McGonigal’s Chronicles: Making Montana Connections Podcast: Recent Episodes
McGonigal’s Chronicles: Making Montana Connections
A podcast for fans of Big Sky Country. Longtime MTN News anchor Tim McGonigal goes in-depth with interesting and amazing people who have a tie to the Treasure State. Who are they, what have they done and where are they now? From authors to athletes, business leaders to policy makers, these are some of the extraordinary stories from people who make Montana the Last Best Place
Tim Moylan grew up in a loving home in Nebraska. The pain of losing his parents helped fuel his alcohol addiction. It's a pain he carried with him throughout much of his life. The disease nearly killed him...twice. Now, happily married and living in Shelby with his wife and their two children, he has written a book recounting his struggles, in the hopes of helping others know there's a way out when it comes to addiction.
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Gene Thayer's story is one of rags to riches. Born in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, he grew up in a coal miner’s shack east of Belt, in French Coulee. No running water with the only heat coming from a cookstove, trying to survive Montana winters. He's come a long way and estimates in his life he's helped raise $75 million for worthy Montana causes.
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For well over a hundred years, the Great Falls Rotary Club has operated Camp Rotary, nestled in the heart of the Little Belt Mountains between Monarch and Neihart.
And every June for the past 32 years, Camp Rotary has been the home to Camp Francis. It's a children’s bereavement camp that has had a positive impact on thousands of children struggling with grief.
For most of that time, Kathy Van Tighem has been involved, primarily as Camp Director.
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Hasan Davis describes himself as an author, trainer, performer, youth advocate, lawyer, and hope dealer. Among his most recent projects is appearing in and producing the documentary film “Big Medicine York Outdoors", which helps tell the story of one of the most important figures in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The film has been shown at various spots along the trail of the Corps of Discovery and is expected to soon be available to view on the National Park Service website.
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There have been numerous aspiring music artists who played Montana early in their careers before reaching superstardom.
Some names that come to mind include Lainey Wilson, Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift.
Avery Anna is hoping to join that group of elite company.
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A Great Falls native is making her mark in the sales world. Leslie Venetz graduated from C.M. Russell High School and the University of Montana. She now runs the Sales-Led GTM Agency from Chicago. Venetz credits her high school debate experience for teaching her listening and questioning skills. She's just released her first book called "Profit Generating Pipeline." The book focuses on earning trust and driving revenue. Venetz still returns to Montana regularly, especially during state fair time.
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For more than four decades, a day at the office for Mike Hoggan meant spending time in the great outdoors. He spent ten years in a sheep wagon in the remote mountains of Nevada before moving to Montana where, as a government hunter and and trapper for USDA Wildlife Services, he worked along the Rocky Mountain Front dealing with wolves, mountain lions, and grizzlies.
He’s now sharing his experiences in a book called "Between Predator and Prey: 42 Years a Government Hunter."
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Nnamdi Kanaga always hoped his dream of making films would bring him to America. He just didn't know that journey would lead him to Big Sky Country.
But even after enduring his share of Bozeman winters, he wouldn't have it any other way.
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Leading a successful city symphony is about more than just showing up and rehearsing and taking the stage on concert nights.
It takes dedication and commitment to music, community, education and more.
And it's something Grant Harville has done while leading the Great Falls Symphony for the past eight years.
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For the men and women who have served our country, there are countless service organizations that help them adjust back to civilian life.
But there’s one based in Sanders County that’s different from the rest.
Tom Schueman joined the Marine Corps after the events of September 11, 2001. His service took him to some of the deadliest combat zones of the War in Afghanistan.
In 2021, he founded a retreat in the mountains of western Montana named Patrol Base Abbate.
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The name Juliette Angelo might not be as well known as people like Drew Barrymore or Macaulay Culkin, but she can definitely relate to them. Like them, she was a childhood actor, known for prominent roles on shows like NCIS, Shameless, and Malibu Country. And like the aforementioned Barrymore and Culkin, she went through a tumultuous time trying to balance a childhood and life in the entertainment spotlight.
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Just south of Neihart Montana on US Highway 89, you’ll find Montana’s oldest ski area.
Showdown Montana has been a haven for downhill ski enthusiasts for nearly 90 years.
And for a majority of that time there’s been a common denominator in keeping the lifts moving and the slopes in shape, George Willet.
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Carol Bradley first came to Montana in 1994 to cover the US Senate race between Jack Mudd and Senator Conrad Burns.After crisscrossing the state with both candidates, she fell in love with Big Sky Country.
Her award winning journalistic skills and a passion for animals has helped pave the way for the writing of books focusing on animal rights. including her latest endeavor, “Twisting in Air: The Sensational Rise of a Hollywood Falling Horse.”
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If Montana had a Mount Rushmore dedicated to the broadcasting industry, there’s an excellent chance Dan Snyder would be on it.
