Columns

Fishermen,  River is fishable. Moiese slough, buffalo rapids catching trout and smallies. Great places to fly fish.  Sloans to little Bitterroot River for pike, just before you hit the other side of the little Bitterroot before you there are brown trout. Bass are in just about any rocky areas including off docks. Narrow area, 40 to 60 feet, for lake trout west side of Polson Bay, Big arm and Elmo points. Pablo Reservoir has perch, bullheads, crappie and largemouth bass.  City docks are good at nine to 12 feet. The water is warm, so you can catch perch, small mouth bass, pike and some bait fish. Use a bottom weight with two hooks, fuzz bugs with a nightcrawler for per...

There are certain truths that are universal, but unspoken. They are numerous - all around us. So numerous they couldn’t fit into one column. (Watch for part two coming soon.) Often, these truths aren’t even recognized. They are so universal - so clear and obvious to us - that we we’ve stopp...

Property tax appraisals are currently arriving in the mail. It’s important to review the valuation and appeal it if you do not agree with the valuation. The appeal instructions are in the letter that was mailed to you. You only have 30 days, so do not wait. If the value of your property increased by...

To get there, you head up the Pete Creek Road #338 in the Yaak (no one seems to know who Pete was, and I’m keen to know the name the first people called it before Pete rolled into the country), way on up past Mushroom Mountain. At the dust blown hairpin curve left, continue straight into what looks lik...

This month Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission moved to sharply increase the kill of mountain lions in the state, up to 40 percent of the population in many areas.  The move came over the objections of mountain lion hound hunters, sporting groups, and conservation interests. FWP Biologists d...

We would wager that nearly every Montana family has struggled in some way with mental health, diabetes, or postpartum health care. The 2023 Legislature made unprecedented investments in all three of those areas that together will positively impact families in every corner of our state.  Not only did ...

In a book I’m reading, the author relates a lesson taught by one of his teachers, who told him, “You can’t shut other people’s mouths.” I found this thought to be genius. It’s a simple, but profound statement. You can’t control what other people say. You phy...

The Montana Legislature enacted a bipartisan solution in the form of House Bill 819 to make historic investments in workforce housing. The State of Montana is in a workforce housing crisis and the negative effects of this crisis have hit every county in the State.    The Montana Community Reinve...

Construction continues on our library building. You can check out progress photos on our website. The crew is doing an amazing job and we are so happy to see progress on the new entrance, reading areas and windows for the new children’s area. Please remember that you absolutely cannot enter the buildin...

The ability to transcribe and share information has impacted the progression of technology and society immeasurably. So much of our daily lives revolve around reading and writing, thus most of us learn these skills from a very early age. I still vividly remember the practice sheets of paper with the dotted l...