<description>&lt;p&gt;On June 12, the lawsuit Held v. State of Montana will go to trial in Helena's district court. In the lawsuit, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs from across Montana, &amp;nbsp;allege that Montana, through its executive agencies, has knowingly approved projects and implemented policies that support a fossil-fuel based energy system that adds dangerous levels of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, damaging Montana’s environment and harming the state’s youth. The lawsuit is predicated on the Montana Constitution, written in 1972, which enshrines the right to a clean and healthful environment for present and future generations. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Flathead Beacon has produced a comprehensive reporting package on the lawsuit's background, constitutional underpinnings and some of the young plaintiffs. All the reporting, including updates from the two-week trial that begins June 12, can be read at &lt;a href="mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RELATED LINKS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/05/montana-youth-prepare-for-trial-in-climate-case-against-state-held/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Montana Youth Prepare for Trial in Bellwether Climate Case Against State&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/05/who-is-held-of-held-v-state-of-montana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Who is ‘Held’ of Held v. State of Montana?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/06/to-a-clean-and-healthful-environment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;'To a Clean and Healthful Environment'&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/temporary-emergency-water-conservation-ordinance-approved-in-kalispell/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Temporary Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance Approved in Kalispell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/bear-injures-raft-guide-camping-along-middle-fork-flathead-river/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Bear Injures Raft Guide Camping Along Middle Fork Flathead River&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/waterton-glacier-announced-reopening-of-goat-haunt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Waterton-Glacier Announces Reopening of Goat Haunt&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; and sign up for our &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;new daily newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Attribution 3.0 License&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;We Are Like Warriors&lt;/a&gt;, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Flathead Beacon editor in chief Kellyn Brown is a cohost for today's episode, and asks host Micah Drew about the upcoming climate change lawsuit Held v. Montana

On June 12, the lawsuit Held v. State of Montana will go to trial in Helena's district court. In the lawsuit, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs from across Montana, &nbsp;allege that Montana, through its executive agencies, has knowingly approved projects and implemented policies that support a fossil-fuel based energy system that adds dangerous levels of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, damaging Montana’s environment and harming the state’s youth. The lawsuit is predicated on the Montana Constitution, written in 1972, which enshrines the right to a clean and healthful environment for present and future generations. The Flathead Beacon has produced a comprehensive reporting package on the lawsuit's background, constitutional underpinnings and some of the young plaintiffs. All the reporting, including updates from the two-week trial that begins June 12, can be read at <a href="mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com</a>. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED LINKS<a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/05/montana-youth-prepare-for-trial-in-climate-case-against-state-held/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Montana Youth Prepare for Trial in Bellwether Climate Case Against State</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/05/who-is-held-of-held-v-state-of-montana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Who is ‘Held’ of Held v. State of Montana?</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/06/to-a-clean-and-healthful-environment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">'To a Clean and Healthful Environment'</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/temporary-emergency-water-conservation-ordinance-approved-in-kalispell/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Temporary Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance Approved in Kalispell</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/bear-injures-raft-guide-camping-along-middle-fork-flathead-river/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bear Injures Raft Guide Camping Along Middle Fork Flathead River</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/07/waterton-glacier-announced-reopening-of-goat-haunt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Waterton-Glacier Announces Reopening of Goat Haunt&nbsp;</a> Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at <a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a> and sign up for our new daily newsletter at <a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter</a>. The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">By Attribution 3.0 License</a>, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Like Warriors</a>, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Held v. Montana — with Guest Host Kellyn Brown

