Columns

  Property taxes aren’t red/blue or political; the State writes the rules on property taxes, counties follow the rules. And everyone—no matter what your political stripe—pays.  It’s no secret that Missoula County and Beaverhead County are opposite in terms of politics, but we’re aligned when it comes to current property tax issues. The Governor sent another letter to all Montana homeowners about property taxes, which has likely hit your mailboxes. The letter asserts that 1.) Property taxes are high because some local governments’ spending is out of control; and 2.) The State’s haul from property taxes is “small.” Both sta...

As you know by now, Montana boasts a unique and expansive constitutional guarantee to public information. But Montana law allows agencies to charge Montanans a fee for completing Right to Know requests, if the agency chooses to do so. Understanding why different fees are being assessed in different circum...

How can it be? Summer has flown by and here we are getting ready to celebrate the end of our Summer Reading Program with a big block party on Thursday, Aug. 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. We’ll have live music, food and drinks available for purchase, another Paper Pie book sale, our prize drawings and of course, ...

We all started out in the same way. As babies. But what would it be like to go back? Imagine being a baby. I’ve thought about this a few times, while watching my grands navigate their way through this world. I imagine myself in their tiny tottering shoes - or bodies, so to speak. And I realize...

We are the Area IV Governing Board and Advisory Council, which oversees older adult services in Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, and Park Counties. We write to implore Governor Gianforte’s administration to prioritize improved resources to deliver Older Americans Act services ...

We are all broken. Some have just a dent in the fender; others need a whole new transmission.  We are dinged, bent, damaged, hurt, cracked, confused, crushed and cut to the quick. Because life will sometimes do that to you - to me - to all of us.  It changes us. It challenges us. It tosses...

When my kids were little, they often came to me with “what ifs.” What if the school bus starts to fly? What if we ate dessert first? What if God never invented rabbits? Or ice cream? Or trees? Or bikes? Or the rain? What if my hair turned into spaghetti noodles? What if all the gra...

As a parent, grandparent, and advocate for public education, I am urging you to support Shannon O’Brien for Superintendent of Schools. Shannon is the only candidate who can bring the change we desperately need to support our teachers, parents, and students. Under Elsie Arntzen’s leadership, Mo...

As hard as I try, in the privacy of my own being, not to get caught up in the scathing absurdities of the moment — e.g., the presidential election, America’ looming fascism, our love of money and war (to name a few) — yikes, here I am, caught up in it all. And all I can do is reach for a...

My grand daughter likes to watch a certain movie - over and over again. In it, the protagonist belts out a message in song: Let it go. There’s lots to be learned from Elsa. We should all be better at simply letting it go. Letting things go. Letting the past go.  Forgive. Forget. Lik...