Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 2218
Event organizers absolutely hate to use this phrase: “Due to lack of interest…” Unfortunately, it’s one we may start hearing more often in Whitehall. Our community is fortunate to have organizations, businesses, committees, and volunteers willing to put in the work to bring concerts, fundraisers, classes, festivals, dinners, performances, and other special events to town. What people often don’t see are the weeks—or sometimes months—of work happening behind the scenes before an event ever takes place. Venues have to be secured. Entertainment ha...
As a native Montanan, I’m proud of our long tradition of supporting local levies that fund the services communities depend on—public schools, public safety, parks and recreation, infrastructure, among others. That civic commitment will remain under I-194, The Montana Plan. Communities will continue to ask residents, local leaders, small businesses, and civic organizations to help make the case for investments that matter. What will change is the way corporations, not individuals, may participate once a specific local levy has been formally pla...
Instead of setting movies in a specific future year, set them X years in the future. Playing on The Price Is Right is one of the only scenarios where a very rich person is at a disadvantage. The first Goomba you encounter in Super Mario Bros. probably has the highest body count of any video game character ever. If the moon were made of Osmium, its gravity would be higher than the Earth’s. Many years down the line, you will be an ancestor of either every human alive or none. Pets don’t und...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, this week calls for a break from your usual fast pace. If you’ve been burning the candle at both ends, your energy reserves will be depleted. Focus on fortifying yourself and your space. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Miscommunication is likely if you rush your words, Taurus. Take an extra breath before responding to questions or emails. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 It’s time to audit where your money is going, Gemini. If you’ve been overspending as a balm to stress, hit the brakes. Look for areas where you can plug any finan...
I really enjoy watching movies and football with my feet kicked up in the recliner. Some of us are “Lazy Boys.” How about you? Do you have a comfy chair? We Montanans have comfort options in wide variety, don’t we? Comfort food, instant communication, wide entertainment choices, cozy clothing, wide open spaces, and quiet. You get the picture. Like other American Christians in general, we have developed a viewpoint expecting life to be full of fun times and avoiding personal cost. It is as if we treat Jesus as our personal drive-up-window savio...
GEORGIA, I have a question. Would I be a complete jerk if I told my friend we can’t go to the restaurant they want on our trip? We are doing a weekend trip to Chicago; they want to go to a restaurant that is an hour and 40 minutes away, according to Uber, and it will cost $75 each way. When I said it would be like $150 round trip just for transportation, they said to take it off our itinerary, but now they're asking if I want to get a public transportation pass instead and go. Google says this would be about two hours. So, we are looking at m...
Dear Editor, Lately, I've not heard from Representative Reinschmidt, candidate for State House District 75 (HD75). So, I am unsure where he stands on issues and where his loyalty lies. For example, has the Representative taken the oath of loyalty required by the state GOP, and does that oath conflict with, or take priority over, his oath of office to the federal and state constitutions? In addition, will the Representative promote the development of AI data centers with our limited water and...
Dear Editor, So...data centers. Do we REALLY need them? If so, why? AND, whether or not we need them, are they actually worth what they will cost, both community-wise AND environmentally?! These and other questions like them are what we should be asking ourselves. Do we actually have a say in whether or not (even where?) these proposed data centers will be allowed to encroach on our neighborhoods, and even - may I say it? - our livelihoods? Speaking of livelihoods, one positive that you might...
Dear Editor, You may think you have the right to vote. The right to exercise your constitutional franchise to select the candidate of your choice. You would be wrong. In Montana, that right no longer exists. The politicians have seen to that. They have filtered your choices for you, and left your right to choose on the floor of the legislature like a rotting corpse. All to benefit themselves. For many voters, the write-in lines are hardly noticed. They may not like any of the candidates printed...
Labor Day is a time to recognize the work of Montanans who build our communities, care for families, serve their neighbors, operate small businesses, grow our food, and keep our state thriving. Montana is on the move. We are tearing down barriers to work, modernizing workforce systems, and asking workers and industry to help lead reforms that deliver results – all while navigating federal changes, rapid advances in technology, and new opportunities to invest in workers, employers, and communities. Governor Greg Gianforte’s 406 JOBS ini...
When most people think of the new year, they think of January, but for many of us in education, from preschool through the highest levels, the novelty and excitement of new beginnings belong to autumn. As presidents of Montana’s two flagship universities, we are fortunate to have front-row seats to the energy that the beginning of the fall semester brings to Montana State University, the University of Montana, and the array of the Montana University System’s campuses across the state. For new students straight out of high school hoping to sha...
The best-behaved children probably believe in Santa Claus more than other children because they are less likely to question what adults tell them. Digital cameras that don't use AI will be treated as film cameras in the future. Minimum-wage jobs used to have at least one perk: opportunities for petty theft. Even that's been automated away. Someone may have found the best possible wiping technique, but that knowledge will die with them since wiping strategy is rarely shared. As domestic space...
GEORGIA, I have a question. I was mid-deadlift when this guy walked over. I had my headphones on, clearly not looking for conversation, but he started talking anyway. I was polite at first. Nodded. Gave short answers. Hoped he'd take the hint. He didn't. He stepped closer. Way too close. Into my personal space while I was still catching my breath. Then he asked for my number. I told him no thanks. He didn't leave. He moved even closer and started with the "why not?" and "come on" routine. My workout timer had already gone off twice. I was...
