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Opinion

Uncommon Ground

Personal Responsibility Principle

In February 2008, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney carried Flathead County and won Montana’s GOP caucus, earning all 25 of the state’s delegates to the Republican National Convention. Former Secretary of State Brad Johnson was part of the Romney team and said, “Governor Romney has the right values and priorities for voters not only in […]

By Mike Jopek
Like I Was Saying

Anxiously Awaiting Summer

Summer recently showed up, if only briefly, on a weekend no less, when the temperature reached 80 degrees. It was warm and comfortable, except that the snowpack hasn’t melted and the riverbanks and dams can’t hold all the runoff if we have a heat wave. The governor has declared a state of emergency and anxiety […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Don’t Cut Programs for the Hungry

As Congress crafts a budget that addresses our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges, the Montana Food Bank Network and our network partners – 196 food pantries, meal sites, shelters, senior centers and after-school programs – are urging our elected officials to safeguard nutrition assistance and other safety net programs. The number of families struggling to make […]

By Peggy A. Grimes
Business Is Personal

Not Just Any Business Is Personal

I’ve decided that we need to spend more time here focusing on the smart businesses and what they do, in hopes of making more Flathead businesses fall in the smart column. It hit me while motoring from Memphis to Mom’s place after hearing yet another ad for Angie’s List. We “need” things like Angie’s List, […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

Adventures with Murphy

Every so often, my writing work requires a road trip. My latest sent me (and my pal Murphy) to the Olympics in Washington. Because freelance writers are so massively overpaid, we took my 1965 Ford van, which I bought in 1985 or so with the idea of carrying my Kawasaki rice rocket in the back. […]

By Dave Skinner
Like I Was Saying

PSC Meltdown

The Public Service Commission has an important, if often overlooked, job. It’s responsible for regulating everything from Montana’s utilities and private water companies to taxi and phone services. At one point, the 2011 Legislature considered tapping the PSC to oversee the medical marijuana industry. That, thankfully, didn’t happen since the five-member board struggles to hold […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Using ‘Civility’ as a Ploy

I read with interest the guest column by former Congressman Pat Williams (May 25 Beacon: “When Civility Ended”). Because I ran against Pat in 1984, I feel obligated to publicly respond to his column. I think Pat would agree that ours was a “civil” race, although at that time, I was a virtual unknown. We […]

By Gary K. Carlson
Business Is Personal

Taking Care

One of the lessons my dad impressed on me when I was old enough to begin to “get it” (or so I thought) was “Be a good listener.” Naturally, the meaning of that phrase changed for me over the years. As a teenager, it had a rather obvious meaning, “Pay attention and you might learn […]

By Mark Riffey
Uncommon Ground

Betting on Food

Last year was a bumper crop in commodities like wheat, corn, soy and rice. Production was up, demand stable, but food prices still skyrocketed. Early this year, governments across the world began stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying and social unrest. Algeria bought nearly a million tons of wheat while Saudi […]

By Mike Jopek
Like I Was Saying

Benefits of Blind Optimism

Hundreds of Flathead Valley Community College students graduated earlier this month and many of them will have a better shot at getting a job than they did two years ago. It was the school’s largest class ever, attributable partly to economic necessity. Many so-called nontraditional students returned to class when the recession swept through the […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

When Civility Ended

The Missoula City Club recently hosted Congressman Denny Rehberg at one of our monthly public lunches. Rehberg was introduced by the president of City Club Board. As Rehberg approached the podium, I arose from my chair, walked across the room and greeted him; the two of us, alone at the front of the room. We […]

By Pat Williams
Business Is Personal

Checklist on the Fridge

My favorite story about setting expectations comes from a really smart real estate agent. When you decide to buy or sell your home with her, she gives you a pre-printed list of all the things that can happen during the process of buying or selling. The list has checkboxes on it and is designed to […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

Megaloads of Money

By now, everyone is getting pretty sick and tired of the megaloads of hypocrisy spilled in the battle over the so-called “megaloads” that the oil folks are trying to haul from the Port of Lewiston in Idaho to the Kearl oil sands patch in Alberta. Because National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is leading the lawsuit to […]

By Dave Skinner
Like I Was Saying

The Big Fix

Lawmakers went to Helena to clean up the freewheeling medical marijuana industry, which most agreed had grown too big, too fast, with little oversight. Instead, the legislation they passed is so convoluted it’s unclear what, if anything, it fixes. Some of the new rules took effect over the weekend. And the assumption by the bill’s […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Special Forces Training

The Navy special operations unit which recently took out Osama bin Laden proved that the SEALs are indeed specialists at what they do. As the world becomes more technical and specialized, so does warfare. Just days after the brilliantly executed mission into Pakistan I had the opportunity to visit the U.S. Army Special Operations Command […]

By Bob Brown