Letters
Editor, In our nation’s long debate about how strong the federal government should be and how much power should rest with state and local governments, Republicans have been fierce for local control. Why then are we seeing a rash of bills from the Montana State Legislature that violate this basic conservative principle? Here are two examples, although there are many more. HB 200 would force local governments to engage with federal law enforcement on immigration issues; that is, it prohibits sanctuary cities. Montana, of course, does not have sanctuary cities, but our very busy legislature felt this was a priority. A similar bill was vetoed in the past because it was thou...
Editor, Hey Montanans! Our state is receiving an almost $3 billion windfall from the American Rescue Plan Act. Some is designated to be spent on Kindergarten through 12th grade education, emergency rental help, pandemic unemployment benefits, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and budget relief f...
Editor, Wednesday, March 17 started out a bright, beautiful day. I think maybe the third time since St. Patty’s Day parades started that it was nice in Ronan. Then at the end of the parade loomed a dark and disgusting cloud. The derogatory float that contained the F word was not right. We a...
Editor, Attending Ronan’s St. Patrick Day parade has been a tradition we look forward to. This year was no different. It was a beautiful day for the parade. We were enjoying ourselves until Benjamin Montgomery Services and Mr. Emporium drove their business vehicle in the parade with a horrible sign ...
Editor, The Republican party of limited government is on a rampage to impose restrictions on Montana local governments. The Legislature proposes to impose oversight and/or approval of county health boards and their decisions. County health boards have professional staff that make health related deci...
Editor, Federal Water Compact legislation provides irrigators and tribes options for reestablishing a joint entity to manage the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project FIIP. The earlier Cooperative Management Entity CME successfully managed the project from 2010 until early 2014, but because...
Editor, Both state Legislatures and Congress are introducing bills that either restrict ballot access for security reasons or improve access to allow greater participation. In Montana, HB176 eliminates same-day voter registration (important to tribal members), while HB169 restricts the types of I...
Editor, Voting is an American principle and a basic democratic right that should be protected, promoted and practiced. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 24th Amendment are legally considered issues related to our election system. And yet, in 2021, we have an onslaught of 2021 legislators from...
Editor, It was a great turnout for the Ronan St. Patrick’s Day parade. The bagpipes were my first live music in a year. Nothing ever sounded better. The 4-H ‘ers were there along with floats of all kinds. The theme was Irish but then along came a float that I hope to never see again in a...
Editor, I’m sure I am not the only person distraught over the goings on at the legislature. I’m concerned that they don’t appear to have done much research on a lot of bills. Legislators have squandered lots of tax dollars looking out for themselves and their buddies, not the common good...
