The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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As a U.S. Senator for Idaho, a state enormously impacted by wildfires decimating communities and landscapes each year, I, Senator Crapo, am a long-time advocate for active forest management that restores forest health to help reduce the number and intensity of fires and protects our communities. And as a former wildland firefighter, I, Madi Clark, know all too well the disastrous consequences of poor federal land management. What the two of us have in common is an experienced point of view about the current mismanagement of...
By Stewards of the Swan Valley Two years ago, a Utah ski corporation and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced a plan to highly develop the rustic Holland Lake Lodge on public land in Condon in the rural Swan Valley. The ski corporation, POWDR, and USFS touched off a blistering public debate about the future not only of the small town and relatively wild valley, but a discussion about the future of Montana and the high-dollar outside influences changing the Big Sky State's...
When you receive your absentee ballot or go to the polls on November 5, you might ask yourself why there are so many proposed constitutional amendments on our ballot this year. Certainly, one reason is the enormous amount of out-of-state money pouring into our state this election with the overall goal of changing Montana to be more like California or Illinois. Why is Illinois Governor Pritzger giving $500,000, California residents Gwendolyn Sontheim giving $1.1 million, and...
As health care providers, hospital leaders, nurses, and support staff who serve or have served rural Montana communities, we condemn the recent television ads and full-page advertisements by Jon Tester's campaign and the absolute lies being told to our fellow neighbors. The ads, some of which use the names and photos of local hospitals, falsely accuse Tim Sheehy of threatening rural hospitals, misleading the patients we serve. Some of us have gotten to know Tim through his...
Do you own a home and wonder what it's worth? You can easily look up your address on Zillow and see the estimated value is rapidly rising, translating to more property taxes. Too many Montana families cannot keep up with an annual $249-million property tax increase imposed by Republican Governor Gianforte and his party in the Legislature. Yet, after months of analysis by the Governor's property tax task force, they recommended a complicated process that will raise our taxes...
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a scary reality facing 13 million Americans, acutely affecting veterans who risked their lives to serve our country and resilient survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse. Helping these individuals find relief where they can is imperative, and one federal agency is considering action that could do just that. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to vote on the approval of MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) to treat PTSD in the next...
ready for electric vehicles. Sen. Usher is correct that Montana's electricity system has fallen behind, leaving us unprepared for modern technologies. Sen. Usher noted that Montana's power grid is strained. I suppose one solution would be to never add any new electricity uses so we can preserve our precarious status quo. But other states are taking a different approach: they're improving their grids to get ready for the new ways we Americans are using energy. Compared to...
Having proudly served as former Secretaries of State in Montana, we understand how important democracy is to the people of our state. It's not a matter of what side of the aisle you stand on – it's a matter of what you value. Recently our state's Supreme Court reaffirmed that Montanan's right to cast a ballot is not a mere privilege – it is a right guaranteed by our Constitution. A coalition of lawmakers in Congress, including Montana's Senator Tester, are working to uph...
A recent University of Montana survey confirms what legislators have been hearing from our constituents: Montanans are seriously concerned about several issues that they say are negatively impacting quality of life. Among the findings, 90 percent think that urban sprawl eating up open lands is a problem, 84 percent are worried about Montana's changing character, and 78 percent think outdoor recreation is becoming overcrowded. The 2023 Legislature passed legislation to take...
I recently announced that I'm in the process of appointing a new committee of the State Legislature. The Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform is a bipartisan committee that will be made up of state senators, representatives, and members of the public. It will be charged with addressing violations of the state's constitutional separation of powers by the Montana Supreme Court and certain district court judges. A series of troubling judicial rulings at the di...
More than 100 years ago, my grandparents made a life for our family on a homesteaded plot of land outside of Big Sandy that we still farm to this day. I've been blessed to call Montana home my entire life and to always have a place to rest my head after a hard day's work. Unfortunately, finding an affordable place to live has become a challenge for far too many Montanans. As I travel across Montana, I hear about how housing challenges are hurting working families. From...
Dear Montanans, This is a hopeful time for so many of our students. The future is bright as graduation nears and families beam with pride, anticipating their child walking across that stage. As a legislator, a former classroom teacher and the mom of a high school student, though, I must admit I worry. Are we doing enough to make sure all our students have the opportunities they deserve? That is why I'm running to be your next State Superintendent of Schools. We've essentially...
Let me first introduce myself. My name is Todd Devlin and I am 4th generation farmer/rancher in eastern Montana. I have been a Prairie County Commissioner since 1995. I was President of the Montana Association of Counties (MACo) in 2016 - 2017. I have been very involved in public land and natural resource issues both at the state and national level for over 30 years and currently am the Chair of the National Association of Counties Public Lands Steering Committee. And,...