He worked as an announcer, program director, and salesman for stations across Montana before eventually building and operating stations.
His daughter, Jacque Snyder Walawander, has complied her father's amazing stories and recollections in a new book entitled, "Stationed in Montana: The Memoir of Great Falls Broadcast Pioneer Dan Snyder.”
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Dawn Sexton is one of the estimated one million Americans living with multiple sclerosis. But that's not stopping the one of the state of Montana's foremost MS awareness advocates from working full-time and enjoying the many outdoor amenities the Treasure State has to offer.
Dawn currently serves as the clinical education director at Touro College of Osteopathic medicine.
It was nearly a decade ago that she began to feel the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
She’s become a fierce fighter for awareness, meeting with congressional leaders and other experts on Capitol Hill fighting for funding and additional research opportunities.
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Cole Hauser is repsonsible for helping create on of television’s most iconic characters.
As the no-nonsense ranch foreman and enforcer Rip Wheeler on the fictional Dutton ranch in Montana, Hauser has helped propel "Yellowstone" to ratings success few ever dreamed of when the show debuted in 2018.
Hauser has been displaying his on screen talents for much longer than that. His film credits include Good Will Hunting, School Ties, and Dazed and Confused, acting alongside the likes of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey.
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No matter where you travel in the Treasure State, it’s hard to miss the influence of Charles M. Russell. That Russell influence made an impact on Cary Morin. The Native American musician was born in Billings and spent much of his time growing up in Great Falls. Now, he’s honoring Russell with his latest album, entitled “Innocent Allies.”
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A 2023 graduate of CM Russell High School in Great Falls originally hoped for acareer in acting, but music took over, now “The CJ”, as they are called, is embarking on what looks to be a successful career in the music industry.
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In this episode, we talk with three prominent Blackfeet artists.
Lily Gladstone stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in "Killers of the Flower Moon."
John Isaiah Pepion and Louis Still Smoking are collaborating on an installation titles "Within" at the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls.
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Better late than never might be the best way to describe Dorothy Wilson’s journey as a writer.
The Great Falls native, who later traveled the country as a military wife, always enjoyed writing.. from poetry in grade School to short stories later in life. She says she never dreamed of writing a murder mystery book, but once she started penning the pages of “The Green Tunnel,” about a Native American on the Great Falls police force, the words just started flowing.
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Ken Burns is one of the most prominent and influential documentary filmmakers of our time. His projects like "The Civil War", "Lewis and Clark", "Baseball", "The National Parks" and more help tell the story of America.
And by his side, collaborating on many of these stories, is author Dayton Duncan.
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Just about everyone has dealt with physical pain at one time or another. Imagine living with pain non-stop for more than 10 years.
That’s been the case for Montana native and former Great Falls resident Corinna Dahlin.
She’s endured a rare liver disease as well as suffering from other conditions.
But she chooses to take a positive approach in her battle against pain and rare diseases.
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What do streaming series ‘1923’, ‘Ozark’, and ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ have in common?
The same thing as the Hollywood blockbuster ‘X-Men’, the cult classic ‘Willard’, and Broadway plays ‘Tiger at the Gates’ and ‘The Elephant Man.’
All of the aforementioned productions featured actor Bruce Davison in a starring or supporting role.
His career spans more than five decades and he has close to 300 acting credits to his name.
The Oscar and Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning Pennsylvania native is currently a cast member in the Yellowstone spinoff ‘1923,’ playing British Lord Arthur.
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Tim Gordon might not be a household name. But when it comes to the world of collecting, antiquing and appraising, he's among the very best.
The Missoula native's passion for the profession started when he was a child, collecting bottles in Butte. It led him to appraise some of the most decorated collections in the country and the world, including the dress collection at Kensington Palace of the late Princess Diana, the Ronald Reagan Ranch in California, and the Jim Morrison estate in Paris.
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When it comes to the history of Montana, the brewing of beer is a tradition as old as Big Sky Country itself. A history lining the pages of a new book by Missoula author Ryan Newhouse.
I recently had a chance to talk to him about this in-depth look into the Treasure State’s beloved beverages. He discussed some of the innovative marketing techniques brewers used to peddle their products, the difficulties for brewers brought on by prohibition and more.
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Julie Mac has made it her mission to tell these stories of Montana through her latest venture.
The tv host and producer recently embarked on Montana’s Best. Through social media platforms like youtube, she and her crew travel the state looking for the people, places and pictures that make Montana special.
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At 97, Arlyne Reichert may have slowed down a bit, but she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
In Great Falls, she’s affectionately known as “The Bridge Lady” for her efforts to help save and preserve the historic 10th Street Bridge.
But her community involvement stretches well beyond the Electric City.
She’s the oldest living delegate remaining from the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention, which marks its 50th year in 2022.
