Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/ryan-zinke/page/5/)
More bad news for Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based newspaper chain that owns the Billings Gazette and papers in Missoula, Butte, Helena and Hamilton. Bettendorf.com is reporting that Lee has sold a newspaper building in Napa, Calif., for $5 million, which it planned to use to pay down part of its enormous debt. (more…) Continue Reading →
During his run for Montana’s U.S. House seat, Ryan Zinke often seemed uncertain about exactly what positions he held. That’s a bad trait in a candidate but not necessarily in a congressman. Issues before Congress can be complicated, and remaining open to evidence is more helpful than going to Washington with a closed mind. So it was reasonable to hope that now-Rep. Zinke would prove a more flexible and pragmatic House member than his predecessor. But early returns are not encouraging. Continue Reading →
In his Sunday column in the Billings Gazette, editor Darrell Ehrlick dropped this nugget, just two days before the election: Prior to September’s debate in Billings between U.S. House candidates Ryan Zinke and John Lewis, Zinke said, “John plays the guitar. I waterboard.” (more…) Continue Reading →
I just about dropped what’s left of my teeth when I saw on Sunday that the Billings Gazette had endorsed John Lewis for the U.S. House over Ryan Zinke. Zinke seemed to be the natural pick in this race: tons of experience, some of it relevant; an unflappable public presence; a history of edging toward moderation. Even the Butte Weekly, a Democratic-leaning newspaper in a Democratic-leaning town, has endorsed Zinke, a Republican. (more…) Continue Reading →
If the purpose of a political debate is to change voters’ minds, then Monday’s U.S. House debate at Montana State University Billings was a clear draw. It’s hard to imagine that any minds changed after a debate in which Republican Ryan Zinke and Democrat John Lewis seemed to agree at least at often as they disagreed. (more…) Continue Reading →
Here’s some odd news: Supporters of U.S. House candidate Ryan Zinke were forced to remove some illegally posted campaign signs … in Santa Barbara, Calif. As columnist Barney Brantingham explains in the Santana Barbara Independent, supporters posted the signs, without a permit, in Hope Ranch, an unincorporated suburb of Santa Barbara, after a Zinke fundraiser there. It’s not entirely clear whether Zinke himself was at the event, but Brantingham said “Zinke gets his Santa Barbara credentials by being married to the daughter of Fred Hand, Lolita. Hand was a well-known Santa Barbara businessman in the ’60s and has a street named after him.” Continue Reading →
