News you can use
News you can use
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It’s been an honor serving as chair of the Hill County Democratic Party over the last 2.5 years. This election cycle saw many ups and downs, but for Hill County, it was mostly ups. Last summer the Hill County Democrats hosted a “We Love the Montana Constitution” Rally in Pepin Park featuring an impassioned and educational presentation by Mae Nan Ellingson, the youngest delegate to attend the 1972 Constitutional Convention. This June we hosted over 250 people from across the state at the Montana Democratic Party Platf...
Once upon a time, in the far northern reaches of China, bordering Mongolia, there lived a beautiful princess. Oh, wait, wrong story. Start again. Once upon a time, in the far northern reaches of China, bordering Mongolia, a factory dedicated to producing the best umbrella clotheslines in the world, meticulously began to piece together the very Prince of All Clotheslines. Disclosure: Parts of this story have been fictionalized. However the main thread of the story is absolute...
There will be monks here tomorrow morning,” is what I figured Jorge was telling me. In Spanish, “monks” sounds like “monkeys” in English. But I was pretty sure we were not having monkeys over for breakfast. Jorge is my landlord here in Mexico, and he speaks only Spanish to me. He will speak some English when my husband, Peter, is around. But if it’s just me, he’ll stick to Spanish, and I am fine with that, but it doesn’t mean I get 100% of what he says. “Very good!” I...
My friends, I don’t have a story for today. Instead, I’ll send a poem. It is raw, fresh and flawed, but I no longer care about flaws. I’ve been thinking a lot about love. Remember how we used to say “Make love, not war”? Today my chant would be, “Make love, not hate”. Love is difficult, takes careful consideration, time, decisions. That’s my experience. I’m so fortunate to have known and to know so much love. I’m human. I get angry, frustrated, irritated at my friends, but...
So I’m doing a show after all. The problem with me (and I might not be alone in this) is that I have a hard time imagining anything between close to perfect and nothing at all. I’d been planning to do a first show featuring material from my columns, and it was overwhelming. A fully realized show involves a lot of preparation and getting every detail down all at once. A close-to-perfect show requires a ton of rehearsal and usually a lot of help from others to make it hap...
I am quick to criticize other people’s luxuries. “Buying a latte every day?” I say. “What a waste!” But, of course, I have Peter making me coffee, and I can have it exactly the way I like it. (Lots of milk, not too much coffee.) I think sailboats and horses are crazy expensive, but campers and RVs make sense — because that’s what I grew up with. “Economics don’t count when you are talking about campers!” my father has repeatedly told me. My father is a frugal man. He live...
X Unlimited Abortion CI-128 wool create a constitutional right to UNLIMITED ABORTION in Montana — including partial birth abortion or dismemberment abortion. X “Healthcare professional” A “healthcare professional” meaning a doctor, nurse, dentist, chiropractor, physical therapist, or paramedic, can approve abortion AT ANY STAGE OF PREGNANCY. X Taxpayer Funded Abortion Passing CI-128 will increase taxpayer-funded abortion procedures in Montana. X No Parental Consent Parents will not be entitled to notice or consent before th...
Published Oct. 17, 2024 May Montana be known as a state that treasures the life of a baby. May Montana be a womb and not a tomb for the unborn. Vote NO on CI- 128 on November 5th! Betty Harris Bigfork...
Published Oct. 17, 2024 Dear Editor, I am writing on behalf of my husband and myself. CI 128, using very clever and deceptive language, allows for abortion at any point during pregnancy up to the ninth month for any reason, mainly under the guise of “mental health” and saving the life of the mother. I started my nursing career in a regional high risk referral hospital on the high risk labor and delivery/antepartum unit and worked there for many years. I was the first nurse on that unit to care for a pregnant cardiac pat...
Published Oct. 17, 2024 By Ryan Busse I’ve put more than 100,000 miles on Montana’s highways over the past year, listening to people in every corner of our state. There are two issues that come up everywhere I go: The first is Gov. Greg Gianforte’s record high property taxes and the sky-high cost of living here. The second is the governor’s dangerous war on access to our public land and wildlife. While the cost of living in Montana has skyrocketed, Gov. Gianforte made the problem worse by raising property taxes by as much as...
In each life it seems there might be one or two individuals with whom, no matter how hard we try, we simply cannot communicate. We usually marry them. Seriously, if nothing else, we surround ourselves with people of like mind. We act together in ways beneficial to both parties. We are on the same track, click-clacking to the same destination. However, now and then we encounter a person with whom out tongue jumps the track, derails, stops at the wrong station, or otherwise...
