Recently, Gov. Steve Bullock received a letter signed by more than 50 Montana health professionals from across the state. The letter asks Bullock and his administration to strongly support proposed limits on carbon pollution from power plants.

The reasons are simple: Discharge of toxins and carbon from coal burning plants are causing health problems and climate change, which also carries serious health impacts.

Ever since the Great Northern Railway laid tracks through Whitefish in 1904, tourism has been the backbone of our local economy, creating good paying jobs and sustaining thousands of families over the years to put their kids through college, start small businesses, buy a home and retire in one of the most beautiful small towns in America.

Hard-working Americans from all over the country come to Whitefish year round. They spend their hard-earned money locally to buy hotel rooms, fill up gas tanks, eat out and support our local businesses – all because they are called to our amazing wild and scenic areas, access to public lands and clean water, and special places such as Glacier National Park and the fresh powder of Whitefish Mountain Resort. In 2013 alone, Whitefish welcomed over 558,000 out-of-state visitors; 65,000 traveled to Whitefish on Amtrak’s Empire Builder. Resort tax and bed tax revenues in Whitefish increased 10 percent and 16 percent respectively that same year.

Maybe it’s primal.

There’s something invigorating about gazing out across a landscape of 10,000-foot peaks, an uninterrupted lake, or the high, wide skyline. Arriving at an idyllic viewpoint can feel like an act of discovery. It can provide peaceful respite from the hectic cityscape down below.

Sen. John Walsh recently introduced the Do Your Job Act, which mandates that Congress cannot recess until a balanced budget passes. By Tuesday’s primary election, the U.S. House will have worked fewer than 60 days in session this year. For that, members earn a minimum salary of $174,000 per year.

Walsh is spot on that Washington should balance the federal budget. But unlike the House, the Senate still must act responsibly. The U.S. House has been attacking health care services like Medicare and Medicaid. The House is full of ideological nonsense like increasing the age of retirement or privatizing Social Security.

During some extended time away from my office, my thoughts tend to wander to bigger picture items that involve business while reaching beyond it.

This time around was no different and was provoked by transportation drama introduced into the family’s recent trip to Oregon.

As I waited for family members to arrive at Portland’s Union Station via the four hour late Empire Builder (which would be six hours late making the scheduled 15 hour return journey), I found myself thinking about politics and infrastructure decisions made decades ago.

Infrastructure helps make civilizations possible, when running late.

After a heated primary like this one, I often wonder about the fallout, about those awkward moments when opponents and their allies run into each other at the local bar, or Pachyderm meeting or the cereal aisle at the grocery store.

That’s not to say supporters and critics alike shouldn’t voice their opinions about various candidates. After all, we’ve printed many of their letters on these pages. A robust debate is healthy, even within the same political party.

Conservatives had what, at first, appeared to be a tough choice in deciding whether to support Matt Rosendale or Corey Stapleton in the primary, seeing that a vote-split would enable Ryan Zinke to get elected. Evidence now shows Stapleton is the best choice.

Rosendale projects himself as far right politically – shooting down drones and such – but he opposes the Article V movement to limit federal power; and Montana Conservative Alliance (MCA), a well-known conservative group, ranked Rosendale at 54 (100 being the most conservative) in 2013 and at 53 in 2011. By comparison, MCA ranked former senator and 2012 lieutenant governor candidate Jon Sonju (R) much higher at 71 in 2013 and 77 in 2011.

From the dusty washes near Bunkerville, Nevada, to polished marble offices along K Street in Washington DC, there is a radical cry to wrest our national forests and prairies away from public ownership.

That cry should alarm all Americans who cherish their freedom to hunt, fish and otherwise enjoy the great outdoors.

Recently a column in the Flathead Beacon (“Free Stuff, Isn’t”) raised the question of whether or not expanding Medicaid to 70,000 low income Montanans is worth the cost. Simply put, yes, expanding Montana’s Medicaid program would strengthen our economy, create jobs and help thousands of Montanans access the health care they need.

The column cited a recent report by Montana Budget and Policy Center (MBPC) that notes Montana is missing out on millions of dollars every day we wait to expand Medicaid – $1.84 million in federal funding, $1.3 million in labor income, and $135,000 in state and local taxes are lost each day. Additionally, Medicaid expansion would bring 12,000 new jobs to the state. After noting this, however, the columnist Dave Skinner mistakenly claims the jobs created by expansion would net salaries of only $27,000 a year.

University of Montana President Royce Engstrom and Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas visited with legislators during the winter to discuss future plans for the university system. It was music to my ears to hear there will be a teacher education program at FVCC this fall, which will use our publicly funded system rather than the expensive private school now being used. I’m sure budding teachers will enjoy the lowering of fees with their education similar to what’s been done from the private sector.

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has been a festering Montana issue since last spring. Late in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not strip away existing Medicaid funding from states that did not accept funding for Obamacare Medicaid expansion.

The Obamacare expanded Medicaid program allows all citizens earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level – about $32,000 for a family of four – to choose to join those Montanans already on Medicaid.

Depending on where you live, you may have paid to drive on a toll road.

Toll roads have been modernized in recent years to cause fewer traffic jams while encouraging drivers to sign up for the wireless automated payment systems they support. Instead of a toll gate that requires drivers to stop and pay with cash, multiple lanes have sensors that read an in-car device’s wireless signal that identifies your car.

But changes are coming to increase toll revenue.

Another Mother’s Day passed and I was unable to spend it with mine. Mom, however, visited a week prior and we went out to dinner and laughed and danced and celebrated. Life when Mom is around is always like that, a little busier and lot more fun.

I’ve spent ample time over the years writing about my mother, who is equally thoughtful and hilarious, so I won’t repeat those stories. Instead, I wanted to piece together a column about my coworkers’ moms, many of whom I’ve met and admired at how invested they are in there sons’ and daughters’ lives. And like mine, they make you laugh like only moms can.

Voting is open for this year’s primary and closes in about three weeks. Prime on the Republican ballot is the U.S. House seat. Ryan Zinke seems to have the lead, and he seems to deserve it. He’s obviously smart, tough and rooted in Montana. As to whether he’s pure enough for a plurality of his primary’s voters, it remains to be seen.

Matt Rosendale appears to have a chip on his shoulder and a predilection to cover it with a gun. As portrayed in his ads, he is neither convincing nor comforting. I would not put him in charge of anyone’s militia.

I served in the Montana House for three terms with Mark. During that period of time, I came to know him as a very committed, loyal and dedicated person to the people and state of Montana. He served on and chaired a number of committees that had a significant monetary impact on the Treasure State’s households. Mark always used conservative logic and commonsense when voting on bills that would have a lasting effect on the state’s economy. During the past session, as speaker of the House, he navigated the House through some very difficult and controversial legislation. For most legislators being in the position of speaker is on-the-job training, but for Mark it was a natural progression. He’s a successful small business owner who hires, manages and trains people. He knows the importance of jobs, finance and family.