The ButteCast with Bill Foley: Recent Episodes
Bill Foley
Kevin Barry is a well-known and highly-regarded name in Ireland, and beyond.
The most famous Kevin Barry was a young Irish Republican Army soldier who was executed by the British government during the Irish War of Independence. His life and death inspired the Irish rebel song titled Kevin Barry.
Another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the Crown.
That, though, has nothing to do with today’s guest. This Kevin Barry was named after an uncle, and he is one of a great many men named Kevin Barry in Ireland.
This Kevin Barry, though, is the only one, to my knowledge, who has written a novel that was set in Butte in the 1890s. He has written a handful of novels, a few collections of short stories and some plays.
His latest novel is called “The Heart in Winter,” and it is a love story about a couple trying to escape Butte in 1891. Barry started research for this book in 1999. That is when he rolled off a Greyhound Bus from Seattle and made his first stop in the M&M.
After spending time in Butte doing research, he started writing his book. It did not click with him, so he put it aside for a couple of decades. Then, he came back and wrote a book he can be proud of.
Barry has been in Butte for almost a week now promoting his book. Earlier today, I caught up with him at the Knights of Columbus Hall for a fun conversation.
Listen in to hear about Barry’s travels, including his initial visit to the Mining City. Listen as he talks about growing up in Ireland and his career as a journalist and writer. Listen as he talks about why he chose Butte for the setting of his novel.
Listen as he talks about what it is like to come to Butte with an Irish accent, and listen as he tells us that he is not the martyr who fought to free Ireland.
Today’s podcast is presented by the Jewelry Design Center. Let Brian Toone and Co. be your jewelers for life.
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.
Over the weekend, my mom’s oldest sister, Carol Kocher, passed away at the age of 85.
Carol will be remembered for her love, caring and sense of humor. She made us laugh, even when she did not mean to make us laugh. She also worked for decades as a nurse, offering a comforting hand to so many when they needed it most.
Carol will be missed by so many.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
You will look long and hard before you find a better ambassador for the Mining City than today’s guest. In these parts, Keith Sayers is the most-known motorcycle rider who doesn’t have the last name Knievel.
Keith bought his first motorcycle from a friend for just $10 when he was 9 years old. He turned quite the profit on that investment. Keith is now in his 20th year making a living riding his dirt bike.
You probably know Keith from the show he and his fellow riders put on in Butte every June during the Colt Anderson Dream Big Event. Or maybe you remember him from his shows during Evel Knievel Days. Or maybe you live in any corner of this country and you know him because Keith performed in your town.
Sayers started racing motocross when he was 12 years old. That led him to give up on his dreams of playing professional baseball. He realized the dirt bike was his calling.
During the first Evel Knievel Days in 2002, Keith stood at the fence as he watched the freestyle riders wow the crowd with their tricks. He wondered how he could be part of that team. Fast forward a few years, and Keith owned the that team, and the shows for Evel Days got bigger and better each year. He introduced us to X Games legends like Heath Frisby.
At 43, the 2001 Butte High graduate is still touring the country and riding. He travels with his wife Danielle, the couple’s daughter Lylee (15) and son Gavin (12).
Listen as he talks about Evel Days, jumping Sparky’s Garage and his trick that gets the biggest roar from the crowd. Listen to hear his passion when he talks about being a role model.
Listen as he talks about how Gavin is already a better rider than his dad.
Today’s episode of the ButteCast is brought to you by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
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.
Losing an election last year was a liberating feeling. It has felt good to tell rude people on social media to get bent.
Yes, they keep saying that we need to turn the temperature down on our political talk. Our nation is getting more divided every day, and made-up wedge issues are the main culprit.
More than that, though, we need people to speak the truth. When somebody says something that is dead wrong, good people should not remain silent. The truth might not always be nice, but it is essential.
Nice is becoming a substitute for truth and some things don’t need to be sugar coated.
Being nice is not going to protect the reproductive rights of our daughters. Being nice is not going bring down the price of eggs. Being nice is not going to stop us from being drug down a hole toward a totalitarian rule.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Brian Gilman is a 1988 graduate of Butte High School.
A black belt in Taekwondo, Brian played football at Butte High before walking on the football team at Montana Tech. He was part of the Bulldog squad that fell 14-12 to Helena Capital in the Class AA State championship game, and that loss still hurts today.
After graduating with a degree in environmental engineering from Montana Tech, Brian joined the Marines. After many jobs and deployments, he earned the rank of colonel before retiring after nearly 27 years of service.
Today, Brian lives in Bozeman, where he is the chief executive officer for Warriors & Quiet Waters. There, Brian works to empower post-9/11 veterans to thrive.
Warriors & Quiet Waters is a purpose-driven veteran service organization that offers nature-based experiences, a sense of community and belonging, and guided personal growth designed to restore minds, bodies and spirits of post-9/11 combat veterans and their loved ones.
The organization has had a huge success rate.
Listen in to this episode of the ButteCast as Brian talks about growing up in Butte and playing football for Butte High and Montana Tech. Listen in as he talks about the influence former Oredigger coach Bob Green had on his life.
Listen in to hear why he joined the Marines after college and how he feels about the work he is doing today.
Today’s podcast is presented by Thriftway Super Stops. Download the TLC app and start saving today. Click here for more on Warriors & Quiet Waters.
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.
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.
If you celebrated when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night television show after receiving pressure from the FCC, then you are missing the point. An attack by the government on anyone’s free speech rights is an attack on of all our rights.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
Tom Pomroy Sr. passed away last week at the age of 1991. He was a Butte Sports Hall of Famer and my Spanish teacher at Butte Central.
I will remember Señor Pomroy as a very nice man who always seemed to see the best in everybody. He was always trying to lift people up.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Today, we start Season 4 of the ButteCast with one of my childhood heroes, “Flyin’” Brian Vaughns.
Vaughns was a superstar for the Montana Tech men’s basketball team in the mid 1980s. The 6-foot-7 center from Camden, New Jersey played on two Frontier Conference championship teams. He averaged nearly a double-double with points and rebounds in his time with the Orediggers.
He also led the world in electrifying dunks. That is what led Montana Standard Sportswriter Jim Edgar to coin the name, “Flyin’ Brian.”
Oredigger head coach Kelvin Sampson left Montana Tech for a job as an assistant at Washington State following the 1985 season. That is when Vaughns left the great moniker behind and transferred to NCAA Division I University of California Santa Barbara.
He played one season at Santa Barbara, and he led the team with 13.9 points per game. Because of a strange NCAA rule at the time, the redshirt season he had to sit out as a transfer robbed him of his senior season.
Vaughns, though, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the fifth round of the 1987 NBA draft. Vaughns never played in the NBA, but he fell in love with the game during a professional career that took him around the world.
That career took him to Australia, and he now lives in Melbourne. In the Land Down Under, Vaughns is a legendary basketball coach, and his son, Marcus, is committed to play hoops at Louisiana State University. The younger Vaughns will join LSU in January, after he finishes high school in November.
Now that he is no longer flying, the soon-to-be 61-year-old Brian Vaughs might just end up with a new nickname, Peyton Manning style. Today, he is “Writin’ Brian,” and his second book is about to be released.
The title of the book is great. It’s called, “Basketball Used to Be My Girlfriend. Now She’s Just a Lady I Know.”
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.
Butte Central beat Hardin 17-16 on a last-second field goal by Jack Nagle. It was the biggest 3-pointer for the Maroons since Dougie Peoples lifted BC to the Class A State basketball title in 2022.
Unfortunately, it will be the last time this season that people who usually go to Butte High games will be able to watch the Maroons play. That is a shame.
The solution, though, would be to play more games on Thursday night.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
In a world of wannabe Adam Schefters, be a Mike Florio. The text-message journalists got it wrong when trying to be the first to report on Tommy Mellott’s status on the Las Vegas Raiders roster last week.
While that was irritating and potentially hurtful to the former Montana State and Butte High star quarterback’s family, it also showed off how beloved Tommy is around these parts.
Now, we can’t wait for Tommy, who signed with the New Orleans Saints on Monday, to prove Pete Carroll and the Raiders so very wrong.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
Some 45 years after she broke my heart by moving away, Lisa was part of the St. Patrick Hospital team that fixed it.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
Most of us passed the third grade. It just took some of us longer than others.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
As practices begin for the high school fall sports season, I am reminded of the night Brian Toone returned to the Mining City.
The 1991 Butte High Bulldog state champion and 1995 Montana Grizzly national champion was so intense while watching the game on the sideline that I thought he might run out and make a tackle. He was not there to reminisce with his teammates. He was there to watch the Bulldogs win the 2012 Class AA State championship game.
Even when you win it all, you want to go back and do it again. If you leave the field with regret, that feeling will haunt you. If I could say one thing to players entering their senior year, it would be to look at the passion Brian Toone watching the Bulldogs 21 years after he last put on the uniform. This will be your last season to see your hometown team in action and be able to do something about it.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
Almost two months after the Red Sox traded my favorite player, Rafael Devers, to the Giants, the move still hurts.
But, through thick, thin, heartbreaking trades and horrible owners, you must stick with your favorite teams.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Brittani Ferris and Jordan Harwell are trying their best to make the Mining City laugh more. They are doing a pretty good job, too.
Brittani is the founder of Uptown Comedy, and she is working hard to bring comedy acts to Butte. That includes an Aug. 22 show by Sam Miller with Lynette Manning at the Covellite Theater.
She hosts showcases at the Covellite on Thursdays. That includes highlighting talent from Butte and around the state. The next show on Aug. 7 will be an all-female show that promises to rock the old theater.
Brittani grew up in Butte, and she is related the large Ferris family from Dillon. That Ferris group is known for, among other things, their great athletic prowess. Brittani, though, says she did not get that family trait. She opted for theater and speech and debate when she was at Butte High School.
She went to college in Missoula and worked in Bozeman. She has traveled around the state and beyond working on her comedy routine. She even did shows in New York.
After moving back to Butte, she decided to work on building a scene in her hometown. Uptown Comedy offers open-mic nights at the 51 Below Speakeasy in addition to the other shows she puts on. They did a show Friday at the Butte-Silver Bow Fair.
Brittney encourages people who are reluctant about trying standup to give it a shot, and she seems to enjoy seeing local talent thrive even more than she likes to get a laugh herself.
Brittani quickly realized that Jordan is one of the top comedians around. He grew up in San Diego, and work brought him to Butte. While in the Holey City, Jordan discovered the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s basketball league and a great opportunity for comedy.
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.
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.
This past weekend, Butte’s Mile High All-Stars knocked on the door of history. They came up just short of becoming just the second Little League state championship team from the Mining City.
They fell to Boulder Arrowhead of Billings, but not before they reminded us all of that great Mile High team from 1972.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
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.
Before he played in the 2025 British Open, Libby native Riggs Johnston made the Butte Country Club look like an easy course.
He might be the only person to ever do that.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
The Butte 100 Mountain Bike Race started in 2007, and it lead to a mountain bike explosion Butte and Southwestern Montana.
A great many of people were instrumental in leading this charge. So many work countless hours. Yet, nobody has done more the race (and recreation in general in Butte) than Gina Evans.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at 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.
The legendary Rick Sparks passed away last week, three days shy of his 78th birthday.
Sparky might have passed, but his voice will live on forever.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Today’s guest is someone everyone knows. Or, at least you know of him.
He might just be the guy you see running down the street, no matter the weather. He is Donald “Ozzie” Rosenleaf, a 1991 Anaconda High School graduate who lives in Butte with his wife Sunvee.
Ozzie has reached one-name status in the Mining City. When people speak of him, there is no need to use his last name.
Usually that conversation about Ozzie goes something like, “Did you hear what Ozzie is doing?”
People think Ozzie is a little crazy because of his love of running. He has run more miles than Forrest Gump since the soon-to-be 52-year-old Ozzie took up running in his late 20s.
That includes running a full marathon in all 50 states in the nation. He ran five marathons in five states in five days. Then, he ran six marathons in six states in six days.
Even runners who other people are nuts think Ozzie is a little out there. He also as an inspiration for them and others to show that they, too, can do great — or crazy — things if they put their mind to it.
Ozzie’s most recent race was to run the Copper Kings 100 in Butte. That was a 100-mile race that Ozzie finished in just over 24 yours.
It was the third time that he ran a race of at least 100 miles. That goes with a marathon total that is approaching 100.
Listen in to hear Ozzie talk about finishing the 100-mile race. Listen as he talks about how he got into running in the first place. Listen to hear that Ozzie really isn’t that crazy after all.
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.
Podcast No. 274: George Parrett
When I was in grade school in Butte, there were basically two kinds of kids: Those who had Mr. George Parrett as their principal and those who wished they did.
I fell into the latter. I was never lucky enough to have Mr. Parrett as a principal, but I heard so much about him from the kids who did. They loved Mr. Parrett. They all spoke about him like he was their favorite uncle. The only other principal I ever heard spoken of in that way by other kids was Mr. Oakie O’Connor.
I was not lucky enough to have Mr. O’Connor as principal, either. I just missed him at the Kennedy.
Mr. Parrett, who turned 92 this past Saturday, spent decades as the principal, with the last 20 years or so coming at the Whittier Elementary in Butte. When he retired in 1998, Mr. Parrett spent another couple of decades plus serving as a volunteer at Whittier. He helped kids learn how to read or write.