Negative emotions can crush a person. With experience, however, we learn to endure trials, sometimes great trials. In fact, we sometimes grow the most through sorrow, even heaping sorrow. I have heard with my own ears from other mature Christians say that in grief Jesus Christ became most evident. Up and down the Jefferson Valley, the old Sugar Beet Factory stands as a landmark. From great distances it appears small, but the closer you approach the stack, the larger it appears. It is a matter of perspective. Our bout with loneliness and/or...
Because a year is 365.2425 days long, people aren't always a year older on their birthday. The moon is out during the day as much as it is at night, and because we insist on a sun/moon dichotomy, we create confusion. If refrigerators had always existed, many delicious foods wouldn't exist today. Since running AI costs much more than subscriptions cover, one company could bankrupt another by using investor money to use the competitor's product a lot instead of improving its own. If you turn on...
Dear Editor, Folks with an inquisitive nature like to be well-informed using facts before making decisions. On November 3rd, Montana ballots will offer us the chance to thoroughly consider Constitutional Initiative CI-132, already endorsed by 2,000+ neighbors and friends. The independent spirit of our state has consistently elected judges in nonpartisan elections since 1935, and in 2026 we hold the power to continue this heritage of justice into the next century. This simple measure started as...
Art Wittich created a purity test for the GOP. It’s like 7th grade all over. It was horrible the first time. Wittich’s redux isn’t any better. Think of it as a chastity ring for Republican politicians. Sit with a Democrat at lunch, and you are out of the club. Gone. Talk to a Democrat. Agree with one. Ruined for life. You lose your “Republican” pin. Meet the adolescent purity police. Wittich’s theology is toxic. If you aren’t at his table. You are the problem. Evil incarnate. A threat to America. A woke, liberal extremist. Supersized ha...
Assumptions occur in life, and because they are imperfect, some are dangerously deceptive. A widely held assumption, at least in the American West, is that everyone goes to heaven. The topic of spending eternity in heaven is certainly sensitive, but clear Biblical instructions and teachings from Jesus must shape our theology, not an assumption. “I’m a good person…I do good things for others…I attend church…I pray,” and more justify some to believe that these are all Christ asks. The Bible explains that we are all sinners in need of a Savior, a...
Had Donald Trump been president in 1973, when Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into federal law, the Gunnison sage-grouse would be extinct. Close to 90 percent of all Gunnison sage-grouse remaining on the planet are in the Gunnison River Basin of west-central Colorado. The rest are in Utah. They've been extirpated from Arizona and New Mexico. The species is critically endangered in fact, if not by official decree. It is protected by the Act as just "threatened" because the...
GEORGIA, I have a question. Why do women think they can wear whatever they want when doing chores? Seriously! This is to the woman mowing her lawn like you’re on a freaking runway - put clothes on! Honestly, who do you think you are? This is a residential neighborhood, not a modeling agency casting call. There you are, week after week, pushing that lawnmower in a crop top and a skirt so short I can see your pockets hanging out, bending over the engine every five minutes like you’re posing for a calendar. My husband was trying to enjoy his cof...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you are bursting with momentum, but your tongue may move faster than your brain this week. You don’t need to force a final decision or push an agenda right now. Speak thoughtfully. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Reshuffled schedules might test your patience, Taurus. Focus on finding a healthy balance and do your best to adjust. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 A gap between your grand vision and your current reality might feel frustrating, Cancer. However, necessity is the mother of invention. Trust the small opportunities that c...
Dear Editor, I would like to thank Don Lepinsky for his wonderful article (Whitehall Ledger - August 5, 2026), Maness's Diatribe Suggesting Neglect of Federal Management. The article shows great pictures of his awesome trips. My late husband and I backpacked, hiked, and camped in many of these roadless areas. The Roadless Rule must not be rescinded. Opening this land will cause increased industrialization, impact people by creating roads leading to more intense wildfires, and displace or drive...
Dear Editor, Please join me in congratulating Governor Greg Gianforte. Under his leadership, Montana is leading the nation. In what? Guess. No. Not education. Republicans still won't fund pre-K. Our students' reading and math scores are closer to the bottom than the top of the nation. Ok. I'll tell you. Prison rape. Sadly. Yes. I'm not making this up. Montana leads the nation in reported sexual assaults at the men's prison in Deer Lodge. We lead in two categories. Inmate-on-inmate sexual assault...
Dear Editor, Americans speak plainly. When they wanted a hard limit on the presidency, they wrote the Twenty-Second Amendment: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." A lifetime cap. Clear and decisive. Montana's voters spoke plainly in 1992 with CI-64, now Article IV, Section 8. They did not write a lifetime ban. They wrote a timeout clock: a candidate is barred from the ballot if he or she will have served "8 or more years in any 16-year period," with each...
With the advent of AI in a ransom situation, there is no way to provide proof of life without seeing the person with your own eyes. If you're driving and point at something ahead of you, your fingernail is traveling faster than you are. A saved conversation can stay exactly the same, even as both people remember it differently. If the internet sells our info, why can't I just sell it myself and I make the money instead? Some people claim there were advanced civilizations before ours, but the...
