News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2031 - 2055 of 3191
People in every corner of Montana rely on prescription drugs to treat illnesses and conditions ranging from mild to severe. Our most vulnerable neighbors need access to these drugs even more than the rest of us. Senior citizens, people with chronic conditions, and sick children all use prescriptions to provide them comfort from pain and, in the case of those with the worst sicknesses, keep them alive. Unfortunately, our most vulnerable people are subject to the greed of pharmaceutical companies who use the difficult...
Jan. 20 was my last day at work. Under the Obama administration, I served as a political liaison for NASA on Capitol Hill. I watched up close while 2016 revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our democracy. As the American West opens up before my windshield on the drive home to Montana, I am compelled to say why I pledge to vote in Montana’s upcoming special election. I pledge to vote for many reasons, but this year, I am mostly concerned about the state of our democracy. The Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the U...
The first several days of the Donald Trump administration caused me great worry. Not about the substance of his presidency, but about its form; not about the product, but about the process. Based on his first week it looks like the worst instincts of President Trump may be erupting to the surface and there appears to be no one around him who can stop the Mount Trump eruptions. It seems that the President has surrounded himself with enablers, not counselors. That became even clearer when the President started signing...
At some point, nearly every worker faces a moment when they need leave, whether it’s to care for an aging parent, help a family member after surgery, recover from their own illness or injury, or welcome a new child into the family. As the Montana Legislature debates ways to improve the lives of Montanans, I wanted to take a moment to highlight one important issue. Paid family and medical leave has been making national headlines, and here in Montana we have the opportunity to design a plan that is unique to the needs of our st...
If I’ve learned one thing about myself over the years, it’s that I love to eat. I eat like I can’t live without food, and I have zero interest in ending this habit. I don't think it’s just a complete lack of strong will and good character. It feels like a biological impulse for self-preservation, and I am going to continue eating every day, several times a day. Don’t judge me poorly for being happy in this comfort zone. I will admit to one thing that is causing a problem. I recently have been forced to plan meals ahead of...
Certainly, I’ve no need to complain about my life. Today is the sum total of all my choices. I accept that. Yet, I like to complain now and then. Grumble brings a certain satisfaction. If only I had done this or that differently, I’m sure I would be rich, famous, beautiful, all the above, fill in the blank. Egads, of course, my life could have gone the other way; I’d be ugly, infamous and living under the bridge in a cardboard box. I also wouldn’t have my children, grandchildren, and second great-granddaughter, born this mo...
Editor’s note: A front-page article in the Jan. 23 edition of the Havre Daily News misreported that Havre High School required 24 credits to graduate rather than the actual requirement of 22.5 credits. —— This is something I believe requires clarification. I have been asked now by multiple people including current students of Havre High School whether the graduation requirements have been increased to 24 credits. The number of credits required to graduate from Havre High School has not changed. The credit requirements for gra...
Thank you, Daughter, for writing my article last week. Rocking chair, indeed! Next time I’m incapacitated, I’ll ask my son to take my place. I didn’t break that many rules. New eyeballs! There is a huge, vibrant, crisp and clear world out here, just waiting for me to explore. But my most excellent doctor, with whom I nearly fell in love pre-surgery, turned into a growly ogre post-surgery. End of romance. “What do you mean, stay indoors? Don’t garden? Stay away from public pl...
It was close to being a “Chamber of Commerce” day weather wise, for the Chamber’s Annual Meeting, after such a long cold and snowy period leading up to the day. As I noted, “to be in business is courageous and we thank you for your investment in Havre.” Thank you also, for sharing your time and expertise and giving throughout the year to support and sponsor the many Chamber projects. Thank you, Debbie Callahan and Andy Carlson, for your years of dedicated service to the Chamber. It has been rewarding to work with each of y...
I am going to do something I probably shouldn’t do while doing something I should do, mix my jobs while thanking north-central Montana for its giving, volunteer nature both in specific and in general. It has been my privilege to coach on Havre High School’s speech and debate team for the last 16 years and we have held many tournaments, from small meets to two-state tournaments, in that time, and the community always has been legendary in its stepping up to help. That happened again this weekend when Havre hosted the high sch...
In these confusing times of fake news, real news reported in fake ways and real news falsely accused of being fake, I give you really real news, correctly attributed to real sources, which prove that the truth can be just as strange, but less malicious, than fictitious news. Japan has gone to the loo If you think the new-fangled, low-flow toilets with one flusher for fluids and another flusher for solid wastes are confusing, do not go to Japan. Seriously, toilets in Japan have eight steps to proper usage. The Japan News...
First, I want to let you know this is Dee Dee, Sondra Ashton’s daughter. Mom had cataract surgery Friday the 13th, the lucky woman. Mom decided to do both eyes at once. Her life of fun and games interrupted, she found out she’s not allowed to read, or write, or garden, or go outside because of the dust in the air from the corn and sugar cane harvest, or really do anything for several weeks. I’m glad I’m not there. She’d be a beast to live with. Not really, but maybe. Mom seems to have trouble with the “not do anything” p...