He also became an avid runner during his retirement years, and he was a driving force in establishing the Spirit of Columbia Gardens Carousel. So, his legacy will live on for decades to come, and in more ways than one.
In recognition of his long career, Mr. Parrett was selected to serve as the Grand Marshal of this year’s Fourth of July Parade in Butte. It will be his second stint as Grand Marshal. He shared the honors for his work with the Carousel in the past.
Listen in to hear Mr. Parrett talk about growing up in the Great Depression in Butte. He was one of seven children who lost their father at a young age.
Listen as he talks about getting into teach and how he knew right away that he was going to marry Mrs. Parrett.
Listen as he talks about some of his former students and some of the teachers and principals he worked with.
Listen in to hear why he was a great selection for Grand Marshal and why those kids were right to think they were lucky.
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.
It is time to start a movement and call out those who berate sports officials. Staying silent is being complicit.
Follow the ways of Bugs Bunny.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
The Colt Anderson Dream Big Experience will be held this week in Butte. (Schedule)
The two-day event begins Thursday. The first day includes a family fun area on Galena Street and a Keith Sayers show on Park Street, where there will also be a concert featuring Travis Denning and Levi Blom.
Friday includes the UpTop Skills Camp at Naranche Stadium. That is where area boys and girls get to rub elbows with some accomplished athletes. That includes people like mountaineer and movie star (in my book, anyway) Robert Lester, Olympic skier Maggie Voisin, and current and former NFL players like Ryan Jensen, Lorenzo Alexander, Dylan Cook and Chase Reynolds.
Cook, of course, played his high school home games at Naranche. He was quarterback for the Butte High Bulldogs, and now Cook is an offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Anderson, a former Butte High Bulldog, Montana Grizzly, Minnesota Viking, Philadelphia Eagle, Indianapolis Colt and Buffalo Bill, brings these celebrity role models to town. Of course, Anderson is also a local celebrity and role model. He is currently a special teams coach with the San Francisco 49ers.
Reynolds is a local boy, too. He played his college ball at the University of Montana after a dominating career playing for the Drummond Trojans. Playing for coach Jim Oberweiser in Drummond, Reynolds scored 144 touchdowns in 44 games as he led the Trojans to three Class C 8-man state championships.
One night when we were working on The Montana Standard sports desk, Coach Oberweiser called to give us game stats that did not seem possible. The coach was almost embarrassed as he reported his star running back carried the ball five times for seven touchdowns in a win.
That is a 100 percent true story. Chase also routinely scored touchdowns on kick and punt returns as well as fumble and interception returns. He was easily the most dominating high school football player I have ever seen. Watching Chase with the football for the Trojans was like playing Tecmo Bowl with Bo Jackson.
It wasn’t just because he was playing at a small school, either. Once Grizzly coach Bobby Hauck finally put Chase at running back, he dominated the college level, too.
In three seasons playing running back for UM, Chase ran for 4,067 yards and 52 touchdowns. In 2008 and 2009, he combined 3,085 yards and 44 touchdowns.
Then, he went on to play six seasons for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. He is a member of the Montana Football Hall of Fame and the Montana Grizzlies Hall of Fame.
He also never misses a chance to come to Butte to help inspire the next generations during the Colt Anderson Dream Big Experience.
Today, Chase and his wife sell real estate in Missoula. He also coaches football at Missoula Loyola and gets to watch as his son, Talen, rocks his old No. 34 for the Grizzlies.
Listen in to this podcast as Chase talks about his career that began on that small field right next to Interstate 90 in Drummond. Listen as he talks about playing for coaches like Jim Oberweiser, Bobby Hauck and Jeff Fisher.
Listen as he talks about why he comes to the Mining City each year for Colt.
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.
The Butte School District continues to be OK with our high school softball players playing on subpar fields at Stodden Park.
It is time for the district to do the right thing because the district is on the wrong side of history. More importantly, it is on the wrong side of the law.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Chad Okrusch made his first appearance on the ButteCast before he performed at the Montana Folk Festival in Butte in July 2023.
He makes his return today to talk about the inaugural Americonda festival. It is billed as an American roots music jam at Smitty’s Barn on the west end of Anaconda. The event will feature Christy Hays, Ian Thomas, Kyle Rife, Matt Strachan, Jason Mahoney, Wes Urbaniak and Okrush.
Gates open at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, and music will be played form 3 to 9 p.m. The cost is just $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show. (Click here to buy tickets)
Bring a lawn chair and enjoy some food from vendors and buy some drinks from the bar.
It really should be a fun show that is hopefully the start of a tradition in Southwest Montana.
Listen in as Chad talks about the Americonda festival, its origins and the plans they have for the future.
Listen as Chad discusses his long-awaited sophomore album, which he is planning to record soon, and how he returned to his happy place — the Big Hole River — to find some songwriting inspiration.
Listen as we talk about some of the artists involved in the Americanda Festival and some of the many more we are lucky enough to have living in the area.
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.
The 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game will be played Saturday in Great Falls. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live around the state on the Montana News Network.
The West team is once again practicing in the Mining City. On Wednesday, the West Side players selected four captains to lead them as they look for their fifth straight win.
Merek Mihelish and Cole Graham of Helena Capital and Mark Ahner and Kobe Dorcheus of Kalispell Glacier were voted captains by their pears.
Mihelish, a quarterback, and Dorcheus, a running back, will captain the offense. Graham, a defensive end, and Ahner, an inside linebacker, will lead the defense.
Ahner will go to Carroll College, where he will not play football. Instead, he intends to work toward becoming a Catholic priest. Mihelish, Graham and Dorcheus will all play football at Montana Tech.
The captains learned of the honor at a team dinner Wednesday night. Within an hour, they were at the Team Room of the Metals Sports Bar & Grill to for an appearance on the ButteCast along with their coaches and some Shriners.
We start with Mihelish and Dorches before moving to Ahner and Graham. Then come the coaches. First is head coach Kyle Mihelish of Capital and his assistant Matt Reynat. Then we check in with Josh McCrossin of Corvallis and Clint Layng of Boulder and then Jason Ostler of Flint Creek and Richie O’Brien of Butte Central.
After Shriners Wynn Randall and Darrel Storey talk, we close the show with Joe Sidor and Jeff Hartwick.
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.
When my Grandma Jean's younger brother Tom Leeming passed away last September, we lost of the last of one incredible group of siblings.
Last week, we hosted Tommy and those siblings, and we might have set a record for laughter. Here's a little big about Tommy and the rest of the Leeming clan.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
As Donald Trump is celebrating his birthday with a Putin-style military parade in Washington on Saturday, the group “Indivisible Butte” will be holding a No Kings rally and food drive.
The rally, which is being held in conjunction with No Kings rallies across the nation, will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on the sidewalk outside the Butte Plaza Mall.
The group has been holding similar rallies for the last several months. It has held protest outside Sen. Tim Sheehy’s office, outside the Social Security Office, at the Federal Building as well as at the mall and Butte Civic Center.
At these gathers, demonstrators protest for many different reasons or causes, but the heart of all the protests goes back to protecting our democracy.
Sarah Borduin and Denise Herman are two members of Indivisible Butte. They were not founding members, but they have stepped up to help with the leadership of the group that is focused on supporting our neighbors.
They are speaking out because they say they know they could not look themselves in the mirror if they did not.
This podcast comes with some homework. Sarah sent me a handful of links to show how DOGE cuts, executive orders and the “Big Beautiful Bill” has affected and will affect the people in Butte and Silver Bow County. Those links are listed below.
Listen in to this conversation hear Sarah and Denise’s vision for Indivisible Butte, which is a non-partisan organization. Listen in to hear how the group is dedicated to making sure all protests are peaceful ones.
Listen in to hear how you can get involved. Also, listen to hear how you can talk to the group if you do not agree with it.
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.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/794243/
https://montanafreepress.org/2025/06/09/federal-cuts-to-americorps-limit-montana-programs/
https://www.newsweek.com/save-job-corps-closing-down-labor-cuts-layoffs-2080611
https://www.headwatersmt.org/potential-impacts-of-federal-funding-cuts/
https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2025/05/how-research-cuts-and-data-infrastructure-changes-impact-rural-communities
https://mtnonprofit.org/mna-resources/impacts-of-federal-funding-cuts-on-montanas-economy/
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/hud-restores-montana-fair-housings-grant-funding
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Silver-Bow-County_MT/overview#:~:text=Silver%20Bow%20County%2C%20MT%20housing,%25%20year%2Dover%2Dyear.
https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/butte-silver-bow-appeals-to-reinstate-20m-epa-funding-for-community-hub/article_7b3627dc-3a80-5ea8-9b01-a38b13b3442f.html
https://www.ktvq.com/news/montana-news/no-warning-no-funding-montana-health-centers-hit-by-unexplained-federal-freeze
https://www.pnt.org/land-management-cuts-continued-what-to-expect-in-the-year-ahead/
On June 6, my grandpa, Bill Foley, would have turned 100 years old.
A World War II veteran, Grandpa Bill passed away at the age of 89 on Feb. 12, 2015. As I searched for a photo to mark his birthday, I came across the eulogy I wrote for him in the days after his death.
So, in honor of 100th, I thought I would share this with you so you might be able to see why I still think and talk about Grandpa Bill every day more than a decade after he passed. I read this at his funeral at St. Patrick’s Church on Feb. 20, 2015.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Podcast No. 269: Tom Lazzari
They call him “Papa Big Guns.”
That does not only go for his grandchildren, either. American Legion Baseball players — and some of their parents — refer to Tom Lazzari by the nickname that he swears he did not give to himself. He just relishes in that moniker.
Tom jokes that the key to having such big arms, or guns as he calls them, is to lose the use of his legs. That happened to Tom when he was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that robbed him of his ability to walk when he was in his late 40s. He was also told that he would probably be in, as he puts it, the nursing home or bone yard within seven years of his diagnosis.
Now more than two decades later, Papa Big Guns has done more than avoid death or paralysis. He is the life of the party wherever he goes. He will put a smile on your face and offer you a Werther’s Original candy.
You can usually find Tom sitting in his wheelchair between the stands and the home dugout on the third base side of 3 Legends Stadium watching his grandsons play baseball. Or, you can catch him up by the fence watching his granddaughter play softball.
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.
Occasionally, Facebook turns out to be a very good thing.
That is the certainly case with today’s guest. Facebook is how I found Mike Beckworth. Recently, I saw a post by “M.C. Beckworth” on the Butte 411 page. It was a composite photo. It showed the Badger Mine headframe looking from the south to north, and Mike replaced the blue sky with a beautiful sunset with birds flying by.
When I saw some people complaining that the photo wasn’t “real” because the sunset was in the north, I chimed in with a little snark of my own. That led me to look at more of Mike’s work and I eventually sent him a friend request before inviting him to be a guest on the ButteCast.
I searched and searched and could not find much information on Mike before I met him at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill yesterday. So, I went in figuring we would spend the entire time talking about his photography.
I was fine with that because his work is incredible. He has some great photos of rivers, lakes, mountains, flowers and the stars. There was so much to ask him about. You can check out links to see Mike’s work on Facebook or on his website.
When I met Mike and heard his golden radio voice, I realized that I already knew him. Well, kind of. Mike Beckworth used to be “Mike in the Morning” on KOPR 94 radio in Butte. I spent countless hours listening to Mike every morning.
On the radio, Mike was a pro. He could have worked anywhere, but he decided to settle in his hometown at the end of his career. His smooth voice eased so many of us into our days.
I also found out in this conversation that Mike is a fellow Blaine Elementary kid. He was a few years ahead of me at the Walkerville school, but once a Mustang, always a Mustang.
We had a fun conversation. Listen in as Mike talks about getting into photography, his techniques and to what makes him so good at taking landscape photos. Listen in to hear his passion.
Also, listen as he talks about his years in radio and how the business changed over the years. Listen in to hear that great radio voice.
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.
We need to make the bigots feel uncomfortable again. We can do that by standing up to bullies and flying that pride flag.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
If Sam Henderson was to walk away from track & field today, we would still be talking about him decades from now.
On Saturday, Henderson won the Class AA State title in the triple jump. His winning mark, which came on his final jump, was 47 feet, 1 ½ inches. That was his fourth best jump of the season. His three best — including his personal record of 48-7 ½ at the Western AA Divisional meet the week before — would have placed fifth at the Big Sky Conference Championships.
He set and reset the Butte High School record several times in the triple jump.
He also placed third in the high jump by clearing 6-4. That came a week after he cleared 6-10 to win the Divisional title. That jump was three quarters of an inch shy of the Butte High record set by the great Jasson McNallie in 1989.
If Sam, who transferred from Butte Central after his sophomore year, was to walk away now, he’d go down as one of the all-time great Bulldogs.
The thing is, Sam is not done with track & field. Not even close.
Sam, who will graduate from Butte High on Thursday, will take his talents to the University of Montana, where he will chase championships for the Grizzlies.
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.
Dr. Daniel J. Farren passed away last week.
Not every guy will be as sad as I am about the passing of his longtime optometrist, but Dr. Farren was special. Dr. Farren was so much more than an eye doctor.
