Of the many challenges facing Glacier National Park’s new Superintendent Jeff Mow the most pressing will be decided by Congress in the next few weeks. Will lawmakers replace sequestration – the automatic budget cuts that will deepen in the coming years? Will they leave it in place? Will they provide a temporary fix? Predicting whether […]

By John Fuller U.S. Highway 93, like many other federally funded interstate highways, travels the length of the country. It is a vital artery for many communities and traffic congestion in city centers along its length often becomes burdensome. Bypasses around such centers are normally desirable for through travelers and long-haul truckers. The southern half […]

It has come to my attention that Bonneville Power is likely going to provide funding for the very controversial gillnetting of lake trout in Flathead Lake. Attached is my written comments sent to the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe (CSKT) after a public hearing in Pablo on Aug. 1: Thank you for the opportunity to comment […]

In 1944, wreckage of three 33-foot diameter balloons with Japanese writing on them was found in western Montana. The FBI later reported that 6,000 such balloons were released from Japan, equipped with incendiary devices to start wildfires in the United States and Canada. No amount of high-tech spying could defend us from a terrorist whose […]

The federal income tax credit for qualifying children under the age of 17 may be worth as much as $1,000. Credits help taxpayers reduce the amount of income taxes paid. The tax code has plenty of credits like earned income, childcare, education, retirement savings and first-time homebuyer. Integral in the Affordable Care Act are transferable […]

Last time, we talked about how showrooming is impacting the retailer, briefly discussed what causes it and covered how a home store’s effective website selling experience helped me save time by avoiding a trip to a store that couldn’t decide whether it could help me. All the retailers say it’s about price and the research […]

By John Fuller In November, voters will have an opportunity to decide what to do about improvements to the Kalispell City Airport. Like many local and municipal referendums, the people will vote on an issue that has the potential to affect everyone, spend millions of taxpayer dollars and will be smothered in hyperbole from advocates […]

I reside in the City of Whitefish, inside the doughnut, and I support Flathead County’s total control of the property immediately outside the city limits. Simply stated, my overreaching neighbors find fault with everyone except themselves. I find the doughnut war ridiculous, without merit for the city, and a waste of city resources. I am […]

In Montana, we take care of our veterans – the men and women who were willing to give so much for us. The sad truth is that many veterans in Montana don’t have access to the health care they need. Montana has the highest percentage of veterans without health insurance in the nation. All of […]

Next week, some of the biggest tycoons in the business world will gather in Montana for a two-day economic summit in Butte. The list of speakers is truly staggering, ranging from the CEO of Ford to the executive chairman of Google. But, to me, the most appealing attendee is Elon Musk, who is perhaps the […]

Last time I wrote about forest legislation in the Republican-controlled U.S. House that, if made law, might make a dent in the multi-million-acre monolith of malfunction that is federal public lands management – and is therefore toast in the Democrat-controlled Senate. There’s other forest legislation in the U.S. Senate, which in turn is toast in […]

If you have a retail store, you’ve almost certainly had people showrooming in your store. If you haven’t heard the term,”showrooming” can be summarized as “shopping at local stores to check out an item before buying online.” – though it takes on different forms. Showrooming includes: Price checking items on the internet while walking through […]

Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed Farm Bill legislation that removed the nutrition component that provides food for children, seniors, the disabled, and others in need. If your intention was to eliminate or drastically reduce food going to those in need due to economic distress, this is the legislation you would pass. If your […]

The dialogue now underway in these pages about the CSKT Compact should have happened more than a year ago. If it had, perhaps today we would have a CSKT Compact that would have gotten beyond the “we never said that” response to the core of the Compact so that legislators and the public could make […]

The much publicized rape case in Billings is getting press across Montana and now across the country. I spoke with my brother in New Hampshire and he was outraged as well. CNBC has picked up the story and the truth is out. Once again, Montana gets in the spotlight for yet another event that defines […]