Opinion / Guest Column
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 72
By 
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...
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
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...
Fighting judicial overreach
Montana is currently experiencing a crisis in judicial overreach accountability. Last year, Montana state legislators passed multiple laws to protect Montana students, both those in grade school and in college. The laws were designed to ensure...
Who is in charge at the county?
From Kim Chambers, Commissioner Candidate What is going on in the Missoula County Commissioners Office? At a recent candidate forum, incumbent Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said the Commissioners are...
OPINION: Holland Lake Development should be denied
From Save Holland Lake An ad-hoc coalition of citizens called Save Holland Lake says nearly 99 percent of public comments to the U.S. Forest Service opposes a massive development proposed by a Utah...
Can the vaccine prevent virus spread to the non-immune? Mucosal immunity and vaccines
Last week in The Pathfinder, I described the Systemic Immune System which mostly serves to protect internal organs and is activated by clinical infections of all sorts including the COVID virus and intramuscular vaccines such as the COVID vaccines....
Can the vaccine prevent virus spread to the non-immune? Understanding "Compartments" of immunity
It is very awkward for me to do this, but to lend credibility to what I have written below, I will state my background. I have a doctorate degree in immunology from The University of Notre Dame. I spent a career at the National Institutes of Health...
Hoof bundles
Editor’s Note: This is continued from last week’s Part 1... I found myself at the center tree now, in Nolan Yellow Kidney’s Sun Dance lodge. I was there wondering why they’d asked me, the newcomer white guy, to help tie up the prayer cloths a...
Hoof bundles
Lime green lichen grew between the hooves, shreds of faded hair and rawhide still clung to them and gnaw marks from mice and grizzlies had long ago turned gray against the white bone. I was surprised that the elk hoof bundle was still there. Time had... Full story
Professional and ethical wildlife management undermined
As former members of the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission, we generally refrain from criticizing decisions made by our successors. However, the current Commission’s recent actions regarding the new wolf trapping and hunting regulations are so egr...
Seeley-Swan High School in the Wilderness
Editor’s note: Wetzel was a writer and died in 2018 at the age of 102. Her husband was Winston Wetzel, the superintendent of the Missoula County High School system who accompanied the development and realization of the Seeley-Swan High School....
Memories of 9/11 at the World Trade Center - 20 years later
This Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 will be the 20th anniversary of an event that has totally changed our lives and how we look at the world. On that morning back in 2001, I walked through the World Trade... Full story
NorthWestern's Coal Kings want every one of us to pay them $15,000
Senate Bill 379, currently being considered by the Montana Legislature, may be a dream come true for Northwestern Energy, but for ordinary, hardworking Montanans, it’s a nightmare. In 2008, Northwestern bought a 30% share of the Colstrip 4 generati...
Know your PSC candidates and choose wisely
As I wrap up my eight years on the Public Service Commission, I ask myself, “What are the qualifications of a good commissioner?” As a life-long Republican, my answer may surprise you, because the stuff that makes for a great PSC commissioner is...
Personal responsibility required to keep vulnerable citizens safe and Montana's economy open
Sheriffs take an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Montana. We will uphold our oath, protect public safety and respond to our shared constituency through open communication...
Wage war on houndstongue
Now is a very good time to attack the houndstongue noxious weed. Some plants are classified as "noxious weeds" because of some conflict with livestock or agricultural production. Houndstongue is not...
Rallying together as Montanans in times of crisis
Montanans are no strangers to challenging and unprecedented times. In 2017, we tackled the most expensive fire season on record and the largest since the big burn of 1910. Through economic downturns, we have made sacrifices in order to help...
