The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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A question I am often asked is "Why? Why are you running?" The answer is simple: These United States of America, all she represents, and all of the opportunities she offers have been good to me, and I need to give back. I need to serve. I need to feel that I deserve all that she has offered without asking anything in return. I need to know that someone like me, from meager beginnings, an unplanned pregnancy to an unwed teenage mother, someone without money or connections, can...
Skyrocketing property taxes. Astronomical energy rate increases. Homes that are unaffordable to most Montanans. And yet more big tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, while the rest of us are left to foot the bill. When we look back on the last year, all these changes and more were brought you by one party and its supermajority: Montana Republicans. As 2023 ends, let's look back over the last 12 months to see where Republicans really took us as a state. The Good. Montana Democrats...
Are you happy about your new property tax bill? I'm definitely not. Everywhere I go, people are grumbling about how much their property taxes increased. But if you think nobody is happy, you're wrong. Governor Gianforte and the Republican legislative supermajority raised our property taxes. Yep, it's true, and it was intentional. Sure, taxes are complicated, and we pay them because we have to. So, you might be asking an obvious question, like I did: Why in the heck would...
In this month's off-year general election, there's one thing Idaho and Washington had in common - voter turnout was dismal. But there's more to the story: Idaho holds its elections in person, while Washington is entirely vote by mail. And, once again, we've learned that vote by mail does little to increase voter turnout. When all is said and done, it appears voter turnout in Idaho will be roughly 30 percent. Clearwater county earned top marks with nearly 52 percent turnout....
The most important global issue of the day is that of the middle east conflict. The barbaric evil of Hamas was in full display October 7th. The reports are undeniable; "The IDF told CNN that women, children, toddlers and elderly were brutally butchered in an ISIS way of action." (CNN, Oct. 13) LA Times, Oct.12 wrote, "Reporting on the violence by Hamas and response by Israel.... is requiring onscreen warnings before showing pictures of how the Hamas onslaught killed families...
By Rep. Bob Keenan, DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton, Sen. John Esp No Montana community is untouched by the mental health crisis. Suicide. Addiction. Loneliness. The struggle to find mental health services or appropriate supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. Patients receiving care in places that aren't best for them. The list of challenges facing our communities is long and years in the making, and the time for setting that list aside is over. This...
Recently opinion pieces and information sent to legislators regarding the counties decision to levy 77.9 mills instead of the State directed 95 mills has been circulating in both statewide newspapers, and internal legislative correspondence. It appears that the message being distributed is counties are giving large tax breaks to corporations and out of state homeowners while doing little for the average Montanan. While the numbers can be interpreted to support that message,...
Wednesday, November 01, 2023 It would be a stretch to say that the US government came to a standstill after GOP members of the House unseated Kevin McCarthy as Speaker at the start of October. The Senate and the executive branch both kept working to move their priorities forward during the three weeks before the House finally found a replacement. Federal workers kept programs running and operations on an even keel. Yet the House's dysfunction had a clear cost: an inability to...
Hunting season has arrived! As hunters flock to the hills in pursuit of Montana's treasured big game species, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the good work that was done in this spring's legislative session for hunters, landowners, and conservationists alike. Wildlife issues have frequently been overcome with intense division in previous legislative sessions. 2023 was different. Various stakeholders that are often in sharp disagreement on wildlife and land management p...
The Montana Republicans claim that they support lower taxes and they do – selectively. They support lower taxes on millionaires and big corporations. Not you. The evidence from the 2023 legislative session is unambiguous. When property values shoot up, like they did this year, it will be homeowners and small businesses, not big corporations, that pay. "Property taxes" include several different kinds of property, from the homes where everyday Montanans live to the buildings t...
There are many things that children can't legally do in Montana. They can't smoke a cigar, drink alcohol, die fighting for their country in a foreign war, vote or engage in a variety of transactions. The reason for that is simple: they're children. They aren't developed enough yet to make serious life-altering decisions, with or without parental consent. They haven't had enough life experience yet to adequately weigh the risks or consequences of potentially dangerous...
Is the U.S. Supreme Court posed to slam the door shut on efforts by some to impose wealth taxes across the country? We may soon find out. Multiple states, Idaho and Montana included, along with over 25 organizations have filed amicus briefs in favor of a Washington state couple, Charles and Kathleen Moore against the United States, for what is anticipated to be the biggest tax case to reach the Supreme Court of the United States in several decades. This upcoming term, the...
