Imagine a radio news segment that says, “American farmers should be able to feed the nation without imports.” Without context, this sounds patriotic. Under the Fairness Doctrine, broadcasters were compelled to present a fuller picture.

In July 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency eliminated more than 3,700 staff positions nationwide. Entire divisions were dissolved.

Reduction in park staff across the state has led to limited emergency response, longer wait times, and postponed infrastructure projects such as water, sewer, and trail repairs.

Since January 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency has indiscriminately eliminated nearly 25 percent of the permanent workforce within the National Park Service.

We're building a movement from the ground up in Montana. Daines votes against the will of Montana every chance he gets when it comes to abortion. I told my fellow Montanan on the parade route that I wouldn't be running for U.S. Senate if Daines was doing his job upholding the will of the people.

In the Senate, I intend to use every available lever: legislation, budget tools, hearings, legal support, and public pressure to undo the damage of the unpopular Republican budget bill.

Montana is an extraordinary place. We truly are the Treasure State. Beneath the beauty, people are hurting. Jobs have disappeared. Housing prices have climbed far beyond wages.

Across Montana, the damage is piling up. From the Rocky Mountains to the rolling plains of the Hi-Line, federal funding is the backbone of our communities with basic services that keep small towns running. Montana depends on federal tax dollars for nearly half of our state’s revenue, over $14.1 billion annually in federal support.

Montana cannot afford another year of delays. The clock is ticking, not just on the Farm Bill, but on our entire democracy.

This bill doesn’t fix the government's spending problem. It hands our taxpayer dollars to profiteers and corporations instead of our hospitals, schools and veterans.

I ran, got elected and served as a Democrat in the Montana State House. The Montana Democratic Party has deep roots in the rugged soil of our state, a history shaped by Montanans who believed in fairness, opportunity, and community. From the copper mines of Butte to the wheat fields of the Hi-Line, Democrats have fought for better wages, safer conditions, strong public schools, and access to healthcare for all.

Don’t let the headlines fool you. Even without the direct land sales, the Big Bad Bill still poses serious threats to Montana’s public lands.

Glacier and Yellowstone are symbols of Montana’s natural beauty and engines for the economy of our state. Every year, millions of people travel from around the world to see our landscapes, fish our rivers, hike our trails, and support our local businesses. In 2023 alone, visitors to Glacier and Yellowstone contributed nearly $1.3 billion to Montana’s economy and supported over 13,000 jobs.

I'm standing up for Montana’s public lands, for our economy and our future. I was in Yellowstone National Park today. On my way south on Highway 89 to Gardiner, I talked with folks in gateway communities about the economic importance of Yellowstone and the surrounding national forest land to the economic health of the region. Yellowstone isn’t just beautiful. It’s alive. It moves. It breathes history. It also fuels local economies across rural Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

Last week, Senator Steve Daines bragged that he was “kicking Biden’s woke policies to the curb. ”I read that line and had to laugh. Here in Montana, we’re not asking about someone’s definition of “woke.” We’re asking where the fire crews are. We’re asking why our hospitals can’t keep their doors open. We’re asking how our grain is supposed to move when Trump’s trade war shut down half our markets.

Staff cuts, event cancellations, and fading stewardship threaten the bond between land, memory, and people.

Last week, I sat down with Skip, a retired U.S. Forest Service worker in the Bitterroot. He’s been through decades of fire seasons—some hard, some hopeful—but this year, he didn’t mince words:

I’ve worked tirelessly to elevate the issue of updating and repairing the Milk River Project—an irrigation lifeline for Montana’s Hi-Line and our agricultural economy. The progress we’re seeing today on the Milk River Project did not happen by accident—it happened because everyday Montanans stood up, did the work, lobbied their representatives, and demanded action when 18,000 Montanans faced stark uncertainty about the future water supply of their agricultural communities. The sudden freeze of essential funds and firing of key federal staff nearly derailed the most urgent water project in Montana. It took a $35 million loan from the State of Montana—an emergency measure that local taxpayers shouldn’t have had to cover—to keep construction moving.

I’ve spent most of my life working in Montana communities—running newspapers, cooking in small-town kitchens, listening to farmers, students, teachers, veterans, and union workers tell their stories. I’ve served in the Montana Legislature and published newspapers that took on big issues in small places. Through all of it, one belief has remained constant: democracy only works when people show up. Showing up means more than giving speeches or repeating slogans. It requires asking questions, listening to the answers, and recognizing that no one holds all the answers by virtue of a title or a degree.

For months, I’ve traveled across Montana, not giving speeches but sitting down with people in their communities to hear what matters most. From Richland County to Missoula, I’ve gathered with neighbors in living rooms, union halls, libraries and co-op buildings, not for campaign stops but to engage in community conversations. I’m grateful to the Montanans who have engaged in these conversations and who continue to show up to make sure their voice matters.