Opinion
Editor, Last November, voters passed I-190, recreational marijuana, which is estimated to provide $25 million annually to help fund hunting and fishing, trails, outdoor opportunities and other conservation projects. Montanans love the outdoors so do the thousands of visitors to the state. In 2019, tourism generated $3.7 billion in revenue. Conservation of public lands and enhancing outdoor opportunities is a double win; it’s good for Montana citizens personally, and it’s good for businesses. Several bills in the legislature seek to strip away those funds from conservation projects even though that’s part of the reason many people voted for the initiative. Th...
I’m still struggling, but I know I have to step forward on a path I wouldn’t have considered six months ago. Because it didn’t exist six months ago. People all around me are walking on the paths of their choosing. I feel like half the time I’m desperately searching for mine. The ot...
Editor, Montanans deserve to have a say in our energy future. HB 273 would overturn I-80 and eliminate the public’s right to vote on a new nuclear facility in the state. Currently, we enjoy the right to have a say because of a voter-passed initiative that has stood since 1978 and was passed...
Editor, Who really runs the Republican party? It seems that it is our Republican elected members of both the House and the Senate who have great fear of Donald Trump’s large voting-block called his base are the ones running the party. Trump cares little about his base as i...
We all experience different seasons in life and those seasons are accompanied by emotions – joy and sadness and everything in between. We aren’t always in control of how our seasons unfold. We may find ourselves in a season we never would have chosen. Sometimes life is hard. But...
In recent weeks, the Montana Legislature has advanced bills to support critical infrastructure and conservation projects across the state. Starting with House Bill 632, Republicans committed to investing the latest round of federal COVID relief dollars in infrastructure, telecommunications and economic stabi...
Editor, With all the downer-type news this winter, I would like to change course and thank Harvest Foods and Ace Hardware personnel, in Ronan, for always wearing their masks. I have had my shots, still wear my mask in public, and I feel much safer these days, but it is nice to know that they seem...
When we elect politicians, the hope is as they share information, they are giving us as much truth as possible. So, when Steve Daines was invited to reflect on the American Recovery Plan that just passed, also known as the COVID Stimulus Bill, it could be that he was just misinformed. So, we just wanted to s...
Editor, Politics, these days, has such a grip on our citizens, and especially our elected leaders, that listening thoughtfully to each other and accepting compromise seems a thing of the past. But, this attitude is not true with many. Thankfully in our democracy individual opinions count t...
Editor, The Montana legislature is considering a good idea. House Bill 629, if passed, will provide a tax incentive to businesses that create five new jobs per year in which salary plus benefits equals at least $50K per year. If a business meets the criteria of number of new employees per year their...