The good doctor came into my life in 1983, when I was 9. I remember the day we met like it was yesterday. It was also one of the most important days of my life.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
During his two years covering sports for KXLF-TV in Butte and KBZK-TV in Bozeman, we could tell that Dom Tibbetts was going to be off to bigger and better things.
I used to joke with him that he was headed to SportsCenter because of his world-class hairdo. He does have nice hair, too. He made all of us jealous.
The truth is, though, we knew Dom was going places because was doing a really good job. If there ever was a guy built for prime time, it was Dom.
That is why he was picked to be a contestant on The Price is Right. It is why he made it on stage.
Dom left the Mining City for a job in WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2020.
Two years later, Dom started working at WKBW-TV in Buffalo. Now, the Upstate New York native gets to cover the Buffalo Bills, the team he grew up rooting for.
He covers everything else sports in Buffalo, too.
Dom, though, never forgot his first job. He never forgot his Butte barber, Dave Isakson of the Leisure Way.
He will never forget covering a national championship run by the Montana Western women’s basketball team. He will never forget the 2019 Butte High football team and the great cast of characters of the team that made a run to the championship game. That includes the great Tommy Mellott, now of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Listen in to this podcast as Dom talks about heading to Butte straight out of Ithaca College. Listen as he talks about some of the great sports teams and moments he covered.
Listen to hear how he covered some stories that weren’t quite as fun, like Max Demarais’ battle with a tumor that cost him one of his eyes.
Listen to hear Dom tell the story of his appearance on The Price is Right and how he thinks Drew Carey is a good guy.
Listen in to hear how he remains professional while covering the team he has loved for so long.
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.
Mariah’s Challenge rose from the ashes of an unspeakable tragedy in October of 2007. Today, that movement to curb underage drinking and drinking and driving is still going strong.
When 17 seniors in high school receive the 2025 Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship Wednesday at the Montana Tech Auditorium, it will run the total of “Mariah’s Messengers” to 500. It will raise the money given away to $500,000.
That is a milestone that should be celebrated. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Take your children and grandchildren and show them 17 heroes.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
In October of 2022, Leo McCarthy appeared on Episode No. 16 of the ButteCast.
In that episode, Leo talked about losing his 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, to an underage drunk driver in October of 2007. He talked about forming Mariah’s Challenge in its aftermath.
Mariah’s Challenge came from a promise made by Leo as he delivered a touching eulogy for his daughter at St. Ann’s Church. If they didn’t drink while underage and promised never to get into a car with a driver who had been drinking, he said, he would have money for them to go to college.
He thought he was talking to a few friends of Mariah and her older sister Jenna. As it turns out, the entire brokenhearted community was listening.
So, on Feb. 8, 2008, Leo launched Mariah’s Challenge as Butte High and Anaconda played a basketball doubleheader at the Butte Civic Center.
The goal of the movement was to change the dangerous culture that accepted drinking and driving as something we all just sometimes do. He said it would be a success if he got to just one person.
As it turns out, he did a whole lot more than that.
This Wednesday, the 17th Mariah’s Challenge Scholarship Ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. at the Montana Tech Library Auditorium. That is something I encourage all of you to check out, even if you do not know any of the 17 scholarship winners.
This year, Mariah’s Challenge is reaching a milestone. The total money in scholarships given out will reach $500,000.
More importantly, Mariah’s Challenge has reached 500 high school graduates. Leo calls them Mariah’s Messengers.
Of course, it is not only high school students who have been impacted by Mariah’s Challenge. The number of lives saved is impossible to count, but we know it has been many.
Yesterday, I met with Leo at his State Farm office to once again talk about Mariah’s Challenge.
This time, we got to reflect on so much of the good that has happened since the tragedy, and we got to do a little bragging about a $500,000 milestone.
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.
Podcast No. 264: Carter Barsness
For the better part of a decade, I have called him “The Professor.”
Unfortunately, nobody else refers to Carter Barsness by that moniker. It is only me.
That is too bad because Carter earned that nickname. I coached him in Little League Baseball, and talking to him back there was like talking to a professor. And he was only 8 years old.
He was always offering a theory as to why something was happening with the game or just in life in general. I could see that he was analytical, and he was a very deep thinker.
Carter was also always super nice. Even at that young age, he was always thinking of others.
When he wasn’t offering some kind of theory, he was talking about playing football. He talked about football a lot, and I knew he would be good at it.
His father, Kyle, played football for Coach Bob Green at Montana Tech. Since his mother, the former Brianna Burgman, was a standout-out athlete at Butte High, I figured Carter had the genetic makeup to be a good one.
I was right. He was good.
Proudly, I watched as he became a standout on the offensive line for the Butte High Bulldogs. Even though I never coached Carter in football, I still beamed every time I watched him play. There is nothing better than seeing someone you used to coach go on to success in any sport — or any aspect in life.
So, you can imagine how proud I was to see Carter’s name on the list of Mariah’s Challenge Scholarship winners for 2025.
To receive the Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship, a student must live up to the ideals of Mariah’s Challenge. That means no underage drinking and no riding in a car with anyone who had been drinking.
That is way easier said than done.
To me, that is the best scholarship around. It might not be a full-ride scholarship, but it might be the most important because Mariah’s Messengers, as Maria’s Challenge founder Leo McCarthy calls them, are helping change the dangerous drunk driving culture in Butte.
This is the 17th class, and this year’s scholarship will mark $500,000 in scholarship money handed out to 500 Messengers.
Mariah’s Challenge has moved the needle, too. The McCarthy family, along with all the Messengers have saved lives. It is impossible to know exactly how many lives because that is impossible to measure.
Carter, now in his final days of his senior year at Butte High, unfortunately knows what it is like to have his family hit by a tragedy. His uncle, Kyle Burgman, was killed in a crash with his pal Casey Boyle on Aug. 10, 2015. So, Carter knew from a young age that he was not going to put his family through anything that again.
He also knows what it is like to be a part of a family that relives the tragedy year after year in an effort to help make a difference.
Listen in to this podcast as Carter talks about how my nickname for him never caught on. Listen as he talks about playing football and competing in track for Butte High.
Listen to how he describes how holding really can be called on every single play in a football game. Listen as he talks about Mariah’s Challenge. Listen as he talks excitingly about his plans to become an electrician after high school.
Today’s podcast is presented by the Kvichak Fish Co. Think of it as salmon and halibut gone Girl Scout cookie.
Hudson Willse, who worked 27 years as the sports editor of The Montana Standard, was a trendsetter in the newspaper business. He set the standard for sports coverage that papers around the state tried to copy.
Whether you were a star on the Butte High football team or the No. 5 player on the Butte Central golf team, Hud made sure your sport was covered. He made us all feel like a big deal.
That is why, in 1997, Hud was enshrined in the Butte Sports Hall of Fame with many of the Butte legends he helped make famous. What really made Hud stand out, though, was his column, "Hudson’s Bay."
Hud, who always left us laughing, passed away Saturday. He was 90.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
On Nov. 9, 1973, Butte Central beat Cut Bank 27-6 on a frozen field on Montana’s Hi-Line.
The win gave the Maroons their third straight Class A State football championship. It was BC’s fourth title in five years.
The game was filled with sports legends from both sides. That includes on the field and on the sidelines.
While we don’t have a flux capacitor, Jerry Worley will take us back in time to that day in 1973 next Wednesday. He will give two presentations about the game — and so much more. The first will be at noon at the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives. The second will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall.
The presentation, titled “Once Upon a Time in Cut Bank, Montana: The Last Apex Team,” will mark the second time — and hopefully not the last — in which Worley was in town to talk about a Butte Central championship game.
Last May, he did the same about the 1972 game between BC and Wolf Point. Worley, who graduated from high school at Wolf Point, was an eighth grader paying attention to that game.
Now a retired teacher and professor, Worley decided he didn’t want that game to be forgotten. He also wanted to finally do some fun righting after a career as a professor.
Due in part to the popularity of his last project, Worley decided to dig into the 1973 game and talk to the players, coaches and other key figures in the game and time around Montana.
Listen in as Worley talks about the greatness of that run by the Maroons. Listen as he talks about interviewing people like John Thatcher and Matt Buckley.
Listen as he talks about why he dove into the projects in the first place and to hear what he might be working on for his next presentation.
It is like taking a trip back in time.
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.
Sid DeBarathy and Mike Foley feel like they have been in a lonely fight as they battle for the female athletes of Butte. That is the saddest thing of this really sad story that has dragged on for more than two decades.
We should all fight alongside Sid and Mike. We should tell the district that what Sid and Mike are saying about the subpar softball fields at Stodden Park is true. We should demand that the district follow through with the promise that it made to the girls in 1990.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
If there is ever a fourth legend added to the cathedral that is 3 Legends Stadium, it will be Jeff LeProwse.
It is safe to say that without Jeff, American Legion Baseball would not exist in the Mining City. At least it wouldn’t in its current form.
Jeff coached the Butte Miners from 2012 through 2021, and that era will go down as the most important stretch in program history. The Miners down to 11 players by the end of his first season as coach. Then, the team lost its home at Montana Tech’s Alumni Coliseum before his second year at the helm.
While folding the program was on the table, there was no way to agree to that. Jeff said his players would play on a parking lot if it meant playing baseball.
So, the Butte Miners played on Copper Mountain Park’s Field 4, which is a Senior Little League field, for four years. Some of that time, they were a team without a conference because they did not exactly get a lifeline from some of the others Legion programs around the state.
But they were still a team.
Thanks in large part to a ton of work by Jeff, the Miners opened Miners Feld at 3 Legends Stadium in 2017, and the program grew. Eventually, the program brought back the Muckers. Today, the Legion program in Butte is so big that it has three teams — the Miners, Muckers and Motormen.
After the 2021 season, Jeff stepped down as head coach of the Miners, even though his team came within one game of the Class A State tournament two years in a row. But he stayed on as president of the board, and he handed the team to his older brother, Jim.
Of course, we all know what happened next. The Miners went on a magical run that saw them win their first state championship in 69 years. The went on to win the Northwest Class A Regional title.
This Legion season, Jeff is returning to the field, this time as an assistant coach to his brother. He is still planning to maintain his role as president, though that needs to be voted on first.
So, in addition to trying to keep Jimmy’s squeeze bunts to a minimum, Jeff will still have to work on keeping the program going strong. That includes raising funds.
That is where Friday’s Bingo Night comes in. Play for the fundraising event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Cost is $25 Bingo pack includes 10 games, three cards per game. That also comes with 10 tickets for drawings. Players must be 18 or older.
Tons of great prizes are just waiting to be win.
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.
Amanda Wlaysewski started working in the fish industry six days after she graduated from Butte Central in 2003.
What she thought was a summer job, turned into career. Every summer since, she has gone to Bristol Bay, Alaska to work. She founded the Kvichak Fish Co., and for the last 15 years she has run her own small processing facility. She will be heading north again later this month.
Amanda describes her community supported fishery model as “salmon gone girl scout cookies.” Her company takes orders in the spring and delivers them in August across Montana and Idaho. You can also by their product at the Farmers’ Market each summer in Butte.
(Click here to visit the Kvichak Fish Co. website and place and order.)
Shortly after her first summer in Alaska, where they work basically around the clock for several weeks, Amanda enlisted her brother, Ben, an Iraqi War veteran who teaches industrial arts at Butte High School.
Ben is now “deployed” to work with Amanda and their sister Alena every summer. At one time or another, all the Wlaysewskis have put in a summer working for the Kvichak Fish Co.
Listen in as they talk about how they learned their strong work ethic from working around their “Wrigley Field house” on the corner of Washington and Platinum Streets.
Listen as they talk about how their mother, who was my excellent English teacher at Butte Central Junior High School, gave up her prized RV so Amanda could make a down payment on her property in Alaska.
Listen in as they talk about the process that they go through every summer in Bristol Bay. Listen in as they talk about how the Kvichak Fish Co. really is a family affair for the Wlaysewskis.
Listen as Amanda talks about how the Kvichak Fish Co. got a major assist from George Everett and the Farmers’ Market.
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.
Dr. Patrick Gallus is one doctor who doesn’t like to play the waiting game.
Maybe it was all the years he spent as an emergency doctor in Prescott, Arizona, where he served as chief of staff at Yavapai Regional Medical Center. There, Dr. Gallus developed two emergency departments, and his staff of 18 physicians saw 72,000 patients per year.
Now, the 1981 Butte Central graduate is back in his home town, seeing walk-in patients at the Mercury Street Medical Group at 300 W. Mercury St.
There, you can expect to get in and out quickly and on with your recovery. That is because Dr. Gallus does not like you waiting any more than you like waiting.
Dr. Gallus graduated from the University of Montana. After working as an athletic trainer and physical therapist in San Diego, where he worked with the Clippers of the NBA and the Chargers of the NFL, Dr. Gallus obtained his D.O. at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, and he completed his emergency medicine residency at Texas A&M University.
After two decades in Prescott, he decided to come home to be closer to his parents and the Big Hole River.
The second of Dr. John and Anna Gallus’ seven children, Dr. Patrick Gallus spent his childhood in the outdoors. One summer, he said he went to the river and did not come back for a month and a half. He also might have the high school record in Butte for the most days spent skiing during the school year.
