Opinion
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The Average Gamer
The year 2023 was a great year to be a gamer, and no matter what type of games you are into, there really was something for everyone. And 2024 is shaping up to be another fantastic year for gamers. Every year, we get new entries into established...
Practicing old skills
I've been making an effort lately to practice some skills that I haven't used very often in the last few years, and I think are becoming lost arts. The first is writing hand-written cards. I have a friend who, after every holiday or birthday, has her...
4-day week has disadvantages
Dear school superintendent and school board members, I am sending this email to express my concerns with the possible switch from a five day to four day school week. I am writing as a licensed clinical social worker, who has been working with...
A Few Thoughts on Taylor, Travis and world domination
Questions: Why does halftime at the Super Bowl last 100 years and feature stuff football fans have no interest in? Is it just me, or do others have no idea what or who Usher is? Does the NFL book halftime entertainment to fool people not remotely...
Whatcha Readin'? Free day for more readin
Welcome to a leap year! I recently asked an artist friend what she planned to do with her “free day.” I expected to hear something funny but true like “sleep!” or something inspiring but exhausting like “try a new technique.” Instead, she said, ...
Our Viewpoint: Celebrating a Ledger milestone
I love going back and looking at past Ledgers, but this week was a special adventure. This edition you're reading begins the 120th volume (or year) of our weekly publication. That first edition was published February 24, 1905. The Ledger back in...
Montana Viewpoint: A rube arrives in Trout Creek
I had been eyeballing a piece of property in Trout Creek for about a year. It was cheap enough, I had the money, why not? So, I bought it. It was what around here people generously call a stump...
Our Viewpoint: Getting back to the big game
When Justin Timberlake performed during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2018, I joked with everyone that they were going to try and play football during the Justin Timberlake concert. I’ve been making the same joke this year because one of my good f...
Sunday's Snapshots
Earlier this month, Annie Wooden wrote an editorial about trying new things, about surprising ourselves with what we can accomplish when we step out of our comfort zones and do things we could fail at. Perhaps you’ve heard the encouragement to ...
SCCHO hopes to add housing
Sanders County Community Housing Organization, doing business as Community Housing is an independent, non-profit organization that was formed in 2003 to provide affordable rental housing solutions for working and retired individuals and families in...
The Average Gamer
For years, gaming has been seen as an antisocial activity. A lot of people still have the stereotype of a person who locks themselves away in their room, eyes glued to a screen, and has little to no social life. There may have been some truth to...
Our Viewpoint
I'm not sure you can put enough "r"s in the word "Brrr" to fully capture last weekend in northwest Montana. It was fascinating to watch the temperature go lower and lower. Saturday morning, as the thermometer was hovering at -21, I was one of the onl...
What an introduction
I finally subscribed to a local paper again after quite a lapse due to the lack of engaging content and the slant of my former small town's paper. Upon receiving my first copy of the Ledger, the first article I read is "On being worried and enraged...
More positive, less disruption
Due to medical reasons, I was unable to attend the Thompson Falls City Council meeting on 8 January, but I certainly heard about it, and for all the wrong reasons. Members of the council were elected by voters to do the business of the city on...
Montana Viewpoint
As I write this, it is Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We have holidays to celebrate great people and great accomplishments. As time passes the great people seem to become even greater, but the...
Mortgage Minute
by Michael Scharfe Mortgage Minute – Escrow Accounts Escrow accounts are very common with mortgage loans, although not all mortgage loans require an escrow account. Escrow accounts are, essentially, a bank-controlled savings account that is used t...
Mayor's Corner
by Rusti Leivestad, Thompson Falls Mayor What is community? Definitions…a social unit with a shared socially significant characteristic. It’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter – caring about each other. Strong commu...
Our Viewpoint: Find reasons to celebrate
We're journalists, so we're curious. When we heard about the National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day event at Plains School, my reporter asked if I knew the history of the day. I didn't, so I started doing some research. It's a fantastic idea to...
Council meetings to be set at city hall
The job of the City Council is to conduct the City’s business. We are responsible for facilitating the democratic process. To do this, we need to all be civil by respecting the rules. Recent attempts to hold meetings in venues other than City Hall h...
A Few Thoughts ... on being worried and enraged in 2024
It’s time to write something clever about the new year. Or at least something. We get an extra day in 2024, and we get to go through an election season. Oh, boy! Mudslinging, prevaricating, science-denying, character-assassinating, and f...
Our Viewpoint: Step out of your comfort zone
There are certain things in life that you just have to figure out. We learn to problem solve, especially in a rural area. If you can't get leeks or curry at the grocery store, you learn to improvise. We also have a lot of people here who are experts...
Montana Viewpoint: Happy face history
Laws in several states have criminalized criticizing American history, even when that history contains criminal acts. It is sort of like putting a happy face on American history. Look, I love my count...
Whatcha Readin'?
My husband and I recently debated the definition of “reading,” and whether or not audio books count. I say they absolutely do. The audio book is exactly the same as the written book and requires roughly the same investment of time, the listener lea...
Legislative Update
by Rep. Denley Loge My husband and I recently debated the definition of “reading,” and whether or not audio books count. I say they absolutely do. The audio book is exactly the same as the written book and requires roughly the same investment of tim...
Open Meadows
The holidays are over and winter is in its full cycle for rest. It's when plants are dormant in their sleep. When days are shorter so we can rest longer, ideally. But too often we continue to rush about in pursuit of whatever drives us: the dollar, t...