Montana Lowdown
77 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 63 ratingsMontana Lowdown features in-depth conversations with top newsmakers, journalists, politicians, and experts about significant issues facing America's "last best place."
Veteran award-winning journalist John S. Adams, founder and editor of Montana Free Press and the star of the documentary film "Dark Money," hosts the podcast, shedding light on essential news stories and broadening the debate on the hottest topics.
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Episodes
Shared State
September 09, 2020 20:16 - 26 minutes - 61.3 MBWhile the MT Lowdown is on hiatus, Montana Free Press, Montana Public Radio, and Yellowstone Public Radio have teamed up to bring you a new podcast about the real issues behind the campaign rhetoric. Equality of opportunity. The blessings of liberty. A clean and healthful environment. These are the values codified in Montana’s constitution, values candidates in the upcoming 2020 election say they’re most prepared to defend. But behind the political promises and rhetoric, there are actual ...
Uphill Part 2: “This is like dust in the air. We all breathe it.”
June 24, 2020 14:28 - 16 minutes - 38.4 MBAmid instances of animosity and tension, and the broader environment of racial strife in America, organizers are seeking to protect their own mental and emotional health as they work to establish a sustainable movement for racial justice in Montana. In part 2 of Uphill, reporter Mara Silvers examines how community groups in various towns across Montana are pushing local governments to invest in social programs rather than policing, how organizers are calling on businesses to implement ant...
Uphill Part 1: “Does anyone know who’s watching us right now?”
June 24, 2020 00:22 - 19 minutes - 43.7 MBIn the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis, Black Lives Matter protests have surged across the country. Montana has been no exception, with residents planning rallies and marches in several towns and cities over the last few weeks. In the first of two special audio reports, Montana Free Press reporter Mara Silvers explores the challenges of organizing protests against police brutality and racism in a state that is roughly 90% white and 1% Black.
2020 primary results, and a preview of the path to November
June 09, 2020 00:06 - 37 minutes - 52.1 MBLast week Montana election officials tallied ballots in the June 2 primary. The fields are now set for November’s general election, and voters are already getting a taste of the nominees’ strategies as they march toward November. This year’s primary was notable for being the first election in Montana history to be conducted entirely by mail-in ballot — a safety precaution in light of COVID-19. The all-mail balloting set a new state record for voter engagement in a primary election, with 65...
Republican factions battle for control of the state legislature
May 30, 2020 06:33 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MB“Be aware that anyone who votes for this bill is going to need to answer to the people back home, without a doubt.” So said Republican Brad Tschida, majority leader of the Montana House of Representatives, speaking against fellow Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey’s bill to renew Medicaid expansion in late March of the 2019 legislative session. Tschida, a leader in the hardline conservative GOP faction that refers to itself as the .38 Special, warned that a political reckoning would come for Repub...
Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte
May 21, 2020 03:02 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MB“Don’t hold the fact that I’m doing a great job in Congress against me. I mean, for me, this is about, ‘Where can I have the most positive impact, with the skills I’ve been given, for the most folks?’” says Greg Gianforte, he presumptive frontrunner in the Republican primary for governor. Gianforte’s pursuit of the highest office in Montana rather than a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives has rankled some fellow Montana Republicans, including primary opponents Attorney Gener...
Democratic Senate candidate John Mues
May 19, 2020 20:17 - 33 minutes - 45.7 MB“Most people don’t even know what positions Gov. Bullock stands for,” says John Mues, Bullock’s lone competition in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Sen. Steve Daines. Mues entered the race early in the campaign cycle, while the term-limited governor was running for president and pledging his lack of interest in the Senate seat. Bullock’s presidential campaign was fueled by his experience as a successful Democratic governor in a rural state...
Republican U.S. House candidate Matt Rosendale
May 12, 2020 01:09 - 38 minutes - 53.2 MBMatt Rosendale points to his record as state auditor and his prior stint in the Montana Legislature as evidence that he’s the best Republican candidate in the race for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I’ve shown that I can get conservative results while being fiscally responsible and a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollars, and I’d like to do the same thing in Congress,” Rosendale tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams. “I think we have to restore...
