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Montana’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is under renewed scrutiny following a deal negotiated by NorthWestern Energy that all but assures Montana residents will face drastically higher energy rates. The 100% Republican-controlled PSC completed a review period in which the public was able to comment; now the commission is planning to approve new rates that increase costs to consumers by 28% for Montanans, 25% for small businesses, and only 15% for giant box stores owned by out-of-state corporations, and 15% for government buildings. Why the G...
There was quite the stir in the birding community when a local birder found a Northern Hawk Owl near the school in Wise River in the first week of January. Why the excitement? Very few people have ever seen one, and they are typically never this far south. All of my sightings prior to January 17, 2023 were in Glacier National Park, on the "Inside Road" to Polebridge near the Howe Lake trail area, some 265 miles north of Wise River. The first was of two fledglings in June of 2005. That sighting...
The Montana Legislature is pushing through two house bills, both co-sponsored by area representative John Fitzpatrick, that fundamentally alter the way marijuana tax monies are allocated in direct opposition to the will of the voters. HB 462 and HB 669 steal $15.8 million from wildlife habitat acquisition that Montana voters overwhelmingly approved when they passed I-190 in 2020. Montana's libertarian lean is under attack by well-meaning but ultimately destructive politicos claiming to know what...
I've described a person's ego (identity and I-ness) in many ways over the years. I'm returning to the ego today because the ego is responsible for so much of a person's conscious (aware) psychology and behavior. Developing a balanced ego is important for everyone, but it doesn't always happen. People are referred to as egotistical, which means they are inflated with big egos and think highly of themselves, even if no one else does. People also are referred to as self-centered, which means they...
Hang'n out in the cabin this winter, pack'n wood in and ashes out, brings to mind another winter the logg'n was shut down there in Eastern Oregon. Mills were full. Loggers were always too good at what they did. We were living at the ol' Mount Emily logg'n camp. Our neighbor Bud Woodard and family has a corral pole operation, him and his two boys. He had an old Peterbuilt short logger and a pup trailer that hauled 1,100 rails. Sold'em to the big cattle ranches in Nevada near the Oregon state...
Some problems are perplexing and complicated, with solutions evading the wisest among us. The need for affordable housing is not one of those issues. The causes and cures are not complicated. They evade us only because somewhere between kindergarten and college graduation, we never learned basic economics. Often, one avoidable and seemingly unrelated problem can inform the solution to another. Take your garbage, for example. It should interest you to know that if you live in Montana, garbage isn’t very affordable – its disposal, that is. Dep...
Making predictions is never easy, especially for small business owners and their managers. Unlike their larger counterparts, small firms do not always have the resources necessary to monitor and adapt to new consumer trends and/or changes in the economy. Even entrepreneurs who’ve experienced numerous business cycles face new circumstances that confound their instincts and knowledge. As we enter the new year, it is important to assess the economic landscape to determine the best course of action to grow and expand your business in the coming mon...
Claire Muller, executive director for the Seeley Lake Community Foundation, volunteered in 2022 for the Red Ants Pants Foundation for their Girls Leadership Program, where mentors and mentees received a training on Rural Identity from Megan Torgerson, the founder of the Reframing Rural podcast. Muller said they listened to her narrated essay, “Patchwork Quilt” and explored how to talk about and celebrate the rural Montana places they lived in. “We did a quick exercise of writing a poem about our homes and I loved it,” Muller said. “Afterw...
Rev. Jon Bergen has moved from Scotland to be the new minister at Seeley Lake Baptist Church beginning Jan. 1. Ahead of starting his new position, he shared some thoughts on celebrating “Hogmany” and his anticipation of building new relationships in Seeley Lake in 2023. Christmas is past and the New Year is about to begin. Happy Hogmany (Scottish for New Years Eve), it may be a wee while before I say that and people understand what I mean. As the new year starts, I’ll be starting my new adventure in Seeley Lake, Montana. A new year, a new l...
The Trinity project that will provide 130 much-needed affordable housing units off Mullan Road in Missoula is the direct result of partnership and collaboration between Missoula County, the City of Missoula, Missoula Housing Authority, BlueLine Development and Homeword. We are writing to share information with readers about Trinity Apartments and provide facts in response to former County Commissioner Jean Curtiss’ recent letter to the editor published Oct. 20. Curtiss claimed Homeword, BlueLine and the City made promises regarding the c...
Montana is currently experiencing a crisis in judicial overreach accountability. Last year, Montana state legislators passed multiple laws to protect Montana students, both those in grade school and in college. The laws were designed to ensure students can speak freely on campus, participate in the exchange of ideas, and experience the full benefits of Title IX’s equal protection for female students. However, instead of enforcing these new laws and protecting our students’ constitutional rights, the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MF...
From Kim Chambers, Commissioner Candidate What is going on in the Missoula County Commissioners Office? At a recent candidate forum, incumbent Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said the Commissioners are not at the top of the organizational chart within Missoula County government. However, the Commissioners portion of the Missoula County website says different. In part the website says, "The Board of County Commissioners has the jurisdiction and power to represent the County and has care of the...
