Recently, I read two opposing books on time. One told me time is a construct and I can therefore make more of it by focusing on what I want to accomplish. Another book said time is finite, I can never have more of it, but I can learn to use it better...

In recent years there was an uproar about schools not teaching how to write in cursive anymore. A method of communication like landline phones and hand-written letters that is disappearing. It feels, however, like we're losing the basic skills of...

Monday afternoon, I went to the Thompson Falls elementary school to watch the solar eclipse with the students. There was a lot of activity on the playground as students waited for a glimpse of the event. Some waited patiently and some ran around...

Musicians from the Piatigorsky Foundation will once again be offering a world class performance here in Thompson Falls. Violinist Linda Rosenthal and pianist Maxim Pakhomov will perform at the Thompson Falls Christian Church on Friday, April 12, at...

I love it when people feel the need to share their opinions on how your opinion is wrong; with statements like, “I think you will find that America is not the dark and dangerous place you think it is.” (Therefore, what I think must be true bec...

It's not uncommon these days to know someone who has been scammed online, or to have become a victim yourself. A presentation at the Thompson Falls Senior Center last week helped educate citizens on potential scams (see article on Page 4). While...

It seems to be spring. Winter wasn’t so great, as winters go; after too many days of skiing last season, I’ve not had enough this year. But I’m grateful my knees still work after 34 seasons of sliding downhill; not perfectly, but still. Also, I only...

March seemed like an early mud season to me. As to the real estate market, it was very stable with bare land slowing, and it is always the first to slow. The inventory levels pushed up just a stitch, but mostly remained level, thus inventory is still...

This phenomenal weather is demanding that I put my books down and go outside. I don’t know how I’m going to read anything in the next five to six months, not when the crocuses are popping up and the daffodils and the iris’ (swoon). The books that...

In Montana we have many seasons. There are the four regular seasons, but then there is hunting season and boating season, and probably the most recognizable, wildfire season. In March, everyone is busy clearing up their yards and property. Both...

Thanks to Chris Hill for his informative letter about the MAGA belief system. The letter helps clarify why Trump and his MAGA followers are so intensely critical of what they call mainstream media. Since the information they get from the MAGA media...

With a truly broken heart, I am paying tribute to one of Thompson Falls most beloved citizens, Neil Carman. Neil was so reflective of what this community has always been - caring, kind, generous, ever helpful to each other in so many ways. Many of...

Lolo National Forest Land Management Plan Revision The Lolo National Forest has been reaching out for comments on their proposed actions for their forest plan revision. This comment period ends on April 1, 2024. All to often when the USFS reaches...

My favorite show growing up — and still one of my favorites now — was Little House on the Prairie. I love the idea of small communities supporting themselves and each other. When there was a barn raising, everyone showed up for the work and the cel...

Taking exception to Mr. Elliott’s column on the 14th of March Mr. Elliott’s lamentations of the Republicans of old falls flat on its face in every aspect of those who have lived and learned and seen our political and judicial processes of our ele...

Dear Editor, Schools set protocols for improving mental health (March 14, 2024). Although I appreciate the positive attention to this topic and the implementation of counseling sessions, school assemblies, and motivational speakers, I wonder if we...

Before moving here, we lived in a tourist trap of a town at an elevation of 4200’ in the mountains outside of San Diego, California. We’d get more snow there in one night than we’ve ever gotten in an entire season here in Thompson Falls, but the t...

The warm weather invites us to open up the windows to clear the air in our stuffy homes. The season of cleaning is upon us. Some will scrub top to bottom making sure all the old dust collected in corners is removed. This can be refreshing for the hab...

It is hard to believe that one year has passed since this first Mortgage Minute article came out. It has been fun working this up every month. I would like to thank those who encouraged me to write the article, those who provided ideas, and those...

When our reporter Shannon Brown started talking to schools about mental health, we had several conversations as a staff around the conference table about what direction the story would take. With three teens dying by suicide in the last six months,...

I believe it is unfortunate that open public meetings are used to divert the city council’s time, taxpayer money, annoy public employees and elected officials in attempts to find something, anything, that proves alleged illegal or underhanded a...

Something to think about when you turn on your water faucet….. Thompson Falls city water system is part of the original water system built for the railroad in the late 1800’s with significant updates completed in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The city ha...