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I was elected seven times and served more than 30 years as a Justice of the Peace in Richland County before my retirement in 2016. During my long career on the bench, I worked with both of the district court judges who are now running for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. They are Judge Katherine Bidegaray of Sidney and Judge Dan Wilson of Kalispell. I got to know Judge Bidegaray very well in the nearly 15 years we spent working in the same judicial district. I also got to know Judge Dan Wilson very well over the six years that he served as...
Dear Editor, Montanans cannot afford to continue Elsie Arntzen’s bumbling leadership of the Montana Office of Public Instruction by voting in her deputy superintendent. Remember, auditors of THEIR OPI found that Elsie and her staff were unable to account for $ 67.5 million dollars of federal funding. In addition, the current leaders at OPI have supported “school choice” which means your tax dollars will go to private schools not toward providing your children a quality education we all expect from Montana schools. It does not make sense to ta...
Dr. Kessler offered some opinions on Montana’s current Senatorial race between incumbent Tester and Republican Sheehy. While my wife and I are grateful for the excellent and compassionate care we receive in Sidney, we live in Watford City, so Montana’s Senator will represent us only indirectly. None the less, I’d like to make a couple observations on Dr. Kessler’s remarks. I’ve practiced medicine for over 30 years myself, in communities more rural than Sidney, so I’m familiar and concerned about the trends over time. While Tester’s pr...
As I returned home from my eighth swing through the many small communities of eastern Montana, I was disappointed to learn from the PBS-YPR-Lee Newspapers debate coordinator that Commissioner Downey had not responded to staffing coordination requirements such that the big debate scheduled for Oct. 3 has been cancelled. That’s unfortunate for eastern Montana’s voters. I was looking forward to a cordial exchange of views. From my many visits in eastern Montana it’s become clear to me that people want candidates to make an extra effort on their...
In nuclear war fighting the United States maintains a counterforce strategy, aiming our nuclear weapons at an adversaries missile silos, command and control centers and other military infrastructure, with the purpose of destroying their nuclear capabilities before they can be used. In recent years there has been a debate within U.S. policy circles about adopting a “No First Use Policy,” which would state that the U.S. would only use nuclear weapons in retaliation, not as a first strike. Right now, the U.S. does not endorse a first use policy, b...
The Senator Tester campaign ran a full-page ad in our local newspaper on 9/4/24. The ad brazenly said that “Sheehy’s Plan Closes” our local hospital and that “49 Rural Montana Hospitals” will close if Tim Sheehy gets elected. The lies about the “privatization” of VA medical benefits need to be exposed. Veterans are understandingly concerned about this issue. Tim Sheehy and his wife are combat veterans themselves, and they would never propose or support efforts to reduce veterans’ medical benefits. Sheehy is opposed to nationalizing o...
“Good for Ms. Neil for filing as an independent write-in candidate in this Fall’s general election for Montana’s Eastern Congressional District’s Representative. Clearly she feels strongly that Democrat voters should not have nominated me of the four of us running in the Primary. I get it but do not equate raising and spending lots of other people’s money to ‘campaigning” for public policies important to Montanans. In 2002 after I got home from the Pentagon, having worked as Deputy Crisis Action Team Chief for Operation Enduring Freedom in th...
District Court Judge Katherine Bidegaray is the right choice to be the next justice on the Montana Supreme Court. Having worked as her law clerk for four years and appeared in front of her this past year, I have seen her be impartial, fair, and respectful to each party in every case she has. She was born and raised on a Richland County farm and ranch, and she knows the importance of preparation, hard work, and self-discipline. Judge Bidegaray cares deeply about the state of Montana, the rule of law and fundamental fairness, and the...
Bridger Aerospace (BAER) started with four veterans in a barn in Montana. Our next mission became using battlefield technology to serve Americans at home. It was risky. We had zero business experience, but we had grit, our military experience, and supportive family, friends, and fellow veterans. We certainly made mistakes—find me a small business that hasn’t. But we pushed forward, and the results for Montana speak for themselves. Over nine years, our veteran management team built a business ecosystem that created hundreds of new Montana job...
When something is not working, it is time to make a change. Our government is not working well. America is the greatest country on earth, yet we have allowed extremists to play an outsized role in our government. The result has been a lack of common sense and a failure by the government to perform its basic functions at a competent level. The Montana Department of Justice (DOJ), which is led by Attorney General Austin Knudsen, is a prime example. During most of my career as a litigator, the DOJ has been one of the premier law firms in Montana....
In 1939 syndicated columnist Dorothy Thompson wrote in Let The Record Speak. “This it seems to me, is the lesson of the news in the last three years, National Socialism, or Nazism in Germany, will become the most world-disturbing event of the century, though Nazism is not, in its nature, only a German phenomenon. Nazism is a fusion of elements that are present in the minds of men and women everywhere, and it does offer one answer to political, social, and economic problems that everywhere press for solutions.” She argued, “Americans must under...
The primary responsibility of the Montana State Auditor, also referred to as the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, is protecting Montana insurance consumers. In most states, the office is appointed based on qualifications. Here in Montana, we elect our State Auditor – and we should elect someone who has the experience, track record and integrity to serve Montana insurance consumers. I am running to put my 40 years of honest business experience to work for Montanans. My campaign is f...
