Each new year, at least for a short time, we get to press reset and express wild optimism that might otherwise be tempered. Like many of you, I have numerous goals for 2012 and other outcomes I would like to see that I have no control over. Here are a few of the latter: I […]

While struggling to find a perfect gift for my dad, I stumbled upon the water-powered “dolphin jet pack” built by France-based Zapata Racing. It was far out of my price range and weird imagining my father strapped to this machine and hovering above the water. But it was desperation time. A statue of a Hawkeye […]

In the waning days of 2011, Congress is doing its best to reaffirm the perception that it is wholly incapable doing anything, at all. The debate over whether to extend the payroll tax cut no longer just involves the merits of its extension (the economy is awful and increasing taxes is a bad idea), but […]

Two years ago, following an especially nasty local election season, I sat on a panel in Whitefish with then Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth. I was a bit out of my element, but I did learn something about the agency responsible for refereeing state campaigns: It lacks any sort of teeth. In the audience that […]

Council members have largely praised Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington’s short tenure here. When she arrived in August of 2009, the city was dangerously close to broke. She quickly made cuts, which is why there is another camp that is eager to see Howington pack up her desk and head to Rhode Island. City departments […]

A childhood home is often considered a more magical place once you move out. When I first left for college, I gladly declared my freedom from household rules and regulations that I was previously forced to follow. But that soon changed. Within months, I eagerly anticipated trips home to Spokane, Wash. A full refrigerator, clean […]

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republicans have traded shots recently over how much money Montana still has in the bank. The Legislative Fiscal Division has revised its forecast and now says $265 million will be left over in the state’s coffers by June 2013, up from its previous estimate of $150 million. Schweitzer’s budget director says […]

Programs like Flathead High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) business management course – right now, the only one in the state – should be greatly expanded. Part of the curriculum matches students with local business leaders who share with them their “real world” experiences. And the real world is a scarier place now. As these students […]

The United States Postal Service wants to close many of its doors and, if it does, few places will be impacted as much as Montana. On the list released in July of 3,753 post office branches that may be shuttered, 85 of them were located in our state. That’s about 2.3 percent of USPS’ target […]

Don’t compare the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street protesters. Don’t do it. They are nothing alike. That’s what I’m told, although the effort of one to distance itself from the other seems strange as it persists anyway. For one, we’re told, the Tea Party supports capitalism and Occupy Wall Street supports anarchism. The Tea […]

There’s nothing worse than being labeled a land-grabber. Just ask President Barack Obama’s administration. When a Department of the Interior memo surfaced that listed 14 sites, including 2.5 million acres in Montana, under consideration for new national monuments, the outcry was immediate. Land-grabber! Interior Secretary Ken Salazar tried to squash the controversy. He said nothing […]

The federal government says it will deny Second Amendment rights to about 26,000 Montanans. Some people are upset about it, but that probably won’t last long. After all, these lost freedoms only apply to medical marijuana cardholders. Last week, one of our readers, a volunteer on several local boards, stopped by our office in Kalispell. […]

When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, campaigning in Iowa last month, was pressed by a heckler to raise corporate tax rates, he responded that “corporations are people, my friend.” The crowd of supporters cheered. Whether you agree with him, the high court already essentially did. In early 2010, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled […]

The Kalispell Center Mall turned 25 recently and, considering the times, that’s quite an accomplishment. Recent years have been rough on malls coast to coast, as consumers’ buying habits have changed and developers and merchants have increasingly embraced “lifestyle centers,” code words for open-air malls often set in the suburbs. We almost had one of […]

Few were surprised when Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock entered the contest to be Montana’s next governor. Still, his announcement assured that our gubernatorial race will be one of the most closely watched, and competitive, in the country. Politico’s David Cantanese wrote, “Bullock’s entry was widely anticipated for months and is likely the Democrats’ best […]