Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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For the 2021 fire season, the writing is on the wall. The West, despite a few days of intense winter, is far drier than it was leading up to last year's record-breaking fires. As a hotshot crewmember, the reality of what's to come fills me with two distinct thoughts: money and dread. With my financial stability tied to overtime pay, I know that my pockets will be full when I am laid off next winter. But the unrelenting fires that stand between now and then make me nervous. I also know that I am...
In his first prime-time presidential address, President Joe Biden said on March 11th that he would order states to make coronavirus vaccines available to all American adults by May 1, in an effort to accelerate the mass vaccination effort critical to ending the pandemic. Coming on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden used the speech to pay tribute to those affected — nearly 530,000 lives lost and countless more impacted — while pointing to the United States’ success in ramped-up vaccinations and looking forward to what...
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement on the latest employment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The last month of President Trump’s economic miracle was February 2020. Today’s release of employment data for February 2021 provides a snapshot of where America’s economic recovery stands compared to the beyond full employment America that existed before the China Virus resulting in more than half a million deaths and economic devastation. “Today’s unemployment rate is 6.2 percent...
Montana hunters are being shut out of major decisions on future access to elk. The new approach in Helena, led by Speaker Wylie Galt and Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Hank Worsech, is to spring legislation on us. Making major wildlife management changes without public input benefits few and hurts Montana hunters. I never thought it would happen here, but we must meet this full-on effort to limit public hunter involvement in wildlife management decisions if we are to maintain the title of the “Last Best Place.” For decades, wildlife man...
The Bureau of Land Management is planning several prescribed burns in Madison County during the upcoming spring months. Smoke from the burn activity may be visible to the public from U.S. Highway 287, State Highway 287, County Route 248, and the communities of Ennis, Virginia City, Alder, Sheridan, Twin Bridges, and Dillon. The burns are planned for the following areas: • South Tobacco Roots, about five miles north of Virginia City. The burn areas are north of the Granite Creek road, specifically in Mill and Granite creeks, consisting of a...
Elk management in Montana is broken. FWP’s estimated elk numbers exceed sustainable population objectives in three-quarters of hunting districts, and have for years. It’s not uncommon for hunting districts to have five times the number of elk that they should. Over the last decade FWP has done far too little to bring elk populations down to sustainable levels. And in some districts they’ve intentionally limited hunting opportunity, for instance by limiting permits, despite chronically over-objective populations. In fact, these limited permit di...
Governor Greg Gianforte signed the TEACH Act into law at Sacajawea Elementary School in Great Falls on Friday, March 3, 2021. The TEACH Act, or Tomorrow's Educators Are Coming Home Act, provides $2.5 million in incentives to improve starting teacher pay. Currently, Montana has the lowest average starting teacher pay in the country. "This new law will help increase starting teacher pay and make it easier for tomorrow's educators to stay in Montana or come back home," Governor Gianforte said. "Dem...
HB251 and “right-to-work” legislation was defeated in the Montana State House by a vote of 62-38. Thousands of workers from across our state joined together over the last couple months to let their representatives know that defending Montana’s workers should be their first priority. Throughout our state’s history unions have protected workers, so they can get home safely, earn a good wage to spend in their communities, and fought against out-of-state corporations looking to extract wealth from our state. “Right-to-work states experienc...
U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to make the 20 percent pass-through small business tax deduction permanent. His bill, the “Main Street Tax Certainty Act,” will support small businesses, help create jobs and strengthen our economy. Without congressional action the tax deduction will expire at the end of 2025. “Montana small businesses help our communities thrive and prosper--they’re what make our hometowns feel like home,” Daines said. “Making this main street tax relief permanent will provide the...
On Tuesday, February 23, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), joined by Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to support small meat and poultry processors. The Strengthening Local Processing Act will increase options for local livestock and poultry producers and assist smaller facilities as they adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand to meet consumer demand. The legislation is also cosponsored by Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) and...