<description>&lt;p&gt;Northwest Montana has produced its fair share of singers and songwriters, including the indie-folk duo Big Sky City Lights, made up of Whitefish's Nick Spear and New York City's Susan O'Dea. The two met more than a decade ago, and during the pandemic began remotely writing and recording together. That remote relationship eventually turned into a full length album in 2021 and the duo is hard at work developing a new body of work that will become a second album. In addition, Big Sky City Lights will be touring this summer with a &lt;a href="https://www.wachholzcollegecenter.org/Online/default.asp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;June 3 stop in Kalispell&lt;/a&gt;. Host Micah Drew spoke to Nick and Susan about their meeting in Whitefish, the effect living two timezones apart has on their creative process and how performing live shows has played into their newer music.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RELATED LINKS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/big-sky-city-lights-looks-ahead-to-june-show-at-fvccs-wachholz-center/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Big Sky City Lights Looks Ahead to June Show at FVCC’s Wachholz Center&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/68th-montana-legislature-adjourns/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;68th Montana Legislature Adjourns&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/two-incumbents-one-newcomer-win-trustee-positions-in-columbia-falls-school-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Two Incumbents, One Newcomer Win Trustee Positions in Columbia Falls School Election&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/kalispell-public-schools-2023-election-results/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Kalispell Voters Retain One Incumbent Trustee, Pass Elementary and Reject High School Levy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/04/conservation-district-appoints-hearing-officer-in-mcdonald-creek-home-dispute/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Conservation District Appoints Hearing Officer in McDonald Creek Home Dispute&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Follow Big Sky City Lights on &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7rppI0CNKJDeApZsIoTzRJ?si=RttR-RoHS3GjRnz_BGewkw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/bigskycitylights" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;YouTube&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/bigskycitylights/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bigskycitylights?is_from_webapp=1&amp;amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;TikTok&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; and sign up for our &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;new daily newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Attribution 3.0 License&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;We Are Like Warriors&lt;/a&gt;, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Host Micah Drew chats with Nick Spear and Susan O'Dea who make up the indie folk duo Big Sky City Lights about how their distant collaborations grew from a pandemic pastime into a band slated to play the Wachholz Center this June

Northwest Montana has produced its fair share of singers and songwriters, including the indie-folk duo Big Sky City Lights, made up of Whitefish's Nick Spear and New York City's Susan O'Dea. The two met more than a decade ago, and during the pandemic began remotely writing and recording together. That remote relationship eventually turned into a full length album in 2021 and the duo is hard at work developing a new body of work that will become a second album. In addition, Big Sky City Lights will be touring this summer with a <a href="https://www.wachholzcollegecenter.org/Online/default.asp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">June 3 stop in Kalispell</a>. Host Micah Drew spoke to Nick and Susan about their meeting in Whitefish, the effect living two timezones apart has on their creative process and how performing live shows has played into their newer music. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED LINKS<a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/big-sky-city-lights-looks-ahead-to-june-show-at-fvccs-wachholz-center/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Big Sky City Lights Looks Ahead to June Show at FVCC’s Wachholz Center</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/68th-montana-legislature-adjourns/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">68th Montana Legislature Adjourns</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/two-incumbents-one-newcomer-win-trustee-positions-in-columbia-falls-school-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Two Incumbents, One Newcomer Win Trustee Positions in Columbia Falls School Election</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/03/kalispell-public-schools-2023-election-results/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kalispell Voters Retain One Incumbent Trustee, Pass Elementary and Reject High School Levy</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/04/conservation-district-appoints-hearing-officer-in-mcdonald-creek-home-dispute/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Conservation District Appoints Hearing Officer in McDonald Creek Home Dispute</a> Follow Big Sky City Lights on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7rppI0CNKJDeApZsIoTzRJ?si=RttR-RoHS3GjRnz_BGewkw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/bigskycitylights" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bigskycitylights/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bigskycitylights?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a>. Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at <a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a> and sign up for our new daily newsletter at <a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter</a>. The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">By Attribution 3.0 License</a>, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Like Warriors</a>, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Big Sky City Lights 

<description>&lt;p&gt;Spring isn't normally thought of as election season, but in the education world it is. May 2 is election day for municipal elections in the Flathead Valley, including school board and school levy elections in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and several other districts around the valley. Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner joins host Micah to offer a preview of the various races that will show up on school ballots this spring. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RELATED LINKS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/20/kalispell-school-district-no-5-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Kalispell School District No. 5 2023 Election: Voter Guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/21/columbia-falls-school-district-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Columbia Falls District No. 6 2023 Election: Voter Guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/21/columbia-falls-school-district-no-5-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Kalispell Public Schools to Hire &lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/19/kalispell-public-schools-to-hire-interim-superintendent/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Interim Superintendent&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/18/columbia-falls-city-council-rejects-7030-highway-2-residences-development/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Columbia Falls City Council Rejects 7030 Highway 2 Residences Development&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="The city council on Monday night approved the purchase of the 15-acre BNSF property located at the west end of the Parkline Trail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Kalispell Approves Property Acquisition Next to Parkline Trail&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; and sign up for our &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;new daily newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Attribution 3.0 License&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;We Are Like Warriors&lt;/a&gt;, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Reporter Denali Sagner joins host Micah Drew to talk about the upcoming elections for school board candidates and school levies around the Flathead Valley

