Opinion
After 16 years of Democrat governors running state government, Montana is in serious need of tax reform to help Montana businesses create good-paying jobs and encourage investment and entrepreneurship in the Treasure State. Our new governor, Greg Gianforte, is prioritizing updating and reforming Montana’s tax code under his Montana Comeback Plan. As Vice Chair of the Senate Tax Committee and a business owner myself, I’m proud to be sponsoring three bills that are key to leading the Montana Comeback: Senate Bills 159, 181 and 182. Senate Bill 159 will lower Montana’s top income tax rate from 6.9 percent to 6.75 percent, cutting taxes for everyone who make...
Our state and the way of life we have enjoyed for decades is in danger of being lost. With a new governor and new legislature in session, it is vital Montana citizens are aware of the harmful actions occurring right now in Helena: politicizing our courts, substantially remaking state government, diminishing ...
Editor, Apparently, Representative Linda Reksten doesn’t think much of our Lake County Commissioners. In March of 2018, our commissioners decided to protect public health by including e-cigarettes in their Clean Indoor Air Act protections. As a result, people in our community are prot...
Editor, HB112, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” requires interscholastic trans-athletes to participate within their sex assigned at birth. This legislation illustrates a remarkable lack of awareness of the current thinking in medical and athletic communities regarding transgender athletes....
Editor, The right to vote is under attack across the United States, and in Montana, one form of it is going against what the voters in 2014 clearly affirmed in a referendum. House Bill 176 would end same-day voter registration that has been law since 2005 and close late, in-person registration by 5 p.m...
Editor, I’m almost ashamed to be a fourth generation Montanan. I grew up with the belief that everyone had the right to personal liberty, earned by personal responsibility. Now, I’m seeing “every man for himself.” I’m seeing too many people choosing to stomp hard on ...
The Montana Legislature is leveling one of the most aggressive attacks on public hunters we’ve ever seen under the guise of protecting gun rights. HJ 5, sponsored by Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Lolo, states that taxing firearms is unconstitutional, and unenforceable. Apparently, Rep. Tschida and supp...
Vitamins are essential to our health and wellbeing. We acquire the majority of these vitamins through the foods we eat; however, there is one vitamin that we get from the sun. A deficiency of this essential nutrient can be disastrous, and yet, somehow a group of people living in a place with too little sun f...
As we celebrate the 45th anniversary of Black History Month, it is fitting to acknowledge that small business owners are some of the strongest, most resilient people you will ever meet. With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting communities large and small nationwide, its impact has been felt in every sector...
Like so many Montanans, I grew up with a rifle in one hand and a shotgun in the other. I converted my love of shooting into a 25-year career in the firearms industry. I helped build an iconic international gun company. I sold millions of guns. I’ve won awards, even been a finalist for the &ldq...
