Most in Congress ignore the growing hunger for better food. Today a budding constituency is fed up with the quality of our school lunches and the laboratory modifications made to real food. Food has become a social movement. It makes sense: people make eating decisions three times a day. And eaters do not like all […]

Iowa has taken a lot of heat. Like previous presidential election years, the rest of the country wonders what makes this state so special that it always gets to cast the first votes at its caucus. The same could be said for New Hampshire, home to the first primary. The importance of these states is […]

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s recent statements about Keystone XL display a blatant disregard for the facts about the Keystone XL pipeline and tar sands oil. In Montana the pipeline would cross significant portions of the Missouri and Yellowstone River drainages, posing an unacceptable risk to our communities, fisheries and agriculture. The risks of expanding this […]

Those hoping for a little sanity in federal public-lands policy got an early Christmas present when Sen. Jon Tester’s wilderness bill, the disingenuously named Forest Jobs and Recreation Act (FJRA), was cut from the trillion-dollar must-pass 2012 omnibus budget. Tester’s bill was quietly shuffled through one Senate committee hearing (on “miscellaneous public lands and forests […]

As timber mill owners and managers in Montana, we’re disappointed that the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, a bill to create jobs for loggers and millworkers, was prevented from passing in Congress last month. Hundreds of workers in our mills, along with hundreds of independent contractors and vendors we work with, all supporting hundreds of […]

One of my mentors describes a person or activity that wastes your time as a “time vampire”. This might be someone who repeatedly interrupts you for information they could easily find on their own – in other words, they’re really making a social call. It might be you checking CNN or Facebook. Interruptions often happen […]

The cost of funding public education has expanded exponentially over the last 40 years. Some of the reasons for that include the American Disabilities Act, Special Education requirements, Title IX (gender equity requirements), and the new technology infrastructure. However, the simple fact remains that those escalating costs have far outstripped the inflation rate and many […]

Each new year, at least for a short time, we get to press reset and express wild optimism that might otherwise be tempered. Like many of you, I have numerous goals for 2012 and other outcomes I would like to see that I have no control over. Here are a few of the latter: I […]

For the third consecutive month, the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Economic Trends report, a key economic benchmark used by Federal Reserve officials and congressional leaders, showed an increase in small-business optimism – a leading indicator of economic growth.? ? While this news gives a glimmer of economic hope, a closer look at […]

Here’s your sign. While it is a well-known “redneck” comedian punch line, it’s also something you should be looking for. Some signs you must seek out, while others have been right in front of you all year long. Many of those signs are buried in your existing business data. Habits Your business data illustrates your […]

Christmas season offers joy, a time to reflect on our lives, and a resolve for the New Year. To people worldwide Christmas miracles are everyday possibilities. Miracles grow from natural dirt. Dr. Terry Wahls is a professor of medicine in Iowa. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a decade ago, for which there is no […]

Well, it seems like the fat lady has sung and 2011 won’t be the year that Montana finally breaks through the old timber war political log jams. Regrettably, we will have to wait until at least next year to see Sen. Jon Tester’s forest bill become law. Unfortunately, we have our lone congressman to thank […]

While struggling to find a perfect gift for my dad, I stumbled upon the water-powered “dolphin jet pack” built by France-based Zapata Racing. It was far out of my price range and weird imagining my father strapped to this machine and hovering above the water. But it was desperation time. A statue of a Hawkeye […]

This Jesus statue business is such a shame. An outside group from Wisconsin is creating hoopla over a memorial to our Montana WWII veterans? What business do they have coming to Montana and telling us what to do? Thank God we have a congressman with a backbone who will stand up and fight for our […]

It is that time of year again, when millions of Americans are on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Some trek into the woods seeking the tree and outdoor experience. Others make their selection from a local Christmas tree farmer and some simply unpack the Christmas tree storage box from the attic or garage. […]