Opinion
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. It is cheaper to buy ag lands and green lands outside of the city boundaries where they don’t have to hassle with city codes, costly permits and government delays. But guess what typically happens after folks develop on the outskirts of town? They call the cities and demand to be annexed so they can access city services. They want better water and sewer, some fiber optics, secur...
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...
Editor, The present chaos in our nation and our world calls for a dramatic change in the way we humans live together. This change can only occur by how we individually think, speak, and act. For me this change occurred in the summer of 1982. That summer I was introduced to a course of study that ...
Editor, To Senator Daines - recently, you proclaimed that the inauguration of Donald Trump as 47th president marks a new day in America. Wow. Where to start. Calling Trump’s cabinet nominations “all-star” is laughable. Pete Hegseth, ousted as head of two veterans’ groups for mis...
Property tax relief is a top priority for Senate Republicans this legislative session. I’m sponsoring one such bill, SB 2, which reforms how tax increment financing (TIF) districts sunset – if they ever do – in order to lower property taxes for all local taxpayers. Essentially, the bill rew...
Editor, As recounted by Economist Roger Smith, (Jan. 21), the U.S. lags behind other G7 nations in many metrics of national wealth: poverty, incarceration rates, infant mortality, academic performance, homelessness, and … health outcomes. Why, given our dismal standing among developed nations, i...
Editor, I have seen an ad in the Advertiser for several weeks now, recommending a book titled Tribal Tyranny. I have not read it so I am not aware of her issues, but based on the title, I feel it necessary to respond. I have lived on the Flathead Reservation since 1994. In my early years here, I was oppos...
Editor, A few years ago I was introduced to a book “The Ultimate Revolution” by Walter Starke, published in 1969. It helped me change my life as I seriously contemplated this portion of his writing I share here. “This is a revelation to reveal the whole person. It won&rsqu...
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...