Unpacking the polling on pandemic recovery and Montana’s senate race
May 06, 2020 00:04 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBThere are two big takeaways from a poll released this week by Montana State University: Montanans are definitely concerned about economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Steve Daines looks to be very much in play now that Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock has been able to capitalize on a statewide pandemic response that has, thus far, yielded relatively favorable results. The timing of Bullock’s entry into the race appears fairly ausp...
Democratic candidate for governor Mike Cooney
April 27, 2020 23:41 - 52 minutes - 72 MBThe COVID-19 pandemic may have brought many aspects of daily life to a halt, but Montana’s June 2 primary election is steadily approaching. While this year’s candidates launched their campaigns under relatively normal circumstances, facing off on issues including health care, prescription drug prices, public lands and jobs, the public health crisis has dramatically transformed the political, economic and social landscapes that will be at the forefront of voters’ minds when they begin mailing...
Journalist Emily Stifler Wolfe on contact tracing in Montana
April 21, 2020 16:00 - 33 minutes - 47.1 MBGov. Steve Bullock is expected to unveil plans this week to begin lifting the statewide stay-at-home order and business restrictions, even as Montana saw its first public demonstration against the current restrictions on Sunday. Many public health experts say a return to normalcy will require mass testing, along with robust contact tracing, so health officials can rapidly respond to any spikes in COVID-19 infections, which are expected once restrictions begin to ease. How does contact...
Quarantine stress hits home for Montanans
April 14, 2020 22:06 - 40 minutes - 56.5 MBAs Montana enters its fifth consecutive week of quarantine, many households are feeling the strain of isolation, fear and anxiety. Professionals are warning about increased incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault, while even safe households are experiencing unique stresses related to parenting. In response to these concerns, Montana Free Press is publishing this episode of the weekly Montana Lowdown podcast focused on resources for victims of domestic and sexual violence, as ...
Former Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus on economic stimuli, then and now
April 08, 2020 01:29 - 50 minutes - 70.3 MB“It’s like a response to a lot of crises. That is, it’s big and it’s immediate, but it’s probably full of a lot of loopholes.” So says former Montana Senator Max Baucus, assessing the $2T economic relief package recently passed by U.S. Congress in response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. He adds, “We’re probably going to see a lot of inefficiencies, and a lot of people taking advantage of the situation, at the expense of Americans.” For close to 40 years, Max Baucus ...
Montana's social services confront a pandemic
March 28, 2020 19:43 - 35 minutes - 49.1 MBThis week we interview several guests who help illustrate how some of Montana's most vital social services are positioned to deal with the potential of a long-term pandemic. Guests and topics include: Rose Hughes, Executive Director of the Montana Health Care Association, on how long-term care facilities are balancing health safety measures with problems related to extended periods of isolation Stephanie Stratton, Chief Programs Officer of the Montana Food Bank Network, on how increased d...
Montana Coronavirus Report for March 20, 2020
March 20, 2020 06:18 - 24 minutes - 35.1 MBIn today's episode: The latest statistics on cases in Montana Montana petroleum industry sees losses due to price wars and economic fallout from coronavirus Fear-driven stockpiling of supplies is a short-term problem, and distributors are confident that supply chains are strong Cindy Farr of Missoula County DPHHS talks about coronavirus testing in Montana, and what she expects to see as the pandemic evolves Rebecca Dore, a Senior Research Associate at Ohio State University, shares t...
Montana Coronavirus Report for March 19, 2020
March 19, 2020 02:26 - 8 minutes - 11.7 MBIn today's episode: The latest statistics on cases in Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announces two measures aimed at helping those experiencing financial stress Montana announces it will cover the costs of referrals, and in some cases testing, for those who are uninsured and suspect they may have contracted the virus The U.S. Department of Commerce will suspend the census until April 1 Gubernatorial campaigns go digital Tourism industry and travel-relates businesses anticipate big los...
Montana Coronavirus Report for March 18, 2020
March 18, 2020 14:04 - 10 minutes - 14 MBAs of today, we're changing the format of our show to focus on delivering shorter, more frequent episodes that keep our listeners informed about the latest news around the coronavirus, and its impacts on Montana. In today's episode: We announce some changes at the Montana Free Press The latest stats from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services What is social distancing, and why is it important? Two new cases confirmed, one each in Missoula and Yellowstone Counties...
