Columns
Searching for opinion based articles? Below we'll share opinion news articles on a wide variety of topics.
Notes from Ranger Doug
I’ve had the pleasure over the years of getting correspondence from longtime Glacier National Park ranger/naturali…
Pols losing touch to the land
Tim Sheehy, the Republican seeking to unseat Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester, is a business executive born and raised out of state. That same description applies to Troy Downing, a Republican running for one …
Horse Gulch could have been prevented
Writing recently on X (formerly Twitter), Frontier Institute President and CEO Kendall Cotton observed that Montana’s Horse Gulch Fire is burning in a portion of Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest that was slat…
Property tax inequities
In Flathead County, property taxes have increased well beyond inflation for residential homes and businesses. I was appointed to the Governor’s Property Task Force to dig deep into the cause of such escalations and…
Going deep on CFAC
Going deep is an essential next step in order for Columbia Falls and Flathead County residents to begin to really understand and raise meaningful questions about the proposed leave-the-toxic waste-in-place cleanup …
In a jam, and it’s great
Like most other folks in the Flathead Valley, my sweet cherry trees failed this year. Some failed in the terminal sense: They died entirely, while others just came out of last winter’s cold blast looking awfully si…
The tipping point?
I’ve been conflicted about tips lately. Whenever you check out nowadays it seems like they’re asking for a tip. Should I tip the girl who handed me a muffin out of the case at Coffee Traders the other day?
Sheriffs for Swanson
Law enforcement officers dedicate their lives to protecting public safety, maintaining order, and upholding justice. Our jobs are intrinsically tied to Montana’s judiciary. When law enforcement and prosecutors can …
They’re not ‘dark money’ groups
As the Executive Director of the Montana Nonprofit Association, a membership association that supports more than 850 organization across the state, I’m dismayed by multiple recent incidents of political leaders and…
Two Medicine Redux
Driver, why is this place we’re going to called Two Medicine? As a Glacier Park Lodge shuttle driver I am asked that question about once a day during the summer season, which means that over a summer I get it aske…
An appreciation for Susan Nicosia
Last Monday marked city manager Susan Nicosia’s last full meeting with the Columbia Falls city council.
Claims Gianforte raised your taxes, gave himself a cut
Gov. Greg Gianforte raised your property taxes. And he did it deliberately, in order to give the wealthy and corporations huge tax cuts. That’s a simple truth that our governor doesn’t want you to hear, but it’s im…
A perfect storm of catastrophes
Westerners have begun looking at their homes differently these days. Are those trees too close? Should I move all that firewood stacked up next to the deck?
The web of life
Biodiversity is simply the web of life that includes us. Montana lists over 300 species at risk or potentially at risk. That is evidence that the global biodiversity crisis is a Montana crisis as well.
The web of life
Biodiversity is simply the web of life that includes us. Montana lists over 300 species at risk or potentially at risk. That is evidence that the global biodiversity crisis is a Montana crisis as well.
Life after losing an election
Having lost an election, I know it hurts to lose. I know, too, that there is a good life beyond losing because I’ve been living it for the past 20 years.