Listen in to this podcast as Dr. Gallus talks about growing up in Butte and how he started to learn how to be a good student when he was in college. Listen as he talks about his time in residency and working in Arizona.
Listen to why he moved back to town and why he is the guy to see if you don’t enjoy waiting forever to see a doctor.
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.
Raider Nation has now idea what it just got with the selection of Butte boy Tommy Mellott. They will quickly learn why they call him "Touchdown Tommy."
Even better, he isn't going to Green Bay.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Theresa Rader is a legend of the Class of 1993. Not just at the school she graduated from, Butte Central, either.
Rader was good at every sport she tried. She was a speedskater, basketball player, volleyball player, softball player. If there was a competition, Rader was ready to win it.
She started as a freshman on the varsity basketball team at BC. She also played on the school’s first-ever softball team.
Then, Rader played softball at Jamestown University in North Dakota, where she did not let a pregnancy in her senior season stop her from batting leadoff.
She is also fun. With her distinctive voice and booming laugh, Rader can still be the life of any party. More than anything, Rader was always nice to everyone, even if the legend of Rader started with a punch.
Listen in to hear that story.
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.
The coach deserved to be thrown out of the game. He also had good reason to be mad at the nervous umpire.
In this case, the coach and the umpire were both victims of the ever-growing shortage of youth sports officials. So were the players.
That shortage, by the way, is due almost entirely to the parents who verbally abuse sports officials at all levels.
Coaches and players deserve the best officiating possible. Officials deserve time to learn and develop confidence before being thrown into such an intense game. Neither happened in this case.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Ken Carver has taught in the Butte School District for 35 years. He has also coached and officiated all of those years.
Next Saturday, Mr. Carver will be inducted into the Montana Western Education Hall of Fame. It is a very well-deserved honor.
Listen in to hear his story.
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.
All baseball lovers must come together if we are going to make high school baseball work in Montana. Otherwise, it could be lost forever, and that is not good for anybody.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
There is no question that Tommy Mellott is one of the greatest athletes the Mining City has ever produced.
He is in the conversation when you extend that debate out to cover the entire state. The 2024 Walter Payton Award winner led the Montana State Bobcats to the FCS national championship football game two times.
That came after he became just the second boy at Butte High School to earn 12 varsity letters. He led the Bulldogs to the 2019 Class AA state championship football game. In addition to lettering four years in football, Tommy letter four times in basketball and track.
In Butte, we have long known about Tommy, who first burst onto the scene while competing in Little Guy Football and the Grade School Track Meet. The rest of the state — and beyond — really started paying attention once he began his magical run at Montana State.
Today, Tommy is still a very busy man as he gets ready for next week’s NFL Draft. Where and when will he go? Well, that is hard to say.
We only know that some teams just might be paying more attention to the former Butte High Bulldog after he put up some impressive numbers at the MSU Pro Day on April 4. Tommy posted a vertical jump of 41 inches. He also put up a blazing time of 3.39 seconds in the 40-yard run.
Listen in as Tommy talks about his time at Butte High and MSU and as he takes a look toward the future.
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.
More than two years have passed since Dougie Peoples hit that 27-foot, game-winning shot in the Class A State championship game in Missoula.
Yet, Dougie is still very much a celebrity in Montana. You do not need to say his last name for people to know you are talking the Butte Central legend.
Even his teammates at the College of Idaho are still talk about that shot, even if they do it to tease him.
Dougie’s legend just continues to grow. He scored 21 points as the College of Idaho beat Oklahoma Wesleyan University 93-65 in the March 25 NAIA National Championship game in Kansas City. Dougie hit his first five 3-point attempts and scored 17 points in the first half to help the Yotes build a 49-29 lead at the break.
Of course, it is not surprising for us that Dougie came up big in a big game. He has been doing that his entire life.
Listen in as Dougie makes his second appearance on the ButteCast.
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.
Nobody outworks Butte Central junior Caden Tippett when she is competing in a sport. She might not lead the team in points on the basketball court, but she leads the state in floor burns from diving for loose balls.
She might not be the fastest mountain bike rider on Butte’s Copper Sprockets youth racing team, but she is fearless enough to be known for taking headers while riding as fast as she can downhill. She just might lead the state in road rash.
Caden also has the voice of an angel.
That voice is on display in Caden’s first single, “Ghost,” by Caden Lee, her stage name. The song was released on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your music on Saturday, April 5.
Listen in as Caden talks about her new song and more.
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.
Blake Hempstead is an unapologetic speaker of the truth, as he sees it. That does not always sit well with the residents of Anaconda, or the leaders of the community.
It has also led to many public arguments in the Smelter City. The latest dispute reeks of retribution and government overreach. In doing so, the county is telling the Copperheads to get bent.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
He has been called Butte’s “Accidental Historian.”
Richard Gibson was born in Oklahoma, raised in Flint, Michigan and educated at Indiana University in Bloomington. You will look long and hard, however, before you find someone who knows more about the history of Butte than Richard.
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.
With House Bill 547, Butte-Silver Bow has punted one of its biggest in-house issues to the Montana Legislature, where elected officials from the other 55 counties will decide for us.
Whether or not the bill is a good one is not the issue here. The process stinks. And letting others work out our disputes for us is not in the true spirit of the "Can Do City."
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Read this column at ButteCast.com.
Torre Tempel was very impressive on the football field and basketball court for the Butte High Bulldogs.
Bulldog basketball coach Matt Luedtke calls Toree “the epitome of Butte High basketball.”
Torre led the Bulldogs with 39 made 3-pointers this season, but that only begins to describe his game. He was just tough.
He was the same way playing cornerback for the Bulldogs. Torre Tempel will long be remembered for his toughness.
That is why it is not surprising to learn that Torre is going to take his talents the U.S. Army. There, he will strive to become an Army Ranger.
Serving his country is something he wanted to do since he met Rob O’Neill at a young age. Rob, of course, is the Butte Central graduate who shot and killed Osama bin Laden and wrote the best-selling book, “The Operator.”
Torre isn’t pursing the fame that followed Rob after firing those three famous shots. He is simply focused on turning himself into the best person possible.
It is something Torre has been doing since he found himself on the B team for Team UpTop when he was in the eighth grade.
Listen in to hear Torre's story.
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.
Sid DeBarathy and Mike "Skinny" Foley have been fighting for equality for the girls who play softball in Butte since 2023.
It looks like they might once again be gaining traction. However, Sid and Skinny have heard that before.
Of course, Sid and Skinny have heard that many times in their 22-year fight for equality for the girls. They have heard as many hollow words and empty promises as they have insults.
The girls of Butte deserve better. Read this column at ButteCast.com.
There has never been a Miss Montana to win the crown while living in the Mining City.
We have at least on Miss Montana living in the "Holey City" today, and nobody seems to be more of a Butte girl that Jessica Picker.
Jessica, whose maiden name is Criss, hails from Klamath Falls, Oregon, and she won the Miss Montana Crown while attending Montana State University in 2020. She was again “crowned” Miss Montana in 2021 after COVID wiped out the 2020 Miss America pageant.
Today, Jessica is a proud Butte resident.
In five Miss Montana pageants, Jessica took home Miss Congeniality honors five times. She also took home that title at the Miss America pageant in 2021. She has a black belt in Japanese Jujutsu, so she can kick your butt while wearing high heels.
Of course, Miss Congeniality would never do that.
Listen in to hear Jessica's story.
While so many of us see the love and support Native basketball fans show for the teams to be something really great, Jake uses that passion to punch down at students in public education.
Don't be like Jake.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jeff Riggs is a self-described “serial entrepreneur.” He has been at least since his days playing basketball at Montana State University, when he used his scholarship money to buy property.
Riggs grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He wasn’t big, but he was a star athlete. He was All-State in football and basketball, and he won a state championship in the triple jump. He was recruited by colllege football teams to kick, but he chose to go to Oregon State to play basketball.
After two years playing for the Beavers, Riggs transferred to MSU, where he found a home. He points out that he finished his career with a winning record against the Montana Grizzles.
In 1997, Riggs came to Butte with some teammates for St. Patrick’s Day. While his friends and teammates were enjoying the party, Jeff, who was the designated driver, noticed the buildings in Uptown Butte.
He fell in love with those buildings, and he now owns some of them. He and his partner have a handful of buildings in the Mining City. That includes the Thornton Building and the Elks Building.
Thanks to Jeff and his partner, the Thornton Building is triving like it hadn’t in years. The Elks is undergoing a renovation that is bringing the old building to life.
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.
Pat Ogrin is a 1976 Butte High graduate who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Washington Redskins in January of 1983.
He is also the very first autograph I ever got.
Listen in to hear Pat talk about playing for Butte High and the University of Wyoming. Listen as he talks about the knee injury that surely held up a career that still lasted a few years in the NFL, a couple of years in the USFL and a year in the Arena Football League.
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.
On March 16, 1985, the Park High Rangers from Livingston beat the Butte Central Maroons in a 99-97 double-overtime thriller in the Class A State boys' championship game.
Four decades later, we are still talking about that game.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented byCrazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Mickey Boysza is always on the move. She is one of those people who seem to find a way to live more than 24 hours each day.
She is currently devoting her time to putting on the Shillelagh Shindig, which is March 16 at The Depot (818 S. Arizona).
The Shindig is a fundraiser for the Butte-Silver Bow Democratic Central Committee, which does so much more than promote political candidates.
The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m., and it will include a silent auction, Montana trivia, hors d’oeuvres, a no-host bar and a whole lot of smiles. Mickey and her crew have been running around town picking up donated prizes. Those donations include a television from Steele’s.
Of course, this is nothing new to Mickey, who has been running around since she was a young girl going to elementary school at St. John’s.
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.
Butte High’s and Butte Central’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will put their seasons on the line this week.
The Bulldog teams will host Western AA playoff games Friday night at the Richardson Gym. Butte High’s girls play Helena Capital at 6 p.m. before the boys take on Missoula Sentinel at 7:30. The winners of those games move on to the Class AA State tournament, which is next week in Bozeman.
BC’s teams will play in the Western A Divisional tournament in Whitefish. That tournament begins Thursday, with the Central girls playing at 10:30 a.m. against Bigfork. The BC boys play Columbia Falls at 6:30 p.m. The top four teams from the divisional tournament advance to the Class A State tournament next week in Billings.
All four of the BC and Butte High varsity head coaches — Quinn Carter, Bryan Arntson, Brodie Kelly and Matt Luedtke — have made appearances on the ButteCast in the past. Today, we have them all on one show — one by one — as we look forward to an exciting week of hoops.
Let’s listen in to see what the coaches thinking as we take the season into March.
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.
While the Class A, B and C brings us a taste of March Madness, the Class AA is giving us March Sadness.
Because Class AA administrators don't see the big picture, we no longer have divisional basketball tournaments. That is a damn shame.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented byCrazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Rachel (Worrell) D’Amico and Jeff Dennehy know a little bit about youth sports, to say the least.
Rachel was a standout pitcher for the Butte High softball team. She led the Bulldogs to a third-place finish at the 2000 Class AA State softball tournament in Helena. Then she took her talents to Porterville College in Porterville, California.
Jeff was a standout hockey player in Butte, helping the Mining City capture a handful of state championships. He recently coached the Copper City Kings 12U-B team to a state championship.
Now, they are teaming up to start a new youth lacrosse program in Butte. The Ridge Top Renegades is the name of the new organization that is looking for boys and girls of all ages to play.
They actually started with some “open fields” last year, and ended up with about 30 young lacrosse players showing up to play. They are hoping to expand that number this year
An in-person registration will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 23 at the Butte Community Ice Center.
Players will need a USA Lacrosse number and lacrosse equipment. The registration fee is $40.
The league will focus on teaching the young players the game. They are also anticipating competing in some tournaments around the state during the season.
For more information, message the league on its Facebook page.
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.
Coach Greg Salo passed away on Feb. 12. He was just 72 years old.
Coach Salo was a legendary athlete in the Mining City. He was also a man who was born to lead. As most of his former players would surly tell you, Coach Salo was no ordinary coach.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented byCrazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Not many people can tell a story like a Hogart, and Billy is as good as any of them.
He grew up on Copper Street, one of five children of Bill and Mary Carol. Mike, Michelle, Jack and Pam are the other four.
If they weren’t born with a ball in their hands, the Hogart kids were certainly raised with one — even if it was held together with electrical tape. Billy excelled at baseball, a game that he picked up when he was 4 or 5 when his uncle Dan hit him fly balls in the Dublin Gulch.
Billy was a standout player in Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion before playing one year at Easter Oregon University in La Grande. He also played football, and he is still haunted by the time he muffed a punt that he sure would have been a touchdown had he caught the ball.
He also has two baseball plays that he really wishes he could have back after all these years.
Billy can often be found on the good side of the bar, slinging drinks at the Knights of Columbus Hall. That is where he will be this Friday as the hall hosts the third annual SINGO Pam Hogart Memorial Fundraiser.
Pam passed away on May 25, 2019. She was just 47.
To know Pam was to love Pam. Even if you didn’t Pam, you probably loved her. She spent her entire life caring for others, and the Pam Hogart Staff Senate Fund was started at Montana Tech to honor her following her death.