On July 13, 2012, President Obama was giving a speech in Roanoke, Virginia, and said this: "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business, you didn't build that." Those three sentences sparked a brushfire in that year's presidential election that he spent the next few weeks trying to walk back. "Of course, Americans build their own businesses," he said on...
The legislative session in Montana is a full-contact sport. Bills get introduced that stoke controversy and debate. My bill (SB 442) was no different to begin with, but we ended up with a bill Montanans could be proud of. Thousands of Montanans were able to convince 130 of 150 legislators to vote for SB 442. It was popular because Montanans were able to put aside long-standing disagreements and work with their neighbors to help craft a bill that invests in every single one of...
A majority of the Montana Senate has delivered letters to the Montana Supreme Court, Governor, and Secretary of State outlining our concern that a recent court order is unconstitutional. It's easy to get lost in the weeds of the issue, but the heart of the matter is pretty simple. It's about the separation of powers among our three branches of government. The Legislature is the branch closest to the people. We cannot abide a situation where the people's voice in Helena is...
The 2023 Legislature ended almost a year ago. However, a couple weeks ago, Judge Mike Menahan issued a decision directing the Montana Secretary of State to conduct a veto override poll on SB 442 to determine if the bill will become law. I will not be supporting the veto poll override. Like many Montanans, I live in a rural area and I know we could benefit by improving maintenance of county roads. However, SB 442 is not the solution to our problem. SB 442 is a bill written for...
"This is unconstitutional" has become a frequently used phrase intended to subvert the logic and rational understanding of the Montana Constitution. When improperly applied, it perverts the intended checks and balances of our three-branch state government system. If a person, group, or political party doesn't like the political content of an issue, they cry "unconstitutional". This takes our process of state government that was intended be a matter of adjudication and...
My wife Doreen and I recently returned from a tour of the southern border in the Douglas, Arizona area. Since we once lived there and managed a Registered Charolais ranch between Douglas and Bisbee, we wanted to see for ourselves the differences from when we were there. The evening we arrived in Douglas we stopped at a convenience store and by chance ran into three Border Patrol agents with three horses in a horse trailer just going out on patrol. We had a conversation on the...
Some readers, especially those with Scandinavian heritage, may be familiar with the stories of Sven and Ole. I grew up hearing them from my late grandfather. One story comes to mind in the context of our current political climate. Sven and Ole, were two farmers with neighboring farms who had always been very competitive. Ole's father had always been a Ford man, and the bigger the better, especially the F-350s. So, of course, Ole grew up as a Ford man, too! Sven's father had...
My wife Doreen and I recently returned from a tour of the southern border in the Douglas, Arizona area. Since we once lived there and managed a Registered Charolais ranch between Douglas and Bisbee, we wanted to see for ourselves the differences from when we were there. The evening we arrived in Douglas we stopped at a convenience store and by chance ran into three Border Patrol agents with three horses in a horse trailer just going out on patrol. We had a conversation on the...
Well, the next step in your residential property tax increase is happening. Banks are sending updated "mortgage bills" to homeowners. Guess what? You owe more money! Recently, a young friend reached out, concerned about his $100 monthly mortgage increase and he didn't know why. That's a lot of money - $1,200 a year. Drumroll for the explanation. Since the bill comes from the bank, it's the lender's fault, right? Nope. By law, a residential mortgage statement must show the...
In my family there is a wide swath of political views and when you are in the same room as we were for the Holidays, the juvenile name calling stops and thoughtful discussions can occur. What these discussions revealed was that while we have many differences, there is also agreement. Well, if I'm being honest, there was some juvenile name calling too, we are family after all. But back to my point, I wonder then, why don't we at least have the things we all agree on? For...
Dear Editor and Fellow Constituents, Montana's election process belongs to the people. We want to facilitate open and fair discussions during our primaries. The National Republican Senate Committee-Chairman Daines- does not need to choose the Arizona candidates or the candidates for Montana... Montanans can pick our own candidates, we do not need rich establishment politicians spoon feeding us our choices for Federal or State offices. We want fair and honest Elections not Selections. Now is a time for the Grassroots of...
As a practicing lawyer, I am often reluctant to criticize decisions made by a court. However, last week, the Montana Supreme Court rendered a decision involving legislative rules which is absolutely stunning. One of the basic principles of our system of government is the separation of powers. Under our constitution, there are three separate and equal branches, each with their own duties and responsibilities. As a fundamental principle, each branch is charged with running and...
