As of this week, 46% of Jefferson County residents aged 12 and older had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s more than in many rural Montana counties, but lower than the state total of 49%, which in turn is slightly below the U.S. average. Read Article

You’ll notice a new byline with this week’s issue: Joshua Murdock has joined The Monitor as its new editor. Read Article

Much of this issue is dedicated to honoring the young women and men who will graduate from local schools in the next month. That’s more than appropriate: This singular year and a quarter has been anything but normal for students. Read Article

The great risk in asking people what they think is that they will actually tell you. But The Monitor’s annual survey of subscribers is a source of great joy and fascination for me: It provides a window into our relationship with our audience; points us toward trends and ideas that merit cove… Read Article

It was one year ago that life here took a stark turn.  Read Article

Back on March 13, which seems several eternities ago, I sent an email to John Blodgett, then The Monitor’s editor, with the subject line, “What I was thinking at 3 a.m.”  Read Article

It’s been quite a week here in COVID-land. Read Article

“I would like to ask why the word ‘black’ is capitalized in several of the recent articles in the Monitor, but the word ‘white’ is not?  I do not want to add fuel to anything, but it caught my eye.  Is it grammatically correct?  If so, then wouldn’t both words be capitalized?  I have seen it… Read Article

When I was in seventh grade, an older schoolmate said something that has stayed with me through the nearly half-century since. “I don’t have anything against Blacks,” he declared. “But I wouldn’t want my sister to marry one.” Read Article

Just before midnight last Oct. 11, John Blodgett’s police scanner crackled with an alert. Because John is never without his scanner, and because he rarely shuts it off, he rose from bed and got dressed. Read Article

I’d like to ask for your help. Read Article

I really look forward to the results of The Monitor’s annual audience survey — not because I think everyone will love everything we do (um, you don’t) but because I know I’m going to learn a lot about our community: What people think is important, what news they need, and how they feel about… Read Article

This issue is the 54th since we became owners of The Monitor last December. For those of you keeping score (we are), that amounts to 6% of the total that Jan Anderson, our predecessor, produced in her 17 years as editor. We remain in awe. Read Article

“How can we stand by and let this happen?” - Jim Peterson (R-Buffalo), former Montana Senate president, in “Dark Money” Read Article

For 112 years, The Boulder Monitor has provided Jefferson County with local news, features, and perspective — every week, once a week. Read Article

In any given issue of The Monitor, you most likely will not read about traffic stops for drunk driving or drug-related arrests. You probably won’t see reports on home burglaries or auto thefts, or stories on domestic assault or disturbing the peace. All of these happen in Jefferson County, o… Read Article

We are becoming a nation of people who don’t talk to each other. A survey last October by the Pew Research Center found that 53% of Americans say talking about politics with people they disagree with is “stressful and frustrating.” That’s up from 46% in a similar survey two years earlier. Read Article

It’s been a month since we bought The Boulder Monitor. In that time, we have taken a crash course in newspaper publishing; with a lot of help from Jan Anderson, we’ve managed to get five issues out our door and into your mailboxes. You may have noticed that we’ve already made a few changes t… Read Article