Opinion

Closing Range

Helena’s Sobriety Check

So Governor Schweitzer thinks our Legislature boozes it up too much? Well, on the 28th of December, the Legislative Fiscal Division (LFD) released its Legislative Services Division 2013 Biennium Budget Overview. Our state legislators will rely on this document as they fight out Montana’s budget for the next two years – if you had to […]

By Dave Skinner
Opinion

LETTER: Numbers Out of Fantasyland

A recent article in the Beacon had some wolf depredation figures straight out of fantasyland (Dec. 22 Beacon: “Questions as Livestock Losses Skyrocket”). John Steuber, the federal director of Wildlife Services for Montana, claims that between 2006 and 2010 calf losses to wolves went from 51 to 454, while sheep losses rose from 22 to […]

By Brian Peck
Opinion

LETTER: Ramming Through a Social Experiment

Congress’s repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is just the latest attempt to undermine another institution in our society. Our military is responsible for the defense of our republic, and quite frankly, all of Western civilization and liberty in the world. As such, our military should not be the subject of some absurd social experiment. […]

By John Vail
Business Is Personal

Reputation For Sale, Cheap

My wife’s birthday was a weekend or so ago, so as a last bit of her gift (a weekend at Schnaus cabin), our youngest son and I took her to one of our favorite restaurants in the Valley. As we sat down and started to catch up on our youngest’s just-finished first semester at college, […]

By Mark Riffey
Opinion

Pitching Investors

Business plans have many forms. When entrepreneurs come to the attention of potential investors, they may be invited to make verbal presentations to a select group of investors. This is commonly accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation. In his book, The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki provides sage advice to presenting entrepreneurs: Follow the 10/20/30 […]

By Bill Payne
Uncommon Ground

Prioritizing Schools in Taxpayers’ Best Interest

If there is any interest group that can traditionally wade through the partisan divide of Montana politics, it’s children. For many legislative sessions the mantra for passing bills in the Legislature is the same: “It’s for the kids.” This simple declaration paved the way for all-day kindergarten and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Both […]

By Mike Jopek
Opinion

LETTER: DUI Program Will Save Lives

On behalf of the Montana Common Sense Coalition, I applaud Steve Bullock, Montana’s attorney general, for bringing forth meaningful DUI prevention legislation. It is our hope that legislators will follow Bullock’s lead and use the 2011 legislative session as an opportunity to address Montana’s serious DUI problem. 
 One of the data-driven policy solutions being […]

By John Larsen
Opinion

LETTER: Priorities in Columbia Falls News

In the last weeks there has been some concerning news in Columbia Falls. One was a possible school expulsion; one, a death of an unemployed logger who died of hypothermia in a parking lot. One of the stories gained national prominence; one was relegated to a small column. As a society of which story truly […]

By Randall Hansen
Opinion

LETTER: State Rights Should Expand in All Areas

Although I have seldom agreed with many of the positions taken by Mike Jopek in the past, I am delighted with his recent article (Dec. 15 Beacon: “Nuclear Rights Vested With the People”). In that editorial, he enthusiastically supports the right of the citizens of the state of Montana to exclusively determine whether nuclear waste […]

By Mark Agather
Like I Was Saying

Christmas Surprise

It’s mostly the reaction we get in exchange for presents. It lasts only a few moments, but somehow it’s worth spending hours looking online, in catalogues and on store racks for that perfect gift. Some of those on our lists are easier to shop for than others. My nephews, for example, will lose their minds […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Taxpayer Revolution for Property Tax Reform

The time is nigh for the people of Montana to demand a permanent property tax system that is simple to understand, equitable for all, and provides predictable revenue from residential, commercial and agriculture property owners. Our Legislature should put an end to the reappraisal panic every six years, the inequities of phase-in and our method […]

By Dud Mahler
Business Is Personal

Get Smart … Without Letting Your Guard Down

One of the things I’m always pushing clients to do is expand their education. This education expands well beyond your line of business, because there are valuable lessons from every industry. Likewise, there are processes in almost every industry that you can learn from, modify to fit your needs and thus use in a completely […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

Got Warrant?

Ever noticed how Montana makes the news only when stupid stuff happens? Our latest claim to national fame comes courtesy of Columbia Falls High School. CFHS junior Demari DeReu forgot her hunting rifle in her car trunk after the last weekend of hunting season. She remembered it when a school lockdown/sniffdown was announced, and immediately […]

By Dave Skinner
Like I Was Saying

Please Require a Bibliography

Montana Republicans, who will enjoy large majorities in both chambers at the state Capitol this upcoming session, plan on bypassing Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s veto pen by referring some divisive measures directly to voters in 2012. Let’s hope by then the state requires the Voter Information Pamphlet, which is used to explain each referendum, to […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Cooperative Solutions Needed to Save Our Native Fish

Montanans have long cherished native bull trout and westslope cutthroat as important sport fish, cultural symbols, indicators of good water quality and drivers of our recreation economy. Many Montanans grew up learning how to fish by catching these two species. Future Montana kids deserve the same opportunities, but without determined actions now, these opportunities will […]

By Paul Pochak