Opinion

Last night I attended the meeting on the flood plain issue sponsored by the city and the county. I went to listen and learn. The collective memory of the group attending was amazing and the experts present last night said they were listening. People spoke who have lived in the shadow of the river most of their lives. Many attending had businesses in the flood plain. Some have homes against the bank of the levee and others were interested in the expansion of Glendive in that direction. There was some frustration, which is to be expected, in the throes of a discussion that has been going on since the first buildings were moved to higher ground to found the town of Glendive in 1881. The death of the Sullivan family, husband and wife and seven children and several other people, in a flood in 1899 is a specter that continues to hang over the community. Their graves can be seen in the Dawson County Cemetery on the hill overlooking the town. “And old Man River, he just keeps rolling along. . .”

It’s no surprise that the nation’s five largest meatpackers, according to a May 12 government report, “engaged in a concerted effort with Trump Administration political officials to insulate themselves from coronavirus-related oversight.”

The 2021 Montana Legislature passed major health care reforms to empower patients, reduce red tape for doctors and provide access to more affordable care. We’re now seeing those changes have a major positive impact, and as the sponsors of the bills enabling this progress, we couldn’t be more excited.

After attending graduation at Dawson Community College last week, I could not refrain any longer from writing about something that has sincerely frustrated me over the last six months: horrible audience etiquette.