Mad About Montana Podcast

Guy Alsentzer is the founder of the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization that fights for clean water. The organization is currently involved in a lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s approval of less stringent water quality standards for nutrient pollution in Montana. The suit alleges that the policy shift allows would-be polluters too much leeway by rolling back protecti...

Maggie Amato joined the Mad About Montana Podcast today to scare the heck out of us. No, she isn’t telling ghost stories. She is talking about the very real dangers of artificial intelligence and data centers. They threaten our security and privacy. They also threaten our water supplies and power rates. They kill jobs and the environment, threatening our way of life in Montana and around the count...

If you can’t prove them wrong, create a distraction. That seems to be the government playbook in Butte and around the country. In this episode, Erik and Bill start off agitated by the rumors being spread that they said a recently-hired Butte firefighter was not qualified for the job. They were accused of saying he only got the job because his uncle is a member of the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Co...

Is our local government in Butte-Silver Bow lying about the latest water disaster that shook the community in August? Is it really being transparent when it comes to data centers planned for the Mining City? The answers to those questions are “yes,” “no,” and “whichwater crisis are you referring to?” Anonymous whistleblowers alerted the Mad About MontanaPodcast to the fact that Butte-Silver Bow’s...

The super-rich run the Yellowstone Club, and they have taken over the Crazy Mountains and Flathead Lake. Could Virginia City and Nevada City be next? Well, Mark Savinski sure thinks so. Our legislature and governor are primed to giveaway an authentic slice of the American West to turn it into yet another playground for the super-rich. The only use for the working class of Montana will be to serve...

Russell Cleveland is a Navy veteran who played football for Coach Bob Green at Montana Tech. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the St. Regis Tigers football team. Russ grew up in Stevensville, and was a part of some great football teams there. After starting a successful business in Colorado, Russ moved back to Montana with his wife, Dr. Kate Cleveland, and their six children. Russ is...

Mike Jopek threw his hat in the ring to become the char of the Montana Democratic Party. The Flathead County Garlic farmer will square off against Missoula’s Shannon O’Brien as the party convenes for its convention this weekend in Livingston. Mike is looking to return the party to the playbook of Jon Tester and Brian Schweitzer. He wants to use the 56-county approach to help Democrats start winnin...

Since they have spent so much time complaining, Erik and Bill decided to drive on the wet highway to Helena Thursday to talk about a solution. That is where they found Jeff Mangan, the leader of The Montana Plan. Also known as the Transparent Election Initiative, The Montana Plan is a ballot initiative aimed at making the Citizens United Decision irrelevant and getting rid of dark money in Montana...

The people of Butte, America are pointing fingers and fighting with each other about the latest water disaster. This time, water from Montana Resources might have accidentally contaminated the potable water supply in the Mining City. People are scared and angry, and they want answers. Erik and Bill suggest that those fingers should be pointed at Helena. They suggest that the Department of Environm...

The Mad About Montana Podcast took a road trip the StateCapitol Monday for an important conversation with Sheena Pesanti and Bert Tabor. Pesanti, a Butte native, has been involved in a well-publicized fight to see her two children. She says the courts in Montana illegally stripped her of custody after her divorce. Sheena has not seen those children in a year and a half, and she says she has PSTD f...

It was a Saturday night counseling session at the Bagger Vance Studio for Erik, and Bill is no Dr. Buddy Rydell. Erik’s anger reached a boiling point as he talks about the hurt feelings of some so-called Montana Democrats, or the “Missoula Minions,” and no amount of Goosefraba could calm that fire in his belly as he watches his party continue to walk away from him. When did they get away from kitc...

In 2024, Steve Held ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District. He is a fourth-generation Montanan who grew up in Broadus, in the south east corner of the state. While he ran as a Democrat, and will likely do the same for another office soon (at least we hope he does), Steve realizes that he is not that much different than his fellow ranchers who vote Republi...

In this episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley discuss how great it is to see the pride flag flying high above the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse. While hatemongers like Greg Gianforte and Braxton Mitchell call the flag “divisive,” Erik and Bill talk about the true meaning of the flag that stands for inclusivity. They talk about how they are extremely disappointed to see...

In this lucky episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley dive into the open-mic scandal from Wednesday’s Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting. While the incident exposed the flippant attitude our local government has repeatedly shown toward our citizens, it did finally give us a moment of transparency. Accidental transparency, but trans...

Erik is a little more salty than usual after spending fivedays not catching any fish on the Smith River. So, he gets right after the legislators who sold their soulto lobbyists during the latest session of the Montana Legislature. He can only sit back and say “I told you so” after Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed many of the “deals” they sold out for. This episode also points out how the DEQ is possibly...

For episode 11 of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik andBill took a road trip to Bozeman to talk to one of the good guys. John Meyer is not one of the lawyers in the jokes. Rather, heis a crusader who fights for what is right. He puts people, wildlife and the environment above contingency fees and retainers. John is the founder and executive director of Cottonwood Environmental Law. The mission s...

In today’s episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erikshows how big of a nerd he actually is by making Star Wars references on “May The Fourth.” In the end, though, his analogy to today’s political scene makes complete sense since we recently watched the Montana Legislature and United States Congress gradually cede power to Gov. Greg Gianforte and President Donald Trump, much like the Galactic...

After a two-week break, Erik and Bill are back to talk aboutthe ongoing shenanigans at the Montana Legislature. They ring the alarm bell to illustrate how we need to be aware as the deals are speeding up as the 2025 session races toward a closure. They talk about the need to hold our legislators accountable for their deals that will have long-term ramifications on the people who can least afford i...

In the eighth episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley discuss “Bulls for Billionaires” and how House Bill 645 from the 2023 Montana Legislative session created an unfair hunting advantage for wealthy non-resident landowners. John Sullivan III of the Montana chapter of BackcountryHunters & Anglers joins the conversation to talk about how House Bill 907, which will g...

In the seventh episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast,Erik Nylund and Bill Foley once again welcome Trudy Healy, who represents Butte’s District 8 on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners. In this episode, they talk with Commissioner Healy about thebullying and retribution that she, like many others, has experienced for asking tough questions of our local government. They discuss how the...

Whitefish’s Mike Jopek is a garlic farmer and a former member of the Montana House of Representatives. In addition to his dislike of the lobbyist takeover of the Montana Legislature, Mike is a fierce advocate of property tax fairness in Montana. While Gov. Greg Gianforte and many in the Legislature want us to believe that the property tax system in Montana is a complex matter, Mike tells us that i...

Brian Schweitzer was the 23rd governor of the great State of Montana. But don’t call him “Governor.” He does not want to be associated with what that word has become over the last four years. Brian hasn’t been in office since early 2013, but he hasbeen paying attention to the political scene in the state that he still loves. He is also fired up and ready to call out the lobbyists who are running t...

In the fourth episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley dive into the lack of transparency at all levels of government. They discuss the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners letting the chief executive off the hook over House Bill 547, and they talk about the Montana Senate doing the same with its former leader over ethics violations. Then, the Man on the Street kno...

In the third episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley welcome Trudy Healy, who represents Butte’s District 8 on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners. In this episode, they discuss the overuse of the word “emergency” by our local leaders, Trudy’s work to clean up her neighborhood with the assist of a sidearm and bear spray, and how the process behind House Bill...

In second episode of the Mad About Montana Podcast, Erik Nylund and Bill Foley discuss how lobbyists are running the Montana Legislature. They talk about how that is not always the case and wonder what can be done to combat the growing influence of people who were not elected.