Editorial
To find our opinion based editorials, see below. We'll share opinion based editorial articles regularly for interested viewers.
Uncle Sam wants you to get counted
As the country celebrates its birth as a nation, one of the most patriotic things Montanans can do is stand up a...
Kootenai Forest Stakeholders express gratitude for wildfire protection work
A strong focus by local officials to identify priorities for treatment, and get work done on the ground, is really paying off and showing results.
Gunderson’s open cut law leaves neighbors in the dust
I read the story on the proposed Fire open cut mine near Libby with great interest and frustration. Libby Representative Steve Gunderson’s HB 599 is now paving the way for Thompson Contracting Inc. to develop a 1...
Anti-competitive tactics in the meat packing industry hurt Montana ranchers
In Montana, cattle outnumber people by nearly three to one, so it’s no wonder that Montana beef plays such a large role in our rich legacy of agriculture and our economy.
Republicans tout freedom while chipping away at rights
When Montana Republicans tell you they are fighting for your rights and freedoms, they’re speaking out of both sides of their mouths. While presenting themselves as champions of our rights and liberty, they have ...
Montana's education system needs an upgrade
A decade of carrying innovative education legislation resulted in my selection to the National Council of State Legislature’s International Education Study Group, an outfit charged with studying the world’s highe...
Special session is an opportunity for electioneering and not much more
A small group of politicians are asking other legislators to sign a letter requesting an expensive Special Session. I oppose this wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on a session that lacks merit and on what se...
Democrats’ federal election takeover bill undermines what Montanans want
If there’s one thing Montanans are about, it’s common sense. We work hard, play by the rules and don’t like when Washington elites impose laws that go against what works for Montana. That’s why I fought against P...
Only the states can tackle this disastrous spending problem
In August of 2020, we wrote an opinion opposing modern monetary theory (or MMT, the “too good to be true” idea that the federal government can spend unlimited amounts of money, regardless of revenue, in order to ...
Enforce the 'bad actor' mining law, Governor Gianforte
As a hunter and angler who has lived in the Upper Clark Fork River valley between Deer Lodge and Anaconda for more than 30 years, I can attest to the damaging legacy of mining on our waterways. In 1908, a massive...
Catastrophic wildfire threat requires forest management
Last year was a historically destructive wildfire season. While we haven’t yet seen the end of 2021, 64 large fires have burned over 3 million acres nationally. The economic damage caused by wildfire in 2020 is e...
Bipartisan infrastructure bill invests in Montana
As a farmer, I know firsthand that good things take time.
The Ripley Project, like our forest, serves many purposes
The governing board of the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition (KFSC) has voted unanimously to support a legal defense of the Forest Service’s Ripley Project. This vote represents the strength of the collabora...
Defending Montanans from the Democrats' tax and spend spree
Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, U.S. senators Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are rushing a reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree bill through Congress that...
Take advantage of this opportunity to build Montana's workforce
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), our state has an opportunity to make unprecedented investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
Critical race theory can't be allowed to open the classroom to discrimination
A recent thoughtful and well-reasoned attorney general’s opinion on critical race theory from Austin Knudsen has people on the left stamping their feet and pulling out their hair. The Montana Democrats’ spin mach...