From Save Holland Lake An ad-hoc coalition of citizens called Save Holland Lake says nearly 99 percent of public comments to the U.S. Forest Service opposes a massive development proposed by a Utah ski developer on public land at pristine Holland Lake. The Flathead National Forest received just more than 6,500 public comments on the Forest Service and ski developer POWDR's proposal to triple the size of the Holland Lake Lodge in western Montana's rural Seeley-Swan Valley, and about 99 percent...
Last week in The Pathfinder, I described the Systemic Immune System which mostly serves to protect internal organs and is activated by clinical infections of all sorts including the COVID virus and intramuscular vaccines such as the COVID vaccines. The larger “compartmentalized” mucosal immune system which is integral to the lining (mucosa) of the airways (from the nasal passages to the lungs) was also described. When the airway is exposed to the airborne pathogen (like the COVID virus), the immune cells (lymphocytes) in the airway lining are...
It is very awkward for me to do this, but to lend credibility to what I have written below, I will state my background. I have a doctorate degree in immunology from The University of Notre Dame. I spent a career at the National Institutes of Health and in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry studying the regulation of the immune response. I have authored or co-authored over 70 scientific research publications on the same. Enough said. In the past two years, I have spent hundreds of hours monitoring and studying scientific reports on the...
Editor’s Note: This is continued from last week’s Part 1... I found myself at the center tree now, in Nolan Yellow Kidney’s Sun Dance lodge. I was there wondering why they’d asked me, the newcomer white guy, to help tie up the prayer cloths and leave the tobacco offerings at the base of the tree. With all the people watching I was nervous as I carefully wrapped the many-colored cloths around the aspen trunk. Then, while trying not to cover the photo of a woman’s face that someone had put up, a voice behind me quietly said, “It’s okay, you can c...
Lime green lichen grew between the hooves, shreds of faded hair and rawhide still clung to them and gnaw marks from mice and grizzlies had long ago turned gray against the white bone. I was surprised that the elk hoof bundle was still there. Time had changed the forest, and through the falling snow, I had taken a while to find the tree in which it hung. The old No. 9 lookout phone wire had held tight though and there it was. I remembered back to the day I’d hung it up, was it really almost 40 years ago? The bull had known I was on his trail. I...
As former members of the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission, we generally refrain from criticizing decisions made by our successors. However, the current Commission’s recent actions regarding the new wolf trapping and hunting regulations are so egregious that we must speak out. The anti-wolf legislation passed during the 2021 Montana legislative session and signed by the Governor, put Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) and the Commission in a difficult position—they had to develop regulations to implement biologically unjustified and unethica...
Editor’s note: Wetzel was a writer and died in 2018 at the age of 102. Her husband was Winston Wetzel, the superintendent of the Missoula County High School system who accompanied the development and realization of the Seeley-Swan High School. This tale is printed with permission from her daughter Gretchen von Rittberg. How would you feel if your children had to ride a bus for five hours a day to attend high school? Shooked? How would you feel if your neighbors’ kids rode a bus for five hours a day? Indifferent? In Montana a community that car...
This Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 will be the 20th anniversary of an event that has totally changed our lives and how we look at the world. On that morning back in 2001, I walked through the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City as I went to my office in Lower Manhattan. Memories from that day are as clear to me today as the skies were on that fine fall day. As I walked past the bottom of the North Tower just before 9 a.m., I heard a dull boom directly overhead. My immediate thought was how odd...
Senate Bill 379, currently being considered by the Montana Legislature, may be a dream come true for Northwestern Energy, but for ordinary, hardworking Montanans, it’s a nightmare. In 2008, Northwestern bought a 30% share of the Colstrip 4 generating station for $187 million. The Montana Consumer Counsel testified that the book value of Unit 4 was $37 million, but NorthWestern managed to convince the PSC that it was worth a lot more than that: $404 million! The PSC decided that Northwestern could recover all that, plus a 10% return, from its cu...
As I wrap up my eight years on the Public Service Commission, I ask myself, “What are the qualifications of a good commissioner?” As a life-long Republican, my answer may surprise you, because the stuff that makes for a great PSC commissioner is uniquely different from other political offices. Truthfully, the nature of the job – the wise regulating and rate-setting of utility monopolies – has almost nothing to do with a commissioner’s political party. But there are three basic qualities a voter should look for when selecting the person to...
Sheriffs take an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Montana. We will uphold our oath, protect public safety and respond to our shared constituency through open communication and education as we continue to face the public health risks of COVID-19. As leaders in your community and the elected officials who represent you and your constitutional rights, we want to ensure we are all doing our part to protect the vulnerable citizens in our state while also keeping Montana...
Now is a very good time to attack the houndstongue noxious weed. Some plants are classified as "noxious weeds" because of some conflict with livestock or agricultural production. Houndstongue is not only legally noxious, it is very obnoxious to residential people and their dogs. Individuals may have their property scott free of the weed one year but find a new invasion the next. It spreads as fast as a virus using the neighborhood deer herd as a vector. Popular herbicides run off it like water...
Montanans are no strangers to challenging and unprecedented times. In 2017, we tackled the most expensive fire season on record and the largest since the big burn of 1910. Through economic downturns, we have made sacrifices in order to help neighbors in need and rebuilt again. Even dating back to the Granite Mountain mine disaster over a century ago, we made sure we came out of it a stronger community. With coronavirus now reaching our state, we again face challenging and unprecedented times. This pandemic not only gives way to extraordinary...
