The ButteCast with Bill Foley

Most guests of the ButteCast are from the Mining City or have some deep ties to Butte, America.However, today’s guest, Anthony Dyer, has never stepped foot in the state. He was born in the rugged Appalachian town of Sylva, North Carolina, and he spent more than a decade as a United States Air Force Combat Special Missions Aviator. When I heard about Anthony’s story, and his recently-released book, I jumped at the chance to have a conversation with him.His book is called “Moon Child: The Roots and Wings of a USAF Combat Special Missions Aviator.”In the easy-to-read book, Anthony offers a raw, unfiltered account of his life in combat. Anthony shares the harrowing details of his most dangerous operations where split-second decisions meant the difference between life and death. Anthony also goes beyond the battlefield to talk about a far deadlier enemy: the silent battles of addiction, trauma and the search for purpose beyond war.While I will not be able to finish the book until later tonight, I highly recommend it. Click here to order your copy.Listen in to this episode as Anthony talks about growing up in a small town and dreaming of one day getting out. Listen as he talks about why he joined the Air Force and what it was like to leave, walking out a door with no handle to turn back.Listen as he talks about the trying times of life after the military and how he was able to battle his demons. Listen to hear how writing the book helped him and how it might be able to help you or someone you love.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leskovar Honda⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Rob Cashell is a 1984 graduate of Butte High School. That year, he was a member of the boys’ basketball team that captured the Class AA State title in Missoula on St. Patrick’s Day.Rob was a Longfellow Bomber and a “Muni kid.” That means he was one of the thousands of kids who grew up playing golf at the Highland View Golf Course in the Jack Crowley days.After graduating from Western Montana College (now Montana Western) and kind of accidentally getting into the administrative side of higher education, Rob became the first full-time director of athletics at his alma mater. He then took over as the first full-time director of athletics at Eastern Oregon, in La Grande.In April of 2012, Rob was named the commissioner of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, and he still holds that position today. He lives in Corvallis, where he and his wife, Heather, are only a couple of hours away from their youngest daughter Elizabeth and their granddaughter, Suki. They lost their daughter Hanna in an automobile accident in April of 2016. She was only 18.Listen in to this episode as Rob talks about his family and how they dealt with the death of Hanna. Listen in as he talks about growing up in Butte, moving from East Butte to the Longfellow neighborhood and walking to the Muni with a sack lunch every day of the summer.Listen in as Rob talks about how he wasn’t as good of a golfer as his brother Dave, who held the course record at the Muni until just a few years ago.Listen in as Rob talks about playing on that 1984 championship team and how he said he lived for practice, where he had to battle with the likes of Scott Paffhausen and Mickey Tuttle every day.Listen in to hear that Rob is still a Butte guy and a Muni kid at heart.Today’s episode of the ButteCast is presented by the ⁠Jewelry Design Center⁠. Let Brian Toone and Co. be your jewelers for life.Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Aaron Foster will be playing the Orphan Girl Theater in Butte on Friday, Oct. 3.He bills himself as the former host of an HGTV show you don’t remember. He says he has made and starred in movies you’ve never seen. He says he is a comedian you’ve never heard of.That, however, might be about to change.Aaron is currently on a self-created theatre tour with his show “Mostly Jokes” that received rave reviews a at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June of 2024. He was awarded “Best Solo Show” at the Tucson Fringe Festival this past January.Aaron has a darkly-honest approach to his standup. He tackles highly-personal topics like his own mental health (or lack thereof), his success as an actor in Hollywood (or lack thereof) and his ongoing mid-life crisis (no lack thereof). He says honest comedy is how he copes with the madness of our world.Aaron will be playing in Helena on Saturday, Oct. 4.  Click here to get tickets to his shows in Butte, Helena or any of his other tour date.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Casagranda's Steakhouse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Eat where the locals eat. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jim Larson is a Great Falls Russell graduate who made his way to the Mining City by way of Bozeman, Billings and Anaconda.He is a bit of a jack of all trades, especially in his role with ButteNews.net, which he serves as editor along with his wife, Diane. Jim is also a camera man, writer and advertisement salesman.Before starting up ButteNews.net, Jim worked at The Billings Outpost and The Butte Weekly. At the Weekly, he worked with legendary reporter Rick Foote, and he says he learned some of his cantankerous ways from the man who introduced us to Milo The Miner.Jim grew up in a blue-collar Great Falls, where his father worked on the railroad. Jim even worked on the railroad for a short time, building muscle while pounding in railroad spikes. Then he went to Montana State University, where he spent six years taking