Gauging Montana’s 2020 political field under the specter of a global pandemic
March 17, 2020 02:43 - 56 minutes - 77.1 MB“I think it’s a universe that I don’t really know how to gauge. It’s just something that we’ve never dealt with.” So says Lee Newspapers capital reporter Holly Michels, as she tries to make sense of the evolving 2020 political field through the lens of the coronavirus issue. Montana’s March 9 candidacy filing deadline momentarily grabbed national headlines when two-term Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock entered the race for the U.S. Senate, challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Steve Daines. ...
Journalist Dexter Roberts on the myth of Chinese capitalism, and how that myth could resonate in Montana
March 10, 2020 02:38 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MBAs financial markets reel amidst the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, journalist Dexter Roberts is looking to the Chinese economy for signs of things to come. Roberts is an award-winning journalist who spent more than 20 years reporting from Beijing, where he served as the China bureau chief and Asia News Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek. A Montana native, Roberts’ journalistic career spanned a period of rapid transformation and explosive economic growth in China, during which he reported...
Democratic candidate for governor Whitney Williams
March 03, 2020 04:03 - 49 minutes - 67.9 MBDemocratic gubernatorial candidate Whitney Williams may be running her first campaign for public office, but she’s no political neophyte. Her father, Pat Williams, served two terms in the Montana House, and nine in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her mother, Carol Williams, was the first woman majority leader in the Montana Senate. Williams started her own career in the White House, where she worked in the office of First Lady Hillary Clinton, before launching a philanthropic consultin...
Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor Tim Fox
February 24, 2020 16:27 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBAttorney General Tim Fox is deploying primary opponent Greg Gianforte’s own polling, and the incumbent U.S. representative’s grading by conservative groups, in his bid for the Republican nomination for Montana governor. Using the results of the 2016 election as a predictor of his ability to appeal to Montana voters, Fox tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, “I got 96,000 more votes than Greg Gianforte, even though 17,000 fewer people voted in the attorney general race tha...
Episode 56 — Hal Herring on the movement to privatize America’s public lands
February 19, 2020 06:56 - 1 hour - 84.9 MBThis week, Patagonia Films premiered the documentary feature Public Trust at the 17th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula. The film examines how private interests, especially extractive industries, are attempting to undermine America’s public lands legacy. The film focuses on three specific conflicts at Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Wilderness, and northeastern Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The film prominently features Hal H...
Journalist Kathleen McLaughlin discusses Butte’s final cleanup plan, and environmental and social justice parallels between Butte and China
February 13, 2020 16:38 - 47 minutes - 65 MBThis week, freelance journalist Kathleen McLaughlin published a story in the Washington Post detailing Butte, Montana’s collective anxiety about a long-awaited and finally forthcoming consent decree that will lay out the final phase of cleanup of Butte’s expansive Superfund site. Publication of the legally binding document has been repeatedly delayed with little explanation, but is currently set for Thursday, Feb. 13, pending final review by the U.S. Department of Justice. As McLaughlin t...
Lee Newspapers Capitol reporter Holly Michels talks about her coverage of a viral bombshell and gubernatorial fundraising
February 05, 2020 05:34 - 49 minutes - 67.8 MBLee Newspapers Capitol reporter Holly Michels thought she was covering a relatively mundane event last Friday at the Montana Republican Party’s Winter Kickoff event in Helena. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had just wrapped up his address to party faithful and was taking questions from the audience when a Republican state legislator from Billings made a comment that would quickly overshadow the news cycle. As Michels tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, Rep. Rodney...
Election 2020: Secretary of State candidate Bowen Greenwood
January 28, 2020 00:24 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBRepublican candidate for Secretary of State Bowen Greenwood says if he’s elected one of his first priorities will be to increase voter registration across the state. As Greenwood tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams: “The state’s elections office can be operated as a neutral party, and go out to fairs, college campuses, everywhere, and register voters in a way that’s not about an advantage for one side or the other.” Greenwood, who was elected Clerk of the Montana Supr...
