News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 202 - 226 of 1425
Anyone who watched or participated in the FWP committee meeting on HB 505 last week had to be amazed at the people who introduced the bill, those who showed up as proponents, and the opponent’s logical arguments. First Rep. Wylie Galt spoke, then WFP Director Hank Worsech, then Chief of staff, Quentin Kujala. By now everyone probably knows the specific bill details. What really stood out was while Worsech and Kujala were explaining the bill, Galt was standing in the doorway right behind them. Evidently he was making sure they...
Editor: With his rumpled suit, his old-school haircut, and his folksy ways, Sen. Jon Tester would have us believe he is a friend of working Montanans. Do not be fooled. When Sen. Tester had a chance to vote to raise the minimum wage, he voted no and told the working people in Montana that $8.75 an hour was good enough for them. Trust me, the senator’s corporate handlers were pleased with their boy, Jon. John Snider Ashland, Wisconsin...
Editor, Thank you to the staff at Northern Montana Hospital, the volunteers, and everyone who has played a part in delivering the COVID vaccine to our community. We recently received our vaccinations and found the process to be incredibly organized and efficient. The staff was super friendly, helpful and caring. You are offering a wonderful service for Havre’s citizens and we appreciate your dedication, hard work and sacrifices. Thank you! Jeannie Schlotfeldt and Helen Bebee Havre...
Dear Editor: Since there was no non-partisan transmittal legislative update in north central Montana, here is the update for your readers from my viewpoint of what went on, on the other side of the aisle — Democrats. There were a lot of good bills and proposals presented from the minority, but most were tabled in committee. In the House, of the 98 bills on the floor the last two days before transmittal only 16 were sponsored by Democrats. This is my 10th session in the legislature since 2003, and it’s by far the most hyper pa...
Editor, I applaud the defeat of right-to-work legislation in Montana, where the House of Representatives voted 62-38 in a bipartisan rejection of the anti-worker bill-HB 251 Right to work sounds good on paper, but in reality it means lower paying jobs, fewer benefits and more dangerous workplaces. It is being pushed by out-of-state special interests who believe workers do not deserve a say in the terms of their employment. Plain and simple, it’s a corporate giveaway at the expense of everyday Montana families. I’m thr...
Editor, We are just past at the halfway point in the 2021 legislative session in Helena. I am impressed with the speed in which the Republican-controlled Legislature and the new Republican governor have ushered their agenda through the committees and on to votes inn the House and Senate. I guess it is easy with large majorities and there is no need to accommodate other positions. I noted that one of the first bills passed was one to expand concealed weapon regulations. More guns on college campuses, bars, restaurants and...
Editor, Was the election “a fraud”? Were 61 courts, including Trump’s packed U.S. supreme court, wrong? What evidence was presented under oath in court? 2016: Trump lost the popular vote by 2.9 million votes. 65,853,625 votes, 48.0 percent Clinton 62,985,106 votes, 45.9 percent Trump The 2016 election hinged on approximately 78,000 votes from only three counties in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Those few votes flipped the Electoral College. 2020: Biden’s 51.3 percent of the popular vote was part of the highest...
Editor, A half-million dead. 500,000 lives lost — mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives and children, too. What does the loss of so many lives look like? There are 525,600 minutes in a year. That is one COVID death per minute, for almost an entire year. It would be like losing half of the residents of the entire state of Montana. Half of our neighbors, friends and families. Or losing all our U.S. Postal Service workers. A half-million would equal all the public-school teachers i...
Dear Editor: The rebroadcast of the 2019 film “Wild by Law and Nature,” produced by Montana PBS, deserves comment because the film misrepresents wilderness and the issues involved. A big problem with the film is that there is no mention that Congress passed the Wilderness Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the same time in order to provide for both preservation and recreation on separate and distinct public lands. The word “untrammeled” is misused. One speaker even misrepresented wilderness as “untouc...
Editor, As a high school library assistant, I witness the importance of making every student feel safe, welcome and supported. House Bill 112 would ban transgender students from participating in athletics that align with their gender identity. This bill would affect athletes in elementary school through the collegiate level. A report released this month by the Center for American Progress found that trans-inclusive athletic policies (2011-2019) did not negatively affect cisgender girls (those whose gender identity matched...
Editor, I am writing to you as a very concerned American citizen, and I am urging other citizens to speak out too. Our U.S. government is spending us into bankruptcy and needs to stop. I can’t understand how or why we citizens ever let it get this bad. Why don’t our Senators or House member ever ask us tax payers and the ones that put them in to office how our tax dollars are spent or in their case misspent. With the financial health of this country , we shouldn’t be giving out any foreign aid or subsidize any compa...
Editor, Both political parties are at an ideological crossroads. The Democrats have the AOC/Bernie Sanders socialism caucus challenging establishment Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The Republicans have President Trump’s MAGA caucus of populism and America First economics challenging Mitch McConnell, the Bush Dynasty and the GOP’s globalist economics. A poll released on Dec. 28 by Rasmussen found that 72 percent of Republican voters believe the party should be more like President Trump and his America Fir...
