By John Fuller Wolves are one of nature’s greatest predators. Magnificent creatures, with extraordinary social characteristics, they are legendary in man’s history, culture and literature. Some fear them, others love them and others regard them as just another cog in the complicated web of life. A century ago, wolf populations were seriously reduced by farmers, […]

Most of us who use computers in our work do so because they relieve us of tedious work or eliminate slow, inefficient or error-prone techniques for producing our work, even if we do have fuss with drivers and hardware failures once in a while. In the newspaper business, I doubt anyone wants to return to […]

I believe public access and opportunities to recreate and enjoy our great outdoors are important components of our community’s heritage and culture. Over the past several months, Whitefish Legacy Partners (WLP) and the City of Whitefish have been working diligently to refine a suite of conservation transactions that will be presented as a formal proposal […]

I’m sure the Whitefish Trail folks are pretty excited. They’ve finally presented their Public Recreation and Conservation Initiative, the required second “implementation” step in the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan approved by the state Land Board back in 2004. It proposes a sale of 530 acres of Common Schools trust land so Michael Goguen can add to […]

As you may know, the Corrupt Practices Act was put in place by a citizen’s initiative in 1912. It was a reaction by the people of Montana to copper king William Clark buying a seat in the United States Senate by paying each of Montana’s state senators $10,000 (the equivalent of about $250,000 in today’s […]

It is no coincidence that the five Kalispell city councilors – Jim Atkinson, Randy Kenyon, Jeff Zauner, Kari Gabriel and Wayne Saverud – who voted to cancel a referendum on the future of the City Airport, are the same five who defeated a motion to maintain the airport as it is and who voted instead […]

Flathead County’s jobless rate fell to 8.5 percent in June – not exactly a reason to cheer but perhaps for guarded optimism. Yes, the rate is non-seasonally adjusted. And no, it doesn’t factor in those who have given up looking for work altogether or simply left the area. But we still haven’t seen a number […]

By John Fuller Have you ever noticed that when liberals/socialists don’t like someone opposing their views and advocating a different view, the hue and cry goes out to “level the playing field?” Translation: “We liberals need to reload the dice so we regain the advantage.” I-166 uses the phrase “level playing field” four times! Supporters […]

For years there has been a pervasive opinion across the entrepreneurial landscape that the U.S. has a shortage of capital required to startup and grow new ventures. It is suggested that companies cannot find the cash necessary to start new and exciting ventures. Furthermore, during this economic downturn, we’ve heard a crescendo of voices lamenting […]

Tourists who decide to become business owners and residents in the Flathead Valley realize it’s possible to have it all and make their dream a reality. Those who succeed are living the American dream two-fold – living in God’s country while operating a successful business. Montana West Economic Development has been instrumental in helping local […]

It’s Saturday morning, so the ritual of before-anyone-else-rises reading, writing and coffee is, as no one ever really says to anyone else, “on like Donkey Kong”. After closing out a couple of chapters and heading to the laptop to write, I happen to see a piece in the news about a local who is heading […]

“The least man in the chamber, once he gets and holds that floor, by the rules can hold it and talk as long as he can stand on his feet providing always, first, that he does not sit down, and second that he does not leave the chamber or stop talking.” That’s straight out of […]

For the 2011 Montana Legislature, Gov. Brian Schweitzer built $36 million in homeowner property tax cuts into his executive budget. It was promptly removed by a solidly GOP-controlled Legislature. Rep. Wayne Stahl, R-Saco, proposed $70 million in homeowner property tax refunds. His bill was tabled. Rep. Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls, proposed taxing homes on the […]

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal Obamacare – for the 33rd time. After the 244-185 decision, Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg said, “This law will actually do more harm to our health care system than good, and on top of that, it’s also holding back our economy.” Also last week, the Montana […]

For decades, the Kootenai has been caught in a tug-of-war between factions wishing to set the future of this lush and productive piece of national forest. The good news is, some of those folks – including loggers, timber mills, local communities, and conservationists – have realized they can get further when they pull together, instead […]