Sen. Fred Thomas reflects on deregulation, term limits, and three decades in the Capitol
January 21, 2020 22:04 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBLast week, state lawmakers gathered in Helena for the first-ever Legislative Week, a five-day series of training sessions, interim committee meetings, and social gatherings aimed at maintaining connections between legislators during the 20-month break they typically take between legislative sessions. Republican Sen. Fred Thomas of Stevensville was a vocal proponent of Legislative Week. Thomas has served in 12 sessions, plus a handful of special sessions, during three separate stints in th...
Susan Fox on Legislative Week and the Legislative Services Division
January 14, 2020 05:39 - 37 minutes - 51.5 MBState lawmakers are in Helena this week for the first-ever Legislative Week, a five-day series of training sessions, interim committee meetings, and social events aimed at fostering “cross-pollination” among legislators, according to the Legislature’s website. Legislative Week is born of a study resulting from the 2019 session’s Senate Bill 310, which seeks to gauge the potential of holding annual legislative sessions, rather than the current biennial session schedule. Susan Fox, executiv...
Episode highlights from 2019
December 24, 2019 06:00 - 56 minutes - 77.8 MBThis week, Montana Free Press is closing out 2019 by looking back at some highlights from the first year of the Montana Lowdown podcast. This 2019 review episode features host and MTFP editor-in-chief John S. Adams in a conversation with the show’s producer, Alex McKenzie. The show debuted on January 7, 2019, just as the legislative session was getting underway in Helena. The first guest was Republican Rep. Nancy Ballance of Hamilton, who talked with Adams about a split among Republican ...
Election 2020: U.S. House candidate Tim Johnson
December 17, 2019 19:47 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MB“I want to talk about our culture, I want to talk about the forces that drive decisions,” says Republican congressional candidate Tim Johnson. Johnson is the superintendent of Corvallis Public Schools, a job he says he plans to give up next year so he can focus on his campaign for the U.S. House. A self-described conservative Republican running a primarily self-funded campaign, Johnson currently lags behind his primary opponents in fundraising, and in name recognition, but he believes his ...
Election 2020: Secretary of State Candidate Forrest Mandeville
December 10, 2019 01:03 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MBForrest Mandeville says the best way to effect progress in the Legislature is to become an expert in a specific subject. The Republican representative from Columbus has served three terms in the Montana House, starting with the 2015 session, and spent much of that time applying his professional background in land-use planning to the State Administration Committee, for which he served as committee chair the past two terms. That committee, which included 20 legislators in the 2019 session, pl...
Inside the MTFP newsroom with editor Brad Tyer
December 03, 2019 01:58 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MBMontana Free Press editor Brad Tyer has watched the news business evolve throughout his three-decade career in commercial and nonprofit journalism. “Support for news-gathering organizations — the model has changed,” Tyer tells Lowdown podcast host John S. Adams, his new boss. “But ultimately, a news-gathering organization has got to be supported by people who value the news-gathering.” A longtime editor of the weekly Missoula Independent, Tyer had a hand in hiring and mentoring several u...
Montana gubernatorial candidate Al Olszewski
November 26, 2019 23:13 - 50 minutes - 69.4 MBState Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, served one term in the Montana House and two terms in the Montana Senate. Now he’s hoping to move into the governor’s office. Olszewski, an orthopedic surgeon, is in a three-way Republican primary against U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte and two-term Attorney General Tim Fox. One early poll shows Olszewski trailing both Gianforte and Fox with six months to go before the June 2, 2020 primary election. But Olszewski is convinced there are still plenty of un...
Redistricting researcher Peter Miller on Montana's chances for a second Congressional seat
November 18, 2019 20:00 - 49 minutes - 67.9 MBBillings native Dr. Peter Miller says chances are good that Montana will gain a second U.S. congressional seat following the 2020 Census. Miller, a researcher at the Brennan Center For Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute at the New York University School of Law, has spent his career studying redistricting, voting, and elections. The United States reapportions its 435 congressional seats every 10 years on the basis of state population. While seven states could conceivably gain...
