When Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a backdoor anti-bison settlement deal that forbade any bison being on Montana public lands, he exemplified longstanding manifest destiny policy stemming from the 19th century. After the U.S. Army was defeated by Lakota, Arapaho and Cheyenne allies in Red Cloud’s war and the Fort Laramie Treaty was signed in April […]

House Bill 188, the law to greatly increase registration fees on electric vehicles (EVs), isn’t fair to elderly people, like my wife and I, who drive just 5,500 miles/ year. We are planning to buy an EV-SUV to replace our current internal combustion IC-SUV, our only vehicle. Our current registration fee is $257/year and we […]

By AUBREY BERTRAM and JESSE PRENTICE-DUNN Guest Columnists For decades, oil and gas companies have taken advantage of a broken federal leasing system in an effort to stockpile our nation’s precious public lands. The industry’s exploitation of this system has prompted Montanans and other stakeholders across the West to call for reforms to the leasing […]

Thank gosh the Montana Legislature clown show has finally come to a close. If you are a bear or a wolf or a bison in Montana, life has gotten harder as you face humans determined to kill you or block your recovery with traps, guns, snares, laws and hate. Spring means renewal, so how about […]

Guns in classrooms not what a university is about Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a major ‘constitutional carry’ bill that will let Montanans carry concealed firearms in public settings including banks and bars without a permit. In addition the bill limits university system officials’ ability to restrict firearm possession on college campuses. Ironically, after Gianforte assaulted […]

By STEVE BARRETT Guest columnist Concealed weapons on campus? HB 102 directly raises that issue. But in spite of arguments to the contrary this is not a Second Amendment issue as it relates to campuses. What is at issue is the regents’ constitutional right to manage the Montana University System. Our history is rife with […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 CONTACT:  Erin Loranger, Communications Director, Senate Democrats, erin.loranger@gmail.com Nathan Stein, Communications Director, House Democrats, nathanandrewstein@gmail.com Democrats to Gov. Gianforte: Veto Unconstitutional Legislation that Takes Away Montanans’ Rights and Freedoms  HELENA – Senate Minority Leader Jill Cohenour and House Minority Leader Kim Abbott today sent a letter to Governor […]

By COURTNEY SMITH Guest columnist Two weeks ago today, Derek Chauvin was convicted of the horrific murder of George Floyd to a nationwide sigh of relief. While we are delighted in the historic ruling, within 24 hours of the verdict, six more Black and brown lives were taken at the hands of police around the […]

The Republican Party is desperate. They know the demographic numbers are against them. The only collusion they have to keep power is to suppress the vote as much as possible, especially in Democratic precincts. One in 10 eligible voters in 2020 were Generation Z, born after 1996. That equals roughly 24 million who were able […]

There’s a saying I’d like to expand upon. If you want to change the world, start at home. That can apply to so many facets of our society, but for now I’d like to apply that wisdom to combating climate change and the management role of the Custer Gallatin National Forest. To be honest, this […]