The ButteCast with Bill Foley

Friday will mark 38 years since my cousin Jerry D’Arcy was killed in a crash in the highlands. He was only 20. So, today I am bring back a column that I first published on May 14, 2013. That is what today’s column is about. You can read it for yourself at   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠...

Every time you hear Russ Cleveland talk, you will hear another amazing story. He documented many of those stories on his “60 for 60” videos that he has been posting on his campaign’s social media sites in the run up to the June 2 primary election.  Russ is running as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montan’s 1st Congressional District. He tells stories of meeting his...

As a sophomore in high school, Max Demarais could have probably run for any office in town — and won easily. Around here, he was as famous as he is likable. Max was diagnosed with a tumor behind his right eye after he struggled with the vision test while taking the driver’s education program. It was the summer before his freshman year at Butte High School. That led to rounds of chemotherapy before...

Jamie Campbell is a standup comedian who will be performing at Butte’s Covellite Theatre on Thursday, May 14.  Advanced tickets are recommended for this show because it just might sell out. ( Click here  to buy tickets.) Jamie will bring his high-energy, storytelling and positive vibe to the Mining City all the way from Kansas City, where he is still getting used to that Midwest nice.  Known for f...

Baseball is our national pastime. So, too, is yelling at the umpires. Yelling at the men and women calling balls and strikes is as American as Apple Pie, road rage and not being able to afford health insurance. It is something that we all do from time to time. It is, however, a good idea to know what you are talking about if you are going to yell at the umps during a game. Most fans have not read...

John Kovacich is going to double dip this summer as the Butte Sports Hall of Fame inducts its 20th class. John will finally go in as an individual inductee during the July 24-25 ceremonies at the Butte Civic Center. He was voted into the Hall by the selection committee earlier this year.  John will also go in as a member of the 1972 Mile High All-Star baseball team. That team is still Butte’s only...

Shirley Chesterfield-Stanton will be inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame this July. She is one of the many overdue members of the Class of 2026. While some might not have recognized that name when the class was announced in February, Shirley was well known in Helena. The retired physical education teacher spent 40 years coaching at Helena Capital. She coached gymnastics and track, and her...

As many of you know, Mariah’s Challenge is very important to me. Mariah’s Challenge rose out of the ashes of a tragedy that took the life of 14-year-old Mariah McCarthy on Oct. 28, 2007. She and two friends were run over by an underage drunk driver while they walked on a trial beside Blacktail Lane. The friends survived, but Mariah was pronounced dead after being flown to Missoula. That tragedy le...

I voted for myself when I ran for chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow in 2024. But I have to say, it wasn’t the obvious decision. Rayelynn Brandl also ran for chief executive that year. She got into the race a few months after I did. Had she announced she was running earlier, I might not have filed to run at all. Getting to know her and hearing her ideas during the campaign convinced me that she w...

The four years of Cayde Stajcar and Hudson Luedtke at Butte High did not produce the state championships like we thought they might. Well, at least not yet. Stajcar is still playing baseball for Butte High. But the four years with those two playing three different sports for the Bulldogs certainly did not disappoint. Stajcar won the Gatorade in baseball, and Luedtke shattered Butte High’s boys’ ba...

If you are tired of all the money thrown into our elections in Montana, then this episode is for you. If you were exhausted by the millions of Tester-Sheehy commercials by April of 2024, then Jeff Mangan is your guy. Jeff is a 1982 Helena High graduate who has deep family roots in Butte and Anaconda. He is one of the driving forces behind the Montana Plan. The Montana Plan would use the state’s au...

Who is the greatest athlete in Butte High history? My brother will probably tell you that it is Todd Ericson. Some of the younger generations will tell you that it is Tommy Mellott or maybe even Hudson Luedtke. The old guys will tell you, without question, that it is Bob O’Billovich, and they will think you are a fool if you disagree with them. They might be right. However, I will forever say that...

