus after agreeing to chaperone at the River Honoring event my son’s fourth grade class attended. Once at the river, we unloaded and our group mixed with a steady stream of other kids from throughout our small towns. The day carried on with our group roaming from station to station – ...

The 66th legislative session has come to an end. As Speaker of the House, it was my goal to uphold the integrity of the House. As a leader in my caucus it was my goal to foster unity not conformity. We can be united behind the primary ideals of our party without losing individuality. It has been an honor to ...

The legend of Bigfoot lives on in American folklore, and although I don’t know for sure if the big and hairy creature actually exists in the wild, I do believe in big foot, or at least big feet. I live with a bunch of them. (Big and hairy big-footed creatures, that is.) My husband and sons tower ove...

Is it spring yet? After what seems like the longest winter ever, the library crew is ready for a great spring and summer. So let’s ditch the winter coats, find the sandals in the back of our closets and gear up for a ton of fun at the library. To kick off our May events, local author Maggie Plummer ...

At the start of the legislative session, I delivered my fourth and final State of the State address. I shared my optimism that in Montana we can still be a shining example of how our political system is supposed to work and that as elected leaders we should base our decisions not only on today’s needs,...

In the waning hours of Montana’s 66thLegislative Session, good public policy squeaked through, including Medicaid expansion and an infrastructure bill. But public works can’t fix the deferred maintenance of the outdated way these bills made it through. That takes political will. Montana’...

It was in the wee morning hours; I was summoned from sleep by a grinding and screeching sort of noise that is universally recognized as the sound of a garbage truck doing its business. Panic set in. We hadn’t pulled our garbage to the curb. Did we, gulp, miss garbage day? I was now wide awake approx...

Polls consistently show that Montanans support public lands and access to them. And yet, the 2019 Montana Legislature consistently opposed bills that improve access and supported bills that reduce it. Of the four bills that would have improved access, three died. Meanwhile, the anti-access bills, HB 550 a...

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from my sister. I have just one sister. A “little” sister. She is two years and five days younger than me. When we were girls, it felt like a big gap. Eons of time separated us. She was always the little sister; I was the big one. She was expected to...

Toss and turn. Turn and toss. I’m willing to bet we’ve all done our fair share of both. Wakefulness when wakefulness is unwanted. Wakefulness when others are sleeping. Wakefulness when we are supposed to be sleeping, when we will ourselves to sleep, but to no avail. Wakefulness when we know we wi...