Opinion
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1561
Legislature Missed Chance to Improve Access
Dear Editor, Polls consistently show that Montanans support public lands and access to them. And yet, the 2019 Montana Legislature consistently opposed bills that improve access and supported bills...
An Open Letter to Montana Legislators and Gov. Bullock:
Dear Editor, As former and current Montana Public Service Commissioners, we represented Montanans across this great state in balancing the needs of utilities with the needs of consumers. We took our o...
By Childhood Game Expressions
Do you remember the days of childhood games? I was thinking of some of the expressions we used “back then” and wonder just where they derived from. Did ‘Oly-oly-oxen-free’ make perfect sense, and what did it mean, or for that matter when did...
Bill Wrap-Up Includes COOL, Economic Programs
The focus in Helena is turning away from committee hearings on new bills to amending, fine tuning and passing what legislation remains in volley. Farm Bureau didn’t testify on any new pieces of legislation this week; rather we focused on...
Legislative Report
Dear Editor, This past week, the Montana House of Representatives passed both House Bill 652, the Long-Range Bonding bill, and House Bill 658, the Medicaid Expansion bill. The Bonding bill passed the...
Legislative Report
Dear Editor, Two weeks ago, the House voted to spend $191 million dollars on infrastructure needs across the state. These projects included water, sewer, bridges and roads. Last week in Helena,...
Ports of Entry
Dear Editor, Customs & Border Protection has proposed a reduction of hours due to a decline in traffic over the past four years. I attended the Town Hall meetings at Plentywood to discuss hour...
Love and Support
So far, this year has presented a lot of challenges. It really is true you never know what to expect. Some of the bumps in my journey have been fair-sized, others have been on the small side. I am still waging my battle with cancer by remaining on...
Of Mice and Me
In a recent phone conversation with my mom, Helen DePuydt, we managed to end up talking about mice. It is funny how conversations will meander into different topics ending on one that becomes lasting memory. My mom told me about a recent infestation...
In Need of Your Help
Dear People of the Great State of Montana, Hello! I am a fourth grade student in North Carolina. In fourth grade, we research a state for our State Fair, and I have chosen your state! I am very...
Legislative Report
Dear Editor, This was a busy week in the legislature. Both the House and Senate acted on large pieces of legislation. As we move toward the end of the 66th legislature, the budget is moving along. I...
Preschool is About Our Kids and Our State's Future, Not the Political Fight of the Day
Dear Editor, Last summer, I met a woman in Lewistown who told me she made too much money to qualify for Head Start but couldn't afford to have her son in the kind of quality program that would give...
Medicaid Expansion
Dear Editor, One of the most important issues that we will tackle this session is protecting the health care coverage of more than 96,000 Montanans. Last week, the House Human Services Committee...
Just for Fun Country Chuckles
Mary Ellen, our number nine child, who had just arrived home from school, strolled through our farm house with an anxious look on her pretty face. She blurted out, “Mom WHEN are you and Dad EVER going to get married?” I went into a state of...
Support Medicaid Expansion
The Montana legislature has at hand the future of Medicaid expansion. The current program, which was approved by the legislature in 2015, will sunset by the end of 2019. An attempt was made in 2018...
Why I'm Supporting Rep. Buttrey's Medicaid Reform and Integrity Act
Dear Editor, The 2015 Montana legislature passed the Medicaid Expansion program in Montana, providing healthcare coverage to low income and disabled individuals. Importantly this act included...
Medicaid Expansion is Socialism
Dear Editor, Traditional Medicaid was created to lend a hand to our most vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, the Governor, Democrat legislators, and more than a few Republican legislators are...
Montana Legislature Looks to Raid Local Government for OPD
Dear Editor, An Amendment attached to House Bill 2 (the State's budget bill) provides the Legislature the opportunity to reduce local government revenues and divert them to the Office of Public...
Celebrating Healthy Montana Kids
Dear Editor, This spring marks the 10-year anniversary of Healthy Montana Kids. Until 2009, tens of thousands of Montana children had no health coverage; no way for their families to pay for a doctor...
Infrastructure
Dear Editor, Infrastructure is a conversation that is happening on the national, state and local level. When we talk about our state's infrastructure in the Montana Legislature, it usually means big...
Legislature Gears Up After Transmittal Break
This week marked the first full week of committee hearings after the transmittal break. For the remainder of the legislative session the brunt of our work will focus on making sure bills we support continue to make it through the process. The excepti...
Courage in a Small Package
The wolf shot near Glasgow was not officially acting like a wild wolf. FWP says that being near buildings, livestock, or domestic dogs is behavior more typical of a habituated or food conditioned animal, a released captive wolf, or a wolf-dog...
Some Things Forgotten
I was doing a little early Spring housekeeping over the weekend, which resulted in digging through some things forgotten. Do you remember when most homemakers treasured and displayed handiwork done by themselves or others? I remember almost every liv...
Setting the Record Straight
Dear Editor, Mr. Justin Schaaf is shooting before he knows the target. Your Letter to the Editor in the Courier [Feb. 27, 2019 edition] is off target. SB 174 was heard in Senate Fish and Game...
Medicaid Expansion
Dear Editor, It's helpful to be at the same line of work long enough to be able to be proven wrong. I've been working with NAMI Montana to improve Montana's mental illness treatment system for the...