Thus observed Great Falls Tribune reporter and columnist Frank Adams in 1980, a year after a plaque was installed in an obscure capitol hallway, the only monument in recognition of Whiteside, who was perhaps Montana’s most courageous statesman. Barely 20, Fred Whiteside left home in Illinois in 1878 to make the dangerous trek to Montana Territory. Using profits from buffalo hunting, Whiteside became a building contractor, constructing several early structures in Miles City. Whiteside soon became one of Montana’s most not...
After the most disruptive and disreputable presidential campaign and transition in memory, I seriously relate to the words of “My Fair Lady” lyricist Alan J. Lerner from the song “Show Me,” which begins: “Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?” That song gets at the point that actions can count as much as words. Meaning can be found in the actions the speaker takes both before and after political words are proclaimed. But as much...
By Mark Fix Secretaries of the interior are called to be public stewards. On behalf of all Americans, they oversee our great national heritage of forests, grasslands, fisheries, national parks, wildlife, waterways and mineral wealth. Congressman Ryan Zinke, if approved for his nomination to that post, will have the opportunity to prove himself in the long line of great stewards that have preceded him. I wish him well, but there is cause for concern. Taxpayers at Risk During his last term in Congress, Rep. Zinke introduced leg...
Early in the session, not a lot of major business takes place on the floor of the House of Representatives. The committees are getting into full swing hearing the bills that have been introduced, and that workload will increase as legislators introduce more bills every day. Following are some of the activities in my three committee assignments. • State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs SAVA has mostly seen “clean up” bills from the Secretary of State’s Office. On Wednesday, we looked at a bill which sought to improve t...
I’ve lived most of my life in a warm place, a place so warm, a place that can get so sweltering hot, that its nickname includes the word “hot.” Hotlanta. In Hotlanta, a snow dusting, however slight, sends everyone home from the office. A few flakes turn wide highways into crawling parking lots. Those white winter flecks on southern ground clear out the bread and milk aisles and reduce grocery stores and gas stations to looking like riot scenes. And for the million or so children in the metro area, the mere whisper, the rumor...
Shortly before Christmas, men and women across Montana were notified that the road construction projects they were depending on to put presents under the tree this year would be canceled. The jobs they were depending on to provide for their families in 2017 would be lost. The construction of critical state highway projects would be delayed or defunded altogether. Our highway fund is facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, and unfortunately it’s just one small part of the budget crisis that Gov. Steve Bullock handed the 6...
My mother-in-law used to say, “It’s a great life, if you don’t weaken.” I think it’s an old Irish saying. It definitely sounds like something the Irish would come up with — a truism that’s somehow both positive and depressing at once. They nailed it. I wrote last week about my water issues, as in I don’t have any water flowing to my house. I could write volumes about how that affects your daily life, but I’ll just throw out a few words to prompt you to write it in your head f...
Montana’s Constitution requires state government to provide public legal defense to individuals who cannot afford their own legal counsel when they are charged with crimes involving imprisonment, facing involuntary commitment because of a mental disorder placing them or another at risk, or facing loss of parental rights. During the last four years, we served together on the Montana legislative subcommittee in charge of overseeing the budget for the Office of the State Public Defender. During this time, we became concerned r...
I call it negative inspiration. You know how you meet someone or read a story about someone amazing who has triumphed in life despite incredible tragedy. Yeah, this isn’t it. Negative inspiration is like your mom telling you to eat your broccoli because there’s starving children in Africa. Except negative inspiration is better because it’s real. I mean no disrespect to the children of Africa, starving or otherwise, but something happening to a friend or family member or neighb...
Routine. My life is routine. I don’t live on the beach, lounging beneath a palapa, tanning my skin into leather, holding a fruit-filled drink, serenaded by mariachi bands. Ha. So, I just returned from two weeks in Mazatlan where I stayed with friends in a high-rise resort hotel on the beach. I never made it to the beach palapa. I had one thoroughly enjoyable beach walk. Mostly, I visited old friends from when I lived in Mazatlan, had medical tests in preparation for cataract surgery later this month and wandered the market i...
Substance misuse and abuse is not only a national problem; it is a local problem. Substance misuse is the use of alcohol or drugs in a manner, situation, or frequency that could cause harm to the user or to those around them. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for the nation to address. Millions of Americans are affected by substance misuse. Thousands are affected in the state of Montana and hundreds are affected in Hill County. From July 2013 through June 2014, 318 people from Hill County...
It's probably too obvious to be worth mentioning, since I do write for part of my living, but I love words. The thing is that it's not just the words themselves — like how "unite" and "untie" have the same letters but the opposite meaning (what are the odds?). Or how one letter can have all the meaning in the world — compare public health to pubic health. Or the grammar of how your panda "eats shots and leaves" or it "eats, shoots, and leaves." It's also the visual pos...
In this busy time of year — while I wait for the the first wave of crowds to run out of money and the second wave to get their gifts exchanged post-Christmas — so I can do my holiday shopping, I’ve spent some time reading the news recreationally. For fun. I know, weird, right? But this is what I learned: Epa.gov says that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day people in the U.S. increase their household waste production by 25 percent, which is about 1 million tons extra ...
