At the recent Polson Rural Fire District board meeting, the board voted to impose the following fees for traffic accident response: 1.) If firefighters are called to a crash and spend less than an at the scene: $500 if special tools are not required or $750 if special tools are required to extricate a victim. […]

Montana Republicans swept into the state capitol for a variety of reasons, but perhaps none as big as the rising national debt and dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama’s health care plan. Both issues have dominated the debate in the first weeks of the Legislature, except now it’s the GOP on the defense. One of the […]

Since 1964, I’ve owned and operated an RV park and campground just several miles from the western entrance to Glacier National Park. Over the years, I have heard from people who have spouses working in Glacier and some who came here to retire. They did not realize at the time that nothing stays as it […]

As the Montana legislature kicks into gear, the air is heavy with rhetoric and of course… talk of new jobs. While I don’t agree with all that our various governments do, I can’t think of a single time that any of them have prevented me from getting a new customer, hiring someone or for that […]

The outrageous mass murder in Arizona has the political crisis cockroaches (and their media enablers) crawling out of the woodwork. But as Robert Barnes, staff writer for the Washington Post wrote, “There is, at this point, no evidence that the suspect in Saturday’s shootings that left six dead and [Congresswoman Gabrielle] Giffords and 12 others […]

One of my favorite types of cuisine is from Thailand, a country rich in regional food traditions and fresh flavor combinations. With the popularity of Asian food growing throughout the United States, ingredients once very difficult to find are readily available at most local supermarkets. Of all the dishes that I have tried, there is […]

When Sen. Jon Tester was president of the Montana State Senate, he had a reputation as a nonpartisan workhorse. After four years of hard work as a U.S. senator that reputation has stuck, and Tester’s work on forest policy is perhaps the best example. During his very first term in office, he introduced the Forest […]

The latest issue of Delta Air Lines’ Sky magazine features Montana prominently and calls our state “a leader the rest of the nation should listen and learn from” that “continues to attract businesses from all over the world.” That’s quite the compliment, but forgive me if I don’t share the writer’s enthusiasm. Because while the […]

Christine Owens of the National Employment Law Project suggests that Montana’s Jan. 1 minimum wage increase will “directly benefit workers and state economies” (Jan. 5 Beacon: “Seven States Raise Minimum Wage”). Ms. Owens may wish that were the case, but the evidence shows otherwise. New research from the United States Military Academy at West Point […]

The comments of these former park superintendants (Jan. 2 Beacon: “Former Park Superintendents Call for Increased Protection of Glacier, Waterton Parks”) were bitterly amusing to me as a transplanted Canadian, who has not only hunted, fished and backpacked in this area for the last 45 years, but also worked as a national park employee. I’ve […]

This photo wasn’t taken in Chernobyl or in some abandoned Montana ghost town. It’s in downtown Detroit, a few blocks from shining skyscrapers. Credit: Rick Harris Everyone in the US should look at photos like the one above and imagine what this place once was. The meltdown of the US economy has many looks. Have […]

Montana’s Constitution assures the Legislature can’t spend more on services or tax breaks than the state collects in revenues. This simple declaration by the people keeps our books balanced. And balanced they have been, making Montana one of just two states in the nation to remain in the black. Nationally, the debt situation is bleak. […]

On Nov. 2, 2010, Montanans overwhelmingly spoke out against the out-of-touch Obama agenda. A rollback of these overreaching policies is necessary and conservatives will use a common sense approach to address endless government growth. For the first time since 2003, Republicans have majorities in both the state House and Senate. As leadership of the 62nd […]

The Legislature convened this week and while it’s easy to pan our citizen lawmakers as amateurs, I think that’s one of their best attributes. Just look at how the pros fared in Washington, D.C. over the last year. Still, I would like to offer some unsolicited advice to those arriving at the Helena capitol for […]

The 98-year experiment of having a quasi-governmental, private banking cartel run our nation’s monetary system has been a near complete debacle. Since the Fed was given control of our monetary system through the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, our dollar has lost up to 96 percent of its value. The United States Constitution calls for […]