She served as a legislative reporter for the Montana Television Network..
And she worked her way up to assistant director at McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls and to this day remains on the MRI Board of Directors.
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Greg Gianforte’s road to the Montana Governor’s office has been an eventful one. It included time working in software development before launching Right Now Technologies, with his wife Susan, also an engineer, in Bozeman in the mid 90’s. The company was acquired by Oracle in 2011 for $1.5 billion.
In this episode, we learn more about how he arrived in Montana, his business beliefs, and some of the steps he's taken as governor.
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This episode takes us from the fertile farmlands of North Central Montana to the halls of the nation’s Capitol in Washington, DC. For the better part of the last 15 years, that’s where Jon Tester has spent much of his time as a member of the U.S. Senate.
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The end of February also marked the end of a career for one of Montana’s most respected and knowledgeable political reporters.
After more than 30 years of covering some of the Treasure State’s most memorable and important events, Mike Dennison announced his retirement.
During his illustrious career in both print and broadcasting, he had a front row seat to the fall of the once mighty Montana Power Company to a teenager falsely accused of rape who waited sixteen years to be fully exonerated.
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Kendra Joyce hails from a farming background in Geraldine, Montana.. A small agricultural community in Chouteau County,in the heart of Big Sky Country.
And as long as she can remember, she’s had a passion for helping people. Whether it be coaching special olympics or pursuing her dream of being an occupational therapist. She's never shied away from lending a hand.
Her Cutting Fences podcast tells stories of everyday Montana farmers and ranchers overcoming injuries, accidents and disabilities to take charge of their lives.
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Dr. Renee Reijo Pera is just the fifth president in the nearly 70 year history of the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls. She's the first female to hold the position.
Early in life, science wasn’t in the cards for Reijo Pera. What was in the cards was an excellent work ethic, instilled by her mother growing up in rural Wisconsin. A mother who worked at hard labor jobs and hoped her daughter could one day work in an office.
She discussed the groundbreaking research taking place at MRI and the importance of women and girls entering scientific disciplines.
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In its illustrious history, Montana has seen its share of disasters.
From the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire to the 1989 Helena Train Explosion. The Flood of 1964 on the Blackfeet Reservation to a 1962 plane crash that killed Montana Governor Donald Nutter, and the list goes on..
Some of the state’s most notable, and not so well-known disasters are the subject of a new book, "Montana Disasters: True Stories of Treasure State Tragedies and Triumphs", by Butch Larcombe, a fourth generation Montanan from Malta.
Larcombe, a longtime Montana journalist, says there’s no yardstick to measure a disaster, that's it’s in the eye of the beholder. When compiling the collection he says he looked for events with interesting human stories.
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Today, we continue our conversation with Wilmot Collins.
In part one, we learned about the current Helena Mayor’s death-defying journey from his native Liberia on the west African coast to Montana.
How he remained overseas while his wife started her life in the US and gave birth to his baby daughter who he didn’t get a chance to meet until she was nearly two years old.
In this episode, he talks about adjusting to life in the Treasure State, his entry into the political arena, his service in the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve and more.
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The weather is usually a lot warmer in Liberia than it is in Montana, but Wilmot Collins would probably gladly take the frigid temperatures of Big Sky Country over the bullets and bloodshed that prompted him to leave his homeland during that country’s civil war.
The current mayor of Helena is now in his second term of leading Montana’s Capital City. He made history in 2017, becoming the first black mayor of a Montana city.
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It’s been said Montana is like one big town. If that’s true, it’s safe to say it’s like a big family. And if anyone knows about big families, it’s Mary Sheehy Moe. She’s one of 11 children and counts her brothers and sisters among her greatest blessings. Her can do attitude and willingness to help others can probably be traced back to her mother and father, the latter who served on the Montana Supreme Court.
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The lights are back on Broadway. And perhaps no one is happier to be basking in the glow than Helena native Kurt Crowley. From an early age, he seemed to be destined for artistic excellence. He was playing the piano at three and instructors quickly discovered his advanced musical prowess. When he was 13, he earned a prestigious scholarship to a New Hampshire boarding school. He attended Harvard, studied in India, and eventually made his way to New York where he’s worked on some of the most successful theatrical productions including an extensive stint as musical director for Hamilton.
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The best way to describe Bob Quinn might be agricultural pioneer.
The Big Sandy farmer has been on the leading edge of agricultural innovation.
From developing Montana’s first wind farm near Judith Gap to being the brains behind the tasty Kracklin' Kamut snacks you find in your grocery store.
Quinn has spent much of life working the same land his grandfather did starting in 1920.
He’s been an organic farmer for the past 30 years and believes from a financial and health standpoint, the practice is the future of farming and what was once laughed at is slowly gaining traction.