all kinds of history classes.He said he was always drawn to the Mining City, and his love of history definitely played a role in that. While working at the Outpost, he said he was always the one assigned to do a review whenever a new book about Butte was released.At 70, Jim is still working hard at bringing us the news. ButteNews.net is a news site where readers can follow local, state and national news. For free. Jim also works to put out a monthly print publication that can be found in most restaurants and many offices around town.If you need the jail roster, the police reports or a roundup of national news, ButteNews.net is the place to go. It is also the place to get introduced to local candidates and some feature stories on important people and issues.Listen in to this episode as Jim talks about his long road to the Mining City. Listen as he talks about his days at MSU, where so many of his friends were from Butte. Listen as he talks about getting into the newspaper business and why he is still going.Listen in to hear what you are missing if you do not regularly visit ButteNews.net.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leskovar Honda⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Nobody on the planet has more fun living life than Mark Durham. Nobody is more positive, either.Durham grew up in Three Forks excelling at sports and idolizing his big brother, Mick. Mark still holds the pole vault record at Three Forks, where he describes his football days as being the “best non-tackling safety in the state.”While Mick played and coached at Montana State University, Mark played and coached at Montana Western, which was called Western Montana College in his playing days. He took over as the third head coach in the history of the Western men’s basketball program, replacing the legendary Casey Keltz.After a long, successful run with the Bulldogs, Durham moved to the role as the school’s athletic director. It was a move he made to try to help the Bulldogs compete with Montana Tech and Carroll College. With Joe McClafferty at Tech and Bruce Parker at Carroll, Western was behind the 8-ball trying to keep up with the Joneses. In that role, Durham hired Steve Keller and Lindsay Woolley as basketball coaches and Ryan Nourse as football coach. So, his legacy is a lasting one with the Dawgs.After moving to Bozeman to work in the insurance industry, Mark learned of his cancer diagnosis on Jan. 1, 2018. Mark, of course, tackled the battle with cancer they way everyone expected he would. And, like we knew he would, Mark beat it.Today, at 60 but going on 36, Mark is the director of Name, Image and Likeness for the Montana State men’s basketball program. What he does for the Bobcats would have had him portrayed as a villain in a sports movie years ago. He does not always like it, but it is such an instrumental job to help the Bobcats compete.Mark is also close to his two daughters, and he is now a grandpa. Well, he doesn’t call himself that. Instead, he is the “G-Dawg,” and he is still living life to the fullest every day.Listen in to this episode as Durham talks about his job as the NIL guy for the Bobcats. Listen as he talks about his playing and coaching days and the relationships he still has with his former teammates and players.Listen in as he talks about fighting cancer and how he kept that positive attitude through it all.This is one you do not want to miss, and Mark swears that most of what he said is true.Today’s episode of the ButteCast is presented by the Jewelry Design Center. Let Brian Toone and Co. be your jewelers for life.Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Lt. Col. James McBride recently retired after a 25-year career in the Marine Corps. Of course, in Butte, we call him Jim or Jimmy.McBride is a 1992 graduate of Butte Central High School. He attended the Hawthorne and Hillcrest elementary schools in Butte before going to Butte Central Junior High and then Butte Central High School. Six days after graduating from BC, he began boot camp in San Diego.By becoming a Marine, Jim followed in the footsteps of this father, Bill, and older brother, Sean. He said he reluctantly became a Marine after his plans for the Naval Academy fell through. In high school, though, we all assumed Jim would be a Marine. He just always looked like one.Jim played football at Butte Central, wearing No. 72 as he played both ways on the line for the Maroons. As a senior, he earned first-team all-conference and second-team All-State honors.While enlisted in the Marines, Jim earned a degree in economics from Tulane University in New Orleans. Later, he earned a pair of master’s degrees.Jim served in many different countries around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, before retiring.Today, Jim is a member of the city council, representing Johns Island in Charleston, South Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Lynn.Listen in to this episode as Jim as he talks about his days in the Marines, which includes a bit of mentoring to fellow BC graduate Rob O’Neill.Listen as he talks about why he decided to run for city council and how he never even paid attention to local politics until he retired. Listen as he talks about some of his friends from high school and why he was reluctant to join the Marine Corps in the first place.Listen in to hear that boot camp turned out to be just like the movies.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Casagranda's Steakhouse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Eat where the locals eat. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Brian Toone was a state champion with the Butte High Bulldogs and a national champion with the Montana Grizzlies.Toone moved to Butte in the middle of his junior year in high school, and he was a star linebacker on Coach Jon McElroy’s 1991 Butte High Class AA State championship squad. That Bulldog team outscored its opponents 396-112, giving up just 9.3 points per game on its way to a 12-0 record.In 1995, Toone was a junior defensive lineman for the University of Montana. He combined with fellow Butte lineman Randy Riley to force Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone in the third quarter of the NCAA 1-AA national championship game in Huntington, West Virgina. That safety proved to be the two-point difference in the Grizzlies’ 22-20 victory over the homestanding Thundering Herd.Toone, who was listed as 208 pounds when he started in the Class AA State championship game in 1991, bulked up in a big way while playing for the Griz. He ate so much that he would set an alarm to get up and eat in the middle of the night. His goal was to be 300 pounds, and he played at more than 290 pounds.To look meaner, he shaved his head and grew a mustache and a patch under his mouth. He said the look was inspired by the movie Tombstone.Toone at least had a shot to play professional football when his college career ended, but he decided keeping that weight on would be just too much of a chore. By the time he finished the spring semester after his final season with the Grizzlies in 1996, Toone was much closer to his high school weight. He also shaved the stache and grew his hair back.Today, Toone owns and operates the Jewelry Design Center, which opened a store in Missoula in 2023. That store is the third location for the business that was started by Toone’s father, Doug, in Spokane.Toone is also very much still a Bulldog and Grizzly. Last week, I wrote a column about Brian intently cheering on the Bulldogs from the sideline during the 2012 Class AA State championship game.He is also working on a couple of things to bring former Grizzlies together. On Sept. 12, Toone and some former Grizzly players are hosting a celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 national championship team. That event will also include a reunion of all the players who played for Head Coach Don Read, who passed away in January of 2024.Read coached the Grizzlies from 1986 through 1995, and he forever changed the Montana football landscape.The event, which will be held at the Adams Center in Missoula, is open to the public. It will include a steak dinner and a meet and greet with the former players. It will be a night of storytelling as players, coaches and fans reminisce about events that they remember well or have never heard before.(Click here for more information and purchase your tickets.)Toone is also starting the first Grizzly alumni organization. He got inspiration for that from the Butte High Silver B’s. He plans to use it to help former Grizzly players stay in touch.Toone is married to his high school sweetheart, Beth (Murray), and the couple has two grown daughters. Life appears to be going quite well for the Toone family, which is about to grow to include a University of Idaho lineman.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thriftway Super Stops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the Thriftway Loyalty Club today and save big. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

When people say things like “Butte tough” or “Anaconda strong,” they are talking about folks like Deb Dinius.Deb is the manager at Crazee Carol’s Casino and Mill Bar in Butte. She has also been the driving force around so many fundraisers and medical benefits in Butte for the last couple of decades. She has organized or helped organize so many events that she cannot even count how many she has worked on this year alone, and she will kick your butt if you try to praise her for her work.Deb’s latest endeavor has her helping raise money for the victims of the Owl Bar shooting in Anaconda. On the morning of Aug. 1, Nancy Kelley, Daniel Baillie, David Leach and Tony Palm were shot to death inside the storied Anaconda establishment.When someone in Butte or Anaconda is hurting, the people get together to show that the community can still rise, even in heartache. Deb usually can be found in the middle of that rising.Two fundraisers are currently set up for the Owl Bar victims. The first is this Saturday, Aug. 16. Crazee Carol’s Casino and Mill Bar is taking part in a nationwide challenge to donate bar sales from that day to the families of the shooting victims.All sales from the bar on Saturday will be sent to Anaconda. Metals Sports Bar & Grill has a similar special set for Saturday, and other establishments in town, across the state and around the country are joining in.Another fundraiser will be held Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. at the Happy Endings Casino in Anaconda. The parking lot party will include live music by The Genuine Article Band. It will include raffles, a 50/50 drawing and auction items.If you would like to donate items for the auction, you can bring them to Deb and the crew at Crazee Carol’s. They have tax information available for all donations.If you cannot make either fundraiser, you can still pitch in. A fund has been set up at the First Montana Bank in Anaconda. Send a check made out to the “Owl Bar Victims Memorial Fund” to 1121 E. Park Ave., Anaconda MT, 59711.Listen in to this episode to hear why this fundraiser is so very important to Deb. Listen to how you can get involved and help Deb show that the people of Butte have Anaconda’s back.