Opinion
Editor, NWE and the MT PSC must do better. The Public Service Commission and Northwestern Energy (NWE) have made news, again, and yet again, for something done to—and not for—Montana. In 2014, NWE acquired the Hegben Dam from Pennsylvania Power and Light and with that purchase came an understanding NWE would maintain the dam and its infrastructure. We now know that NWE has been negligent in their maintenance of the Hegben Dam, causing the deaths of untold numbers of fish as water flow into the Madison River below the dam went from 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) to merely 195 cfs. This massive decrease was discovered by a fisherman who went to a local sh...
Editor, After reading your article about “Vaccine mandate injunction” I want to comment. This is not a comment about getting vaccinated, vaccination is a personal choice, but how it could affect our hospitals. If the federal government stops CMS payments to hospitals, we will lose both f...
Editor, Our Montana legislature has made voting more difficult for many groups - including Native Americans and other rural voters, people with disabilities, younger and student voters, people with inflexible work schedules, and those who discover a problem with their registration at the last minute. This...
The winds of change are moving through the ponderosas. The faces and skylines of our towns are fluctuating, growing in ways many Montanans have not seen. The secret has gotten out, and it seems more and more people are flocking to the Last Best Place. What does this mean, though, for the Montana experience? ...
I was an early proponent of online shopping. I lived in a rural community without much access to retail, so it was a natural fit. I even experimented with grocery purchases when it was a new and novel thing. I wrote about the crazy packaging practices of my delivery orders back in 2017. Yes, I was that cutti...
A portion of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act (LJSA) was included in the recent Build Back Better bill that was passed in the House. The LJSA, which has bipartisan support in the House, provides needed support for local journalists across the U.S. and is now being considered in the Senate. While th...
To be honest, I never expected to be here. Though I’m certainly glad to be. Born and raised in Helena, I went to the University of Montana in Missoula for a degree in classics. For those who might not know, that’s the study of ancient civilizations and cultures, primarily Greek a...
Editor, Our nation and our world are presently fac- ing a most critical point towards continuing living our lives together here on earth. There are two outstanding very present and important issues. 1. Climate change. We must properly activate our technologies and techniques to maintain human life a...
We live in a world full of colors. As an artist and designer, I am fascinated by the way our interpretations and connotations associated with color shape our perception. For example, did you know exposure to bright red or yellow has been shown to increase people’s appetites? That is the reason many res...
Editor, To cat lovers – there’s one in-town colony with 21 kittens. All I can do is feed them to stop starvation. Just a few years ago Life Savers helped to keep the Polson feral cat population somewhat in check. I’m still feeding some survivors from that time. At that time the trap-neut...
