When schools, parents and communities collaborate for the improvement of the local schools: everyone wins. At the “packed house” cross town football game our community supported the activity programs from both high schools with their presence and by purchasing raffle tickets for the Toyota Scion, donated by Kalispell Toyota, which was given away during the […]

Many hunters are rightfully angry that a federal judge has put the gray wolf back under federal protection based on legal technicalities. Taking management away from state authorities allows wolves to multiply and spread. Wolves are already so plentiful they are cutting down herds of elk, moose and deer and are also killing livestock and […]

I have often heard investors state that they do not read business plans, implying that entrepreneurs need not write them. I disagree. Entrepreneurs need to write business plans for two reasons: • Most entrepreneurs are totally focused on their products and technology and have given little thought to the other critically important aspects of their […]

A common question I’m asked is “Should I use ‘bright shiny object of the month’ to market my business? Lately, the question tends to be asked in the context of Facebook, but quite frankly, the answer is the same regardless of the “magic solution” you’re asking about. As usual, the answer is “Fish where the […]

Trolls, trolls everywhere, trash-typing from behind their anonymizers, polluting the Web with execrations that would get them flushed in the real world. Besides viruses, trolls are the worst part of the Internet. While most trolls spew mindless insults for the sake of insult, there’s an especially toxic undercurrent in the sewage: Those anonymous or pseudonymous […]

If there is ever a time when you should really fear the tax man in Montana, it’s now. Especially if you do business here but live elsewhere, are a pharmaceutical company, online booking agency, oil lease trader or your last name is Blixseth. The rate at which the Montana Department of Revenue is raking in […]

The time has come to fill out the ballot! We have read as much as possible! We have listened whenever we could! We have tried to filter out the ambiguity! But recently; after hearing a detailed, sincere, well thought out and realistic program from a refreshing candidate for Flathead County Commissioner – the choice is […]

If Pam Holmquist and her supporters are to be believed, Brenneman has single-handedly wreaked havoc on Flathead County. That should come as a humorous surprise to the two other sitting and previous commissioners. It takes at least two votes for commissioners to take any action. Budget items require a unanimous consent. If Brenneman critics are […]

We have moved into October and the throes of this year’s political campaigns: the incessant television, radio, newspaper and internet ads, the charges and countercharges, the doubt, anger and meanness. Some voters seem in the mood to “throw them all out” as if every incumbent is the enemy. Taking measure of this fairly recent kind […]

Recently, I was privileged to speak on the subject “So, Ive got a website…now what?” at the monthly Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce meeting. While it’s a valid question, this is not how I want you to be thinking about your site. A fair number of business owners think about their site as “Something I […]

America is a place of convenience. It’s where, if we so choose, we can have our groceries delivered to our doorstep and purchase clothes and home furnishings from the convenience of a laptop. It’s where people sell electric abdomen stimulators, those belts that allegedly turn your belly into a six-pack while you watch television (although […]

It seems like we fight many of the same battles year after year in the Legislature. Some of the issues faced by agriculture have been debated since statehood, and they’ll likely still be hot-button issues generations from now. Such is the nature of public policy. One of those issues that seems to keep coming back […]

Montana’s original 1889 state constitution had become increasingly out-dated and unworkable. The 1969 Legislature referred the question of rewriting it to the people, and in 1970, by a nearly two-to-one majority, Montana voters agreed with the need for a constitutional convention. A special primary to elect convention delegates was slated for September of 1971, with […]

Unreal. Last week I had to get on the phone to cancel an online service. Not because I wanted to use the phone to cancel, but because it’s a requirement. You see, you can sign up for this service online, but you can’t cancel it there. And you certainly won’t be doing it easily. Yes, […]

Federal judge Donald W. Molloy’s egregious ruling to keep those adorable wolves on the endangered list seems to have gotten some attention. Montana’s stalwarts in Congress are finally taking steps to change the law – or at least their press releases claim they are…. Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) has drafted a two-page bill which, as […]