The recent spate of headlines about grizzly bear attacks and human-bear conflicts highlights the need for the federal government to return management of grizzlies to the State of Montana. Grizzly bears are still listed under the federal Engendered Species Act despite their populations having been recovered, robust, and growing in both the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) for years now. When grizzlies were listed on the...
October 1st is the deadline to claim your $675 property tax rebate for this year. Tens of thousands of Montana property owners have already claimed theirs. If you're a Montana resident who pays property taxes on your primary residence, head to getmyrebate.mt.gov as soon as possible to claim yours. And whether you've already claimed this year's rebate or not, put a reminder on your calendar to claim next year's as well. A second $675 property tax rebate will be available from...
It's no secret that I don't look like most of my colleagues in Washington DC. They don't run a farm when they're back home, you won't find them swapping out duck foot shovels or greasing a combine, and to my knowledge no one else is missing a few fingers from an unlucky childhood run-in with a meat grinder while butchering meat on my family farm. But beyond our differences in appearance, I'm always focused on bringing a healthy dose of Montana common sense and a lifetime of...
We scored a big win for Montanans' privacy and against invasive surveillance technology during this year's legislative session. My Senate Bill 397 severely restricts government's use of facial recognition technology and is now law in the Last Best Place. Legislators conducted a study of facial recognition between the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions. We learned how state government was beginning to deploy the technology and even discovered that at least one school district...
The state legislature passed $384 million in property tax rebates, the first half of which is currently available to Montanans. The window to claim your rebate-up to $675 on your primary residence-is August 15, 2023 to October 1, 2023. Go to getmyrebate.mt.gov to claim your rebate. The second round of rebates will be available during the same timeframe next year, so mark your calendar. You must file a claim to receive the property tax rebates to verify your primary residence i...
Anyone driving Montana's highways knows the risk of colliding with deer and other wildlife. Hardly a mile goes by without the gruesome reminders of hit animals, broken bumpers, or smashed headlights scattered on the shoulder. According to the Bozeman-based Western Transportation Institute, collisions with wildlife can be reduced by up to 85 percent with the installation of wildlife crossing infrastructure such as fencing and under and overpasses. Such installations have been...
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my neighbors in Senate District 40, in both Lewis and Clark and Powell Counties, for their participation in the recently held Montana Department of Revenue Town Halls. Staff at the MDOR held an open town hall in Deer Lodge on July 17th. About 50 residents, along with a Powell County Commissioner and me, attended to relay our concerns about the new property value appraisals and estimated property tax amounts. Those estimated tax...
As I meet with Montanans in every corner of our state, I hear the same concern often –taxes are too high. And they're right. Taxes are too high and need to be reined in. Two years ago, we enacted a fiscally responsible budget, and as a result, the State of Montana today has a historic budget surplus. Ultimately, that means you overpaid your taxes, and we're giving it back to you. When we released our Budget for Montana Families last November, we again held the line on s...
There's a reason it comes first. Article One, Section One of the U.S. Constitution says, "all legislative powers shall be vested in a Congress of the United States." State Constitutions follow a similar path, vesting first powers in the people via their elected representatives – before anything or anyone else. Policymaking is the exclusive prerogative of the legislative branch of our government. But over the past few decades, a virus of executive overreach and lawmaking f...
As a proud defender and lover of public land, I have cast deciding votes for Montanans to hike, fish, and hunt some of the largest expansions of public land in decades-while keeping Montana farmers and ranchers on the landscape. I was recently made aware of a social media campaign soliciting money claiming to fight for interests that I support and will continue to support: local control and public lands. In reality, this campaign would only line the pockets of liberal lawyers...
There are so many things I worry about these days. Are we going to default on our debts? Can we adapt to the accumulating impact of climate change? How are we going to handle the dangers posed by China and Russia? But bigger than all of those is this: Can we as a nation confront those challenges by arriving, together, at reasonable solutions? Or to put it another way, do we even know any more how to carry on a public dialogue about the issues we face and how to resolve them?...
Less government and lower taxes!! You hear that political slogan from Republican candidates early and often while they are campaigning. Then comes political reality. How did the largest percentage of Republicans elected in Montana history grow government at the fastest rate in state history – and at the same time raise property taxes on your home? During the pandemic years, the Trump and Biden administrations poured federal funds into states to prop up slowing economies. F...
Nearly all working-age Montanans, more than half the state's total population, are getting some welcome news this month: the state is sending them money. Let's be clear. The money being sent to over 530,000 Montanans is their own money. Montana collected more income taxes, the primary source of revenue for state government, than it needed to fund its obligations during the pandemic recovery year of 2021, leading to a historic budget surplus. The Republican supermajority in...
