The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 177 - 201 of 393
As I wrap up my four-year term as your State Auditor, I'm reminded of a common lesson Montana parents teach our children: leave things better than you found them. On a family camping trip that might mean picking up a forgotten piece of litter and leaving behind some extra firewood for the next folks to use. To me right now, it means leaving this office in great shape for our next Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Troy Downing. When I was sworn in, Montanans were...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. When I left Lincoln this last time it was mainly because I was worried about my dog. He was needing a little surgery done and with his age I thought it would be best that he be closer to his vet. His surgery went well, and he is doing great now. After we had left Lincoln, we went on close to a month long camping trip. We stayed at Flint Creek Campground between Philipsburg and...
Dear Editor, America is suffering from a mental health tragedy. Forty percent of Americans – and a whopping 75 percent of young adults – are struggling with a mental health issue or drug-related problem during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the onset of winter, and Seasonal Affective Disorder, the situation is likely to deteriorate further in the coming months. Companion animals can help many people cope this winter....
I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make Santa’s Workshop 2020 a reality for our local kids, and for all of the flexibility around getting the crafts to the kids who would have normally participated in person at the school. First, a thank you to the Lincoln Council for the Arts for their continued financial support. To Jill Frisbee, who normally puts everything together, for sitting down and meeting with the committee and getting us items to put together in kits for the kids. To volunteers Laura But...
The COVID pandemic has brought healthcare affordability into the spotlight like never before. The question is whether this crisis will be an impetus to rein in the alarming growth in healthcare costs or if we will go right back to business as usual. At both the state and federal levels, reformers are working to make improvements to both the quality and affordability of healthcare. In Congress, support is building to take up legislation to curb surprise medical billing. The...
Montana is not the only place with an economy that depends on its rich natural resources, though I would argue that it is the most spectacular. And I learned firsthand, making my living off the state's timber, the importance of careful stewardship of the wealth that comes from our rivers and forests. My wood products company sat right at the foot of the Cabinet Mountains, with water so clean and wildlife so abundant, it's easy to forget that these things are the stuff of...
Montana conservatives had an historic night on Election Day. After taking out a slew of Republicans in the primary – some voting with democrats over 200 times during the last legislative session – conservatives swept seats by comfortable margins around the state. In Cascade County, Republicans won every legislative seat. With Governor-elect Gianforte at the helm, conservatives will have a real chance to make Montana's economy rival those of Florida and Texas. During the Chi...
It's cool this morning. There is a different feel to the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, my bird dogs are getting restless and I am listening for that first bugle of a bull elk down in the river bottom. It's that time when I, and all hunters, anxiously prepare for the glorious days we spend pursuing our quarry in the forests and uplands of our Montana. But this year things are different, and as we take to the field we must acknowledge that difference and change our...
Thank you to the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch for publishing the Nov. 12 article, "Ovando Residents Donate to Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance." We have many unsung heroes in our communities, and they come with different talents and skills, and from different walks of life and different zip codes. One thing they have in common: service and appreciation. As always, my thanks go out to Aaron Birkholz and the rest of the crew at the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance for their dedication to...
Randy Newberg doesn't carry a sidearm. Clocking some 100 days every year exploring the unbound-and often bear-laden-pockets of the American landscape, Newberg says when it comes to a bear attack, he'd leave his trust in an aerosol rather than a piece of lead. It's a personal decision, one that is the right of each individual who steps foot in the woods, but for Newberg, carrying bear spray is a no-brainer. Newberg is a hunter who calls Bozeman, Montana, his home. He is the...
Last week the BVD published a story regarding COVID-19 cases in Lincoln, based on information provided by Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz. I published the story because I felt it was timely, given the increasing caseload in the county, and important for people to recognize there is a far higher COVID-19 risk in Lincoln than most people are probably aware of. Last weekend I learned that, following the story, Aaron has received negative backlash for the info...
In the recently released Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma," Tristan Harris, President and Co-Founder of The Center for Humane Technology was quoted as saying, "If you aren't paying for the product, then you are the product." Sex trafficking, black market organ sales and slavery are all considered deplorable by our society, yet more than two billion people are being marketed and sold every day, consensually, and we barely notice. Roughly forty people are designing...
Earlier this year, I joined two Montana families at the United States Supreme Court. I went to hear the oral arguments for a landmark case very relevant to the State of Montana. The case was about equal protection under the Constitution, religious freedom, and protecting Montana families and children from being discriminated against because of the school they choose. I saw nine brilliant Supreme Court justices ask tough questions to both sides. Frankly, I saw the finest hour...