Farmington, a city of 45,000 in the northwestern corner of New Mexico, has run on a fossil fuel economy for a century. It is one of the only places on the planet where a 26-kiloton nuclear device was detonated underground to free up natural gas from the rock. The city’s baseball team was called the Frackers, and a home run hit out of their practice park was likely to land next to a pack of gas wells. The community’s economy and identity are so tied up with fossil fuels that the place should probably try a new name like Carbonton, Met...
Governor Greg Gianforte, pursuant to President Joe Biden’s proclamation honoring 500,000 Americans and more than 1,300 Montanans who have lost their lives to COVID-19, has ordered all flags flown in the State of Montana to be flown at half-staff until sunset on February 26. The Governor’s proclamation follows and can be found HERE: I hereby order all flags flown in the State of Montana to be flown at half-staff on Monday, February 22, 2021 until sunset on Friday, February 26, 2021 to honor the 500,000 Americans who have lost their lives to COV...
On February 16, workers from across the state came together to oppose HB251 and “right-to-work” legislation in front of the House Business and Labor Committee. “Right-to-work” laws have proven to depress wages, working conditions and safety on the job. Study after study have shown that “right-to-work” laws do not create jobs and employers do not prioritize it when considering whether to relocate. Two of Montana’s largest private sector employers attended the hearing to oppose “right to work” because they recognize the benefits unions p...
The Legislature is now considering the Gianforte tax policy: cutting income taxes for the wealthy with the promise that a windfall for those at the top will somehow “trickle down” to the rest of us. That familiar refrain is called “supply-side economics.” It’s been told and retold for decades by politicians and hucksters, but it’s not true. It’s a political-economic lie repeated so often for such a long-time that many inherently believe that it is true. But check out the Kansas nightmare where cutting taxes for the wealthy created a fis...
The Montana Outfitters and Guides Association (MOGA) issued the following statement regarding the future of Senate Bill 143, sponsored by Senator Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton), after it passed a second reading in the Senate earlier last week with a substantial amendment that significantly altered the bill: “While the amendment introduction might have been well intended, it will ultimately have a negative effect on Montana resident hunters and small business owners and will take away money specifically directed to programs that increase public a...
Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 102 into law on Thursday, February 18. The new law protects Montanans’ Second Amendment rights and promotes public safety. “Every law-abiding Montanan should be able to defend themselves and their loved ones. That’s why today, I’m signing H.B. 102 into law,” Governor Greg Gianforte said before signing the bill. The new law allows law-abiding Montana gun owners to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense throughout the state without written authorization from the government. The new law also simplifie...
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation being constructed by SpaceX[2][3] providing satellite Internet access.[4][5] The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), working in combination with ground transceivers. Starlink is targeting coverage in our area in mid to late 2021 and taking orders now. https://www.starlink.com/ Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, resulting in lower latency and the ability to support services typically not...
As a small business owner and a lifelong sportsman who hunts on public lands, I have a deep appreciation for the outsized role that both play in making Montana the Last Best Place. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, especially in our rural communities. Montanans grow up hunting and recreating on public lands and raise our daughters and sons to value the land and the cherished opportunities it provides. This legislative session, I’ve introduced a bill that would not only help Montana small businesses, but would also generate m...
FEBRUARY 15, 1996 It looks as if it will be possible to reconstruct the Whitetail road mostly within the existing right of way, Commissioner Leonard Wortman said during Thursday’s regular county commission meeting. It may be necessary to go ten or fifteen feet outside of the existing right of way in some places, and perhaps a bit more in one area where a curve would be eased, Wortman said. But it apparently will be possible to reconstruct the road without taking up as much private land as thought earlier, he said. . . . Split Diamond Ranch o...
The Whitehall Town Council unanimously approved a request from the Jefferson Local Development Corporation (JLDC) to use $20,000 in TIF funds to further the Whitehall Master Plan project at their February meeting on Monday, February 8, 2021. JLDC, along with the Headwaters RC&D and the Town of Whitehall, applied to the Montana Department of Commerce – Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund (BSTF) in late 2020. The application, if approved, would hire a qualified consultant to design and create a comprehensive Master Plan which targets r...
