The time may be ripe for dispensing with political parties altogether. It’s fall, the harvest is in, and we’re all waiting a bit tensely for the results of November’s political contest. Everyone feels that there’s a lot at stake in this year’s election outcomes. The down economy; conflicts over domestic policy; an uncertain international arena. […]

Montana parents want and need choice in K-12 education. Fifty percent of Montanans would choose an option other than traditional public school for their kids, if possible (see EdChoice.org/MTpoll). So we were not surprised when the ACE Scholarship program we launched earlier this year was wildly oversubscribed. ACE provides partial funding to families with financial […]

Why would our commissioners gut the Flathead County Growth Policy? Must be money rules instead of majority rules because the majority of county residents worked hard to reach the consensus expressed in the 2007 growth policy. Our commissioners have changed all that by removing substantial portions of the document in a less-than transparent way. They […]

As a volunteer board member and fundraising chair of the Whitefish Legacy Partners (WLP), and CEO of the Sportsman & Ski Haus, a corporate sponsor of the Whitefish Trail, I have firsthand knowledge of how projects such as the Whitefish Legacy Lands conservation transactions benefit our schools, our children and the local economy. Don’t be […]

With the opportunity of writing a monthly column for the Flathead Beacon came the challenge of continually figuring out what to write about. I was struggling with where to start when it occurred to me that the same issue comes up for folks trying to understand their electricity consumption: Where to start? To address that […]

With presidential debates rapidly approaching, I contacted a Montanan who is one of the nation’s most respected experts on debating. Kalispell native and graduate of both Montana State University and the University of Montana, Allan Louden is a professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina where he coached the intercollegiate debate team to two […]

1989 was the 100th anniversary of Montana’s statehood. Teachers were instructing students about the history and importance of statehood and the reasons for the centennial celebrations. One teacher and her students developed what turned out to be the most interesting and far-reaching of all centennial projects. A Helena teacher, Mrs. Sandy Heffelfinger, and students at […]

Is the Flathead destined to become the LOST Best Place? It’s a serious question. Ask tourists, new businesses, and most residents and they will tell you they came to the Flathead because it truly is one of the Last Best Places in the country. Ask economic development specialists and they will tell you that the […]

Joe Mazurek was a wise and insightful peacemaker. His passing was not unexpected, but his legacy for fairness and gentle persuasion will live on in the memory of all those who had the good fortune to work with him in the political process of our state. Jim McGarvey was a brave and gallant fighter. He […]

Dave Skinner’s Aug. 15 column (“Cruel and Unusual”) on the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana’s lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol did readers of the Flathead Beacon a disservice by its effort to inflame emotions of rage and vengeance by focusing on details of the crime committed by Ronald Smith. The issues placed […]

If you live in Montana, chances are you know someone who has headed to the Bakken in search of it.? ? Thanks to that large source rock formation, and the technology that makes it accessible, North Dakota has now vaulted to the No. 2 position among oil producers in the United States, following only Texas. […]

Montana is a composite; its identity defined by the beholder. The journalist Joe Howard saw it as “high, wide, and handsome;” the historian Harry Fritz as “a land of contrast;” and K. Ross Tootle described “an uncommon land.” East to west, Montana’s landforms vary from an occasional saline, wind-whipped desert to lush wheat fields to […]

You can’t steal second base with one foot firmly on first – a saying that is as true for business as it is for baseball. Businesses are either confident enough in their future and the stability of their surroundings to move forward, innovate, hire new employees and grow – or they are plagued with uncertainty, […]

I believe public access and opportunities to recreate and enjoy our great outdoors are important components of our community’s heritage and culture. Over the past several months, Whitefish Legacy Partners (WLP) and the City of Whitefish have been working diligently to refine a suite of conservation transactions that will be presented as a formal proposal […]

“The least man in the chamber, once he gets and holds that floor, by the rules can hold it and talk as long as he can stand on his feet providing always, first, that he does not sit down, and second that he does not leave the chamber or stop talking.” That’s straight out of […]