News you can use
News you can use
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Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to share breakfast with two groups of amazing young leaders: Montana 4-H, and the Young Stockgrowers of Montana. I'm proud to say the Young Stockgrowers had a formidable north-central Montana delegation. I appreciated the chance to listen to their fresh perspectives, and plans for their futures. Talking to them was a great reminder of what I heard when I knocked on doors and talked to community members last summer. The legislative session is about getting things done for Montanans,...
Joe Balyeat "There is no respect in which inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood are so disadvantaged as in the kind of schooling they can get for their children." — Economist Milton Friedman Given the fact that Montana continuously ranks near dead last in the country in average wages and our "low-income neighborhoods" arguably encompass our whole state, it should not go unnoticed that Montana also ranks dead last nationally in educational choice reforms as well. The Center for Education Reform ranks Montana 51st (even b...
This year is full of important political anniversaries — 50 years since the March on Washington and Martin Luther King's "I Had a Dream" speech; 45 years since both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated; 45 years since the riots in Chicago during the '68 Democratic National Convention. These dramatic events helped shape the political conscience of many Americans, including me. But a special anniversary date for Montanans was on Jan 12, which was the 35th anniversary of the passing of Montana Senator Lee M...
Throughout my tenure as state executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Montana Farm Service Agency, I have met a number of small and beginning farmers and ranchers, military veterans and Montana agricultural producers interested in making a living in production agriculture. For many, the high cost of purchasing land and equipment can be prohibitive, compelling newcomers and those struggling against odds to take risks to finance their dreams by relying on credit cards and personal loans with high interest...
The Legislature is nearing the halfway point of the 90-day session. Some really big bills are being debated now. The biggest news is that the tax cuts have started. Two tax reform bills had hearings this week. One of them reduces the business equipment tax. You may have heard of this tax, especially if you're a businessperson. When any Montana business buys equipment to help them with their business — like a combine for a farm, or a backhoe or a motor grader for a contractor — the state taxes them. The problem with that is...
Some members of Congress in Washington, D.C., have begun suggesting that coal companies are not paying the full amount of taxes they owe to the federal government; all in the name of helping shore up revenues for the struggling federal budget, of course. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer have disputed the accusations, and this appears to be more a part of the concerted campaign aimed at harming the coal industry than anything else. Congress has one simple solution if they are serious about increasing...
I hate to get all fast and loose with L-words like "lame" or "lazy" or "lounger log," but since I'd vowed to start exercising for at least 15 minutes every day of the week, and I've only done it about five days out of 31, I'm feeling a little like a loser. Oh, sure, I always mean to exercise — and by "always" I mean mostly. But then just when I mean to start an activity, my mouth pops open like a PEZ dispenser and an excuse springs out. So now I'm an excuse dispenser. Pam Burk...
"Our church has lost so many of our bakers this year that we may have to forgo serving pies at the Seed Show luncheon," Bev told me recently. "We might have to substitute cheesecake or something." "No! No! You can't give up pies." I lined up my arguments. "It wouldn't be the same. Pie at the Montana Seed Show is a tradition. Pie is expected. Pie is an institution. Besides, what about Arnold? He hangs out at the Seed Show just for pie. That's what I've heard. Sometimes he has...
Today, the Havre Daily News launches its Community Focus feature. People from throughout the community have volunteered to write columns and take part in a community dialogue on issues — large and small — that face the Hi-Line, Montana and the world. Mary Heller starts the series with a column on her firmly held beliefs on gun rights. John Kelleher If you agree or disagree with Heller's comments, please join the conversation. Write a letter to the editor, post a comment on havredailynews.com, or, better yet, write a col...
I don't know about you, but of the thousands of letters and packages I have mailed out and received over the years, I can count on one hand the number that were lost, misplaced or never delivered. Sometimes I get a letter a day or two later than I would like, but just as often, I get them as soon or faster than I could expect. It is easy, though, to say the check or the birthday card I forgot about was lost in the mail. I've met a couple of grumpy postal carriers over the years, but most are chipper and happy, even if they...
On Feb. 9, Barb and I had the pleasure of attending the annual Montana State University-Northern "We Love Northern Ball" at the Northern gymnasium in Havre. This annual event has, for many years, been a great source of vital scholarships that enable so many students to attend Northern. The evening proved a great opportunity to visit with many of the public-spirited community members who tirelessly give of themselves to promote the great educational institution that Northern is. Chancellor Jim Limbaugh and I were able to...
Jackie Robinson's birthday earlier this week reminds us of a cool fall evening — Aug. 28, 1945 — when the 26-year-old former Army Lieutenant who had been court marshalled for refusing orders to sit in the back of an Army bus, walked to 215 Sukeforth St. in Brooklyn, the office of the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, Mr. Branch Rickey. At that meeting Mr. Rickey informed the young man, Jack Roosevelt Robinson, that he was being offered a contract to play in the major leagues — the first black man in hi...