Dear Editor, Agriculture and energy are the cornerstones of North Dakota’s economy. Not only do we feed and fuel the world, but we also provide thousands of good jobs and billions in federal, state, and local tax revenue. Those taxes paid fund schools, roads, flood protection, and social services across our great state. Virtually every corner of the state and every person living in North Dakota benefits from agriculture and energy production. The food and energy we produce are also among the cleanest, most environmentally friendly of any in t...
Opinion Editorial by Geraldine Custer, Gary Buchanan and Marc Racicot The 118th Congress began on Jan. 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025. It is, by almost any measure, one of the least functional in the 235-year history of the United States of America. How many times during the last two years has Congress revealed itself to be an incompetent and acrimonious mess. The inability or refusal of Congress to focus on the public good and instead to engage in intramural squabbles with the intention of setting each other up for critique, has led...
I am writing to warn voters about the dirty politics being played in the primary elections in House District 29 and Senate District 15. Now in my eighth year as a state legislator including four years at House Majority Leader, I have had many occasions to observe the “dark” side of politics. However, this primary election has shocked even me with the lies and distorted voting records presented as facts in mailers urging voters not to support Speaker Pro Tempore Rhonda Knudsen in her race for SD15, and Miles Knudsen in his race for HD29. Hav...
To The Editor: As a fourth generation Montanan, I feel privileged to have grown up in one of the many farming and ranching communities dotting the landscape of eastern Montana. I was taught old school values, love of God, family, country, and the merit of a hard day's work. Sense of community was strong, a man’s word was his bond, neighbors helped neighbors, and Sunday mornings found most folks gathered in church. As a WW2 veteran, my father was proud of his service to his country and understood that the freedoms we each enjoy were purchased a...
I will begin by stating how important it is for us to make it a priority to vote in the upcoming primary on June 4! Some local and state positions will be won in the primary. Don’t miss out on this important time to make your choices count! Republican Brandon Ler is my choice for House District 33. Brandon is a rancher, business owner and father. A former school board member and volunteer firefighter, Brandon has two Legislative sessions under his belt, and can hit the ground running in 2025. He is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and s...
The Sidney post prom committee is comprised of a small volunteer group of junior and senior parents who seek to keep our community kids safe on prom night. This year’s committee hosted a gathering from 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. last Saturday night after the Sidney prom. The evening was held at the Richland County Event Center and consisted of pizza and snacks, a photo booth, a cornhole tournament, spike ball tournament, door prizes, bingo games, casino games: roulette, craps, blackjack and poker. Entertainment Explosion, a company traveling here f...
As it is about tax time again, I think these thoughts need to be expressed. Before I start into the main meat of this piece, I am going to throw out these statistics: The U.S. debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio as of December 2022 is now 129% which is very close to what it was at the end of World War II. In other words, it would take everything the U.S. produced in 1.29 years to lower our debt to zero; that’s $100,000 per every living person in the U.S. Ukraine’s debt to GDP ratio as of December 2022 is now around 80%. And because thi...
Some readers, especially those with Scandinavian heritage, may be familiar with the stories of Sven and Ole. I grew up hearing them from my late grandfather. One story comes to mind in the context of our current political climate. Sven and Ole, were two farmers with neighboring farms who had always been very competitive. Ole's father had always been a Ford man, and the bigger the better, especially the F-350s. So, of course, Ole grew up as a Ford man, too! Sven's father had always been a Chevy...
February 4-10th is National Boy Scout Week. This week is set aside to celebrate Boy Scouts and the great things that they do for their communities. Scouting has benefitted the Sidney community in a variety of ways. The Boy Scouts are often called on to do service projects to help the elderly, needy or other organizations that are short on volunteer man power. Scouting has instilled great values into a lot of boys in Sidney. These core values of scouting are Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty,...
My name is Brandon Ler. I am the seated Representative for House District 35, which covers all of Richland County. Due to recent redistricting, I am running for House District 33, which covers Richland County south of Highway 200 and all of Dawson County. As a State Legislator, the topic I receive the most questions about is by far property taxes. Why are Montanans paying so much in property taxes? What’s behind the recent property tax hikes? I believe that property taxes have gone up because of Montana’s lack of natural resource development in...
Dear Editor and Fellow Constituents, Montana’s election process belongs to the people. We want to facilitate open and fair discussions during our primaries. The National Republican Senate Committee-Chairman Daines- does not need to choose the Arizona candidates or the candidates for Montana… Montanans can pick our own candidates, we do not need rich establishment politicians spoon feeding us our choices for Federal or State offices. We want fair and honest Elections not Selections. Now is a time for the Grassroots of Montana to Stand up and...
If we know one thing in District 2, it's the meaning of hard work. Cold days, late nights, long hours, the value of a dollar ... My life's work has been in journalism and media. This career path meant telling the truth, giving a voice to those who were unheard, researching complex issues, and keeping our elected officials in check. We are now at an important crossroads in North Dakota. So many are disheartened with the establishment and seeking a better future. We are all frustrated but resolute...
Dear Editor, It has been my honor to represent the people from Wibaux, Dawson, and Richland Counties in the Senate the past seven years. Because of term limits, I cannot be a senator after eight years, so, I will not be running again, and my term ends at the end of 2024. As I campaigned from the very start, my passion was to give the people in my Senate District freedom. There are special interest groups that try to persuade you to build bureaucracies that would benefit them but the biggest thing on my mind was freedom. As I come to the end of...
