Letters to the editor April 12

Celebrate America

Hallelujah! Hats off to director Allen Slater and the 70 members of the Flathead Valley Community Band as they kicked off the celebration of America’s 250th founding. Their performance at Flathead High School was excellent; 13 songs took us from our independence year of 1776 to the present with tunes most of which we all remember, including the branches of our military service to whom we owe so much for their sacrifices to the freedoms we enjoy today.

I encourage you all to mark your calendars for the next two performances on May 6 combined with Flathead High School musicians, and then July 4 at the celebration in Depot Park.

— Dale Haar, Kalispell

Let down by Sheriff’s Office

Candidates say things to appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle. Do their catchy sayings really tell us anything?

In 2019-20, our family needed help from Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, led by Brian Heino. We had concerns about potential drug activity, thieving and the safety of a physically and mentally handicapped elderly family member who was being used by others as they sought privacy to commit and hide their crimes. We were shocked when our messages received no response at all.  

In 2025, the crisis resurfaced. Different individuals were taking advantage of our handicapped family member, with the intent of taking over his dwelling and possessions. The situation became very dangerous. A respected county resident encouraged us to give the Sheriff’s Office another chance; so, we did. Most deputies who responded seemed sincere in their desire to help, yet they lacked the needed knowledge for this situation.  Their lack forced the issue into the civil realm, even though there was good law that could have been used. If our family wanted to keep control of our property, we had to enter this battle or allow outsiders to take possession of it. 

The outcome could have been very different if the deputies had better training. That battle and damages cost many thousands of dollars. We are native Montana’s; our parents purchased this property in 1953; we are retired and live on fixed incomes. In our hour of need, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, led by Brian Heino, was unable to help, making the situation worse.

To curb crime in Flathead County, better leadership is needed. Please vote for Evie Cahalen.  She has a wealth of experience at the local, state and national level and will serve both urban and rural Flathead County citizens with honor.

— Elizabeth Anderson, Libby

Data center moratorium

Montana is at a crossroads. Data centers are coming. Some announced, some still unnamed, all demanding enormous amounts of our electricity and water.

The publicly announced projects alone are staggering. Near Broadview, a 5,000-acre campus would consume 500 megawatts of power, expandable to 1,000 megawatts. In Butte, Sabey Data Centers is pursuing 600 acres with 50 megawatts of power, expandable to 250 megawatts or more. 

But here’s what’s not publicly announced: Sabey has told officials it is looking at “a couple of locations” in Montana, and NorthWestern Energy has signed two separate non-disclosure agreements with the company including one for an “unnamed facility” that may involve a government contract.

These proposed projects, named and unnamed, would consume over 1,400 megawatts of power by 2030. That is more than double the electricity used by all of NorthWestern Energy’s existing residential, farm and business customers on a typical day. And for cooling? A single megawatt of AI computing can use nearly 7 million gallons of water per year.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Legislature passed HB 424, extending tax breaks for data centers through 2037, but killed a resolution that would have studied the actual impacts on our grid and water.

I support a four-year moratorium on new large-scale data center construction. We need to pause, study the real costs to ratepayers and resources, and only then decide if Montana should become the tech industry’s power plant.

Tech companies will still want to build here in four years. But if we rush now without guardrails, Montana families will be left with higher bills and less water.

Let’s study first. Then build smart.  Now is the time to contact your legislators. Support a four-year moratorium.

— Angela Burns, Kalispell