Editor, Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher is regarded by most political historians as the father of the modern British Conservative. Winston Churchill constantly quoted him in the House of Commons, wrote about him in his books, and saw him as a teller of truths by which to measure himself. Russell Kirk’s 500-page book published in 1953 in the United States was entitled “The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana.” This book is normally cited as the first book outlining the modern Ameri...
Dear editor, I wish to urge our legislators to vote no on HB 112, which would require athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex. As the appointed ASMSU lobbyist, it is my duty to explain why this bill is neither wanted nor needed at MSU. This session, legislators have emphasized the importance of limited government and individual liberty. HB 112 is an example of government unnecessarily involving itself in the lives of individuals and deviating from those values. The ASMSU discrimination statement ensures no...
Editor, “This is a free country, so nobody can tell me to wear a face mask. I have the right to decide for myself whether I want to wear a face mask or get a COVID-19 vaccination.” Right? Wrong! This macho man — or woman — attitude is wrong legally, morally and from a common-sense perspective. The constitution guarantees everyone freedom of speech. However, this freedom is restricted. It does not confer the right to libel or slander others. Additionally, Supreme Court Justice Marshall stated that the Constitution does no...
Dear Editor: What a wonderful thing to do! The white ribbons and explanations taped under them are a good reminder of the Hill County lives that we have lost due to the pandemic. Thank you to the creators and those who put them up in Fifth Avenue. I watched the memorial that was held in Washington, D.C., as part of inauguration activities which was very moving. I talked to the president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association about possibly doing a memorial service this summer outdoors to honor those who have died...
Editor, Montana voters passed I-161 in 2010 to limit guaranteed outfitter tags. The current legislature, sponsor Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, has introduced SB-143 which negates I-161 thus bypassing the will of Montana voters. This bill proposes to double the number of guaranteed outfitter licenses thus reducing non-outfitted non-residents. States which provide unrestricted landowner tags like proposed in this bill have experienced significant loss of public hunting opportunity. Landowners can sell those tags to the...
Editor, Many, many “Thanks” to the many medical people in Havre who worked so hard and diligently to set up the “Flu Clinic” at the Havre Mall for the older age people of Hill County and also the many deserving veterans who served our great country so well in ages past and present. Hats off to the many nurses in the area, so many, so friendly and efficient, fighting to end the critical virus in our country and the rest of the world. To all who organized, set up, a “Great Job” well done to each of you. Be strong Montana, we...
Dear editor, Organized labor is good for the economy of Montana. I am urging all hardworking citizens of Montana to say no to House Bill 168 and Senate Bill 89. Both refer to the “right-to-work” legislation pushed by Randy Pope and the Montana Citizens Right to Work Coalition. This is nothing more than union bashing backed by big business. Good-paying jobs are vital for the economy of our great state of Montana. They not only provide a good living for our citizens, but also are critical now that we are near the end of thi...
The Montana state Legislature meets every other year. If you pay attention, you may have noticed quite a bit of controversy coming out of Helena this winter. I’d like to draw your attention to a bill that is refreshingly bipartisan. It could give small businesses and farms and ranches across the state a boost without costing taxpayers a dime. The bill is C-PACE: Commercial Property Assessed Capital Enhancements. C-PACE is an energy-efficiency financing tool for businesses and non-profits. It can help protect the character and...
Editor, Really? I found the article in the Havre Daily News to be disparaging concerning Tammy Walters. Tammy is far from a greedy uneducated businesswoman. During the complete shutdown she continued to pay her employees as if they were working. That information came from her grateful employees not Tammy. She genuinely cares about her employees as well as her many patrons. I am not sure where all the complaints are coming from as no one is obligated to frequent the Golden Spike. So why complain? I would wager most other bar o...
Senator Daines, I received your letter of Jan. 11. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comments regarding the attack on the Capitol, and your role in it. I would like to set the record straight on a few points in your letter: • The presidential election was not close. Joe Biden won 81,283,098 of the popular vote, to Donald Trump’s 74,222,958. That’s 51.3 percent for Biden, 46.8 percent for Trump. That is not considered a close election. The electoral college tally was even more decisive, with Biden winning 306 t...
Editor, Once again, thank you. The beginning of December people were asking me if the community was going to have a dinner this Christmas with the spike in COVID cases. After visiting with a secret Santa and some local associations, it was felt that this is the year that it was needed since people were down on their luck and losing loved ones. Then, I fell victim to COVID and was quarantined, so all I was able to do was be an armchair quarterback. Then our reservations crew for meals went down and the commissioners’ office p...
Editor, A few weeks ago, Lou Hagener submitted to the paper a letter to the editor about the policies of the Hill County Park Board and Beaver Creek Park. His letter, published in Havre Daily News Tuesday, Dec. 22, was full of great information and something all Hill County residents should read and ponder. In that letter he mentioned that we need a consistent vision for Beaver Creek Park and we need to make it “workable and built on valid science, prudent natural resource management, specific infrastructure issues and s...
Editor, After enduring four years of a corrupt and immoral Trump Presidency with a similarly mostly corrupt cabinet and sycophant appointees, I had almost started to breathe a little grateful relief. That is until January 6th, another day that will go down in infamy. This seems to be an ever expanding category the United States is doomed to suffer. To my “used to be” friends, and some relatives who unfortunately fall in the same category, I should get some satisfaction in saying, “I told you so.” But my heart is so broken...
