The State of Montana

06/10/2024

I'm celebrating the one-year anniversary of my substack page by offering a discount on paid subscriptions. This is how I earn my living, so any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you price reduction!

05/17/2024

I have some great news about The State of Montana. First, Gary and Norma Buchanan from Buchanan Capital have agreed to sponsor the podcast, so I'm extremely grateful to them for that. And secondly, Darrell Ehrlick, editor of The Daily Montanan, has offered to feature the podcast on the Daily Montanan website, so look for it there in the coming weeks!

04/17/2024

My latest episode of The State of Montana features Alison Fox, who is the CEO of American Prairie, formerly American Prairie Reserve. They are doing amazing work to restore some of the best grassland in America as close as possible to its original state, as well as adding wildlife that's native to the region. You can listen here:

Chief Executive Officer of the American Prairie

04/04/2024

Hey, I hope you're enjoying the podcast! Here are some of the upcoming episodes:

American Prairie Executive Director Alison Fox

Indigenous Filmmakers Ivan and Ivy MacDonald, who have been on a roll, winning awards for their film BRING THEM HOME, narrated by Lily Gladstone

Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidate Raph Graybill

Laura Nowlin, Executive Director of ACES, an organization that is dedicated to creating a supportive and productive living environment for the Winnett community, and Bill Milton, another member of the ACES team, and also a consultant for the LIFE ON THE LAND podcast and film series.

Please consider taking your commitment to the next level, if you know what I mean, wink wink, nudge nudge.

03/29/2024

Tammi Fisher is the former mayor of Kalispell, and she started a podcast called Montana Values after attending a gathering of fellow Flathead County Republicans where they were told that they were expected to support Greg Gianforte for governor. She and her producer Mickey have been very outspoken about the direction their party has taken in Montana, and they were delightful to talk to.

https://russellrowland.substack.com/p/episode-fourteen-tammi-fisher

03/17/2024

Monica Tranel was raised on ranches in Eastern Montana, and went on to complete law school at Rutgers University. She was also a competitive rower, representing the US in two Olympic games. She now works as an attorney in Missoula, where she has represented several cases dealing with energy issues in Montana. And she’s running for the Congress in the first district.

03/16/2024

So I'm having a hard time figuring out whether people see my posts on here. With several hundred followers, it seems odd that just a handful would be responding to my posts. Is anyone seeing the posts I've been putting up here?

03/13/2024

I was really thrilled to interview Ken Toole for the latest episode. Ken's father K. Ross Toole is one of my personal heroes in terms of writing about Montana's history, but Ken has forged a very strong path of his own, serving in the Montana Senate, serving on the Public Service Commission, and also founding the Montana Human Rights Network. He describes very well here how growing up in a home where public service was emphasized has impacted his whole approach to life in Montana.

Former State Senator and founder of the Montana Human Rights Network

03/06/2024

This interview with current Montana Poet Laureate was also fascinating. I didn't realize until later that we didn't talk about poetry at all. Mainly because Chris has a terrific new book coming out called Becoming Little Shell that documents his journey into discovering his heritage, while at the same time sharing the journey of his tribe toward becoming officially recognized by the US government.

https://russellrowland.substack.com/p/episode-nine-chris-la-tray

03/06/2024

This interview with current Montana Poet Laureate was also fascinating. I didn't realize until later that we didn't talk about poetry at all. Mainly because Chris has a terrific new book coming out called Becoming Little Shell that documents his journey into discovering his heritage, while at the same time sharing the journey of his tribe toward becoming officially recognized by the US government.

Current Poet Laureate of Montana

03/06/2024

I'm falling a little behind on posting my recent interviews on this group page. So this is an interview I did with former governor Marc Racicot , who has basically been disowned by his former party for speaking out against Trump and other Republican leaders, including Ryan Zinke. He was a terrific interview.

Former Montana Governor and Chairman of the Republican National Committee