It was suggested that I could strengthen the logic of my last article, “To Record or Not to Record; Is that the Question?” which remains available at https://montanadecides.substack.com if you have not read it, by building on the principle that greater transparency helps to ensure accountabi… Read Article

Since the June 24 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Republican politicians throughout the country have moved to impose whatever abortion restrictions their legislatures can come up with. The Republican-dominated 2… Read Article

Forget Covid. It appears that a malevolent psychological condition has now reached epidemic proportions in two Montana counties.  Read Article

The purpose of this article is to provide some information for all of us to better understand Adult-Use Marijuana to improve our community and for those who chose to use marijuana to do so responsibly. First, are marijuana and cannabis the same thing? Actually, cannabis is the word used when… Read Article

Gary Buchanan is on the ballot as an Independent running for the Second Congressional District. I helped a little gathering the necessary signatures. It was a curious adventure. Read Article

The United States Supreme Court is out of control--hell-bent on overruling established precedents and facilitating the creation of an authoritarian theocratic state. Read Article

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs, v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization did more than simply deny women the right to decide their own health care issues, it denied them full citizenship in the political community of our nation. By stating that the… Read Article

James C. Nelson’s letter, “Suppress, subvert or both,” (Boulder Monitor, June 22) contains many generalized accusations — some of which do not even support the primary complaint specifically about Montana — and fails to provide any evidence that voting has been suppressed or that anyone has … Read Article

While Jefferson County has thankfully not experienced the historic flooding that neighboring counties have, their struggles are a sobering reminder to act now to prepare for flooding.  Jefferson County has many areas that are vulnerable to this threat.  The first step is to purchase flood in… Read Article

It has been said that nothing is fool proof, because fools are so ingenious. Read Article

Public health is many things. It is clean air and water, safe schools, mental health, emergency preparedness, disease surveillance and promotion of healthy lifestyles. The work of public health is achieved by preventing illness and injury and promoting wellness through healthy behaviors. Pub… Read Article

While wildfire is the most likely major hazard we face in Jefferson County, our preparedness plans should be flexible enough to help us through any hazard we may face.  We call this an all-hazard approach to preparedness. Every hazard will have its own specific preparation requirements, but … Read Article

Public health is many things. It is clean air and water, safe schools, mental health, emergency preparedness, addiction treatment, and prevention. The pandemic has brought attention to some aspects of public health, however there is so much more. Contending with an unyielding virus for the p… Read Article

Some of our neighbors are sharing why they chose to get vaccinated against COVID. These are just a few of our neighbors who have chosen to get vaccinated. Their stories are all different, but the outcome is the same: They chose a COVID vaccine for their families—to work, to visit others, to … Read Article

Stay home. You will be asked to isolate yourself from others. This is to prevent the spread of COVID to others. Your local public health department should let you know when you are cleared to return to your normal routines. Here is the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's rec… Read Article

Jefferson County Public Health has updated its isolation and quarantine guidance based on recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has continued to review and provide updated isolation and quarantine recommendations throughout the course of the corona… Read Article

On Dec. 30, 2021, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office conducted an alcohol compliance check from the north to the south end of the county. During the compliance check, all businesses that serve or sell alcohol were checked for compliance with alcohol sales and service laws. The Cardwell St… Read Article

Lawyers know about precedent, defined as something that precedes or comes before: For example, a court decision that serves as authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar facts or legal issues, or other precedents that serve as guides for administrative conduct and decisions. P… Read Article

Researchers around the world are studying the new coronavirus variant, omicron. Scientists are working to better understand how easily the virus spreads, how severe it is and whether current vaccines protect against it. Read Article

The 2021-22 flu season is here. Last year, Montana had no diagnosed flu. Those who follow flu trends are concerned we will see increased flu activity this year. Experts suspect it is possible that the very low number of flu cases last year may mean there are fewer people with immunity to the… Read Article

As many of you have heard, COVID vaccination is now available to children ages 5–11. We have been listening to questions from parents and caregivers about getting their children vaccinated. I would like to share some of that information here. Read Article

For the past couple months, I have been cautiously optimistic that our county is moving toward a healthy trend related to COVID-19 illness. Case counts and hospitalizations have been down. Vaccination rates have consistently increased. Public health staff have focused time and energy on othe… Read Article

"In a democracy, we are free to do many things, but we are not free to ignore the truth." —Jonathan Schell Read Article