U.S. House candidate Matt Rains
November 12, 2019 01:12 - 47 minutes - 65.4 MBSimms rancher and U.S. House candidate Matt Rains says his military service, diverse career arc, and global travels give him a unique vantage from which to address challenges facing Montana and the country at large. As Rains tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, “I can speak for the agriculture, I can speak for the energy sector, I can speak for the military.” Asked whether he could work on those issues from a seat in the state Legislature, Rains — who has no prior legi...
State Auditor candidate Rep. Shane Morigeau
November 05, 2019 02:32 - 46 minutes - 63.9 MBGrowing up on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Shane Morigeau says, he experienced firsthand the depredations of predatory insurance and securities scams on the sick, the poor, and the systemically marginalized. Morigeau began his advocacy on behalf of those victims first as a lobbyist and attorney representing the reservation, and later in the House, where he has represented residents of northwestern Missoula’s House District 95 since the 2017 session. Morigeau is running unopposed for t...
Episode 42 — U.S. House Candidate Joe Dooling
October 28, 2019 20:55 - 53 minutes - 73.9 MBJoe Dooling sees a narrow path to securing the Republican nomination for the 2020 general election for Montana’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. While he acknowledges he’s in for an uphill battle against several primary opponents who have previously held statewide offices, he also says he thinks GOP voters are becoming wary of Republican churn, and he takes aim at primary opponents State Auditor Matt Rosendale and Secretary of State Corey Stapleton for shifting their campaign si...
Dark Money director Kimberly Reed
October 22, 2019 04:00 - 46 minutes - 64.3 MBIt was a Helena reunion last week when Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams sat down with filmmaker Kimberly Reed to discuss their involvement in Reed’s 2018 documentary film, Dark Money. Their conversation is the latest installment of the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly production of Montana Free Press. Reed says she was drawn to the topic of dark money in politics after watching the state of Montana mount a defense of its century-old prohibition on corporate political spen...
Election 2020: U.S. House Candidate Tom Winter
October 14, 2019 23:46 - 46 minutes - 64.2 MBDemocratic state Rep. Tom Winter says his 2018 win in a historically conservative Montana House district resulted not from partisan appeals, but from knocking on doors, listening to constituents’ concerns, and promising to represent those concerns in the state Legislature. Winter now hopes to ride that same strategy all the way to Washington, D.C., where he wants to serve as Montana’s lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. Winter recently interviewed on the Montana Lowdown podcas...
Reporter Eric Dietrich talks recent job projections from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry
October 08, 2019 04:01 - 20 minutes - 28.3 MB“How does our economy look? Is it what we want it to be? Can we identify aspects that we’re concerned about?” These are some of the questions Montana Free Press reporter Eric Dietrich set out to answer when analyzing projections from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, which has just released its 10-year outlook for 2018 to 2028. The state anticipates tens of thousands of annual job openings, Dietrich says, “but how many of them are actually good jobs?” Dietrich has reported for...
Election 2020: U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams
September 25, 2019 22:51 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBIn an interview on the Montana Lowdown podcast this week, Democratic U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams responded to charges by Republican House candidate Debra Lamm that Williams is “too extreme for Montana” and supports “Medicare for all.” “I think what that says is that they’re very nervous,” Williams said. “If they want to paint me with labels into a box that I don’t fit in, it just shows that they’re concerned that I’m really the right fit for Montana.” Williams, a former three...
Election 2020: U.S. House candidate Corey Stapleton
September 24, 2019 02:36 - 50 minutes - 68.9 MBThis week’s episode of the Montana Lowdown podcast features an interview with Republican candidate for the U.S. House and current Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton. He and Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams discuss topics including Stapleton’s path into politics, his work as secretary of state, elections security, and his vision for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stapleton grew up in the latter part of the Cold War era, and says he consider...
Dr. Steven Running on the forefront of climate change research
September 17, 2019 02:40 - 37 minutes - 51.4 MBIn this week’s Montana Lowdown podcast, we interview Dr. Steven Running, who contributed research to a 2004 report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. An international body of the United Nations, the IPCC is composed of scientists and other experts working to assess the science of climate change. The panel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, and its work helped inform former Vice President Al Gore’s book and film “An Inconvenient Truth.” Running, Professor Em...
