Opinion

I recently introduced a good friend of mine to the original Jurassic Park movie. A film that’s won over 20 awards and is considered by some, (or at least me), to be the epitome of filmmaking, I couldn’t imagine anyone disliking such a classic.  “Huh,” she said to me as the credits rolled, “that was really bad.”  My dear friend, whom I still love despite that assertion, has a fondness for movies made by Hallmark. Rom coms, melodramas, and reality television are where she spends most of her viewing hours and are all things I consider “really bad.”  But what exactly makes a movie bad?  Is it films that don’t ...

The 2023 Montana legislature began its legislative session with an unprecedented surplus, mainly due to the over-collection of state taxes from Montana taxpayers. Since this is ultimately taxpayers’ money, I - along with other conservatives in the legislature - were determined to return money to Montan...

Editor, April is Alcohol Responsibility Month. As the weather begins to get warmer, it’s a great time for Montana families to start conversations about alcohol at home to prevent underage drinking. As the father of two adult children, I know firsthand that kids grow up fast. I also know it is cri...

Editor, Montana Senator Greg Hertz is presenting a bill on Friday (SB 566) that is an unabashed attempt to electioneer the next US Senate race at the cost of Montana Libertarians and our ability to maintain ballot access. The bill changes the Senate race to a top two primary where all candidates compete a...

Where did March go? Things have been a little crazy for us at the library, but so many exciting things are happening this month. At the beginning of March, we moved library operations into the western end of the United Methodist Church at 301 16th Ave. E. (you can park anywhere in the parking lot and the chu...

School shootings and the bloody murders of totally innocent children and their teacher caretakers is a societal tragedy that Americans have become numb to. Without the commonsense outlawing of the assault weapons used in most of these atrocities, the preventable horror will relentlessly continue, in our scho...

Editor, The Inflation Reduction Act has upped our debt over seven trillion. Senator Tester actually voted for this. It has increased inflation as have the other trillions poured into the US by the Biden Admin. Tester meets, greets, and talks but doesn’t really commit to anything. I want to know why ...

Some friends of mine recently decided to take a family member into their home and as an enthusiast of organizing I’ve been helping them go through their things to make room for the new addition. With the sun out lately, what better time for a spring cleaning?  Making room for an entire addition...

It was a bright, busy Sunday afternoon in a restaurant, and the woman bussing our dishes beamed. I’d just complimented her lovely pink nail polish. “It’s hard in this job,” she smiled as she wiggled her fingers in display. “But I try to take care of my nails.” She gave us ...

Montana’s state Legislature is proposing a host of extreme anti-wildlife bills despite widespread, diverse, strong, and credible opposition to these unnecessary measures. The onslaught on wildlife by locally elected officials began in 2021 and continues in this legislative session with the introduct...