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leskovar Honda⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you watch or play sports in the Mining City, you probably know Jack Hocking. We call him the Hockinator. Even if you did not know his name, you probably recognize him as an official of so many sports. Jack umpires baseball and softball, and he officiates basketball and football. He even officiated lacrosse for a bit.Jack also works as an announcer at hockey games in Butte from time to time, and he runs the Muzik Your Way DJ service, so you have probably seen him in action at a game, wedding or party.Jack started umpiring baseball when he was still playing Little League himself. He even went to a school in Florida to try to become a Major League ump. However, he suffered a serious injury during the camp, and was not selected to move on.He could have gone back and tried again, but life kind started to happen, so he stuck around Butte.Jack will conclude his 33rd season as an umpire Aug. 16 when he works the inaugural Montana East-West Shrine Baseball Game at Butte’s 3 Legends Stadium.You might not always agree with the call he makes, but I can assure you that nobody works harder than Jack at learning his craft. He works at all of his sports year-round.As an official who works so many games, Jack also knows firsthand how the shortage of sports officials is hurting the games. So, Jack is on a quest to recruit more officials.He is even offering to pay the initial yearly Montana Official Association dues to the first two new football officials who contact him. Anyone interested in joining Butte’s football officiating pool can simply go to the first study club meeting, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Butte Civic Center upstairs conference room.Then, you can learn that officiating sports isn’t as frightening as you think. In fact, as I can tell you from my experience officiating basketball with Jack and so many other great men and women, officiating is really fun. It is a great way to see the games, and it is an even better way to meet some new friends.Seriously, the officials are not the stuffed shirts you think they are.Hopefully, you will give it a shot and see what I mean.Listen in to this episode to hear that Jack is also one heck of a bowler. He once bowled an 837 series, and has rolled a handful of perfect games.Listen in to hear how Jack got into umpiring in the first place. Listen as he talks about how much he studies to make sure he is making the best call possible.Listen in to hear that officiating just might be something you want to try.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Casagranda's Steakhouse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Eat where the locals eat. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

There is simply no question that Peggy Boyle is one tough woman.In addition to raising four highly-competitive boys, Peggy was one of the 15 Salazar siblings who grew up in a small house on West Granite Street. She attended McKinley Elementary and West Junior High before graduating from Butte High School in 1976. Peggy married Bernie Boyle on Aug. 10, 1979. After the birth of their first son, Dan, Peggy graduated from Montana Tech with a degree in occupation safety and health in 1982.So, there is not a lot you can throw at Peggy that she cannot handle.That quiet strength that she exhibits is one of the key factors in the Boyle and Burgman families working together to create something good out of a horrific tragedy.Sunday, Aug. 10, will mark Peggy and Bernie’s 46th wedding anniversary. It will also mark the 10th anniversary of the worst day of their lives.Just after midnight on Aug. 10, 2015, their son Casey and his best friend Kyle Burgman were killed in an automobile accident where East Park Street meets Sheilds Avenue. Casey, a former Butte Central Maroon, and Kyle, a former Butte High Bulldog, were both just 28 years old. Both were very well-known and beloved in the community, and the tragedy shook the Mining City to its core.The Burgman and Boyle families did something amazing after the tragedy. On the first anniversary of the accident, they held the first Burgman/Boyle Classic alumni basketball game. That included the Boyle’s Buddies Special Olympics game, a perfect tribute to Casey, who was an adored special education teacher at Butte High School.They also launched the Burgman/Boyle Scholarship that has helped so many Butte High and Butte Central graduates attend college. The annual Burgman/Boyle cribbage tournament, which was held on Sunday, helps raise money for the scholarship.The Boyle’s Buddies game has continued on because those Special Olympians will never let it fade away, but the alumni game ended as some of the players got older. It will return this Sunday as both games will be played to mark the 10th anniversary. Action will kick off at with the Boyle’s Buddies game at 4 p.m. at East Middle School. The alumni game will follow at about 5, and scholarships will be presented during halftime of that game.Peggy, the director of Butte Central’s Laverne Combo Thanksgiving Dinner, also worked hard on a project to make the 10th anniversary a little more special. The families are raffling off a playhouse/she-shed. Tickets are $25, and they can be bought at the Knights of Columbus and the Butte Depot, among other places.The drawing for the shed, which is fully insulated and wired for power, will be held during the games. The shed is currently on display outside Dickey’s Barbecue Pit at 2800 Harrison Ave.Listen in to this episode as Peggy talks about growing up with 14 siblings. Listen as she talks about how Bernie kind of struggled at making a good first — and second — impression. Listen as she talks about raising those four boys and how she dealt with the unimaginable tragedy.Listen to hear why the Burgman and Boyle families work so hard to make sure the names of Kyle and Casey are never forgotten.