Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Dear Editor, Montana taxpayers expect their tax dollars to be spent responsibly, transparently, and on priorities that benefit everyone-not directed to private organizations with the strongest political support. That expectation is reflected in Article V, Section 11(5) of the Montana Constitution, which states: "No appropriation shall be made for religious, charitable, industrial, educational, or benevolent purpose to any private individual, private association, or private corporation not under...
Dear Editor, My name is Erin Foley. I am the President of the Montana AFL-CIO, the Principal Officer/Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Union Local 2, and a proud born and raised Butte, Montana resident. Across Montana, working families are feeling the squeeze. Whether you're a nurse pulling a double shift, a firefighter awaiting the next call, a construction worker putting in long summer hours, or a truck driver hauling goods across our state, the rising cost of groceries, gas, housing, and...
Dear Editor, I want to thank the City of Helena and the 30 individuals who came together on July 8th for the 250 th anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. If you were not able to attend the rally, I encourage all Montanans to join a small group of family members, neighbors, or friends to read it aloud and absorb its relevance today, just as it was 250 years ago. Whenever many of us reflect on the 1776 Declaration, we often consider this paragraph: "We hold...
Any articulate person whose personal lexicon exceeds a fifth-grade reading level will be accused of being a bot or using AI. It’s already happening: The Great Regression. Insect populations are collapsing around the world, which has dire consequences for agriculture and the natural order. Healthcare will be essentially out of reach for a large proportion of Americans soon ALL of the Beech trees and ALL of the Ash trees in North America will be dead or dying within 15-20 years. The country will look very, very different. The dead internet t...
Montana’s prison population is exploding. In 2000, we had about 2,550 inmates in Montana. Today? Roughly 5,000. Congratulations Montana. We doubled prison. Why? You will hear the usual hits. Immigrants. Mexican drug cartels Montana’s growing population. Republicans who voted with democrats in the Legislature. But the biggest reason? Governor Greg Gianforte. No, he wasn’t getting tough on crime. Easier than that. Slicker too. He just changed the Parole Board. That’s all it took to create a silent earthquake. Montana law provides that the Gov...
GEORGIA, I have a question. This girl that I’ve been seeing for the last few months just asked me why all of my “relationships” are transactional, including with her. How do you explain to someone that any “relationship” that you enter into of any kind with anyone is transactional? Outside of maybe your parents, “relationships” are fully based on a “what can you do for me” perspective. I don’t think she gets that. I don’t get how she doesn’t understand it. You would think a woman in her late 20s would already understand that, after high school...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, now is the perfect time to socialize. Romance is in the air, and you are going to go out of your way to treat someone special in the days to come. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, some people express affection by buying others gifts. You have the ability to know just what a person needs at a given time and provide that to them. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, a pleasant week awaits you, one that brings your compassionate and tender side to the forefront. You may feel unselfish and spiritual, and relationships will be...
Terminology is always an interesting ball of wax, so some added clarity is of great importance. In America, people often refer to the Church only as a building. Let us not make that mistake. If you read through the early chapters of Acts, you will get a different idea of “Church.” Add to that any of the Gospel writers, and the picture of the church becomes much clearer. In Greek, ecclesiae is the plural term for church, meaning a gathering of people. So, the church is a community of people learning what it entails to follow Christ; we are mob...
The Montana Plan (I-194) is now being prepared for your ballot, placed there by over 50,000 Montanans and more than 600 all-volunteer signature gatherers who gave their time because they believe in something simple: elections should belong to the people, not to corporations hiding behind anonymous checkbooks. I’ll note this was the first all-volunteer signature-gathering effort in decades. That bothers some very powerful people. And they are doing everything they can to stop you. Don’t be surprised. This has been going on for a hundred yea...
Why do Montanans send legislators to Helena? It is to solve problems – it’s as simple as that. It’s a simple concept that voters across the political spectrum likely agree on. We elect representatives to make the state government work better for the people. We should not expect the Legislature to spend valuable time passing symbolic resolutions that accomplish absolutely nothing. Yet, every legislative session in Helena, we see taxpayer funds being spent on performative politics. One cringe-worthy example from the 2025 legislative sessi...
While it makes for good scenery, the trend of taking maternity photos in a field of tall grasses seems like a uniquely bad time to risk a tick bite. The funniest thing about the Dunning-Kruger effect is that lots of people overestimate their ability to understand it correctly. Music conductors probably get the closest to how it must feel to be a wizard casting a magnificent spell. It is possible for a fluent English speaker with perfect vision to never learn the Latin alphabet and only learn Braille instead. Mouse and rat claws look big...
Dear Editor, I am reviewing the book The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This astonishingly heart-stopping, engrossing, and riveting novel is about a teenage boy named Thomas who wakes up unable to remember anything except his name. He wakes up surrounded by boys roughly his age in a place called The Glade. The Glade is at the heart of a gigantic maze. The maze is crawling with deadly creatures known as Grievers. Thomas and the other residents of The Glade must overcome near-impossible challenges...
Dear Editor, Please make sure to put in the paper how awesome the fireworks were. I was expecting some first time mishaps, but no! Everything went off without a hitch! They even had some fireworks that Butte didn't even have! I was in heaven watching them and thinking how everything went so well and how they knew just what to get for our 250th celebration! It was spectacular!! Amazing!! Over the top!! I have no words to adequately express how impressive it was.A food truck, music, and plenty of...
