With the nice long Memorial Day holiday this past weekend, I had the chance to catch up with my friend Troy. His grandparents had the ranch next to ours, and he comes back to visit every few years. We played in Beaver Creek, shared stories, looked...

Memorial Day weekend has passed. Soggy campers weathered the weather, and cemeteries sprouted flags and flowers in remembrance of loved ones. Twenty-eight years ago last Sunday, I traveled to Nespelem in the sagebrush hills of the Colville...

As I write this, Senate Bill 337, an act “generally revising laws involving parental rights,” dealing specifically with parents’ rights involving curriculum and instruction in public schools, has been sent to the governor’s desk for signing....

by Rep. Denley Loge The session is over but the final dust is still clearing. A few bills are still making their way to the governor's desk for his signature. He has vetoed a few bills that have possibilities of being overridden. This is a normal pro...

On Monday, I went to Thompson Falls Christian Church for the Piatigorsky Foundation concert. This was the first time I was able to see the concert that the Clark Fork Enrichment Corporation provides free to the community. Watching the concert on...

Republican legislators did an outstanding job of humiliating the transgender population during the last session in Helena. They made national news too! As an 87-year-old mother and grandmother, I abhorred the shame and hostility some legislators...

by Michael Scharfe You may have recently heard some information on the news about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac making changes to their Loan Level Pricing Adjustments (LLPAs). Both Fannie and Freddie have always had pricing adjustments that impact your...

As I sit here writing this, my mom is sitting at the conference table in the back of the Ledger reading pages. She comes in and edits for me on Tuesdays. Also today she brought me a jug of water from the ranch (I live in town and well water is just...

I just wanted to give kudos to JJ & Kate Hardman, Rep. Paul and Jennifer Fielder, and the many volunteers for pulling off a fantastic Constitution Bowl! They put in many hours coaching kids and organizing this "Family Feud" style event teaching our...

There was something different in last week's Ledger, however, no one really noticed. Last week, I wrote an article using artificial intelligence (AI) software. A friend of mine from California visited recently and asked if I had ever used AI in the...

Just so you know, even if there’s nobody on the ocean to experience the waves, the waves are there. From 30,000 feet, whitecaps are still visible. And there are some big ones. As we make our way at 600 miles per hour toward the Hawaiian...

Have you ever had to stop reading for an extended period of time? Have you ever read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron? I started this book in April and it’s one where you read a chapter a week and there are all sorts of tasks for you to...

by Tina Daugherty Happy May! Bring on the flowers!!! The real estate market is blooming as it always does with the flowers in May. More listing are coming on the market daily. What is striking from the data is that we are normalizing in dollar volume...

There are many people in Sanders County who do a lot for others and never ask for any recognition. It's time to start recognizing those people. Let's start with Angie Lowe of Thompson Falls. I went to school with Angie and have known her most of my l...

My name is Glenn Schenavar, board member and Chapter Chairman of the Sanders County Chapter of the Foundation for Wildlife Management. We are holding our annual banquet on May 13th, 2023 at 50 Wilson Lane, the Bar JR Arena in Whitepine, Montana....

Trout Creek School. Why is so many people worked up about our little school. It used to be well run teacher and para were treated with respect. Oh, wait a minute, it’s not all about teacher and para. It should be all about our kids. After all, if...

Montana legislators voted this month to ban TikTok. The legislation states that "TikTok's stealing of information and data from users and its ability to share that data with the Chinese Communist Party unacceptably infringes on Montana's right to...

by Michael Scharfe In my last article I had discussed some common acronyms used in the mortgage world. Although there are more acronyms that could be discussed, there are two more that are worthy of shedding some light on: PMI and MBOH. PMI stands...