Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg held a conference call with reporters last week in what was billed as an opportunity to discuss priorities in the upcoming lame-duck session. The Republican, who trounced his Democratic opponent Dennis McDonald with more than 60 percent of the vote, mostly stuck to three main issues: budgets, taxes and wolves. Meanwhile, […]

From town halls to debates, from PACs to advertisements, voters were schooled by another brutal election season. Here’s some of what we learned: That midterms are, apparently, immune to economic downturns when the electorate is this polarized. A week before the election, outside spending had already topped $264 million, more than that spent during the […]

Our state recently unveiled a new economic development website aimed at attracting businesses. It’s called “Innovate Montana,” and the accompanying commercials are impressive. There’s just one problem, according to the state GOP, almost every one features Gov. Brian Schweitzer. “You’ve got to admire a shameless self-promoter like that,” Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, told Lee Newspapers. […]

If there is ever a time when you should really fear the tax man in Montana, it’s now. Especially if you do business here but live elsewhere, are a pharmaceutical company, online booking agency, oil lease trader or your last name is Blixseth. The rate at which the Montana Department of Revenue is raking in […]

America is a place of convenience. It’s where, if we so choose, we can have our groceries delivered to our doorstep and purchase clothes and home furnishings from the convenience of a laptop. It’s where people sell electric abdomen stimulators, those belts that allegedly turn your belly into a six-pack while you watch television (although […]

Entering Lake County quickly reveals, based on the signage, which election is most important. While small campaign signs dot the landscape supporting potential state lawmakers, those are overshadowed by the 4-by-8 foot behemoths supporting one of the three candidates for sheriff. When I covered the cops and courts beat about seven years ago in Gallatin […]

Following the 2008 election, I visited a Pachyderm meeting at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell. Despite winning a coveted seat for county commission and a solid showing in local legislatives races, there was reason for concern among Republicans. They were still standing in the wake of what was then determined to be a national […]

Outside of Montana, it has become increasingly common for political candidates to ignore the press and snub editorial boards. And more of them are finding out that there are fewer consequences for instituting a media blackout and “talking directly to the people.” White House correspondent Peter A. Brown wrote a recent column for the Wall […]

We have almost unlimited access to information yet, politically speaking, much of it is meaningless. Voters still know little about their elected officials’ views – especially on the federal level. Meanwhile, candidates have mastered the art of sidestepping questions and dithering on demand. It is perhaps easier for them. Providing “yes” or “no” answers can […]

Despite living in a country that is perhaps more connected than ever before, there are still gross misconceptions about Montana and the rural Mountain West in general. And part of the difficulty in overcoming them is that mainstream pop culture continues to present absurd stereotypes to an impressionable audience of consumers. Last week, a producer […]

Montana’s union leaders should tread lightly when making compensation demands to the governor and Legislature in the months ahead. Already, the private sector has little sympathy for the public one and it will only worsen with more statements like this from Eric Feaver, president of the MEA-MFT: “If unable to make salary a salary gain […]

The argument that gambling is unethical is fast losing to the one that it is necessary to shore up state coffers. On the east coast, where placing bets was limited to Atlantic City and Indian reservations, states are now jockeying for more gamblers’ money by lifting restrictions and encouraging casino development. Montana was in a […]

American Dream Montana recently launched a petition to repeal Flathead County’s growth policy. That gives the pro-property rights group 90 days to gather 5,353 signatures to place the referendum on the 2012 ballot, since the deadline has already passed for the upcoming general election. If successful, it would either change the rulebook county officials use […]

It would be difficult to find a better example of wasted stimulus dollars than those already spent to upgrade the Whitetail Port of Entry northeast of Scobey. Many of our readers have aptly compared it to the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” Let’s take a look at the two projects, shall we, and pore over evidence […]

A recent Kids Count survey found that Montana’s students are dropping out of school at some of the highest rates the country. The numbers are disheartening and just another excuse to analyze the area’s youth and discuss what can be done to keep them in line. When reports like this are released, it’s easy for […]