You don’t hear this from former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt or the usual suspects whose goal is to end many water diversions from the Colorado River, but it’s true. Rural landscapes and wildlife need ranching and irrigated agriculture to survive. Read Article

As a longtime teacher who has heard every complaint under the sun about how horrible school is, how boring, arbitrary, irrelevant and unfair, I find myself somewhat taken aback by the fierce pressure to return to regular classroom instruction. Read Article

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.  Read Article

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I arrived in Boulder in November 2018 with a $50 Town Pump card in my wallet. Google had given me the impression that the gas station was the closest thing Boulder had to a coffee shop, a state of affairs I lamented to my former boss; she bought me the card as a going away gift. Happily I so… Read Article

I thank John Ilgenfritz of Helena for looking at my ideas (‘Lots to ‘chew on’ in The Monitor,” Jan. 22). He wrote: “A couple of weeks ago [DeVries] talked about virtually shrinking Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to 0 over 20 years by cutting its budget by 10% every se… Read Article

When assessing the maladies that ail our society, the cornerstone that is the family is turning to dust. The demise of the cornerstone is due to crumbling fathers, and parents in general. A society is built of families, a structure of micro-cultures that will only be as successful as each in… Read Article

The new year has begun: Second semester began Jan. 27, and numerous events will take place including plays, staff training, JHS days and school planning. Read Article

Education is meant to nurture and prepare students for life after graduation, whatever that next step may be. Our students and educators face many challenges, but mental health stands out among them. It is no secret that Montana leads the nation in teenage and childhood suicide. Read Article

In the movie “Hondo,” John Wayne’s character throws a boy in the water to learn to swim so he might get to the other side of the pond for better fishing. The mother was horrified, but the boy survived and was not traumatized. In fact, he was elated to achieve better fishing and the skill of … Read Article

I was asked, and happily comply with the request, to respond to readers who voice concerns over my positions. I deeply appreciate the effort by Dean Grenz of Boulder to contact me personally in addition to submitting letters to The Monitor. All of my contact info is included in each piece an… Read Article

I’ll respond to the following three excerpts from a concerned citizen about HB302, a bill calling for an amendment to the Montana Constitution declaring personhood beginning at conception: Read Article

The cold bite in the air signals that school is upon us. As a fifth-grade teacher, I know it’s an exciting time for students, teachers and parents. Like other Montana teachers, I have been preparing for my new students. My goal as a teacher is to create a learning environment that engages st… Read Article

We held our board meeting in Elk Park on July 30 at the fire station. It was a great meeting with around 20 folks attending. We had reports from the county planner and county extension agent. We also had some good discussion about roads and their maintenance in the area. There were some conc… Read Article

It appears that some readers think it is far fetched and fantastical that a society might be moral and religious — in need of little state intervention — and also that I am calling for the abolition of all government, and thus, anarchy. Read Article

Oh, how I’ve enjoyed my time in Jefferson County this summer. Coming from the small town of Troy, I’ve heard once or twice that if you’ve seen one small town, you’ve seen them all. But I’ve learned this summer that that isn’t always the case. Read Article

Why do some desire to continue to raise taxes? Because they falsely assume that, with enough money, the government can solve our problems. Read Article

Our road department has been busy with projects throughout the county this summer. They have been fixing parts of roads that had major frost heave damage from the significant winter we had earlier this year. They have been prepping roads for dust oil but have had to postpone the application … Read Article

I have had the honor and privilege to serve as a Montana legislator in the House and the Senate since 2009. I am proud to represent Jefferson County as your Montana state senator. I have learned a great deal about our wonderful state of Montana. For a legislator, the learning experience is n… Read Article

In “The Secret Garden,” Colin Craven is treated as a cripple and pandered to, which causes him to become selfish and hostile. Everyone pities him and caters to his whims, thinking he is helpless. Ultimately, it is discovered he was fine all along, and respect and independence is what he need… Read Article

Recently we Jefferson County Commissioners have been getting a number of questions about some of the projects we are working on. It has become obvious that most people have little or no knowledge about what their local government is doing. This has been an issue forever. It seems that about … Read Article

A lot has been going on throughout Jefferson County these last few months. Read Article

Our dear governor aspires to the presidency and is touting his ability to work across the aisle with a Republican controlled House and Senate to pass Democrat priorities. With the “solutions caucus” acting as if they are in heat, this is about as challenging as falling over and hitting the g… Read Article