Spring isn't normally thought of as election season, but in the education world it is. May 2 is election day for municipal elections in the Flathead Valley, including school board and school levy elections in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and several other districts around the valley. Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner joins host Micah to offer a preview of the various races that will show up on school ballots this spring. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED LINKS<a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/20/kalispell-school-district-no-5-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kalispell School District No. 5 2023 Election: Voter Guide</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/21/columbia-falls-school-district-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Columbia Falls District No. 6 2023 Election: Voter Guide</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/21/columbia-falls-school-district-no-5-2023-election-voter-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kalispell Public Schools to Hire </a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/19/kalispell-public-schools-to-hire-interim-superintendent/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Interim Superintendent</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/18/columbia-falls-city-council-rejects-7030-highway-2-residences-development/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Columbia Falls City Council Rejects 7030 Highway 2 Residences Development</a><a href="The city council on Monday night approved the purchase of the 15-acre BNSF property located at the west end of the Parkline Trail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kalispell Approves Property Acquisition Next to Parkline Trail</a> Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at <a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a> and sign up for our new daily newsletter at <a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter</a>. The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">By Attribution 3.0 License</a>, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Like Warriors</a>, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Schoolhouse Votes with Denali Sagner

<description>&lt;p&gt;Since the Montana constitution was crafted in 1972, there have only been 34 changes made to the state’s governing document, a rate of less than one per year. However over the last three months of the 68th legislative session, Montana Republicans have introduced a record 67 constitutional amendments. This week, Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner wrote about the crossroads the state constitution is facing with multiple efforts, almost all unsuccessful, to alter it. To gain additional insight, host Micah Drew reached out to political analyst and director of the University of Montana School of Journalism Lee Banville, who joins the podcast to share some of his observations from the legislative session. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RELATED LINKS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/05/montana-republicans-propose-constitutional-amendments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;A Constitution at a Crossroads&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/06/u-s-census-flathead-county-adds-most-residents-in-montana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;U.S. Census: Flathead County Adds Most Residents in Montana&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/06/baseball-teams-face-delays-lingering-snow-with-start-of-inaugural-season/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Baseball Teams Face Delays, lingering Snow with Start of Inaugural Season&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/05/gianforte-discusses-work-based-learning-at-kalispell-roundtable/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Gianforte Discusses Work-Based Learning at Kalispell Roundtable&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; and sign up for our &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;new daily newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Attribution 3.0 License&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;We Are Like Warriors&lt;/a&gt;, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Host Micah Drew talk with political analyst and head of the University of Montana School of Journalism Lee Banville about what makes the 68th edition of the Montana Legislature unique

Since the Montana constitution was crafted in 1972, there have only been 34 changes made to the state’s governing document, a rate of less than one per year. However over the last three months of the 68th legislative session, Montana Republicans have introduced a record 67 constitutional amendments. This week, Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner wrote about the crossroads the state constitution is facing with multiple efforts, almost all unsuccessful, to alter it. To gain additional insight, host Micah Drew reached out to political analyst and director of the University of Montana School of Journalism Lee Banville, who joins the podcast to share some of his observations from the legislative session. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED LINKS<a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/05/montana-republicans-propose-constitutional-amendments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Constitution at a Crossroads</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/06/u-s-census-flathead-county-adds-most-residents-in-montana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. Census: Flathead County Adds Most Residents in Montana</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/06/baseball-teams-face-delays-lingering-snow-with-start-of-inaugural-season/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Baseball Teams Face Delays, lingering Snow with Start of Inaugural Season</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/04/05/gianforte-discusses-work-based-learning-at-kalispell-roundtable/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gianforte Discusses Work-Based Learning at Kalispell Roundtable</a> Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at <a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a> and sign up for our new daily newsletter at <a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter</a>. The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">By Attribution 3.0 License</a>, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Like Warriors</a>, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Montana's Constitution and the 68th Legislature: Observations with Lee Banville