“SINGO” is where “Name That Tune” meets “BINGO.” Cost is just $10, and pizza will be available while supplies last. Dress in your favorite decade and be entered to win some prizes.
It should be a great night to raise money in memory of a truly great person.
Listen in to this podcast as Billy talks about growing up in the Hogart family. Listen as he talks about the night he threw back-to-back 15-yard penalties on his brother Jack.
Listen in as Billy tells me how SINGO is played.
Listen in as we talk about Pam.
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.
The Butte Watchdogs for Social & Environmental Justice are fighting for the people of Butte. They are speaking out against the EPA, British Petroleum and the Butte-Silver Bow government in an effort to protect the children and people of Butte from ongoing poisoning.
For their efforts, I am nominating them to be the grand marshals of Butte's St. Patrick's Day parade.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented byCrazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Kenley Leary was a four-sport standout athlete when he roamed the hallways of Butte High School from 2018 through 2022.
He earned eight varsity letters with the Bulldogs. That includes two in football and three each in basketball and track. He also played American Legion Baseball, helping lead the Butte Miners to their first state title in 69 years in 2022.
In that magical summer of 2022, Leary was the MVP of the Southern A District tournament in Butte, the Class A State tournament in Belgrade and the Northwest Class A Regional tournament in Vernal, Utah.
Now, Leary is an assistant coach for the Butte High boys’ basketball team. Listen in to hear his story.
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.
As I refereed my first varsity high school basketball game at the Snake Pit in Anaconda, I was thinking of my old pal Tony Laslovich and the greatest quote of my writing career.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented byCrazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
No boy has scored more points for Butte High’s varsity basketball team than Hudson Luedtke. And he’s only a junior.
With 1,052 points heading into Friday’s home game against Missoula Hellgate, Luedtke is 30 points ahead of the late John Dawson on the Butte High all-time boys’ scoring list.
Hudson passed Dawson for the top spot Saturday in Helena.
Listen to hear what he has planned if he follows in his grandfather's shoes and wins a state title for the Bulldogs.
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.
In the Butte pool of the Montana Officials Association, we have three pregnant referees, and they are still working games.
One is pregnant with twins. We were hoping that would lead to our first "seven-person crew" for a game this week. However, we will have to settle for six.
If you thought you had a good reason to not referee high school sports, well, that excuse has been thrown out the window.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. It is also presented by Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar, where they are still segrevious after all these years.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Sterling Urgent Care opened its doors for the first time in Butte, bringing a whole new model of healthcare to the Mining City.
It is a membership-driven model that does not involve your insurance. It could be a gamechanger.
Listen in as Membership Director Sami Evans and CEO Scott Brown tell us about the model for Sterling, which is 14 locations in Idaho, three in Utah and three in Wyoming. Butte is the first location in Montana. Listen in to hear how Sterling started and how it has been so successful.
Listen in to hear why its arrival in the Mining City was held up by Harrison Ford.
For more information or to become a member, go to sterlingurgentcare.com.
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.
Lisa (Wareham) Edwards is so much more than a photographer. She is also so much more than an artist.
In a way, her work serves as a vessel for us to travel back in time. For the last few years, Wareham has been producing photographs that perfectly blend Butte of today with Butte from yesteryear.
A large percentage of her artwork builds on iconic photos from legendary Butte photographer C. Owen Smithers.
If you want to see the blown-up Miners Union Hall in 1914 mashed with a photo of the site on Main Street today, Lisa has you covered.
If want see the giant elk from the 1916 Elks Convention on the corner of Main and Broadway mixed with the intersection of today, she has you covered on that, too.
You can see old cars next to new cars and people walking the streets from a century apart.
You can browse Lisa’s work and maybe even purchase a piece or two at timetravelart.com.
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.
Junior Hudson Luedtke is about to pass John Dawson as the leading scorer in Butte High boys' basketball history.
Did you know that Dawson, who passed away 5 days before his 41st birthday in 1990, was once the self-proclaimed happiest kid in the whole world?
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today we conclude our important conversation with Butte's Erik Nylund, a social and environmental justice warrior.
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.
Erik Nylund is a 1993 Butte High graduate who worked for Sen. Jon Tester during most of the senator's three terms in office.
Erik has always been a man to fight for the little guy. He fights for children. He fights to protect whistleblowers. Now that he is no longer under the constraints of working for a senator, Erik's voice is getting a whole lot louder when it comes to fighting for real Superfund cleanup in Butte.
This is the first of a two-part interview. Part 2 will drop later this week.
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.
We need our local government to step up and tell the Environmental Protection Agency to force British Petroleum to stop the poisoning of our children now — not 25 to 40 years from now.
Email your comments to the EPA at EPAButtePPcomments@epa.gov.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Russell Nelson is the band director at Butte Central Catholic High School. His band is unlike any other band you will see at a sporting event in Montana.
They are currently playing songs by bands and musicians like the Dropkick Murphys, Ozzie Osborne and Toby Keith. The members are also learning their own love of music from a teacher whose love started at a very young age.
Listen in to hear why Russ got into music in the first place. Also, listen in to hear the drive and focus that led him to become a multi-time high school state champion in power lifting.
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.
If you are going to come after our boy Tommy Mellott, then you better have more than a little bit of trash.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Wes Plate is a Marysville, Washington native with deep family roots in the Mining City. This June 27-28, he is directing the first official Copper Kings 100, a 100-mile running race around Butte. He is doing that as a way to honor this Butte roots.
Listen in as Wes talks about the race and so much more. Click here to register to run the race or to volunteer.
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.
Longtime Butte High coach Jeff Arntson passed away at 67 two days after Christmas. He will long be remembered as a coach and teacher who did the job for all the right reasons.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jaison Carriger was a standout athlete at Butte High School. After playing at Utah State, he transferred the University of Montana.
Jaison, though, is known more in Butte these days for bing the Grinch. He and his family host "Grinch Night" every year leading up to Christmas, bringing joy to children and families of Butte and raising money for charities.
Listen in to hear Jaison's story.
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.
He was a four-year varsity athlete in football, basketball and track at Butte High School. He has a Rose Bowl ring from his career playing football for the Oregon Ducks.
Yet, it still seems like Cody Carriger is a little overlooked when it comes to talk about the great athletes in Butte history. That is a shame.
Today, Cody is a police officer in Billings, and that athletic ability that drew Chip Kelly to the 2012 Butte High graduate is still on display if a criminal tries to outrun the law on foot.
Listen in as Cody talks about his days at Butte High and Oregon and so much more.
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.
Before there was the "Butte Missile" and "Touchdown Tommy," we had the "Butte Bullet."
That was Milt Popovich, a Butte High Bulldog and Montana Grizzly legend. He just might be the best football player the Mining City ever produced.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dave Silk was an Olympic speedskater and a World Cup Champion. He was an alternate in the 1984 Winter Olympic Games before competing in the 1988 Olympics.
Soon, however, Dave might not even be the best speedskater in his family. His son, Will, is an Olympic hopeful who graduated from Butte High in June.
Listen in as the father and son talk about the past, present and future.
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.
He’s an All-American. He is the Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP. He is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Bruce Sayler voted him No. 1 for the Heisman Trophy because he can see that Tommy Mellott is the real deal.
No matter how the championship game goes on Jan. 6 against North Dakota State, Tommy has proven over and over that he is the real deal.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
My grandma Mary D'Arcy passed away less than two months shy of her 98th birthday on Aug. 20, 2018.
She was smart, funny and active right up until her death. She was planning a huge bash for her 100th birthday. She was going to rent the Civic Center and charge us all $100 to get in.
On April 11, 2018, Ron Davis allowed me to interview Grandma Mary on Partyline. He also gave permission for me to use the audio so we can all hear Grandma Mary's voice again as we get ready for the seventh Christmas without her.
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.
Tom Pomroy, a 1976 Butte High graduate, is one of the greatest athletes Butte has ever produced.
He earned All-State honors in football, basketball and track as a senior at Butte High School. He earned seven varsity letters and shared the 1976 Harry “Swede” Dahlberg Award for outstanding boy athlete with Dan Bersanti.
Pomroy went on to play football and run track at Montana State University. He was a freshman when coach Sonny Holland’s Bobcats won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1976.
After college, Pomroy got into handball. He is on the short list of the greatest handball players from Butte. He racked up multiple State titles — winning Open and Masters crowns in singles and doubles.
In his mid to late 40s, Pomroy defied his doctor’s orders and returned to the sport despite having two really bad shoulders. He won the State Masters title three out of four years form 2002 through 2005.
He was also a longtime teacher and coach. Listen in to hear his story.
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.
Pat Ogrin is a 1976 Butte High graduate who played for the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII. He will be inducted into the Montana Football Hall of Fame in June.
This is the story of how I, as a 9-year-old boy, got an autograph from Ogrin, lost it and found it once again.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Paul Dennehy was the sophomore quarterback of the 1976 NCAA Division II national champion Montana State football team.
Before he played for Coach Sonny Holland at MSU, the lefty quarterback was a standout for Butte Central. He was a starter at defensive back on the 1973 State championship Maroons team. That was the school's third straight State title and fourth in five years.
The next year, Dennehy took over for fellow lefty Mark Schulte under center. New head coach Bob Beers, at the time, called Dennehy the greatest athlete he ever coached.
Listen in as Dennehy talks about his days playing for BC and MSU and what it is like to watch fellow Butte quarterback Tommy Mellott.
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 I tried to encourage people to respect the man Ryan Leaf has become instead of judging him for the childish brat that he was, the biggest bust in NFL history blocked me on Twitter.
That’s OK, I still admire him for turning his life around and becoming a citizen who truly contributes to the betterment of society.
But I don’t give a rip if he ever decides to return that respect to his home state of Montana. Washington can have him.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Lynette Hogart is the Butte-Silver Bow animal services director. That is a position she has held for the last year and a half.
Listen in as she talks about what has gone right in that tenure and what she would like to improve upon. Click here if you would like to apply to volunteer at the Chelsea Bailey Animal Shelter.
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.
Larry Hoffman is a lifelong miner. He worked in Butte as well as various locations around North America and South America. The Lewistown native passes on his love for mining to anyone who will listen. That includes his many years leading underground mining tours.
Larry, 79, is also one of the volunteers who climbs to the top of the gallows frames in Butte to install Christmas lights each year. He also makes sure the headframes include the American flag and the Irish flag for the An Ri Ra Irish Festival each August.
Listen in to learn a little bit about our mining camp. You might also appreciate the beauty of the Butte skyline a little bit more.
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.
For a few decades now, Ryan Leaf has said he doesn't like Montana. Montanas say they don't like him.
It is time to get past the silliness and offer an olive branch to one of the greatest athletes the Treasure State has ever produced.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was drastically lowering the action level in Butte for lead in residential soils and interior dust. That level is proposed to be dropped from 1,200 parts per million to 175 ppm.
The proposal will also greatly expand the boundary of the cleanup area. If testing in any house or yard inside that expanded zone hits that new level, it will have to be cleaned.
However, the EPA is planning to give those responsible for lowering the high poison levels — British Petroleum and Butte-Silver Bow — 25 years to reach compliance. Depending on how you read the proposal, they might have up to 40 years to clean up the expanded area.
That timeline is way too long. Our local government won't stand up for us, so we have to fight for ourselves. Email the EPA by Feb. 14, 2025 with your comments. The address is EPAButtePPcomments@epa.gov.
Tell them you're fighting alongside Sister Mary Jo McDonald.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Last Tuesday, players, coaches and fans of the Montana State University-Billings men’s soccer program received some terrible news.
The program is going away.
After a successful run that started in 1996, the school’s administration decided that the NCAA Division II program will play no more games. The school said it will honor the scholarships of the student-athletes on the team. However, it will no longer honor their dreams to compete in soccer for the Yellowjackets.
Coach Paul Cuevas said he received word of the program’s ending about a half hour before his players. He said he had no indication that the program was in trouble. Members of the MSUB administration declined comment. They did send a statement that can be found on ButteCast.com.
Listen in to hear the reaction of Coach Cuevas as well as the reaction from former MSUB soccer player Kevin Petritz.
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.
Cass Weber is the board president of the Orphan Girl Children’s Theatre in Butte.
On Saturday, the OGT will host a fundraising gala dubbed "The Mad Hatter's ParTea." It will be held in the ball room adjacent to the theatre in the basement of the Mother Lode Theatre.
Tickets are just $35, and that includes dinner from some fine Butte establishments. Metals Sports Bar & Grill will provide a full bar for the event. The cocktail hour and live auction begin at 6 p.m., and Cass says the auction is flooded with great items with ranging price tags.
Go to orphangirl.org to get your tickets today. The price goes up to $40 at the door. Limited childcare is available for the event, which is billed as an 18-plus gala.
Prizes will be awarded for costumes, and each ticket holder who is present will be entered to win a $1,000 shopping spree.
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.
Tocher Lee is a four-sport athlete at Butte High School. He is probably best known for hitting a 3-pointer that sent the Bulldogs to the Class AA State tournament last season.
He is also a standout in football, baseball and track. Unfortunately, Lee's senior season in football was cut short with a toe injury that required surgery.
