Making ranked choices is easy — we do it every day. When the store runs out of our first choice of candy, we choose our second. We also have third and fourth preferences, giving us a range of options that make us happy. With ranked choice voting, we can apply the same preference based advantage […]

The 1099’s have been coming in and I have been working on taxes. The “former guy’s” avoidance, disdain, and possibly criminal evasion of taxes troubles me greatly. True, in order to have food, shelter, clothing, communications, and other essentials, I need to have money in my bank account. I need it there because occasionally I […]

My wife and I are 82 years old and are in the process of placing a solar array on our home. We will never see the return on our investment, but know that the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels is overwhelming and this is the right thing to do. According to new […]

By MARC RACICOT, DOROTHY BRADLEY and BOB BROWN Guest columnists The three of us have known each other dating back a half century when Dorothy Bradley and Bob Brown were young legislators and Marc Racicot was emerging as a top prosecuting attorney. Over the decades we have been fierce competitors as well as staunch allies […]

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Fighting chronic wasting disease (CWD) by sending hunters afield to reduce deer concentrations was tried in spades in Wisconsin, where they spent $27 million for sharpshooters to depopulate their whitetails, with no effect on CWD. A decade ago, Wild […]

There are several bills in the Montana legislature that will create extra bureaucracy and tie the hands of our public health officials and local elected officials to implement public health measures. It is true that in Montana, public health authority in many counties lies in the hands of unelected boards of health. However, it is […]

For secretary of the Department of the Interior, our country needs a leader who possess integrity, competence, and demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse constituencies and amid diverse responsibilities. From a military family, and as an enrolled member of the Pueblo Laguna, Congresswoman Debra Haaland has those credentials and more. As a Congresswoman from […]

Senate Bill Bill 169 is about adding new criteria to the existing Montana mail registration process for voting. The legislators in Helena seem to feel that changes and improvements need to be made. Have the legislators gathered real data to support their assumptions? Have they carefully interviewed experienced election staff in different counties who routinely […]

By CLINT NAGEL AND STEPHEN CAPRA Guest columnists Montana is currently undergoing its 67th Legislature. How invested are you as a resident of Montana in the decisions being made in your name? Unfortunately, what is coming out of the statehouse in Helena is a lot of legislation harmful to wildlife. Much of that is being […]

Our Legislature has moved very fast through with 2 areas of bills that are basically not logical and very emotionally charged. Guns, women’s health care seem to be slanted either for or against. Women’s rights are not just in the corporate world, they are all over the world. Women ranchers and farmers, teachers and doctors […]