So what’s happened to the tea party movement some five years after the financial crises of 2008? It seems to me the tea party arose as a grassroots movement after the financial meltdown and subsequent U.S. government bailout. Basically, the American taxpayers had to rescue, in many cases, the very same people who almost brought […]

I have been observing the “back and forth” between the two sides over global warming and I realize that this is more than a “facts fight” – this is an ideological battle between the Left and the Right. I have my own comment and I feel educated enough to speak for the low-income earners who […]

By Tim Baldwin There is a serious effort in California to divide into six smaller states, according to a recent Washington Times article. The reasons seem obvious with its dire economic problems and politically opposing metropolitan and rural cultures. California’s background is different than all other states (except Texas): a treaty with Mexico ceded the […]

After long and thoughtful investigation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ compact the county commissioners of Flathead, Lake and Missoula counties have issued letters of support for the CSKT water compact. The compact ties up water out of Hungry Horse for use in Montana. Eleven-thousand acre feet are already allocated to the state for […]

Well, Montana’s Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission finally issued its agreed-upon “Report on the Proposed Water Rights Compact” between Montana and the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). Shortly after, Lake County commissioners declared their neutrality on the Compact, a giant step back from their 2002 position that “state jurisdiction of water rights must be maintained for […]

Habits – at least the good ones – tend to help us get big things done that we might otherwise never accomplish. One of the things I do every day is read a page from “The Daily Drucker“. The Daily Drucker is a 366 page book of one-page-per-day excerpts from Peter Drucker’s books on business, […]

Any news article that mentions or proposes some form of wood harvesting from forests these days tends to draw out many opinions regarding what is good or bad for the forest. Words and concepts such as ecology, biodiversity, sustainability, science, and conservation are often used to oppose industrialism, greed, pollution, global warming, erosion and environmental […]

A recent editorial indicates that there may be quite a differential between Flathead and Kootenai National Forest policies regarding the work of collaborative groups. Noting that the Flathead National Forest’s team leader for forest planning remarked that the consensus reached by the Whitefish Range Partnership was commendable and that their recommendations “will be given a […]

Last week, during the kickoff to his campaign for his old U.S. Senate seat in South Dakota, Republican-turned-independent Larry Pressler said, “I think there’s an increased level of people wanting an alternative to the Republican-Democrat thing.” People have been saying this for a long time. And those people are right, but rarely does anything change. […]

By Tim Baldwin The contentious Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes water compact is no simple matter. The parties involved are the U.S. government, Montana and independent tribal nations, in addition to factors like existing compacts, as well as state and federal laws – not to mention tribal history that predates the U.S. and Montana. Notable […]

As I close out my mayoral term, I express my sincere appreciation to the residents and taxpayers in the City of Kalispell for your support over the past four years. With your support we accomplished one of the largest fiscal and ideological turnarounds this city has ever seen. With your help we: brought our reserve […]

It’s a new year. Montanans are hopeful, believing that the state is on the right track. Gov. Steve Bullock had a great first year leading Montana. Bullock proved as good at managing money as former Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer maintained eight years of the state’s biggest budget surpluses, while keeping statewide unemployment low during a […]

What if you could leap tall buildings, throw balls of fire or swing from webbing that shoots out of your wrist? If you could, lots of people would think you were some sort of superhero. Thing is, a fair number of people probably feel that way already. Maybe you can’t do any of those things, […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is wasting $10 million dollars trying to apply a crop-based biomass utilization model to our rugged and remote national forests! While Cool Planet Energy Systems’ turning of farm waste into gasoline and biochar may have merit, it does not apply well to dead trees on remote public lands. In a […]

Great article on Brock Osweiler and players in the NFL (Dec. 25 Beacon: “Land of Oz”). As a long time NFL fan, I noticed one key player missing from your list of Montanans in the NFL: Sam McCullum. He was a 1970 graduate of Flathead High School who played on the Flathead basketball state champion […]