Listen in to hear that Lee will be back in time to play basketball for Butte High in January and to hear that his football career is not yet over.
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.
Butte High football coach Arie Grey gets that his job is not to just win football games. Too bad more people don't see that, too.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 he was our teacher at Butte High School, we had no idea that Mr. Michael Lawson was a true American Hero.
As a Marine, Mr. Lawson served two tours in Vietnam. He earned a Bronze Star with a Combat "V" to go along with a Purple Heart.
Listen in to hear his story from the days growing up at the Columbia Gardens to his time in Vietnam to his days as a teacher to today, when his work continues.
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.
I didn't win my race to be the next chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow, but I was blown away to receive 7,347 votes from my home town. It wasn't enough to win, but it was enough to make me feel pretty damn good.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Leonis Legion is a local author who recently published his first book. PYRE is the first of The Polypathos Confluence series. It is a fantasy book designed to help others.
You can buy the book at local bookstores or online. The best way to get it, though, is by contacting Leonis Legion on Facebook.
This podcast is marked explicit because of a few casual swearwords.
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.
When it comes to legendary Butte athletes who transcend the game, Bob O'Billovich was in a class all his own. Until now. Tommy Mellon is a modern-day Bobby O.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Butte Central senior Michael Peck is one of the most well-rounded young men you will ever meet.
A mountain of a young man, he stands at 6 foot 1, 280 pounds. You can tell that he loves the weight room.
While he didn’t play football as a freshman, he started three years in the trenches for the Butte Central football team. He became a force for a BC team that once again overachieved this past season — until key injuries became too much for the Maroons to overcome.
Michale has long been a part of the Orphan Girl Children’s Theatre, he is a member of the Key Club, he plays in a band, and he is the student body president.
In July, Michael went to Washington, D.C. to represent Montana at the American Legion Boys Nation.
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.
Losses like the one the Bears suffered in Washington on Sunday shouldn't be so hard on the fans. But they are.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Deer Lodge native Gary Swant is teacher, scientist, bird watcher and author. His book “My Montana Birds” was written with the goal to help others get into bird watching.
Gary has traveled all seven continents to watch and study birds. He works with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Atlantic Richfield Co. (British Petroleum) to study birds in an effort to give us an accurate indication of the health of our environment.
Garry currently owns his own business. Read about it here.
Listen in to hear Gary’s story.
Get your copy of Gary’s book by sending a check for $39.95 to Bird Squawk, Gary Swant, 800 St. Marys, Deer Lodge, MT 59722. Gary will cover the shipping.
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.
Shari Curtis is the adult services librarian at the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library. Along with her husband Travis Cray, she is also an advocate against hate.
Listen in to hear their story.
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.
Betty Lester was the team who turned my life around. If she was paid what she was worth to me, she would make Shohei Ohtani money.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Before he accepted Mariah's Challenge, Mark Parvinen was a self-described 240-pound bourbon junkie. That all changed when he saw Leo McCarthy make a presentation during a Butte High-Anaconda basketball game at the Butte Civic Center.
Now, Parv has run a marathon, and he is setting a better example for the future generations. Listen in to hear his story.
Click here to read a story written by Parv that is referenced in the podcast.
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.
Oct. 28 will mark the 17th anniversary of the death of 14-year-old Mariah McCarthy. It will also mark the 17th anniversary of my last drink of alcohol.
Mariah's Challenge shows that a good thing can come of an unspeakable tragedy.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Local musician Logan Dudding will hold a release party for his second album, "Inscrutable," on Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Covellite Theater. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the free show starts at 7.
Listen in to hear Logan's story.
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.
John Repke is running for Montana state auditor. Listen in to hear what the state auditor actually does and why it is a very important race — even if it gets very little coverage in the news.
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.
In Butte, it is nearly impossible to watch both of our high school football teams play. That needs to be changed.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jeff Graham is entering his third season as the head coach of the Montana Tech women's basketball program. He was an outstanding athlete in high school, and he played basketball at MSU-Northern and Carroll College before settling in at Montana Western.
But he might be more known for his wife and children.
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.
Steven Jimenez and Scott Abad, a duo that both came from the mean streets of East Los Angeles, have some big plans for boxing and mixed martial arts in the Mining City. Scott is part of the new non-profit Butte Copper Glove Boxing, while Jimenez, a former coach for “Suga” Sean O’Malley in Helena, will handle the coaching. He is currently training about 20 fighters in his large garage that is simply known as “The Gym.”
Steven also started a brand, New Level Boxing, and he sells everything from high-quality boxing gloves and shoes to hoodies.
Listen in to hear Steven and Scott’s story.
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.
Oct. 12 will mark 10 years since Pat Kearney tragically left us. Somehow, it feels more like 100.
This is a column I first wrote five years ago. I updated it to remind people of the greatness of my friend.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
In a town full of characters, Mike Hogart is one of the best. Listen in to see what I mean.
The podcast is marked "explicit" because Hogie dropped a few F bombs and some other Hogisms that might not be suitable for children.
So listen with caution. But make sure to listen,
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.
Questioning Destination Montana in Butte was not an easy thing to do. But 21 years later, I'm damn proud that Matt Vincent and I had the guts to do it.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Butte's Debbie Sorensen is the author of the recently-released book “Beyond The Jump Shot: The Elevated Life of Kenny Sailors."
Sailors is the man credited with inventing the modern jump shot, but his contributions to the world go well beyond the game of basketball. Listen in and read Debbie's book to see why.
Debbie will hold a book signing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at Second Edition Books in Butte.
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.
Before he was known as "Coach," Greg Salo was an outstanding football player. He was a three-time All-State linebacker for Butte High, helping lead the Bulldogs to State titles in 1967 and 1968.
In 1969, Salo was named an All-American, and he signed to play football at UCLA. After a year with the Bruins, he transferred to the University of Montana, where he played linebacker for the Grizzlies.
Then, Salo went onto a long coaching career. Listen in to hear his story.
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.
Ben Alke is the Democratic nominated candidate for Attorney General in Montana. He grew up in Helena, but since his mother is from Butte, we will claim him.
Listen in to Ben's story.
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.
We apparently have a bit of a dog problem in Butte again. Actually, it isn't a "dog problem." It's a "people problem," and it is one that should be easily solved.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
No, Dark is not his real name. But it sure seems to fit him.
Dark Sevier has been in Butte for about a decade now, and he is one interesting guy. Sure, anyone with his own IMDB page is going to seem pretty cool on the surface. But the 6-foot-9 Dark lives up to the part, and that is not because he appeared in one episode of "Saved by the Bell" in 1991.
Listen into this podcast to see why.
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.
The NFL should leave Friday night lights to the high school players.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Mark Shutey is a 1987 Butte High graduate. He stood out in swimming for the Bulldogs, and he played football at Butte High and Montana Tech.
He is an engineer, an outfitter, a guide, an entrepreneur, a consultant, a writer and a bit of philosopher. He is a very interesting man, to say the least. This is his story.
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.
Dave Rathgeber is leading the charge as Montana Tech's club hockey team returns to the ice.
The Orediggers were a fan favorite and a perennial contender before it ran into COVID-19. Then the program went away. Dave is bringing it back.
Click here to learn more about the Orediggers. Click here for sponsorship opportunities. The team will begin play with an alumni game on Sept. 20.
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.
The Wall That Heals made a stop in the Mining City last week.
Hopefully, seeing that wall comforted the family and friends of the fallen soldiers. Hopefully it proved to them that they were not forgotten. Hopefully it showed the living Vietnam veterans that they really are loved and appreciated.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Mark Schulte went 28-0 as the starting quarterback of the back-to-back-to-back Class A State champion Butte Central Maroons. He is the only starting quarterback in Class A history to win three state titles.
That, however, only begins to tell the story of Mark Schulte.
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.
Butte Rats Robert Lester and Braxton Mitchell should be household names after the "Columbia River Canoe Project" film.
See the film for yourself for free Friday at the Original Mine Yard. Gates open at 6 p.m. After a concert by Levi Bloom, the show will begin at 8:15.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Todd Ericson is one of the greatest athletes to ever come out of the Mining City.
He was All-State two years in football and basketball for the Butte High Bulldogs. He helped lead the Bulldogs to State championship game appearances in both sports.
But the number that describes Ericson's greatness is No. 37. He was the third in the Montana Grizzly tradition to that turned out to be one of the best traditions in college football. He helped set that standard.
Listen in to hear Todd talk his days at Butte High and UM and to hear what he is up to today.
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.
Robert Lester and his cousin Braxton Mitchell traveled from Butte to the Pacific Ocean by canoe. That is what the "Columbia River Canoe Project" is about.
The documentary will premiere on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Original Mine Yard. The gates open for the free showing at 6 p.m. Levi Bloom will hold a concert before the movie is shown at 8:15.
Listen in as Robert returns to the podcast to talk about the movie.
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.
Bill Salonen passed away Aug. 13. Thanks to an appearance at the 2024 Butte Sports Hall of Fame induction, Bill left knowing he was still beloved in his old stomping grounds.
He also proved that an old saying about the Mining City still rings true.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 live in Southwestern Montana, she just might be one of the most important people in your life — even if many people will never realize or recognize that fact.
Karen Maloughney is Butte-Silver Bow’s health officer/director.
Karen replaced Karen Sullivan after Sullivan retired in late 2021. Both Karens were instrumental in leading Butte through the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the workers at the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department received threats and criticism, they played a role in saving lives. It’s hard to say how many lives, but they definitely saved lives.
The Health Department does a whole lot more than protecting us from COVID, too. The dedicated workers there worry about so many things that we probably will never even hear about. They worry about a lot of things we do not want to hear about.
Listen in to this podcast as Karen discusses the long list of duties she takes on in her role as health officer. Listen in as she talks about the trials and tribulations she and her co-workers went through during the pandemic.
Listen in to hear about Karen’s days hanging out with her dad and to hear which instrument she played for the Butte High band back in the 1980s.
Listen in to hear her take on her first name being hijacked by people who want to speak to your manager.
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.
The latest edition of the Boyle's Buddies Game once again proved my long standing theory that Special Olympians just do it better.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 Cox played the role of Conroy in the 1992 iconic movie "A River Runs Through It." He famously told Paul Maclean that he cannot "shoot the shoots."
Today, the Butte resident is still very much a part of show business, including the production of the Yellowstone prequel series "1923."
Listen in to hear Rob tell his story.
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.
Quinn Cox and Ethan "Easy" Cunningham formed one of the greatest batteries Butte's American Legion Baseball program has seen.
On Monday, each player signed a Letter of Intent to continue chasing his baseball dream. Cox will play at MSU-Billings, while Cunningham will take his talents to Spokane Falls Community College. It was definitely a huge day in the history of Butte baseball.
Before they went to a signing ceremony, where they were surrounded by coaches, teammates, family and friends, Quinn and Easy met me at the Coaches Corner at Metals Sports Bar & Grill for a fun conversation.
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.
For more than 40 years, I have said the 1981 Butte High vs. Butte Central game is the greatest game of all time. It turns out, I was selling the game short.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Even though he was a fall guy legend for decades, we first got to know Spanky Spangler in Butte back in 2002. That is when he lit himself on fire and jumped off Hotel Finlen.
Yes, you read that correctly. He lit himself on fire and jumped off the iconic hotel.
That was part of the first Evel Knievel Week in Butte. That turned into Evel Kneivel Dayz and then Evel Knievel Days. Spanky was a highlight almost every year. He also jumped a car, jumped out of a hot-air balloon, jumped off the Original head frame jumped off the Metals Bank Building and then jumped off the Finlen again.
On Friday, Spanky, 75, will make his retirement jump at the Butte Civic Center. You do not want to miss it. Also, you do not want to miss this conversation as Spanky tells his story.
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.
The Boyle's Buddies game is an example of something truly special that came out of an unspeakable tragedy.
The game will be played at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 at East Middle School.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Sister Mary Jo McDonald spends most of her time in Leavenworth, Kansas. That is about 1,200 miles from the Mining Ciy.
That distance, however, will not stop Sister Mary Jo McDonald from being a thorn in the side of those who are repeatedly making the wrong decision when it comes to environmental cleanup in the Mining City.
Sister Mary Jo is still a fierce fighter for environmental justice in Butte and beyond.
Sister Mary Jo taught at North Central and Butte Central Junior High before starting a 34-year run working at St. Ann’s Parish in Butte. Through it all, she was always looking out for people who cannot look out for themselves.
In addition to her devotion to the Catholic Church, Sister Mary Jo could easily be an attorney. She definitely has a ton of experience putting the law to work for the good of the people.
She was part of a lawsuit over Butte’s water in the 1990s. Then, along with Ron Davis and Fritz Daily, Sister Mary Jo successfully sued over the name of Silver Bow Creek.
Of course, Butte-Silver Bow, the State of Montana, the EPA and British Petroleum just ignored the victorious ruling from District Court Judge Brad Newman.
She is currently part of the Restore Our Creek group that is planning a beautiful flowing Silver Bow Creek making its way through the center of town. Even though our local government, for reasons that are difficult to fathom, has fought that plan at every turn.
Our local government has also tried to paint Sister Mary Jo with the crazy brush that it uses to try to tarnish the reputation of Daily. Like with Fritz, Sister Mary Jo is fighting for the right reasons, and she will not be deterred by character assassinations.
