Opinion
We all have our reasons for getting alarmed about the climate crisis. With bare ground at Christmas and no snow on the horizon, my neighbors just got theirs. This Northern Maine valley nestles against the border of Canada – and winter without snow is unfathomable. Snowmobiling is a big deal around here. While most of Maine suffers its tourist season along with the blackflies and summer sunburns, my neck of our vast woods gets its annual rush of visitors when the snow starts flying. They come to these northern reaches with their snowmobiles on trailers to go joyriding over our endless miles of trail system. There’s a breathless thrill to speeding over three feet of gl...
Editor, Abortion has become a “hot topic” in our country these days. The Republicans who have been pushing this issue now wish it would go away. But it won’t, apparently. Abortion, also known as “Reproductive Health Care,” has captured the attention of women all over our nati...
There’s no way Republican legislators would rather ring in a new year than with lower taxes, and that’s exactly what we’ve done to kick off 2024. As of January 1st, Montanans of all income levels are now paying lower income taxes, thanks to legislation that just went into effect. T...
Editor, Today I made the difficult decision to end my campaign to serve you in the Montana State Senate. It sounds cliche, but I’m doing it to for family reasons. I thought campaigning and serving in the Legislature would be easier now that my kids are out of diapers. But I recently returned f...
I read a quote that resonated with me on multiple levels. Upon checking it out, it originated from someone known as MrsMopar on iFunny and it went something like this: “I admire those with hairstyles. I don’t have a hairstyle, but thankfully I have hair. Most days it has zero caterpillars in i...
It’s hard to imagine, given how invested I feel in a slate of consequential elections that are still almost a year away, that we began 2023 with an equally consequential legislative session. A 90-ish day gauntlet in the dead of winter, this session saw a historic supermajority for the Republic...
Historic drought conditions and weather extremes have hit the outdoor industry hard in Montana and other states throughout the West. Shorter winters, brought on by a changing climate, are driving these hard-hitting delays in the season. “There’s definitely been a shift in the weather in the la...
“You don’t really appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone.” These wise words came out of the mouth of my 16-year-old son; surprisingly, he wasn’t referring to a Snicker’s bar. I’ve always known he is an old soul, but this particular insight was unexpected...
Editor, I can’t think of a better way to open a letter than was presented last week by the Ashcrafts. After all, if someone has also submitted a letter to the Missoulian....well what can you suspect. He/she must be “one of those.” Because the author identified a judge who retire...
Editor, On 11/11/2023 at 11 p.m. Dick Christopher died. On 12/15/2023 at 11 a.m. we laid my father to rest with military honors. We would like to truly thank our community and people who knew him, shared him with us and helped us through our loss. In the days following his death, we learned more of the...
