So we got Osama … but did you notice that Canada got a new government? Canada is a democratic constitutional monarchy, a commonwealth currently under Queen Elizabeth II. Canada has a 308-seat House of Commons that must stand for election at least once every four years, but elections can be triggered any time by a […]

What Congress chooses to debate sets a political tone for the nation. Today, elder statesmen must speak to middle class values if people hope to protect programs like Medicare from the U.S. House. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s single-payer health care insurance plan provides health care coverage for people over 65, nearly 50 million seniors, including […]

Bipartisan politics, Republican budget vs. the governor’s budget and veto power are making headlines daily. About the only issues both parties appear to agree on is to ignore property tax reform again and it is politically astute for the state to continue a policy to shift the burden of property taxes from Eastern Montana to […]

Ever considered “The Difference” entry-market businesses sometimes create between two groups of customers? While you think about that, here’s a little background. On numerous occasions, I’ve urged you to add premium services to your product and services mix. These premium services add higher profit margin services and attract more loyal customers. That doesn’t mean they […]

We will soon be in the heart of grilling season and sometimes, for your family’s grill master, that means hours of standing in front of a hot grill in the heat to the summer sun. Now don’t get me wrong, there is almost no place I’d rather be. But sometimes you need to get your […]

An interesting thing happened when House Republicans voted overwhelmingly in favor of the so-called “Path to Prosperity” budget plan: Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg didn’t. He was one of just four GOP congressmen to vote against Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., proposal. Why would the reliably conservative Rehberg oppose Ryan’s plan aimed at deficit reduction? The answer […]

As a business owner invested in and committed to building the clean energy future of Montana, I was pleased to see Sen. Jon Tester stand up on behalf of the Clean Air Act recently. Tester voted against four different amendments that would’ve weakened this 40-year-old piece of legislation and prevented limits from being placed on […]

Using the Endangered Species Act and other environmental mandates as justification, environmentalists, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, District Court Judge Molloy and the U.S. Forest Service have essentially destroyed the lumber industry in northwest Montana as well as other places and have denied the permitting of […]

The Public Service Commission was in the news recently relating to a shake-up in the PSC’s leadership. As the PSC’s new chair and vice chair, we think the change deserves a fuller explanation. Put simply, this was a vote of no confidence in the leadership for a breach of public trust. The basic facts are […]

Due to some recent travel to deal with some family stuff, I’ve had a chance to see how business is going these days in a few other places in the U.S. Something that caught my eye over the weekend illustrates how much room there is for a coherent, attentive business in the marketplace…even in today’s […]

All this “spring,” I’ve watched the fight over HB 198, the power-line eminent domain bill passed from the Legislature to Governor Brian Schweitzer by a polyglot coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Property rights aside, I first felt HB 198 was a technicality. Now I’m worried that HB 198 might really short-circuit Montana’s energy future if […]

There are so many young woman who need to be able to access affordable reproductive health care. I was one of them when I was in my late teens and 20s. I am a professional now with a good job and health insurance. I can go to a doctor whenever I feel it is necessary. […]

The standoff between Kalispell and the firefighters’ union over wages ended in compromise – a surprising resolution to an often-tense negotiating session. Who reaches a “compromise” anymore? That’s so boring. In February, an arbitrator called in to settle a contract dispute between the two sides ruled in favor of the Local 547 chapter of the […]

The budget process used by our state and legislators is flawed. The state relies on cost-plus base line budgeting rather than needs-based priority budgeting with performance measurements. Government budgets get inflation adjusted increases whether needed or not and they grow forever. Montana is no different than Washington, D.C. Legislators fight over insignificant cuts to a […]

My family has been in the Flathead Basin for six generations. I grew up on the lake in Dayton. After seven years of graduate training and a 25-year career in environmental health sciences with the Michigan Department of Public Health, I returned to the Flathead at the earliest opportunity for retirement (1997). My love for […]