Opinion

Editor, I am Tony Isbell, and I am running for Justice of the Peace here in Lake County. After graduating from Florence, I continued into college where I graduated from Dickinson State University with two Bachelor’s degrees, one in business administration and the other in human resource management. I also have two associates degrees. Fast forward some years and I began my professional life with a career in law enforcement. I began as a police officer in Miles City. I investigated a wide variety of crimes there. After some years, I decided I wanted to move back out to the western side of the state. This brought me to apply for the Montana Highway Patrol. My first station was in P...

Editor, I am voting for Joe Dooling for the Public Service Commission. We don’t pay much attention to the Public Service Commission (PSC) race, but it will be on our ballet in June.  Their website states “The PSC’s job to balance the interests of ratepayers who are concerned a...

Editor,  We, the below signed members of the State-Tribal Relations Committee, the Montana Legislature’s liaison with tribal governments, write to congratulate Montana high school and postsecondary graduates and their deservingly proud families. Way to go! We extend our deep gratitude to the...

As I sit here writing this, there’s a bit of dirt still under my fingernails. The spring bug has bit me, and I decided it was time to start my planting for this year.  With my luck, it’ll be snowing as you read this.  To be honest, the spring bug has been under my skin for months ...

The internet-undeniably the backbone of our modern world – it influences our banking, communication, shopping, and entertainment. In the last decades, we, as consumers, are increasingly reliant on the internet. The majority of us receive this service through some sort of cable or tower-based wireless s...

Editor, Many politicians say they want to work on behalf of all Montanans. But when the rubber meets the road, somehow those words never translate to action. That is what makes Cora Neumann different. Cora has worked tirelessly to get out and support not just Montana cities and businesses, but also our ru...

Capping Montana’s double digit property tax increases on homeowners would seem a no-brainer issue for legislative candidates. Not so. The focus of Republicans and Democrats alike is on protecting the cash flow to government and placating moneyed special interests. The bi-partisan Revenue Interim Commit...

 I wanted a kayak. It was a simple request I repeated repeatedly. I talked about how we would go kayaking this summer on the lake. We’d have a blast making family memories while building our triceps and getting a tan. I communicated as clearly as I could, in English, which is the language they spe...

Editor, We have a billboard outside of St. Ignatius. On one side, it says, “Zinke for Public Lands,” and on the other it says, “Zinke, Montana’s SEAL.” We don’t have laws restricting misrepresentations and lies in political speech. Candidates may say what they like -...

Editor, Human nature, being what it is, our nation and our world have surely fallen into a ‘habit thinking pattern’ of divisiveness, negative attitudes, and wars. This is a very clear and present danger. We have answers to this.  Let’s be very clear about one thing: our thinking ...