She has no financial interest in the fight. She simply wants what is best for the children of Butte and beyond.
For the sake of those children, Sister Mary Jo will keep on fighting until her last breath. That is bad news for those who want to side with British Petroleum and give the people of Butte a subpar cleanup.
Even at 1,200 miles away, Sister Mary Jo is still fighting for Butte.
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.
From the day he was born, we called him “Bino.” Soon, we will call him “Judge Jeff Dahood.”
Jeff Dahood is the son of legendary Montana lawyer Wade Dahood. The elder Dahood, who passed away at the age of 94 in 2022, was instrumental in the writing the Montana Constitution in 1972.
He was also well-known and highly-respected in the courtroom. He was known for his fancy Italian suits, his larger-than-life booming voice and courtroom victories.
Jeff Dahood was born at the old Silver Bow Hospital in Butte, and he grew up between Butte, Fairmont and Anaconda. After graduating from Anaconda High School in 1996, Jeff went to Montana Tech before obtaining a law degree from the University of South Dakota.
He practiced law with his father for 15 years before his passing.
For years, Jeff Dahood also ran a DJ service, and he has been the sound man at Anaconda Copperhead sporting events. In 2022 and again last week, Jeff also drove to Butte to run the sound system for the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
He strongly embraces his roots in Butte and Anaconda, and has a legitimate claim to both of the “sister cities.”
Earlier this year he filed to run for District Court judge in Montana’s Third District, which covers Anaconda-Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties. He filed to succeed Judge Ray Dayton, who is stepping aside after his third six-year term on the bench.
Jeff Dahood is running uncontested, so he will be sworn in as District Court Judge in January.
Listen in to this podcast as we talk about his roots in the Mining City and Smelter City. Listen as he talks about the origins of his nickname, which he received before he even left the hospital.
Listen in as Jeff talks about his father’s legacy and why he decided to run for District Court judge.
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.
Today we celebrate the 200th episode of the ButteCast with a very special guest.
George Everett is the executive director of Main Street Uptown. That is a job that he has held for the past 22 years. He has done so many great things in that position, including the lighting of the gallows frames on the Butte skyline.
Of course, the most recognizable is his work with the Montana Folk Festival. He helped bring the National Folk Festival to town for three years, starting in 2008. That led to the Montana festival, which has been going on every July since.
The Folk Festival not only brings thousands of people for town for a tremendous economic boon that lasts throughout the year. It also exposes the people of Butte to some great music we otherwise might never have heard.
This is all for free, too, thanks to George and his amazing army of volunteers.
Listen in to this podcast to hear George talk about the origins of the Folk Festival and to get a sense of all the work he does. Listen as he talks about his other work with Mainstreet Uptown Butte over the past 22 years.
Listen to him tell the story of first coming to Butte as a student at the University of Montana to write a story on the great Luigi, Butte’s one-man band.
Listen to why George fell in love with the Mining City and decided to stay.
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.
One photo by Josie Trudgeon made all the hard work putting on the Butte Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies worth the hard work.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Ronnie Counts is a Special Olympian and Butte sports legend. This weekend, he will receive a Special Olympian Lifetime Achievement Award from the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
He will probably ask me if I have those photos of him, too.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Gingerbread Amy is the newest Butte Rat. She has only been in the Holey City since June 8 of this year, but she is already at home. She will be here for the unforeseeable future, giving tutorials on how to build gingerbread houses and just generally entertaining the people.
Listen in to hear hear her story. For more on Amy, go to gingerbreadamy.com.
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.
For the past 33 years, John Amtmann has taught in the biological science department at Montana Tech. He has also taught and studied Judo.
Recently, John visited Japan to backpack around the country and study the art of Judo and other martial arts. When he is not teaching or learning, you can usually find John outside somewhere using the world has his playground.
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.
When I first met Erin Popovich in 1998, it was clear she was going on to do some big things. She sure did.
Next weekend, the Paralympic swimming legend will join the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Craig Mills is a 1983 graduate of Butte Central. He is known as a quality baseball umpire, and he has a stupid human trick up his sleeve.
Listen in to hear Craig's story.
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.
Turning my back on Don Peoples Sr. and Pat Kearney was not an option, so I am the executive director of the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
The sports museum that is the Knights of Columbus Hall in Butte got a whole lot better Tuesday. A sign was hung on the wall to commemorate the 1967 and 1968 Class AA State champion Butte High football teams. Then, Colt Anderson was surprised with a sign to honor his career.
Listen in to hear the brief ceremony and some conversations with some old Bulldogs.
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.
By taking away from basketball, volleyball and softball, the administrators of Montana’s Class AA high schools show that they just don’t get it.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Brett Badovinac is the king of giving nicknames that last a lifetime. He is also a terrific handball player.
He is so good in the court, that he can't even tell you how many state championships he has won. Listen in to hear his story.
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.
Four years ago, we thought our son had muscular dystrophy. We figured it was just a matter of time before he was confined to a wheelchair.
Today, he is having fun playing baseball again. That makes for some easy sleeping for a once-worried dad.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Cayde Stajcar is Montana's first Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball. He is also a great teammate.
Listen in to hear his story.
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.
A special edition of the ButteCast includes the four West Side Shrine for Saturday’s 77th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Billings.
The West team is training in Butte, and the team elected captains on Wednesday. They are quarterbacks Carter Kraft of Helena High and Kee Christiansen of Dillon on offense and defensive end Isaac Keim of Kalispell Glacier and inside linebacker Tuff Adams of Helena Capital.
The four joined the podcast at the Coaches Corner at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill before head coach Pat Duchein of Florence-Carlton and his assistants Adam Goodnight of Florence, Jason Truman of Dillon, Connor Sullivan of Three Forks, Matt Upham of Glacier and Ryan Schulte of Helena High stopped by to say hello.
Then, we caught up with Shriners Darrell Storey, Wynn Randall and Jeff Hartwick.
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.
For 24 years, Butte's Jake Larson held the Montana high school all-class record in the 300-meter hurdles. Gallatin's Nash Coley broke that record last month.
Here's to Jake for holding that record for nearly a quarter of a century. Here's to Nash for reminding us that all records were made to be broken.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Danny Thatcher was born to coach. You could see that even before he was an All-State center for the Butte Central football team.
Coach Thatcher is the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Montana Tech Orediggers. He is also a great Butte character.
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.
My two biggest role models growing up (and still today) are my grandpa and dad. They taught me what it means to stand on my principles.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Sgt. Michael Taapken is a Marine who is spearheading the project that will bring the Wall That Heals to Butte for five days this August.
The Wall That Heals is a a 7-and-a-half feet high traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It will be five days of education, remembering and healing.
Listen in to hear Sgt. Taapken tell his story and the story of bringing the Wall That Heals to Southwest Montana.
Contact Sgt. Taapken at usmc4ever@icloud.com if you want to volunteer in this great project.
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.
Zach Stenson is a highly-decorated Special Olympian and assistant coach for the Butte Miners baseball team. He is also a superfan of the Red Sox, Patriots, Duke and everything Butte.
Listen in as Zach tells his story with his father, John.
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.
Without the dedication and hard work of Jeff LeProwse, there would be no American Legion Baseball in Butte. This past Saturday, the Butte program honored Jeff for all he has done to keep baseball alive and well in the Mining City,
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Renzy Kelly is one of the longest tenured high school freshman basketball coaches in the state, if not the country.
So, he has had the Jack Nicholson seats for every Butte Central varsity game for the past 20 seasons. That is where he specializes in funny comments to the officials, even if some of the referees don't find him to be so funny.
Kelly was also a three-sport standout at Butte Central and an outstanding receiver at Montana Tech.
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.
Harrison Butker has the right to spout any opinion he wants. That comes with the constitution.
However, we have the right (or maybe obligation) to point out when he is being a boob.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Frank O'Connor is the Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus in Butte. He is also the youngest of Eileen and William "Oakie" O'Connor's six children.
So, Frank has a lot of stories to tell. Listen in to hear a few of them.
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.
It's been 36 years this week since my cousin Jerry D'Arcy was killed while climbing a hill in the Highlands.
He was only 20 when he died, but nobody has ever outlived him.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Singer-song writer Sean Eamon's critically-acclaimed new album "With a Lean" was released in April. He will be playing Friday at the Covellite Theater in Butte as part of his album-release party.
Doors open at 7, and music begins at 8. Click here to buy tickets.
Listen in as Sean talks about the album and so much more. Stay tuned to the end for one of his songs.
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.
Copper City Softball has the great sport of softball back on track in the Mining City. The cool thing about that is many of the women behind the league were champions on the diamond for Butte High and Butte Central.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tom Boyle is the third Boyle brother to appear on the ButteCast. That, however, is not indicative of his importance.
Tom was a member of the Carroll College football team that won four straight NAIA national championships. He was also a stand out academically and in multiple sports at Butte Central.
On May 19, Tom will help put on the Burgman/Boyle cribbage tournament at the Knights of Columbus. Cost is $30 per player and lunch will be provided.
Listen in to hear more about Tom's great career and the tournament.
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.
Too often in Butte, our leaders fall for the pie-in-the-sky schemes from the Lyle Lanleys of the world.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Keith Ogling is the new manager of the Highland View Golf Course in Butte. Even though he grew up playing at the Country Club, he has a great understanding of what has always made the "Muni" such a great place.
The course could not be in better hands.
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.
Next Monday, 12 outstanding young men and women will receive the 2024 Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship. Mariah's Challenge founder Leo McCarthy calls them "Mariah's Messengers."
To me, they are also heroes.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
John Liebel, Lindsay Mulcahy and Jake Hanley were three of a handful of people who helped preserve the memory of the 58 men, three horses and dog who perished from the 1895 Great Butte Explosion.
Thanks in large part to John, Lindsay and Jake, a memorial now sits outside the Uptown Butte-Silver Bow Firehouse.
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.
Eddi Walker is a superhero. Sometimes, even superheroes need a hand.
She is in Salt Lake City battling for her life. Please join her cause by making a donation to her GoFundMe campaign, or by keeping her in your prayers Or both.
(Click here to donate).
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Joe Gilboy is the director of the Southwest Montana Aging and Disability Services in Butte. The agency is committed to seniors and adults with disabilities throughout Southwest Montana.
On May 3, the agency will put on the Free Fun Fair at the Star Lanes Family Sports Center. It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Listen as Joe talks about the event and some of the struggles he and his co-workers help our seniors and disabled adults work through every day.
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.
Mick Ringsak is a longtime former business man in Butte. He has also been a mover and shaker in politics, locally and nationally.
Oh, and we should be calling him "Sir Mick." Listen in to hear why.
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.
Scottie Scheffler was ready to leave the Masters if his wife went into labor. I wasn't ready to leave the Montana Tech-Carroll College football game.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Irish Johnny grew up during troubled times in Northern Ireland. As a young boy, he dreamed of coming to Butte. Now that dream is a reality, and Johnny is the "Director of Blarney" at Shawn O'Donnell's American Grill and Irish Pub in Uptown Butte.
Listen in to hear Irish Johnny's story.
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.
No matter the time of the game, that illegal screen had to be called.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Mo Mandel will be playing the Covellite Theater in Butte on Saturday, April 13. Click here for tickets.
Mo was the creator of Comedy Knockout and has appeared on Chelsea Lately more than 40 times. Recently, he appeared on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO.
At the Covellite, Mo will perform along with Billings native Lucas Seely and Butte High senior Peyton Waters.
It is a show you don't want to miss, as is this conversation leading into the show.
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.
Butte High senior Peyton Waters will be the opener for a great comedy show Saturday, April 13 at the Covellite Theater.
Peyton will go on stage with her stand-up act before Lucas Seeley and headliner Mo Mandel. It is a great break for the aspiring comedian. By all accounts, it is a very well earned honor.
Listen in to this podcast as Peyton talks about performing on that show, getting into comedy and what his behind her routines.
Click here to buy tickets for the show.
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.
Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. But if he ever goes in, he needs an interpreter to deliver his speech. Otherwise, he'll come across as a jerk.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Demetrius Fassas is a Kentucky native and Butler University graduate. He is a recovering addict who helps others achieve their dream of recovery.
He is also the new owner of the Covellite Theater in Uptown Butte. He has brought the old building back to life, and he has some big plans moving forward.
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 Lynch is well known as a State Farm Insurance agent. He also refereed high school football in Montana for 35 years, working with legends like Don Peoples, Bill Hogart, Jim Norton, Jim Kello, Oakie O'Connor and Gitch Combo.
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.
Former Kentucky and NBA star Rex Chapman's memoir, "It’s Hard for Me to Live with Me," is an honest, brave and difficult message for all of us.
Please check out his book or audiobook.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Matt Boyle is a man who gets things done.
The 2008 Butte Central graduate has always been a go-getter. He was on the basketball court when playing for Coach Brodie Kelly at BC. He is a go-getter as a business owner, and he has been a man to get things done when it comes to entertaining the masses in his home town.
Among his many other duties, Matt has been bringing talent in for the Covellite Theater in Butte. Between music and comedy acts and open mic nights.
You can buy tickets to those evens at covellitepresents.org or montanabooking.com.
