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What’s the point of being a U.S. Senator if you don’t have guts?
June 26, 2025 midnight

What’s the point of being a U.S. Senator if you don’t have guts?

More than half a century ago, when I was a young, enlisted man stationed at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C., I contacted former Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler. I introduced myself and asked him if I could have a visit with him.

June 26, 2025 midnight

Use water from Hungry Horse to boost lake level

Ideally, Energy Keepers and the Confederate Salish Kootenai Tribes and the federal regulators need to take two additional simple proactive steps to ensure the lake level is maintained at 12 inches below full pool or higher through Labor Day weekend and preferably through Sept. 15.

June 26, 2025 midnight

Flathead Lake’s late summer levels aren't just a local issue

Each summer, as Flathead Lake reaches its scenic peak, calls grow louder to hold the lake level high through August and into September. For lakeshore residents, recreation businesses and visitors, that’s an understandable request. But what’s often missing from the conversation is what that late-summer water is also needed for – and what we lose when we keep it bottled up.

July 3, 2025 midnight

Pat Williams: He stood by us and with us

Pat Williams has died. He was Montana’s longest serving Congressman, serving from 1979 to 1997. He had a sense of justice and values which he defended proudly and vigorously, often in the face of strong and outraged opposition. He was my political hero.

July 3, 2025 midnight

Electing a "Cleanser-in-Chief": A betrayal of voters and values

I attended the recent Montana GOP Convention in Helena, representing the Teton County Republican Central Committee, never expecting to witness a blatant power grab.

July 10, 2025 midnight

Time to find unity and respect while recognizing due process

I write this letter in response to Ross Fitzgerald’s letter to the editor voicing his opinion on the removal of nine GOP state senators at the annual GOP Officers Convention June 28 in Helena.

July 10, 2025 midnight

Social Security can benefit future generations – if Congress acts

Every year, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration (SSA) reports to Congress on how many years the program has left in the Social Security Trust Fund to fully meet the obligations of current and future beneficiaries. Last year, that number increased by a year as the economy and jobs grew under the leadership of President Joe Biden.

July 17, 2025 midnight

Letter to the 400 richest Americans

I just wanted you all to know that I am one American who is really glad that you got a well-deserved tax break in the One Big Beautiful Bill. I know a lot of people are jealous of you because you are really rich, but that’s no reason for you to have to be punished with high tax rates.

July 17, 2025 midnight

Montana Supreme Court case is win for transparency

In a major boost to Montanans’ constitutional right to know, the state Supreme Court recently ruled that citizens who successfully sue for public records are presumptively entitled to recover their attorney’s fees. With this precedent, courthouse doors are more accessible to those who have been wrongfully denied their right to know.

Here’s to all the not-so ordinary people
July 17, 2025 midnight

Here’s to all the not-so ordinary people

I have known Polson all my life, the curves of the road that lead to old friends' houses, the smell of the lake as you drive down 93, and the sounds erupting from the football stadium on a Friday night under the lights. These sensations have painted my experience here, and it’s hard not to get sucked into the natural beauty of a small community like the ones scattered across the Mission Valley.