Opinion

COVID-19 death toll in care homes is shocking

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The national coronavirus death toll in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities is shocking and the stories are gut wrenching.

The ‘Chinese century’ looks more like the ‘Chinese decade’

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While most county and state fairs are Covid casualties this year, a giant, buzzing Ferris wheel—America’s relationship with China— continues to spin at such a dizzying pace that, sooner or later, it will break to harm riders and bystanders alike.

Summer nostalgia masks historic reality

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Mid-July was always summer’s sweet spot on the southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth.

Sam Stone and me, climbing the walls while sitting in a chair

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Reclining in my favorite chair recently in vanishingly small Inez, Wyoming, I found myself close to tears. My wife Maria sat beside me to ask what was troubling me.

They will know we are Christians by our love

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When I was a child, I looked forward every summer to going to summer camp. In Eastern Iowa, where I grew up, this meant going to Ewalu, a Lutheran Bible Camp, located about 60 miles from my home. I was born into an active Lutheran family, so was what we call a cradle Lutheran. Even so, talking about faith in daily life at Bible camp was the first time I really began to connect worship on Sunday mornings with life the rest of the week. I suppose this is more related to the fact that children aren’t ready to make those kind of complex connections on their own at a young age. We teach young children the Bible stories, and as they grow, we work to help them connect this learning with faith in daily life. Anyway, the start of my journey of making this connection began with my summer camp experiences and conversations.

Declaring my independence by choosing to wear masks rather than blinders

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Ever hear of Rudy Stanko, well-known in Montana twenty-plus years ago? Rudy “Stinko” you say? Well, maybe. Here’s the story. Rudy liked to speed, and it was easy for him to do so because from 1955-1974 and again from 1995-1999, the speed limit in our state was “reasonable and prudent” in the opinion of the arresting officer. This worked well enough when the spirit of the law was respected, but then along came Rudy. In one three-month period, he was clocked exceeding 100 mph three times. Our law enforcement and judicial systems had enough, so the Montana Legislature took up the issue.

Public investment needs to return public good

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If the ill-tempered and deadly first half of 2020 had been a first-calf heifer on the dairy farm of my youth, my father would have ticketed it for the freezer a month ago.

Work together to fight COVID-19

COVID-19 remains a matter of great concern for Montana medical and public health communities. As of mid-June, Montana’s COVID-19 case rates are the lowest in the continental U.S.; yet disease prevention remains the state’s top priority. Robust testing efforts are underway in Montana. The State of Montana is conducting sentinel surveillance among those living in highrisk settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and correctional facilities, among others. Rapid, effective contact tracing, a cornerstone of infectious disease prevention, can quickly identify exposed contacts of those infected with COVID-19 resulting in timely quarantine or isolation, thereby preventing disease spread.

Newspapers contribute to building a community identity

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America’s Founders regarded a free press as so vital to the new nation that they took care to include that right in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

MSGA taking the lead on critical issues

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As the Montana Stock-growers Association leadership came out of our June Board of Directors meeting, I was reminded of how critical it is to have a state organization working on the behalf of Montana’s cattle ranchers.

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