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thriftway Super Stops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the Thriftway Loyalty Club today and save big. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Rick Lyons is one of the greatest all-around athletes the Mining City has ever produced.The 2017 Butte Sports Hall of Fame inductee has won state titles in baseball, basketball, golf and handball. He was part of the 1972 Mile High Little League All-Star team that captured the state title and represented Montana in the Western Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, California.After 53 years, that is still Butte’s only state Little League champion.Rick was then a member of Butte Central’s 1978 Class A State championship basketball team under head coach John Thatcher. A few months later, he was a part of Butte Central’s Class A State championship golf team. That team, led by coach Mike Thompson, included Joe Perrick, John Davis, Frank Cote and the great Louie Bartoletti, who won the individual crown.Rick won the Montana Class B handball title and was, by all accounts, heading toward being one of the best players in the state. However, he saw the toll the game took on some of those best players, and decided it was no longer for him.After college, Rick started playing golf more, and he started to get good. Really good. In 1991 and 1995 he won the Montana Mid-Amateur Championships. Then, in 1999, everyone expected him to win the Montana State Men’s Amateur Championship at the Butte Country Club. He did. Eddie Kavran, the 1998 champion from Dillon, and Reid Lende of Livingston tied fors second — six shots behind Lyons.Rick probably could have won more State Amateur titles, but his family started to grow. His daughter was a baby when he won the 1999 crown, and his two sons followed soon after. So, he stopped playing the game on a regular basis. He also had back problems that prevented him from playing.Then, his college roommate, Kelly Knievel, told him about a book that changed everything. He said the book, titled “Healing Back Paine: The Mind-Body Connection” by Dr. John Sarno, might have had a placebo effect on him, but it worked. He is now golfing, mostly with his family, pain free.Don’t, however, expect Rick, now 65, to start winning tournaments again. Unless it’s a scramble, he is not interested in playing.Today’s podcast is presented by the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Kvichak Fish Co. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Think of it as salmon and halibut gone Girl Scout cookie. Place your order today.

Some of you known him as John Stenson, musician in iconic Butte bands like Uncle Mary, King Friday and the Berkeley Pits. Others know him as Mr. Stenson, history teacher at East Middle School and now Butte High School.Some might even know him as “Johnny Blackout,” a defensive back on Butte High’s 1991 State championship football team.Once again, he will be known as “Coach Stenson.” Butte High hired Stenson to take over as head coach of girls’ flag football program. His hire was made official by the Butte School Board Monday night.It will not be John’s first coaching job. He coached junior high and varsity football in Whitehall, and he coached football at East. He also coaches his son Zach’s Special Olympics basketball team.Butte High enters its fourth season playing flag football, and John looks to take the program to new heights. He currently has 26 players out for the team, and he is looking for more. He is also looking to raise the program out of anonymity. The Bulldogs have played the last few seasons with little fanfare or media coverage. While the latter will change with the return of the ButteCast SportsCap with the fall season, John would like you to see more fans fill the sidelines when the team plays at Copper Mountain Park or the stands whey the Bulldogs play at Naranche Stadium.With assistants Mike McGurk and Josh Hettick, senior leadership and young talent, John expects the Bulldogs to play an exciting brand of football this fall and for years to come.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Casagranda's Steakhouse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Eat where the locals eat. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You might not ever find a retired person who does more work than Jocelyn Dodge.She works with the Restore Our Creek Coalition and the Friends of Thompson Park. She serves as the president of the bard for Butte’s Center for the Performing Arts. That is just to name a few.The Montpelier, Vermont native moved to the Treasure State in the late 1970s to attend the University of Montana. After changing her major multiple times, she graduated in 1982 with a recreation services degree. Jocelyn worked for the Missoula city parks department before moving on to a job at Lone Pine State Park near Kalispell.In 1991, Jocelyn moved to Butte to work for the Forest Service. She served as a recreation forester for several jurisdictions in Southwest Montana, including Butte-Silver Bow. Jocelyn retired in December of 2019, but that has hardly slowed her down.She is busy doing something every single day. When she’s not working hard, she is playing hard. Part of the reason she is so busy is that she is taking advantage of some of the recreation opportunities that she helped create.