<description>&lt;p&gt;At 8 a.m. on March 15, Glacier National Park’s advance online reservation window opened to a groundswell of prospective backpackers eager to nab a prized wilderness campground permit. Within 10 minutes, however, the park’s most coveted campsites had filled, and the reservation window slammed shut on a host of highly sought-after multi-day itineraries.The new online system is part of a nationwide shift toward online, contact-less reservations to access outdoor spaces.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Will Rice, the head of the Wildland and Recreation Management Research Lab at the University of Montana uses social science to help wildland recreation managers improve the experiences of all visitors while preserving the ecosystems that support those experiences, and has published studies on different access strategies for recreation spaces like campgrounds. Dr. Rice joined host Micah Drew to talk about his research, how an online system can be exclusionary and what the solutions to managing access to popular outdoor spaces may look like in the future.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RELATED LINKS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://flatheadbeacon.com/e-edition/03_22_2023/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;March 29 E-Editio&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/e-edition/03_28_2023/mobile/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;n&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/29/are-online-reservations-the-key-to-solving-montanas-campground-crunch/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Are Online Reservations the Key to Solving Montana’s Campground Crunch?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/29/mdt-announces-roadway-safety-improvements-planned-in-flathead-county/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;MDT Announces Roadway Safety Improvements Planned in Flathead County&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/30/doctors-warn-abortion-bill-would-restrict-montana-obstetric-care/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Doctors Warn Abortion Bill Would Restrict Montana Obstetric Care&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/30/glacier-symphony-and-virtuoso-violinist-midori-to-perform-at-mcclaren-hall/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Glacier Symphony and Virtuoso Violinist Midori to Perform at McClaren Hall&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; and sign up for our &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;new daily newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Attribution 3.0 License&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;We Are Like Warriors&lt;/a&gt;, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Host Micah Drew talks with wildland recreation management researcher Will Rice about different systems used to ration access to public recreation spaces, how those can be exclusionary and what future solutions there might be for recreation managers 

At 8 a.m. on March 15, Glacier National Park’s advance online reservation window opened to a groundswell of prospective backpackers eager to nab a prized wilderness campground permit. Within 10 minutes, however, the park’s most coveted campsites had filled, and the reservation window slammed shut on a host of highly sought-after multi-day itineraries.The new online system is part of a nationwide shift toward online, contact-less reservations to access outdoor spaces. Will Rice, the head of the Wildland and Recreation Management Research Lab at the University of Montana uses social science to help wildland recreation managers improve the experiences of all visitors while preserving the ecosystems that support those experiences, and has published studies on different access strategies for recreation spaces like campgrounds. Dr. Rice joined host Micah Drew to talk about his research, how an online system can be exclusionary and what the solutions to managing access to popular outdoor spaces may look like in the future. Later, Micah runs through the news of the week. RELATED LINKS<a href="http://flatheadbeacon.com/e-edition/03_22_2023/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">March 29 E-Editio</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/e-edition/03_28_2023/mobile/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">n</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/29/are-online-reservations-the-key-to-solving-montanas-campground-crunch/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Are Online Reservations the Key to Solving Montana’s Campground Crunch?</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/29/mdt-announces-roadway-safety-improvements-planned-in-flathead-county/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MDT Announces Roadway Safety Improvements Planned in Flathead County</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/30/doctors-warn-abortion-bill-would-restrict-montana-obstetric-care/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Doctors Warn Abortion Bill Would Restrict Montana Obstetric Care</a><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/03/30/glacier-symphony-and-virtuoso-violinist-midori-to-perform-at-mcclaren-hall/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Glacier Symphony and Virtuoso Violinist Midori to Perform at McClaren Hall</a> Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at <a href="https://www.flatheadbeacon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a> and sign up for our new daily newsletter at <a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter</a>. The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons:&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">By Attribution 3.0 License</a>, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4x4HOsoQkqoIwlBoumEGSV?si=Y-TQm-jUTyCSYzLHoAJAVA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Like Warriors</a>, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Rationing Recreation Access with Dr. Will Rice

Listen here for all the latest news and information from around the Flathead Valley. Each week the Flathead Beacon Podcast takes a deep dive into the biggest stories in Northwest Montana. To read all of our coverage, free of charge, visit <a href="www.flatheadbeacon.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flatheadbeacon.com</a>. Support our work by joining the Beacon Editor's Club at <a href="www.beaconeditorsclub.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">beaconeditorsclub.com</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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