Who watched President Barack Obama’s speech on British Petroleum’s oil spill? I did. Obama got a couple things right, or almost right. He called the Deepwater Horizon blowout the “worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.” It will certainly be the worst in terms of dollars spent. The president spoke of 30,000 cleanup personnel, along […]

Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” The country is divided into two halves. The one half of the population that pays all the income taxes, and thus pays for all the governments programs, and the other half that pays no income taxes and uses most of the entitlement programs. Out-of-control government […]

There was speculation among those milling around the Flathead County Courthouse on the night of the primary elections that several Democratic voters must have “crossed over.” The Republican ballot, after all, featured more closely contested races and every candidate who filed in the sheriff’s race. But that alone doesn’t explain the staggering discrepancy. In Flathead […]

As a local citizen I feel a strong need to voice my concerns about the proposed Swan Crest foot race. I am an avid runner who has completed many marathons and can completely understand the desire to establish a challenging local course in such a beautiful location as the Swan. However, I feel that setting […]

The quagmire of medical marijuana continues to intensify. The exploding number of cards being issued by mostly traveling caravans of doctors who spend less than 10 minutes per patient prior to signing a card allowing the use of marijuana for alleged medical purposes is staggering. The impact of this on Montana businesses is as yet […]

One of Montana’s best business assets is a customer service training program called “Montana Superhost”. Why every session of this course isn’t overflowing with people is a mystery to me. People should be lined up for it as if they’re giving away iPads or hot crispy bacon. Even if they do resume charging for the […]

After retiring from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office five years ago, Chuck Curry, the county’s new sheriff-elect, will head back to the Justice Center in January to take his seat in the ground-floor corner office. “It doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone all that long,” Curry said. “I was there so many years; I really […]

Chuck Curry wins the Flathead County sheriff’s race. Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Tester is facing transparency questions. HIGH CHUCK CURRY – Winning the Flathead County sheriff’s race handily, he’s got a mandate for change and ample time to prepare for the office. McDONALD & REHBERG – Both Democrat Dennis McDonald and Republican Denny Rehberg won contested […]

Ultra-running events require at least eight hours of trail work just to be eligible to enter 100-mile events. It is my experience that a majority of participants far exceed this minimum requirement. We realize it’s a privilege to be in many of the areas we recreate and want to see that our privileges aren’t taken […]

Teens will have a tough time finding a job this summer (June 9 Beacon: “Competition Fierce for Summer Jobs”), and one often overlooked reason are wage mandates that create a barrier between teens who want to work, and employers who want to hire. Between July 2007 and July 2009, Congress increased the federal minimum wage […]

Are you following the latest developments on the subject of “climate change” now emerging from Washington? It’s an important topic for sure, so let’s check the status of this debate – and where it stands on the scale of reasonableness. First, let’s recall that carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and other such greenhouse gas emissions are […]

It’s hard to know what to make of Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s recent criticism of his “federal partners” for, according to him, failing to secure $17 million to compensate Canadian mining companies so they will abandon their mining leases near Glacier National Park. By federal partners, the governor was referring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and […]

This past weekend, several thousand seniors graduated from Flathead Valley high schools. It’s a bittersweet time for parents, and I think it’s fitting that it occurs soon after Memorial Day. If you’re scratching your head about that one, bear with me for a bit. Last weekend (two weekends ago by the time you read this), […]

On May 17, the Montana Land Board voted to give “preliminary approval” to a so-called “Montana Working Forests Acquisition.” This is former Plum Creek ground that the Nature Conservancy bought with the intent of selling it off to Montana as state trust lands. On offer: 54,170 acres in four chunks, for $41 million ($757 per […]

It’s difficult to judge which special interest groups can best influence our local elections. These groups, or individuals, can ably draw attention to specific candidates and issues through advertising, public gatherings and lawsuits. But how that translates into votes is far less clear. Recently, the conservative pro-property rights group American Dream Montana announced its ambitious […]