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Thomas Nybo’s career as a storyteller has taken him to some of the most interesting, and dangerous places in the world. Through his stunning photographs, compelling video, and descriptive writing, the Helena native and University of Montana graduate has told amazing, inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking stories for CNN, PBS, the New York Times and more.
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September 11, 2001 marked the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.
The aftermath plunged the United States into a nearly 20 year war in Afghanistan. Among the countless Americans to join the fight was Ray McPadden.
The Texas born and raised McPadden became a four-tour combat veteran, serving as a ground force commander in the elite 2nd Ranger Battalion in Afghanistan as well as Iraq. He earned a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars and a medal for valor. It may sound like what movies are made of, but McPadden will tell you it’s far from a Hollywood script.
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Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament is no stranger to playing in front of sold-out arenas. But he would rather be outside.
In fact, the title of the Montana born, Big Sandy raised musician’s latest album, his fourth solo effort, is “I Should Be Outside.”
It came about when Pearl Jam’s tour dates were cancelled due to Covid. He found himself hard at work writing songs and putting his artwork skills to the test over the next months.
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Have you ever been told you look or sound like someone famous? Great Falls native Merle Travis Peterson took his likeness and affinity for legendary musician Johnny Cash to another level.
What started in Montana as the Cold Hard Cash show reached a peak in front of millions David Letterman’s late night talk show.
Cold Hard Cash has since disbanded, but Peterson is still playing music.
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If you glance at Paul Wylie’s resume, historical writer might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But in recent years, the Livingston born son of school teachers, who grew up in White Sulphur Springs has penned some amazing books about the Treasure State’s past.
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Nick McCarvel has always had a knack for telling stories, and that skill has enabled him to reach the pinnacle of sports journalism. The Helena native is a digital producer and reporter for the Olympics. This summer he’s telling inspirational and emotional stories of the athletes at the Tokyo games.
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Sarah Calhoun has never shied away from hard work and her quest for comfort while doing it helped launch a Treasure State phenomenon.
Since 2006, Red Ants Pants has become a leader in top quality workwear for women.
But the Connecticut born businessperson, who ironically never took a business course, says Red Ants is about more than just the pants. The brand has spawned the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, set to make a much-anticipated July 2021 return to White Sulphur Springs. The festival benefits the Red Ants Pants Foundation, which to date has given more than 110-thousand dollars to worthy Montana organizations.
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25 years ago the normally peaceful town of Lincoln, Montana was suddenly transformed from a serene mountain retreat into a bustling center of the news media universe. That’s when authorities nabbed a recluse named Ted Kaczynski from his infamous cabin. Hardly anyone in the quiet community had a clue that the Unabomber was living among them. Matt Flanders of Helena was living in California at the time. Like many with ties to Big Sky Country, he was amazed that one of the world’s most wanted domestic terrorists had made the Treasure State home. Fast forward a quarter century and Matt finds himself as a successful New York filmmaker, wrapping up work on "Ted K." The film is a look at the life of Kaczynski, unlike any other dramatization of the Montana hermit.
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Jamie Ford awoke from a nap in Milwaukee to find out he was New York Times best-selling author. His acclaimed novel, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" spent 130 weeks on the New York Times list. In an interview with Tim McGonigal, he talks about the writing process and challenges of being an author. And he talks about the path that led him to Great Falls, Montana and he chose to make the Electric City his home.
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From the fertile farmland of Central Montana to the blood stained sands of the Middle East. Nada Bakos was able to live her childhood dream of working overseas thanks to a 10-year career in the CIA as an analyst and later a targeting officer. The Denton, MT native talks about the challenges of tracking terrorists and the frustrations of trying to make a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. She also answers the assertion that she was the inspiration for Jessica Chastain's character in the film Zero Dark Thirty.
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During a more than 25 year career in law enforcement, John Cameron saw a lot. Including working closely on the case of Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, the main suspect in the disappearance of a young Great Falls boy in 1996. It was after Cameron had retired from the GFPD that his investigative nature led him to a man named Ed Edwards, a criminal mastermind who Cameron believes is responsible for some of the most highly publicized murders in history.
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Dava Newman has been reaching for the stars ever since she was a little girl growing up in Helena, Montana. The Capital High graduate earned degrees from Notre Dame and M.I.T. She's known for her work developing revolutionary space exploration suits and she served as a Deputy Administrator for NASA. Her latest endeavor is taking over as the Director of the Prestigious M.I.T. Media Lab.
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Welcome to McGonigal's Chronicles: Making Montana Connections. Longtime Montana Television Network anchor and reporter Tim McGonigal shares the stories of some amazing people with ties to the TreasureState. From tales of innovation to investigation, life inside the CIA to life as a New York Times bestselling author, Montana has had a major role in helping shape these individuals on their incredible journeys. This first episode previews the series.
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