Voices

Sen. Jon Tester writes, "Montanans deeply value our freedom and privacy, and China is working to undermine those American values right before our eyes. We can’t let that happen."

J. Gudgell writes, "As the global scientific community and the Biden administration now recognize, it’s up to the Tribes to determine how wild bison should be managed, working cooperatively with federal wildlife biologists and ecologists."

Chris Servheen writes, "His veto was not read across the rostrum before the Senate adjourned. This disregard for our legislative process is not aligned with the values we hold dear as Montanans."

Carole Mackin writes, "If voters use a Referendum to vote down HB234, Montana law will protect minors from obscenity and School Board meetings will avoid becoming an obscene battleground."

Even though the 2023 Legislative Session has ended, interim legislative committees still meet, discuss issues, and work on proposed bills from now until the 2025 Legislative Session begins.

Robbie Liben writes, "Missoula, like all US cities, has vast swaths of excess parking spaces. It is due to our wasteful and archaic zoning laws which for over 50 years have required arbitrary parking mandates within all private residential and commercial development and redevelopment projects."

MTCARES writes, "Gas-fired electric plants are less competitive now than before the August 2022 federal Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA’s tax incentives will accelerate deployment of cleaner, cheaper electricity."

Dr. Lauren Wilson writes, "A bill to prohibit critical health care for transgender Montana youth was just signed by Governor Gianforte. His signature came despite the objections of Montana’s health experts, child advocates and parents."

Matt Garrity writes, "Montana and the Northern Rockies are facing an unprecedented wave of development that is fracturing wildlife habitat, threatening water quality, and seeing vastly increased logging of our national forests under the guise of “restoration” and wildfire prevention."

Jim Elliott writes, "Former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot was labeled a RINO and formally drummed out of the Montana Republican Party, this in the face of the fact that he was responsible for the election of President George W. Bush and was also a former Chair of the national Republican Party."