The Rocky Mountain Front is one of the most wildlife rich, relatively undeveloped and beautiful working landscapes in the "Lower 48." It is truly a sportsman's paradise. With the exception of bison, it supports thriving wild populations of all the large mammals that lived there at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Its wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities have endured since then, and it's high time that there is greater assurance that it remains this way for future generations. I recently attended a listening...
Currently, 60 percent of Montana's graduating seniors take the ACT. The ACT measures the skills and knowledge in English, math, reading and science that students have learned in school and need to know in order to be ready for first-year college courses. Tuesday, April 23, every public school junior in Montana will take the ACT college entrance exam at no cost to their families. Denis Juneau The test will be provided for public school juniors without cost for the next five years because of a partnership between the Office of...
The caller on the other end of the phone line was near exacerbation. He had been given the run-around by government officials, the very people he put in office to represent him, and his quest for answers was met time and again with roadblocks. I don't recall the specifics of the man's concern, or the public officials who he was trying to spur to action in a cause he passionately believed in that he related in the conversation years ago. But one thing that he said has stuck with me, and it is something that I go back to time...
Rep. Kris Hansen blamed much of the criticism of the Montana Legislature on the Helena press corps that she says spends too much time on hot-button issues but ignores other issues of importance. As reported by Havre Daily News reporter Tim Leeds, Hansen lashed out at the press corps at a community meeting last week. John Kelleher "The only time, the only time, they have got up to actually turn those stinking cameras on and turn those stinking recorders on was when there was an issue like that so that there would be headlines...
I am the President of Montanans Against Assisted Suicide, a nonprofit public benefit corporation and a grassroots group opposed to assisted suicide. We welcome everyone opposed to assisted suicide regardless of your views on other issues. This session, we are supporting House Bill 505, which is a short and simple bill that clarifies the offense of aiding or soliciting suicide. The bill's other purpose is to prevent the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Montana. Assisted suicide means that someone provides the...
I am responding to Bill Thackeray's letter regarding the Milk River Ranch, which is three miles from my property in the Milk River Breaks. Thackeray is puzzled why farmers would be upset at the price paid for the ranch. He contends it should only make our land more valuable. If only that were so, I'm pretty sure you can buy almost any land you would like in northern Hill County for the price the state paid. Why would farmers sell this tightly held land that they have lived on for generations? It's very simple; the state...
A Catholic friend recently told me, "What we are faced with is a circumstance where it is sometimes an embarrassment to be a Catholic," not for reasons of religion, but for reasons of church government. He went on to say that hopefully, with the selection of a new Pope, there will soon be more affirmative action in addressing the ongoing suffering caused by the coverup, over several decades, of the facts associated with priests who were and are sexual predators. Norman Bernstein Only then, he said, can we make sure that the...
Throughout the 63rd legislative session, members of both parties have touted their efforts to create jobs and strengthen Montana's economy. Whether it is reducing tax burdens on small business or making new investments in education, there is good news coming out of the legislature. But occasionally ideas emerge that are contrary to the goal of economic development. Case in point is the recent legislative attempt to stifle Montana's flourishing brewery industry. A bill has been introduced that would impose an additional...
"Charter schools are smarter schools!" Thus goes the slogan in some of the many states where there are concerted campaigns by private charter school companies and operators to barge in on the public school system in those states. Is this slogan true? Or, as opponents of charter schools claim, do charter schools take advantage particularly of low-achieving and high-achieving students and their concerned parents, yet offer them a lesser quality education than is already available in the less-expensive public school system? Do...
A Texas district attorney and his wife were gunned down at their home Saturday night, another bitter reminder that law enforcement officials are in danger not just while they are on the job, but at all hours. There is a great deal of uncertainty about who might have committed the murder. Some speculated white militants were after the district and his deputy who was murdered two months ago. This comes just after Colorado's corrections director, Tom Clements, was shot to death when he answered his front door. It's easy to say t...
Earlier, this session, I had written about my concern about the high level of absenteeism among some members of the Senate, especially their attendance and participation at the committees to which they had been assigned. Particularly troublesome, to me, was the absentee record on the Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, of which I am a member. The chairman of the committee has barely attended half of the meetings of the committee he is chair of. The majority leader of the Senate is a member of the committee and is...
Have you, or a relative or friend, ever been without health insurance? The state of Montana has a rare opportunity to increase access to health care for 60,000 hardworking, uninsured Montanans by expanding Medicaid.These are people you know — our kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters and dear friends. AARP Montana supports Medicaid expansion because it will give Montanans without insurance access to preventive care that will save lives, reduce the need for expensive emergency room care,and make communities healthier. Expanding M...
During this past campaign, I knocked on doors for candidates across our community, and one message came through loud and clear. The people of Montana need jobs, and they expect the Montana Legislature to deliver. This is why I am a cosponsor on House Bill 490, the "Hire Montanans First Act." This bill ensures that jobs funded by Montana taxpayers are filled by Montana workers. HB 490 would require companies that are awarded a contract by the state of Montana and local governments to hire at least 75 percent of their workforce...
