Columns

Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent during my short time in the legislature to hire lobbyists that represent schools and local governments – all funded by Montana taxpayers. Time and time again, these lobbyists and organizations come into legislative hearings and oppose bills that restrict their spending or empower taxpayers to make such decisions. For example, these taxpayer-funded lobbyists attempted to derail two of my bills, Senate Bills 204 and 205. During their hearings, each bill faced more than 40 opponents, 80% of which were lobbyists funded by your tax dollars. SB 204 allows taxpayers to vote on levies in their districts every 10 years. Priorities change over ...

As a dentist in my professional life, I have the responsibility of making sure my patients maintain great oral health and overall health. I also have the tremendous honor of serving the Chair of Joint Subcommittee on Health and Human Services in the Montana legislature, which is responsible for making sure M...

Tax increment financing (TIF) is a policy driver that incentivizes private developers to develop in areas they would not otherwise develop, e.g., 100-year-old vacant blighted structures full of contaminants on rural Main Streets. Why? They can’t cash flow them. They can’t maximize their profits. ...

This series has already discussed the changes in Montana’s climate, the science behind those changes, and some of the impacts on Montana’s agriculture industry. When it comes to our own health, or the health of our families, things get more personal. Even discussing the health impacts of clima...

Editor, Our Congressional representatives Congressman Ryan Zinke, Senator Steve Daines, and Senator Tim Sheehy are not honoring the pledge that each of them took to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Zinke and Sheehy have taken multiple pledges with their military service. Our Const...

Montana’s agriculture sector has always been vulnerable to changes in climate, and generations of farmers and ranchers have proven their ability to adjust and prosper as conditions demand. Current climate changes driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions, chiefly produced by burning fossil fuels, im...

I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Where did the time go? We’re still moving in. Please join us on Friday, Feb. 14, as we celebrate our one-year anniversary in our beautiful building. We will have cake and punch (from a vintage recipe we found while moving out) and a drawing for a gi...

There’s a morbid thought to start your day or week or year.  But it is – unfortunately – true. Let’s start with the obvious: divorce. A marriage ending in divorce is a bad ending. It is something none of the participants saw coming – at least not in the beginning.&nbs...

The United States cannot continue its current economic trajectory; it’s as simple as that. We are more than $36 trillion in debt and on track to hit $55 trillion by 2034. Our country has to pay more than a trillion dollars annually – nearly half of federal individual income tax revenue – ju...

I am a hick.  There, I said it out loud. I am a hick from a small, rural town in a northern state that gets a lot of snow in the winter. (But has many lovely lakes.) Not everyone wants to live there, but the people who do enjoy it. Embrace it. Love it.  Much like I hope you love the nei...