It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent Havre and Hill County in the Montana Legislature. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assure our special part of rural Montana has a seat at the table in Helena. My commitment to the residents of House District 27 has never been stronger. But there’s also a lot more work to do. I want to take my experience with me to the upcoming session to assure the priorities of Havre, Hill County and the Hi-Line get the attention they deserve. Over the past several months, our c...
The northeast wind doth blow! Just like that, fall is no longer on the way but has arrived. This is not our prevailing wind but is our October wind, here in Etzatlan, Jalisco. Not that much can be said to prevail these uncertain days. Conditions here are generally mild. This morning the winds are at 6-7 mph, gusting to 25! For us, this is windy! I love autumn. One thing I love most is that the air carries whiffs of spices. Spicy scents seem to be layered, to waft around my...
You may not have had occasion to know what the Clerk of the Montana Supreme does, or how important the office and this election are. The present Clerk is Bowen Greenwood, a Republican and former political director. His opponent, Erin Farris-Olsen, is an experienced attorney with an impeccable reputation for hard work, honesty and integrity. Based on the facts that follow, permit me to recommend, to every Montana voter, that you cast your vote for Erin Farris-Olsen. The duties of the Clerk are administrative and ministerial....
As a candidate for State Auditor, I know very well how challenging it is to raise the profile of the office. It is an important office that has a direct impact on all Montanans, but a lot of folks don’t know much about it. Per Montana law, the purpose of the office is to ‘protect Montana insurance consumers.’ My campaign is focused on that role and my qualification for the position based on four decades of ethical business experience. Unfortunately, my opponent is running on lies and issues unrelated to the Montana State...
Over the weekend, Felix met his three other mothers. Felix is our cat, and we adopted him from Mexico. We are now back in Mexico for the first time since we adopted him and, of course, Felix is with us. When my husband, Peter, and I first discussed adopting a cat, I had in mind some needy little creature who would cuddle on my lap when I read. Instead, we got Felix. Felix was a street cat for two years before he was scooped up by his foster mothers. He was very skinny when...
For months, I have been bedeviled by a TV ad with a handsome young couple meeting with their “wealth advisor.” The couple stirs from their daydreams about going on safari for their honeymoon when their advisor asks what they would like to invest their money in. They reply that they would like to buy a ranch, with horses, in Montana. Now I know, from a lifetime as part of the agricultural sector and 24 years in the State Senate, that the best farms and ranches, the greatest pillars of their communities, for multiple gen...
You may not have had occasion to know what the Clerk of the Montana Supreme does, or how important the office and this election are. The present Clerk is Bowen Greenwood, a Republican and former political director. His opponent, Erin Farris-Olsen, is an experienced attorney with an impeccable reputation for hard work, honesty and integrity. Based on the facts that follow, permit me to recommend, to every Montana voter, that you cast your vote for Erin Farris-Olsen. The duties of the Clerk are administrative and ministerial....
The Montana Supreme Court and Montana Constitution might seem foreign to most Big Sky citizens. But it plays a huge role in our lives. The 1972 state Constitution gives Montanans strong rights to privacy, freedom, a quality education, and ensures we keep our environment clean and healthy so we can enjoy our clean air and water and hold polluters accountable. Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court — one chief justice and six associate justices — ensures we have a fair and impartial justice system to provide a check on our par...
As a former Republican State Legislator here in Montana, a young woman, and a proud fifth-generation Montanan, I find Tim Sheehy’s most recently uncovered comments incredibly dismissive and offensive to young voters across Montana. Sheehy has been on record stating that women under the age of 30 are “indoctrinated” and “single-issue voters” for caring about reproductive rights this election. The issue of reproductive freedom may not be necessary to him, but it is an essential issue to many young Montana women. Sheehy’s...
At a time when climate change has barely been acknowledged in the Presidential debates and most political conversations leading up to this consequential election season, it can be hard to believe we have the collective will to address our shared predicament. When we’re not feeling hopeful, it can be hard to muster the resolve to keep fighting. Ecophilosopher Joanna Macy and her colleague Chris Johnstone have coined the term “active hope” as a way to address this challenge. They explain that “hope” is not a noun but a verb, s...
Scritch, scratch, scrape, scratch, scritch. Chips flying. Breathing dust. I really should have eye protectors. I cannot believe I am doing this job. Just last week, just days ago, I told you I do anything to avoid using sandpaper. Here I am, sanding down metal rocking chairs, one pair so old that the only thing holding them together might be the paint. I proceed cautiously, dust up my nose, in my hair, in the fibers of my clothing. Oh, well. Must be done. It was not my idea. K...
