Opinion
Federal grants often serve as the backbone of rural library services. Without their local library, many communities would lose access to basic resources. However, recent federal actions have placed critical funding for public libraries and museums in jeopardy. Following an executive order from President Trump, the future of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has been uncertain. Staff were placed on administrative leave, and grant processing came to a halt. The consequences are especially severe in rural areas. In Nebraska, where library funding varies by locality, federal support helps bridge gaps between city- and county-funded systems. Without it, rural patrons may ...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after a hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of the ...
No taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant. — George Washington Part of my focus over the past legislative session was to provide meaningful property tax relief for Montanans who live and work in our communities, while ensuring the tax system treats all property o...
As a kid, I loved collecting shells on the beach - still do. There is something calming about walking on the sand, listening to the waves and looking for small treasures the tide washes up. I never found a pearl - not many of us do on the beach. You usually have to take a deep dive to find a pearl, but I ...
Our nation’s top health officials are sounding the alarm on federal nutrition policy. They’re right to be concerned. Rates of diet-related diseases -- including obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and iron-deficiency anemia — continue to rise. Anemia alone affects 10 million Americans, causing...
Editor, I’m just wondering why should the American taxpayers have to pay for the president’s 79th birthday in Washington D.C. on Saturday the 14th of June? During his campaign Trump told the American voters that his administration would look for abuse fraud and waste within the federal governm...
Thanks to voters across the state, we sent more Democrats to the Montana Legislature this session. Democrats came to the legislature to put Montanans first, and we did. Democrats showed up with clear priorities and a commitment to deliver: lower costs, strong public schools, access to health care, and rea...
The 2025 Montana legislative session got off to a rocky start on day one in the Senate when a group of nine Republicans defected to collude with Democrats in a surprise maneuver to change the Senate’s rules and committee assignments giving themselves and Democrats more power. For the entire legislative...
Editor, Our president, Donald J. Trump, has been living a life involved in practicing and promoting human negative attitudes. These involve behavior involving anger, fear, launching personal attacks, and blaming others for your own problems. We the People have the ability and power to counter all this ...
Boulder, Montana kept my dad alive. So did the government. My father never quite understood how I could live in New York City. He preferred Montana, open rather than dense, prairie rather than concrete. Great Falls was his birthplace, and later he stayed in Carter and Plains, before living his last years ...