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thriftway Super Stops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the Thriftway Loyalty Club today and save big. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jake Olson is a 2021 Butte High graduate who is gearing up for his senior season playing football for the Montana Grizzlies.He is following a legacy with the Griz. His father, Bob, played basketball for the Grizzlies in the 1990s. Jake figured he would do that, too. But then he had a breakout season playing tight end for the Butte High Bulldogs during their run to the 2019 Class AA State Championship football game. Jake scored the first touchdown of that game, hauling a long TD pass from Tommy Mellott, but the Bozeman Hawks won the game.Jake committed to the Grizzlies in September of 2020, and he officially signed while sitting at a table at the 50-yard line of Naranche Stadium on the first day of the early signing period that December.Jake was a standout for the Bulldog basketball team, too. He earned four varsity letters on the hardwood, and he helped lead the Bulldogs to two trips to the Class AA State tournament.Now, he is a senior for the Grizzlies. The 6-foot-7, 258-pound tight end caught his first touchdown pass last season. He also threw blocks — or at least he says he attempted to — for legendary Griz return man Junior Bergen.This year, Jake is looking for a big season as he closes the chapter on his college football career. The Griz play eight home games, starting with a Sept. 6 battle with Central Washington at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The regular-season will wrap up Nov. 22 at home against Montana State.Jake said he is looking forward to the season, and he expects big things from the Grizzlies. He is working extremely hard to get ready for the season, but he is also finding some time to work on his golf game.Oh, and he is doing his part to keep the streets of Missoula passable.When I called him yesterday for this fun phone conversation, Jake had just finished clearing the street of a downed tree. He said it gave him flash backs to last year’s huge storm that paralyzed the city and left football players sleeping in the parking lot outside the weight room so they were not late for morning weights.Listen in as Jake talks about growing up in Butte, where he lived in the same house that produced a pair of Olympic skiers. Listen as he talks about that 2019 season and some of his coaches and teammates at Butte High.Listen as he talks about running out of that tunnel at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and playing for the Grizzlies. Listen in as he talks about getting engaged to his high school sweetheart.Today's podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leskovar Honda⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Maritsa Georgiou is a well-respected journalist in Montana and around the nation. Her reporting on the planned removal of United States Postal Service boxes leading up to the largely mail-in election of 2020 earned her the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism. It might have also thwarted a conniving attempt to swing the election.A year earlier, the Montana Broadcasters Association awarded her the E.B. Craney Award for Television Broadcaster of the Year.Maritsa started working for NBC Montana when she was still a junior at the University of Montana in 2006. She worked there until 2021, when she moved on to Scripps News to work as a national correspondent. She also anchored “America Tonight,” before losing her job when Scripps eliminated more than 200 employees during a mass layoff last November.Maritsa grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, which is a suburb of Minneapolis. She came to Montana to study at one of the best journalism schools in the country. She also arrived in the Treasure State with some serious Montana roots.Those roots include her grandfather, Barry ZeVan. Many years before he was the famous “Peek-a-Boo” weather man in Minnesota, ZeVan worked as Missoula’s first television meteorologist. Before that, ZeVan worked for KXLF Radio in Butte.Early in 2025, Maritsa teamed up with another newly-unemployed Montanan, former Sen. Jon Tester. Together, they created the “Grounded” podcast. It is a widely entertaining podcast with some exceptional — and important — conversation and journalism. Also, with their combined credentials and connections, Maritsa and Sen. Tester have some serious reach for guests. Recent guests include former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, “Anonymous” op-ed writer Miles Taylor, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.The episode with Sen. Booker dropped earlier this week. In addition to some hard-hitting heckling between Tester and Booker, Maritsa and Sen. Tester got to the bottom of how Sen. Booker pulled off a 25-hour filibuster in the U.S. Senate without once using the restroom. He wasn’t wearing a diaper, either.Listen in to today’s podcast as Maritsa talks about the influence of her grandfather in her career and why she chose to come to the Treasure State to study. Listen as she talks about the story that won her the Cronkite Award.Listen as she talks about working with former Sen. Tester and why the Big Sandy farmer is the genuine article.Today’s podcast is presented by the ⁠⁠⁠Kvichak Fish Co. ⁠⁠⁠Think of it as salmon and halibut gone Girl Scout cookie. Place your order today.