Whitehall's Politically Concerned Citizens Meet Wednesdays at 6 PM at Library

While Whitehall’s newly formed politically-minded conversation group does not have an official name, it does have an official meeting date and time for your calendars. The Whitehall Community Library basement meeting space has been reserved on Wednesdays from 6 PM to 7 PM to accomodate this group discussion. Everyone is welcome. Here is a recap of their first meeting, held Wednesday, February 19, 2025:

Six people met in the library. We opened with a discussion of reliable sources for current events and the statement that the goal of any research done in the group will be to use primary sources whenever possible. Diverse media sources were discussed, and the group will compile a list of news sources with notes on content, format, and bias rating, etc. We reviewed the new Montana Legislative website. No one has located videos of the hearings yet.

Two questions were identified for research: What happened with the VA layoffs this week? How are the Park Service and USFS layoffs going to impact Montana? These questions will be divided into bite-sized pieces, and the answers and the research paths will be shared. Both these situations continue to unfold.

Of interest were the legislative bills that pertain to ranching. HB119 “to establish the Montana Cattle Committee” by assessing a $1 fee per head of cattle is headed to the Senate Ag committee this week, and HB390, the right to repair” bill has been tabled by the in a party-line yes vote by Republicans in the House Business and Labor Committee (not the Ag committee), likely dying for the third year in a row. This begged the question of how to bring a tabled bill back into action.

We don’t know the details of such a return, and we decided we should ask a legislative expert to come and talk to us so that we better understand the process and where to insert our voices for best results. We also might like to invite former and current legislators to future meetings.

If you have questions, please contact Holly Harper at hllyhrpr@yahoo.com.