Election 2020: Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins sees the U.S. Senate as a chance to give back to Montanans
September 09, 2019 19:51 - 45 minutes - 63 MBThis week Montana Free Press continues its ongoing coverage of the lead-up to the 2020 elections with an interview with Mayor Wilmot Collins of Helena. Collins joined host John S. Adams to discuss his emigration from Liberia to the United States, starting a new life in Montana, his current role as mayor of the state capital, and his campaign for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Steve Daines for a seat in the United States Senate. Collins emigrated to Montana in 1...
Election 2020: Republican Austin Knudsen takes aim on meth epidemic and the Attorney General's office
September 01, 2019 21:49 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBMontana Free Press continues its coverage of the state attorney general’s race with an interview with Republican candidate and current Roosevelt County attorney Austin Knudsen. Knudsen talked to Montana Free Press founder and Montana Lowdown host John S. Adams on Aug. 22. Knudsen represented House District 34 for four sessions starting in 2011. In 2014, he was elected as the youngest-ever speaker of the House at a time when his caucus was in the midst of a long-standing ideological divide ...
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force confronts reporting, jurisdictional challenges
August 27, 2019 04:13 - 33 minutes - 45.8 MBThe Montana Department of Justice’s Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force held its second meeting in Great Falls on Saturday, Aug. 10, and Montana Free Press founder John S. Adams interviewed task force members Deputy Attorney General Melissa Schlichting and Ellie Bundy McLeod of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to discuss the results of that meeting, the formation of the task force, and plans moving forward. Montana’s Indian Country is in the midst of an epidemic of missing and...
MFPE President Eric Feaver discusses labor unions in Montana
August 20, 2019 01:47 - 40 minutes - 55.3 MBMontana Federation of Public Employees President Eric Feaver sat down with John S. Adams last week to discuss his career in the public sector labor movement. Feaver began his union leadership when he became president of the Montana Education Association in 1984. He continued in that role when MEA merged with the Montana Federation of Teachers in 2000, and again when MEA-MFT joined with the Montana Public Employees Association in 2018. The newly formed MFPE now represents nearly 25,000 memb...
Election 2020: Senate President Scott Sales talks legislative career and his run for Montana secretary of state
August 09, 2019 21:48 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MBMontana Senate President Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, was a guest on the MT Lowdown podcast last week, where he discussed with Montana Free Press founder John S. Adams his 16 years in the Montana Legislature, his prior professional experiences in computer technology and agriculture, and his current candidacy for Montana secretary of state. Sales is the only Montana lawmaker to have served as both speaker of the House and president of the Senate. A self-described constitutional Republican, Sales...
Election 2020: Melissa Romano Targets OPI Leadership
August 05, 2019 22:31 - 41 minutes - 57.6 MBDemocratic candidate for superintendent of public instruction Melissa Romano sat down with host John S. Adams to discuss her views on school choice, modern teaching tools, civics and media literacy, teacher retention and mental health, and more. A Montana native with more than 15 years of experience teaching in Montana public schools, Romano has earned state and national accolades for her work in the classroom, and was named the 2017 teacher of the year by the Montana Professional Teaching...
Living With Fire: Talking Wildfire With Amanda Eggert
July 29, 2019 22:30 - 31 minutes - 43.4 MBIn this week's podcast, freelance journalist and former wildland firefighter Amanda Eggert joins us from Bozeman to discuss her recent three-part series for Montana Free Press, Living With Fire. While the 2019 fire season is off to a slow start due to unseasonably cool and wet weather, the city of Helena is watching as firefighters battle the North Hills fire, which has burned more than 4,000 acres and prompted the evacuation of more than 400 homes. Eggert's series explores the evolutio...
Election 2020: Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen
July 22, 2019 20:56 - 49 minutes - 68.1 MBMontana Free Press Editor-in-Chief John Adams sat down last week with Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen for a wide-ranging discussion on the Montana Lowdown Podcast about growing concerns over lead in the drinking water of Montana public schools, Title 1 funding, school choice, and President Trump’s rollback of key provisions of President Obama’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In one of his first actions as president, Donald Trump, with the help of House and Se...