Thank you Whitehall! My sister and I came over from the Bitterroot Valley to spend the 4th with our nephew, Jesse Haacke Jr., and watch your fireworks show. You did not disappoint! And thanks to the whole town! There was fireworks from one side of town to the other. A spectacular display of freedom ringing throughout the town and country side. Here is Jesse's son Joey lighting off some of his own fireworks! SKEETER REIDHEAD Bitterroot Valley, Montana...
Georgia, I have a question. I’m a tall man (6’4”) and sick of people asking to “borrow” my height. So...I finally said NO! Am I wrong here? A short woman asked me to grab something for her from the top shelf, but I said: “No, thanks.” I was doing my grocery shopping at Walmart, and some of the shelves there are pretty high. Reaching the top is obviously not an issue for me, although apparently that means I am expected to help whenever somebody shorter notices me nearby. A woman who was maybe 5’2” got my attention and asked whether I could g...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 There is nothing that you cannot handle this week, Aries. Expect to juggle a lot at once, but somehow you make it look easy. A calm demeanor is a big asset. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 This week will be fairly quiet for you, Taurus. You are likely to connect with a task and dig down deep until it is completed. If someone tries to persuade you to take a break, you likely won’t. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Many forces are working together to provide insight, Gemini. Take a step back and consider all of the variables in play. The s...
Societies have long deemed money and possessions to be the mark of success. A fancy house, a brand new Ford F-350, or the false security of a swollen bank account- these seem to be “The American Dream.” Jesus addressed the topic of money a lot. Throughout the Bible, we find advice and instruction on how to live a balanced life, including wise management of our possessions and valuing our relationships as our top priority. Since money and possessions vary amongst us, one common denominator we have is time. Last I checked, we all share 24 hou...
When my Dad turned 92, I was chatting with him about all that had happened in his life: WWII, the A-bomb, the birth of television, cars becoming common, the moon landing, the internet, and smartphones. (He loves that I can pull up any Hank Williams Sr. song in an instant. ) But what struck me most wasn’t how much has changed. It’s the fact that, when you get right down to it, life hasn’t actually changed that much. There are good times and hard times. He was born during the great depre...
It’s all over the internet. The foreign fascination – even infatuation – with America, as citizens from across the globe visit our shores for the World Cup competition. Hundreds of thousands, singing our praise while lambasting their local media for lying to them. In more ways than one, they were seeing America for the first time. It’s sights and scenery. Its stores and stadiums. Most of all, they were seeing its people. And it’s been love at first sight. It is both edifying and unifying to listen to their heart-warming testimonies. Knowing t...
A little patience from one person can stop another person from feeling like a problem. Why do people rarely laugh in movies as they laugh in real life? The reason Mothman appears at mass tragedy events is that he’s attracted to “the light.” I wonder if the owner of the email address I use for spam has ever noticed. A fly on a TV screen must be like standing on an absolutely massive disco dance floor. Smokers are more likely to be hit by lightning. You can tilt Google: If you type the word “askew” into the Google search bar, the entire se...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you are a powerhouse this week. Your energy levels will remain steady as the days go on, and people will notice your drive. Channel this energy into something positive. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 It’s your week right now, Taurus, and the stars want to indulge. Indulge in something luxurious and enjoy yourself. You have earned the right to some pampering. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Use your gift of gab to mend a relationship issue that stemmed from a misunderstanding, Gemini. Expect some invitations to come your way and a s...
As human beings, we all long to be known and loved; we are hardwired in this fashion from conception. From time to time in life, this desire for acceptance may lead us to put on a false front. Think of a time when you tried to impress someone, you know, showing off your best side? If we take that to the extreme and be overtly impressive, we demean ourselves. Author and pastor Ben Mandrell challenges us to let our guard down. He says, “When we find a group to which you can take off the mask, you find the ability to be the real you.” In fact, Jes...
Dear Editor, Many thanks to our signature gatherers and Montanans statewide for our effort to collect signatures for I-194, the Montana ballot initiative to end corporate and dark money in Montana elections. We collected over 50,000 signatures that came from all of Montana's 56 counties. This immense effort was powered by all volunteer signature gatherers, some 500 in total! To qualify I-194 for November's ballot, we need 31,121 verified signatures statewide out of our collected 50,000, and we...
Dear Editor, Concerning The Montana Plan, I-194, when deciding whether or not to sign the plan's petition, I asked myself one simple question. Should corporations control the people of Montana, or should Montanans control corporations? I chose the latter because I'm fed up with all the twisted, disparaging misinformation paid for with tens of millions of dollars of corporate money in each election. I have a question for the Montana Chamber of Commerce, which is opposing I-194 and supporting...
The person keeping everyone updated is usually the last one people check on. This is the first time in the United Kingdom's history that they are looking for a new Prime Minister, James Bond, and Dr Who at the same time. Father’s Day should be nine months before Mother’s Day. As AI deepfakes get more realistic, physical camera film might become the ultimate luxury. It will be the only proof of reality. For every time you unexpectedly run into someone you know in a random place, there are probably just as many near-misses you’ll never know...
