Opinion

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 individuals. He cares only about himself, although he does value his base for their approval of him.     The present Republican party really has no platform. Our present Republican members of the House and Senate are rendered dysfunctional through their fear of losing the Trump-base votes. Trump is even railing against our present Republican leaders in Congress.    ...

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...

This column continues the one from last week where Jill Pertler shares the heartache experienced after the sudden loss of her husband.    When someone you love dearly dies here on earth, they are gone. But they are not gone. They are here. They are everywhere. And if you perceive very caref...

Editor,  Does a professional, independent bureaucracy lead to better governance? The answer is “yes,” compared to the alternative political patronage as a source of corruption, waste and the dominance of special interests. Montana has a Civil Service System based upon competitive, meri...

Editor,  Why do we have government? Why do some of us go to the polls every few years and fill out our ballots? You might think it was to elect people who would represent not only us but what’s best for us.  Yet, it seems that the special interests have sabotaged that process and, in on...