As Ted Lasso might say, time limits and ties in baseball and softball just might be the first sign of the apocalypse. That is what today’s column is about. You can read it for yourself at   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

You will not be seeing today’s podcast guest pitching for the Butte High Bulldogs during his senior season. Jaxon Williamson can only watch as the Bulldogs play their fourth season of high school baseball because he underwent Tommy John Surgery in November. Tommy John surgery means that the Ulnar Collateral Ligament was reconstructed in his right elbow. The procedure is named after John, who was t...

People from Butte are not “Buttians.” We are Butte guys and Butte girls. We are Butte Rats. No pretense needed. That is what today’s column is about. You can read it for yourself at   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

When I was 10 years old, I would often play football by myself in our yard or the front room of our house. At that age, all you need is an imagination to take you anywhere in the world. Mine took me to a football stadium in Bozeman where I played for the Montana State Bobcats with two stars named Kelly. Kelly Bradley was the quarterback for the Bobcats, who went from worst to first and won the nat...

Paul Miranda is kind of a big deal. Just don’t tell him that. The 1986 graduate of Butte Central has a Ph. D in chemistry from the University of Montana. He also has a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Montana Tech. Not bad for a kid who grew up on La Platte Street on the Butte hill. But don’t call him “doctor.” Just call him Paul. Those boys fr...

Debbie (Bowman) Shea is a retired teacher who spent 26 years educating the youth of Butte. She also spent 11 years in the Montana Legislature, working to make lives better for the people of the Mining City and the State of Montana. There, she got to work with great Butte statesmen like Fritz Daily, Bob Pavlovich, Joe Quilici and J.D. Lynch.  The fact that Debbie is retired, however, does not mean...

Watching Duke lose is one of my favorite things. Watching the Blue Devils lose in the NCAA tournament is better than watching the Dallas Cowboys lose on Thanksgiving. Sunday, America got to see that happen thanks to an incredible comeback and a play that will be played over and over for decade. Because some thief or thieves stole my daughter’s wheel — Bed-Stuy style — near the University of Montan...

Don Peoples Sr. passed away at the age of 86 last week. He was chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow from 1979 through 1989. The 1980s brought economic despair to the Mining City with the closing of the mines. Butte survived — and even thrived — because Peoples was the chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow every year of the 1980s. He led us through that difficult decade with toughness, determination a...

Mitzi Rossillon is an archeologist and historian in Butte. Her work helped save the Dublin Gulch from being buried in toxic waste. At least we hope it has saved Butte’s first neighborhood. Mitzi grew up in Colorado. She came to Butte in 1990 and never left. She currently operates as a consultant to anyone who needs to consult with an archeologist. Mitzi served on the Butte Historic Preservation Co...

Jim Stergar has been the head coach of the Billings Central boys’ basketball team for the last decade and a half. Last Saturday night in Great Falls, Stergar’s Rams beat Dillon 70-40 in the championship game of the Class A State tournament. The win was the 16th in a row for the Rams, and none of those wins were all that close. They outscored their three opponents at State by an average of 26.3 poi...

John Cox passed away last week at the age of 84. Those lucky enough to know the man we called “Coxie” are heartbroken. For more than 30 years, he tended bar at Maloney’s Bar in Uptown Butte. Like the song says, he was quick with a joke or a light of your smoke, back when you could still smoke inside a bar. No matter your mood, walking through the doors of Maloney’s and seeing Coxie’s smiling face...

In episode No. 316 of the ButteCast, we introduced you to Russ Cleveland, a candidate for Montana’s First Congressional District. Russ is a Stevensville native who is, among other things, the defensive coordinator for the St. Regis High School football team. He is also a candidate who will only accept donations from individual donors. Russ has been traveling around the western half of the state fo...

Today’s guest comes to us from Alameda, California. Next week, she will be performing in the Mining City. Nina G and the Comedians with Disabilities Act will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21 at the Covellite Theatre in Uptown Butte. The show costs just $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Here’s some links to buy your tickets: March 21  Butte show ; March 20  Missoula show . Nina is...