Opinion / Guest Column

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 By Chuck Stranahan    Opinion    March 14, 2024 

It might as well be spring – almost

Remember that old Rodgers and Hammerstein tune? It Might As Well Be Spring, from the musical Oklahoma? It feels like spring should be here but hasn't arrived yet. It might as well be, and should be,...

 
 By Alan Muskett    Opinion    March 7, 2024

Humble pie in paradise

Since our last Pathfinder report, we have traveled the 240 miles from Fort Pierce, Florida to Key West. Along the way, I would estimate we have heard some version of Jimmy Buffet 500 times. Apparently...

 
 By Ken Silvestro    Opinion    March 7, 2024

Saying goodbye

It’s always difficult to say goodbye. Whether it’s to someone we love, a relative, or a close friend. Why is that? The obvious answer is our deep relationship to whom we’re saying goodbye. If...

 

The search for the ultimate skwala pattern

My fly tying friends are at their vices already. They're tying skwalas - old favorites and some inevitable new ones. They can't help themselves. And they can't help but add too much of this, and a...

 
 By Tom Browder    Opinion    March 7, 2024

People from our Past - Mildred Chaffin

In 1987, the Seeley Lake Writers Club started a project that two years later — in time for Montana's Centennial — was published as the book "Cabin Fever." This remains the best compilation of articles and interviews of the first 100 years of the...

 

Library news

This month’s Book Club pick is Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. Swing by the library for a copy. The book club meets in the library the...

 

New Year resolution for your teeth

As the New Year settles in, you may be thinking about ways to improve your health. Many of us are familiar with Dry Month January where people abstain from alcoholic beverages. As a dentist I strongly applaud this effort. Alcohol is associated with...

 

A loopy idea

It is helpful, when your life or job is in grind mode, to have a diverting obsession. At 3 a.m., in a fluorescently lit surgeon's lounge, waiting my turn in the OR to reconstruct a face that, earlier...

 

Tactics and flies for late winter, early spring

One nice thing about fishing this time of year: you're not likely to fish in a crowd. You might see a couple of others, and like you, they probably value their solitude as much as you do. You tend...

 

Not your usual February, and walking along the river

This February feels different. I don't quite have a sense of what to expect as it plays out. Today, as I write, I see a covering of fresh snow. The rain that fell over the last few days is frozen...

 

The power of a walk

At the Seeley Lake Historical Society, a main focus of ours is maintaining and enhancing the museum at the Barn. Those of you who have visited us recently (we are open Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m - 4 p.m. throughout the winter) have seen the...

 

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness

Montana faces a mental health epidemic. All our families have been touched by this crisis in one way or another. Tragically, many of Montana’s mentally unwell end up in prison or end their own lives rather than get the help they need and deserve....

 

A message from MAS Resource Center

A Message from the Missoula Aging Services (MAS) Resource Center: Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to optimize your Medicare coverage. Whether you’re considering a Medicare Advantage plan or adjusting your Prescription Drug Plan, MAS is...

 

Bear working group hopes to lower human-bear encounters

Last winter several Seeley Lake area residents concerned about bear activity and conflicts met with local conservation groups, wildlife agencies, bear specialists, and biologists. We wanted to know how to best tackle bear population issues, sparking...

 

Hoppers, beetles, ants – and Hannah

Hannah Baron Spencer is a tall athletic woman with an engaging presence and winsome smile. She is a wife and the mother of lively twins living a homestead way of life on the Salmon River; she’s also a fly fishing and whitewater rafting guide, and...

 
 By Jesse Mullan    Opinion    May 4, 2023

Op-Ed: PSC puts the burden on Montanans while letting out-of-state corporations off the hook

Montana’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is under renewed scrutiny following a deal negotiated by NorthWestern Energy that all but assures Montana residents will face drastically higher energy rates. The 100% Republican-controlled PSC completed a...

 
 By Gary Swant    Opinion    May 4, 2023

Northern Hawk Owl – rare owl in southwest Montana

There was quite the stir in the birding community when a local birder found a Northern Hawk Owl near the school in Wise River in the first week of January. Why the excitement? Very few people have... Full story

 
 By Jesse Mullen    Opinion    April 20, 2023

Op-Ed: Nanny politics are a bad excuse to raid habitat funds

The Montana Legislature is pushing through two house bills, both co-sponsored by area representative John Fitzpatrick, that fundamentally alter the way marijuana tax monies are allocated in direct opp...

 

Ego: Identity and much more

I've described a person's ego (identity and I-ness) in many ways over the years. I'm returning to the ego today because the ego is responsible for so much of a person's conscious (aware) psychology...

 

Buckaroo Country

Hang'n out in the cabin this winter, pack'n wood in and ashes out, brings to mind another winter the logg'n was shut down there in Eastern Oregon. Mills were full. Loggers were always too good at...

 

Affordable housing: Lessons from a garbage can

Some problems are perplexing and complicated, with solutions evading the wisest among us.  The need for affordable housing is not one of those issues.  The causes and cures are not complicated.  They evade us only because somewhere between...

 

Six steps to kick-start your small business in 2023

Making predictions is never easy, especially for small business owners and their managers. Unlike their larger counterparts, small firms do not always have the resources necessary to monitor and adapt to new consumer trends and/or changes in the...

 

An ode to Seeley Lake

Claire Muller, executive director for the Seeley Lake Community Foundation, volunteered in 2022 for the Red Ants Pants Foundation for their Girls Leadership Program, where mentors and mentees received a training on Rural Identity from Megan...

 

No matter where we go, there we are

Rev. Jon Bergen has moved from Scotland to be the new minister at Seeley Lake Baptist Church beginning Jan. 1. Ahead of starting his new position, he shared some thoughts on celebrating “Hogmany” and his anticipation of building new relationships...

 

OPINION

The Trinity project that will provide 130 much-needed affordable housing units off Mullan Road in Missoula is the direct result of partnership and collaboration between Missoula County, the City of Missoula, Missoula Housing Authority, BlueLine...

 

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