My Turn
See the latest My Turn columns here!
MY TURN: North Idaho College is proof voting works
There will always be a need to safeguard the gemstone of our community.
MY TURN: Thinking can be hard to do
During the 2012 primary, I received a campaign card from the Kootenai County Republican Concerned Citizens, an organization Brent Regan helped fund with over 1…
MY TURN: U.S. Constitution (Sept. 17, 1787): an unlikely constellation
Our Constitution is the application of principles of liberty proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence.
MY TURN: President has terrible image
I love my president and am so thankful for many of the things he has done and is trying to accomplish.
MY TURN: A public health unraveling we cannot ignore
In the last few months, we’ve seen a troubling shift in federal health policy that will have direct consequences here in North Idaho and across the nation. Millions of Americans are facing the loss of healthcare co…
MY TURN: Idaho public education and your taxes
The Idaho governor's $50 million carve out to fund homeschooling for unregulated and limited accountability homeschool education curriculums to salve a 7% minority is just wrong. Some of the homeschool kids have ed…
MY TURN: Restitching the community fabric
In this era of ideological division, misinformation, disinformation, echo chambers, outright lies, and conspiracy theories, where do we turn, and how do we ascertain the truth? How can we improve our community with…
MY TURN: Idaho needs solutions from the middle
Idaho is changing fast, and not always in ways that make life easier. Medicaid cuts, school funding shortfalls, and a constant reshuffling of how we pay for th…
Fulfilling our promises: Idaho’s veterans deserve our best
The Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA), enacted in 2022, required federal building projects to use only U.S.-made materials. I supported the bill, which ai…
MY TURN: Fascist takeover should be front-page news
On Nov. 9, 2024, I wrote an article titled “A River Runs Through It.” In this article, I included several warnings about the Trump presidency, and sadly, every one of those warnings has come true. As I stated in th…
MY TURN: Street Fair: Year-round benefits for downtown
A recent letter to the editor raised concerns about the Downtown Coeur d’Alene Street Fair and its impact on Downtown Businesses. As the Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association (DTA) and the organizer of the event, we a…
MY TURN: Idaho’s DOGE Task Force: Seeking efficiency without the drama
In the interim between legislative sessions, much of our work shifts to focused study and oversight through committees, panels, and task forces. I currently se…
MY TURN: Service does NOT = freedom
You know fall is in the air in North Idaho when you step outside early in the morning and feel the “chill” from the night before. You know your neighbor is onto a new multi-level marketing scheme when he calls and …
MY TURN: Keenans v. Aryan Nations 25th Anniversary: Justice triumphs
Richard Butler and the neo-Nazis arrived in northern Idaho in 1973 and established the political arm known as the Aryan Nations and the religious arm called th…
MY TURN: Small cities, like ours, deserve reliable and safe public transit too
When we talk about public transit in America, the conversation usually centers on the usual suspects: New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, maybe Portland or Washington, D.C. And for good reason — millions of people…
MY TURN: When truth is inconvenient, psychosis steps in
Social media platforms are gathering places for people to interact on a wide array of topics. Some use these platforms constructively. People who use these pla…