Commentary
Historic opportunity to keep our rivers flowing and healthy
Montana doesn’t often have a budget surplus — let alone billions of dollars that resulted from the enormous influx of federal funds during the pandemic and massive new federal infrastructure funding. But thanks to that surplus, Gov. Greg Gianforte and the upcoming legislative session have a historic opportunity to provide significant, desperately-needed, and permanent relief […]
About the news that isn’t quite fit to print
For a moment, let’s talk about the news that isn’t fit to print (a category that seems to be shrinking in the age of social media where everything from what someone had for breakfast to conspiracies of Satanic cabals seems to be grist for the electronic ecosphere). I’ll be straight: I have my doubts that […]
Regier’s bill misunderstands complicated medical situation
I was dismayed to read Rep. Matt Regier’s column stating that physicians and nurses involved in “born alive” situations misunderstand his initiative. Legislative Referendum 131, he asserts, would not present medical professionals with any problem. As a pediatric hospice and palliative medicine physician, I’ve been at the bedside with parents facing this unimaginable loss. Simply […]
Sound land-use planning laws will build sustainable communities
Montana’s explosive popularity is stretching capacity and resources to the breaking point. Many communities are bursting at the seams, pushing development onto farmlands, dangerously siting homes within the wildland-urban interface, and building precipitously close to flooding rivers. The changing climate is exacerbating these impacts by affecting water supplies (droughts and floods) and increasing the incidence […]
Fact checking claims about the governor’s housing task force
Kelly Lynch’s October 9th column outlining why the Montana League of Cities and Towns opposes the pro-housing reforms recommended by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s bipartisan Housing Task Force contained numerous inaccuracies, obfuscations and omissions that should be fairly addressed. First, Lynch claims the task force “began with the assumption that local regulations are the primary cause […]
50 years after the Clean Water Act, more must be done to protect Montana’s waterways
The Clean Water Act turned 50 on Oct. 18. During the past five decades, it has proven itself as one of the most successful environmental laws on the books. It has cleaned up contaminated waterways, helped to assure that the drinking water coming out of your tap is safe for your kids, and protected the […]
Fear of reporters is fear of the truth
In the weeks after he assumed office, former President Donald Trump put reporters in the crosshairs when he labeled them “the enemy of the American people.” He was following the authoritarian playbook, long consulted by the likes of Stalin and Hitler, but it was shocking to see such strongman rhetoric coming from an American leader, […]
The problems of one-party rule
When the Republicans swept every statewide office in the last election they were understandably and justifiably dancing on a pony keg. But with their great victory came the onus of one-party rule, in which you can’t dodge the responsibility for the conditions and problems because you and only you are in charge. With another election […]
It’s time for awakening the steel snowflakes
Goll darn it (and I’m using those words so I don’t get clobbered with emails tsk-tsking me about being a vulgarian), sometimes those who lean left earn the withering criticism of being snowflakes – the epithet hurled by those on the right that characterize liberals as a bunch of fainting eggheads afraid of their own […]
Montana must loosen regulations that stop affordable housing
As Republican and Democratic legislators representing a mix of Montana’s cities and rural areas, we have our fair share of political differences. When the Governor asked us to join a task force to address Montana’s housing crisis, we could have said no. We could have let our disagreement on other issues get in the way. […]
Rural communities deserve equitable access to quality healthcare
Montana’s rural communities are enormous contributors to our state economy. They are home to our farms and ranches, our thriving Tribal communities, and much of what makes Montana so attractive to tourists – mountains, rivers, lakes, open prairies and abundant wildlife. Montana’s beauty and its space are in large part what led to the pandemic […]
Understand how LR-131 would affect families in the hospital
I would like to provide the perspective of a hospital chaplain on the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, or LR-131, on the ballot this November. I served as a hospital chaplain for 12 years. On numerous occasions I was called to labor and delivery to provide support to parents facing the heart-rending situation of their […]