I must admit, I was very glad to see the Montana Department of Transportation conducting speed studies on Highway 200 on the east side of town where the Sculpture Park and Ranger Station are, and I'm glad they are addressing concerns surrounding those destinations specifically. One of the questions I have is whether or not is has ever been proposed, or a study conducted in order to put a stop sign in at the end of the Sculpture Park driveway as cars head onto Highway 200? I...
We serve voters by ensuring their qualifications are valid, their information is accurate, and that they have equitable, unobstructed access to voting. We protect the integrity of the election by ensuring that every valid ballot that is timely received and legally cast is counted, and that the results are accounted for and validated through the canvass process. We are on guard against fraud, undue influence, and corruption from external forces that seek to politicize the...
We support Lewis and Clark Public Health, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and all the health providers working so hard during this pandemic. They need our support and they need your support. As elected officials, we come from different backgrounds. We have different political beliefs and don’t always agree. But, in this difficult time, in the middle of this pandemic, we do agree we must unite. This is not political. Public Health is what we do collectively to assure the conditions in which people c...
The drive from Big Sandy to Great Falls is awfully familiar to our family. Jon drives those 70-some miles twice a week as he travels between our farm and the Senate. Often we drive together—for farm parts, haircuts, you name it. The drive is second nature. But lately, it has taken on a new meaning. Because in early spring of this year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I found the cancer as many women do, with a lump. But I had a bit of a head start: breast cancer runs in my family – both my grandmothers had breast can...
Newspapers face another big election. It's about them. While the United States is riveted by a most unusual presidential election, the newspaper industry is running to win the hearts, minds and souls of "voters." These voters are readers, residents, subscribers, students, advertisers, marketers, sponsors and newspaper employees. This National Newspaper Week (Oct 4-11), vote for newspapers. Vote by subscribing to support your local newspaper. (If you already do, a big thanks.)...
A year and a half ago, the push for Youth Dynamics to bring services to our community began. You may recall an article that was written in the BVD detailing what exactly Youth Dynamics is and what they can do for our community. At that time it was a commonly held belief that Lincoln needed these extra mental health resources. That need has become even more evident with the rise of COVID-19. COVID has caused anxiety and depression in many, and our children are being affected...
Should folks who traditionally think of themselves as Democrats consider whether the party still holds to their basic values? I have. At age 77, I remember growing up how Democrats supported moral and family values, blue-collar jobs, the freedoms of religion and speech, our Constitution. I recall Democratic presidential hopeful Adlai Stevenson putting religious and ethical values into civic issues and his messages. These values still matter to me. Yet, today, much of the Democratic Party seems to have morphed into a secular...
I just wanted to reach out and say thank you. I had several of you in the community reach out via phone, text, and email to thank me for my original response to Liz Cain's letter to the editor in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. I appreciate your feedback on my response and want you to know that it means a lot to me that it resonated with so many of you. I additionally want to say thank you to Liz for her response last week. She was kind enough to send me an email with her...
Thanks to the BVD for supporting its community and businesses. Our small town newspaper is one of the foundations of our community and I am thankful to have it. There are so many things I would never know about the what's happening around town even though we live and work right in town now. This is especially true of things going on in the state and in our county that pertain to Lincoln but wouldn't be brought to our attention without our local paper. I, personally, would...
Here in Montana we are granted the right to vote on ballot initiatives once they clear a number of hurdles, including having the related petition garner enough qualifying signatures. Not achieved, however, is the ability to hold public hearings on the proposed issue – such as is accomplished during legislative debate, fiscal review and the amendment process. On November 3rd, we will be voting on CI-118 which would legalize marijuana here in Montana. Aside from what the p...
Montana is built on hard work. The working women and men of this state - the linemen, miners, laborers, boilermakers, law enforcement officers, and teachers - are the ones who keep Montana running. Without workers, and the labor unions that fight for them, Montana as we know it today would not exist. But now more than ever those workers are under threat. With us in office, they will have a pair of fighters willing to stand up and defend them as governor and attorney general. W...
After reading last week's guest opinion in BVD Viewpoints I felt compelled to share some of my own viewpoints along with a few facts...the first opinion being that its title should have read THREE kinds of persons under the Constitution. Karen Frank-Plumlee failed to mention the Labor Unions. The Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United (which is said to have fueled the rise of super PACS) also allowed equal footing for Labor Unions. Last I checked, Labor Unions are unable to v...
