Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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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...
This article was forwarded to members of the Whitehall Indivisible group by one of its members. I thought the larger Whitehall community might finding it interesting and worth the read too. - Ruth Lott For this week’s post, I thought I might reflect on the election and how it panned out. I apologize as it is a doozy! This might be a hard pill to swallow, but it needs to be said, now more than ever. NOBODY OWNS THE TABLE I’ve been thinking a lot about Tuesday. There’s really no way to sugarcoat what happened to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. WyoFi...
GEORGIA, I have a question, I am 36 and have three children (6, 4, and 8 months) with my partner, with whom I have been for nine years. I am their main carer, do most of the household chores, and work part-time outside the home. I feel exhausted. I do not get enough sleep, and the last thing on my mind is sex. My libido is gone. This is causing problems with my partner. What would you suggest? TOO TIRED TO TUSSLE Dear TOO TIRED, The best thing for women to do in this situation is to ask the man’s advice on how she could organize her time ore e...
Dear reader, the resounding question over many years seems to be, “Are we to judge people or refrain from judging them?” One of the most debated and misunderstood Bible passages occurs at the start of the Gospel of Matthew chapter seven. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” When reading the Bible, we must always stay in context. Here, Jesus is warning against hypocritical condemnation of others. He continues, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Good vibes are heading your way, Aries. Cosmic energy continues through your sign, showing visions of future ambitions. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Appreciate the world around you, Taurus. It’s easy to get fixated on what isn’t working, but be grateful for all of the things that are going right. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, light banter is the name of the game for conversation this week. Avoid any topics that can lead to confrontation or confusion. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 You may have a sudden urge to get organized at hom...
Someday someone will break you so badly that you'll become unbreakable. Your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth when you're quiet, not underneath. The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets, and the kindest hearts have felt the most pain. You blink automatically when you look to the side. We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realized they are inside us. Your nose alternates between blocked and clear every few hours. Nothing is scarier than avoiding your full potential....
Dear Editor, At two in the morning, an ambulance runs hard for town, with two emergency technicians working on a man having a heart attack. A mechanic had it in the shop last week to be sure it ran. It crosses a bridge an engineer designed and rolls into an emergency room where a doctor and medical team wait. The lights are on because an electrician wired the place; the heat is on because a plumber keeps it running. Every argument about education gets settled in that hallway. We need all of the...
Dear Editor, The will of Montana voters should prevail on term limits. I support term limits. I also agree with the Montana voters’ decision to require them. When I first entered the Montana Legislature, I was surprised to learn of the practice of legislators immediately rotating back and forth between the House of Representatives and Senate multiple times after serving an initial sixteen years in both chambers, with no break in service. It was explained to me that an interpretation by M...
Dear Editor, I am writing on behalf of, and with the help of, a dear friend. It has come to my attention that, since the merger of SCL Health with Intermountain Health in 2022, St. James Hospital in Butte has gone from staffing 9-10 qualified surgeons to only four! Of those no longer at the hospital, three failed to renew their contracts due to a decrease in salary (?), while two others simply retired, according to the Montana Nurses Association. What does this all mean? Must our expected...
A new economic study commissioned by the Meat Institute claims reinstating mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) would cost consumers and the meat supply chain over $1 billion annually, with no evidence to support that assertion. Coming from a mouthpiece that has long represented the interests of the nation’s largest meatpackers, this is hardly surprising. For years, the Big 4 meatpackers have been taking advantage of consumers and producers by importing substandard foreign beef and selling it at US prices. What the Meat Institute does n...
