Opinion

Police need upgraded systems to better protect public safety

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There is a sexual assault taking place right now. Every 68 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted. More than 97% of perpetrators get off scot-free.

Punishing guns will not stop shootings

I’ve never been more disgusted than hearing Joe Biden in the aftermath of the Texas school shooting jump to judgement and shift responsibility from the shooter to the NRA and legal gun owners. He showed no empathy or compassion for grieving parents and traumatized children, but made it all about himself and his push for gun conrol. And he was not alone.

Increasing exports could solve food dilemmas

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On the very week the United States marked its one millionth Covid death and anxious American parents awaited a military airlift for baby formula, Davos Man, he of the pinstriped master-of-the-universe class, emerged from his bulletproof, bombproof office to report all was well in the world of intergalactic finance and handmade shoes.

The Church needs to do better in the face of trouble

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Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. – Revelation 2:5

Work as a reporter is challenging and rewarding

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It is my belief that not many people understand the incredibly rewarding, and often challenging, work of a news reporter, which has caused me to pause and ask why that may be.

Birthday delights and sudden frights

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The worst part about being a kid with a June birthday was never getting any cupcakes at school. The best part was fireworks for my birthday. June of 1981 was not any different. It was a beautiful summer day in Glendive, so mom decided to take my presents and birthday cake down to the park to have a little birthday picnic with the family. I had a few presents wrapped in exuberant colors, but it was the plain brown paper bag I was interested in. I opened the brown bag first and the whiff of a brown punk and Chinese gun powder sent a Pavlovian adrenaline response through my then 9-year-old body. Yes! Fireworks! The trick to giving birthday presents to brothers is always pick a gift that you can use also. Naturally, being able to light fireworks with my brothers made it a perfect gift every year. But this year they did better, my brown paper bag contained Top Secret illegal bottle rockets! Bottle rockets were illegal in Montana but not in North Dakota. It took a dangerous run 40 miles away to the border to smuggle them back to Glendive, not always easy.

State needs to reign in bounty hunters

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Montana’s Wild West is alive and well as a rogue subset of bounty hunters commit crimes and abuses against defendants on bail, their families, and the public. State law gives bondsmen unrestrained arrest powers leading some to employ dangerous tactics that threaten public safety and infringe on defendants’ rights.

Our freedoms and privacy are at risk

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Fifty years. Half a century.

Rethinking the history of bison conservation

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Early in the Covid-19 epidemic, I visited the Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana. But the bison didn’t get the memo about social distancing.

A discussion

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We are all involved in a great national silent debate since the shootings in El Paso and Buffalo. No one is saying much of anything. Both sides hold tightly to their beliefs and the anger festers and more people die.

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