Oh, and Matt has also been in charge of the St. Patrick’s Day and Fourth of July parades in Butte the last several years.
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.
George Carlin got it right. Life really is a series of dogs.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Brittany Masters and Bradie Matt pour their heart and soul into Butte Cares. Lately, a lot of that hard work has gone into the Color Run, which will take place Sunday at 3 p.m. at Stodden Park.
The substance-free event is billed as a healthy, alternative activity option for youth, families and the community to participate in on St. Patrick’s Day.
The even consists of a 1-mile fun run and a 5K race. You can run, walk or skip along the course laps as you are adorned with brilliantly-colored powder from a number of “color stations” along the way.
You can sign up on line or register the day of the race. Click here for more information on how to register. You can also visit ButteCares.org or visit the Butte Cares Facebook page.
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.
Scott Paffhausen played quarterback for the Butte High Bulldogs. He also played guard on the school's 1984 Class AA State championship basketball team.
That team beat Great Falls High 53-50 on St. Patrick's Day in Missoula. This weekend, they will celebrate their 40th anniversary with a banquet and an appearance in the St. Paddy's Day parade.
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.
Decades later, we still remember Brad Williams game-winning shot in 1978 and those incredible 1984 Butte High and Butte Central boys' basketball teams.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 Porch is not from Butte. Of course, he has spent a ton of time in the Mining City running up and down the basketball court of the Butte Civic Center.
Porch, a Florence native who works out of the Missoula pool, is retiring after a remarkable 40-year run officiating high school and college hoops.
Simply put, Porch is as good as it gets. On Saturday, he will officiate his last game, which will be the third-place game of the Class A boys' basketball tournament. On Friday, he sat down to talk about his career.
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.
Since 2005 Bill Melvin has worked as the manager of the storied Butte Civic Center, which is the best sports arena in the state. Bill and the crew are in the middle of a busy stretch of three high school basketball tournaments in three weeks.
The 16-team combined Class A State tournament is in town this weekend. Listen in to how Bill and the crew get through this stretch and so much more.
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.
Butte High junior Tocher Lee hit a deep 3-pointer to send the Bulldogs to the Class AA State tournament.
That shot was the product of lots of hard work, including some shooting in the cold two nights earlier .
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Quinn (Peoples) Carter is one of the greatest basketball players in Butte Central and Mining City history.
She helped lead the Maroons to the Class A State title in 2011, and she is Montana State University-Billings' No. 2 all-time 3-point shooter.
Now, she is the head coach of the Butte Central girls' basketball team, and the program is about to see some very good days. Listen in as Coach Carter talks about that future, her past and so much more.
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.
For the 18th time in 20 seasons, Brodie Kelly's Butte Central's boys' basketball team will play at the Class A State tournament.
It's time to put Kelly in his rightful place among the very best to coach in the Mining City.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Pauline DeBarathy stole the show during the 2023 documentary "Resurrecting Holy Savior," a movie about the old neighborhoods of Meaderville and McQueen.
Listen in to hear why.
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.
Last week's ruling by the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board of Adjustments does not have to spell the end for the Silver Bow Drive-In.
If we keep going to the drive-in, they will keep showing moves. So, let's pack the place night after night.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
They call him "Big Daddy." For more than a half a century, Russ Hansen has been running up and down basketball courts or shuffling around boxing rings as an official.
I caught up with him for a fun conversation before his final few games before he hangs up his basketball whistle.
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.
Longtime sportswriter Bruce Sayler will be inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame this summer. It is a well-deserved honor for the soft-spoken scribe.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Pat Foley coached the 1984 Butte High boys' basketball team to the Class AA State title. The Bulldogs beat Great Falls High 53-50 on St. Patrick's Day in Missoula.
For me, it will long go down as one of the greatest nights in Mining City history.
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.
This July, Betty Merrifield will be inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame. She will join the shrine a contributor, and that is such a fitting category. Nobody has contributed more to the Mining City sports scene than Betty Merrifield.
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.
Referees play hurt so young athletes can play games. Think about that next time you call them pathetic.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Brandon Scown is now in the same role of his grandfather, the late Jim Scown. That is to say he is the president of the Northwest Little League.
Brandon has some big plans for the league and Jim Scown Field. Contact Brandon at buttelittleleague@gmail.com if you would like to donate to the Scown Field renovation project.
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.
Dr. Neil Rogers is 77 years old, and you can still find him playing noon basketball and working out at the Knights of Columbus.
He retired a little more than a year ago, but Dr. Rogers is still busy as ever. Listen in as he talks about his remarkable career as a doctor and photographer.
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.
Butte Central graduate Kevin Peoples is now an assistant coach at LSU. So it looks like I have to cheer for the Tigers now. It won't be easy.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Before becoming a highly-successful basketball coach in Kalispell, Joe Antonietti was a basketball star at Butte Central in the late 1960s.
Until Dougie Peoples and Brooke Badovinac had their incredible seasons in 2022, Joe was the only Butte player to score more than 600 points in a high school basketball season.
Today, we catch up with Joe and put a voice to the legend from the record books.
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.
Mick Wonnacott passed away at the age of 49. While his death is tragic and heartbreaking, the memory of Mick will always make us smile.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 James Leech is the author of “The City That Ate Itself: Butte, Montana and Its Expanding Berkeley Pit.”
That book tells the story of the Berkeley Pit swallowing up the neighborhoods of McQueen, Meaderville and East Butte. It should be required reading for anyone living in Butte and Montana.
Even though he grew up in Bozeman, Leech saw through the stigma of the Mining City and looked into the eyes of the people. This is the best book you will find about post-World War II Butte.
You can buy a copy at the Isle of Books at 43 E. Broadway in Butte. Please buy a copy and read it.
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.
Jorey Thatcher will be taking the plunge Saturday. That is the Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics.
Click here to donate to the cause or show up Saturday at 3 p.m. with cash or a check and watch Jorey take the plunge.
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.
Fraser MacDonald was a true Butte legend. He passed away at 88 on Jan. 6. As the dean of boys at Butte High School, Fraser was feared by many. He was loved and respected by so many more.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 take one thing away from this podcast, it is that it is OK to call for help. Call the Suicide and Crisis Helpline at 988 if you are in a dark place.
Christine (McGuinn) Nehls lost her husband, Aaron, to suicide 15 years ago. He was only 43 years old. The couple had been together since they were 15 and married when they were 21.
Aaron was a nice guy, a loving father and husband and a talented drummer. Everyone seemed to like him. That, though, was not enough for him to overcome his depression.
After 15 years, Chris decided to talk about Aaron because she wants people to remember how he lived, and not how he died. She also hopes other people will listen and get the help they need.
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.
The Butte Sports Hall of Fame public forum was held Tuesday, Jan. 9 at the McQueen Club. Here it is in its entirety.
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.
The first time Paul Panisko interviewed Chuck Morrell, it was brutally hard. Then he became one of the best interviews around.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 has done more to preserve history in the Mining City than Jim Michelotti.
The McQueen native has been interviewed countless times for news stories, books and movies. He played a prominent role in the documentary “Resurrecting Holy Savior,” which came out in 2023. Jim volunteers a ton of time to the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, and he even joined the group of former Dublin Gulch residents recently to try to save that old neighborhood from British Petroleum and Butte-Silver Bow’s plans to cover it with toxic waste.
Jim is a member of the Butte Sports Hall of Fame, an organization he helped keep alive after the passing of Pat Kearney. He and his wife, Margie, also raised some outstanding athletes who produced even more outstanding athletes. This is Jim's story.
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.
Pat Prendergast was the coach of the 1984 Class A State champion Butte Central boys' basketball team.
That was part of a magical year in the Mining City. One week after the Maroons beat Billings Central in the Class A title game in Butte, Butte High beat Great Falls High in the Class AA championship game on St. Patrick's Day in Missoula.
The real state championship game that season was played on Dec. 14, 1983. Butte High beat Butte Central in an overtime classic at the Civic Center.
Listen in as Coach Prendergast talks about those days and much more.
Ed “Skubie” Skubitz was a Montana Tech Orediggers super fan and one of the best guys you ever knew. Skubie passed away Dec. 16. He will be missed.
John McKee is the owner of Headframe Spirits in Butte. Of course, he is so much more than that.
Here is the story of my fellow member of the Butte High Class of 1993.
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.
This podcast is labeled explicit because of a few swearwords.
When Butte High and Butte Central meets on the hardwood, great things usually follow.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
For the past 15 years, Bryan Arntson has been the defensive coordinator for the Butte High football team.
In 2012, he was part of the decision to move Bo Taylor from linebacker to nose tackle as part of a 5-2 defense that stopped Billings Skyivew in the quarterfinals. That might have been the move of the State championship season.
Arntson is also in his third season as the head coach of the girls' basketball team at Butte High. On Friday, his Bulldogs will take on Butte Central at the Butte Civic Center. The girls' game starts at 6 p.m., while the boys tip off at 7:30.
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.
Selina Pankovich is the owner of Butte's iconic M&M. She bought it three and a half years before the fire on May 7, 2021.
With the eyes of Butte Rats around the world on her, Pankovich opened the new M&M in the building next store. It cannot possibly replace the old M&M, but it definitely has that M&M feel. It has the M&M spirit.
Listen in to hear how Pankovich, a 1993 Anaconda High School graduate, got into the bar business in the first place. Listen to hear how she heard about the horrific fire that rocked our community.
Listen to hear how she handled such a tragedy and how she made the best out of such a horrible situation.
Stay until the end to hear Chad Okrush's song "St. Patrick's Day at the M&M."
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.
As a kid, Jim McMahon was my hero. I loved everything about the outspoken and outrageous quarterback of the Chicago Bears.
Last week, I received the best present ever. It was a football signed by McMahon. It made me feel like I was 11 again.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dr. Bryan Mark is Butte's newest orthopedic surgeon, specializing in sports medicine.
The Colorado native moved to Butte this fall, and he is now the team doctor for Butte High, Butte Central, Montana Tech and Montana Western.
Listen in to hear Dr. Mark's story, which includes working as a surgeon for the Los Angeles Lakers and Sparks.
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.
The Silver Bow Drive-In is a true treasure for the people of Butte and Southwest Montana.
The drive-in has been open most summer nights since Mark and Holly Hansen started operating it in 1977. They have since gotten help from their family as they maintain the last drive-in in Montana.
The future of the drive-in, though, has been placed in doubt by the prospects of a gas station and convenience store being built right next door. The Hansen family says that could mean the end of the drive-in because the noise, lights and smells would be devastating.
You can speak out in support of the drive-in during a zoning board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Council Chambers on the third floor of the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse. You can also send a letter of support to jthomas@bsb.mt.gov.
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.
Any presents for me won’t break your bank. My presents cost no money at all, and they will not fit under any tree.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Cassie Wick is working to make the lives easier for the people of Southwest Montana. For the past 14 years, Cassie has worked as an independent living specialist at Ability Montana. That, though, only scratches the surface of Cassie's incredible story.
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.
Montana Tech legend Bob Green hasn't coached in more than 13 years. Yet he was still the talk of Chicago radio last week.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Monica Tranel is once again taking on Rep. Ryan Zinke for Montana's first congressional seat.
You won't see a snake in her ads this time around, but you will see that Rep. Zinke is up for a fight. Listen in to hear that fight in this interview from the new M&M in Uptown Butte.
By the way, Rep. Zinke and all other politicians are also invited to appear on the ButteCast.
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.
Butte's East Middle School was recently recognized by ESPN as one of the top 40 inclusive schools in the country. That is because of the school's incredible Unified Sports program.
Kelci Thatcher and Kate Dennehy are two of teachers behind that program. This is their story.
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.
Administrators at the University of Montana and Montana State University should be ashamed of themselves for hamstringing the bands.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Bandit was the best dog I ever even heard of. After 4,217 days of love, we had to say goodbye.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tim Norbeck is the former principal at Butte Central Catholic High School and the superintendent in Boulder.
He played football at BC and Carroll College and work 35 years in education. He has some stories to tell.
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.
Chris Opie was a legend at Butte High and Montana Tech. Not all of those stories you heard, however, were true.
Listen in to hear Opie's side of the legend.
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.
We nearly lost Butte Central Coach Don Peoples Jr. a little more than a week ago. Luckily for all of us, we didn't.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
David Hutchins is a biomimetic materials scientist, an environmental engineer, an educator and an assembler of rusty bits.
He says he spends his free time tinkering in the sacrifice zones, dreaming on two wheels and documenting the process.
He has a great story to tell.
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.
Formerly known as Robin Taylor (aka "The Robinator"), she was the iconic voice of the Robinator on the Butte airwaves. Now she is a writer an editor for The Butte Weekly.
Listen in to hear that Robin still has that smooth voice that made her a household name in the Mining City.
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.
Do yourself a favor and don't buy any of that FTC or FTG garbage.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
On Sunday, Col. Amy Klimt because the first female commander to oversee the 17th Sustainment Bridge of the Nevada Army National Guard. She says she would rather be referred to as the "shortest commander" instead of the "first female commander," though.
Klima is a member of Butte High's Class of 1993, which is clearly the school's best class. She also attended McKinley Elementary, West Elementary and East Middle School.
She joined the National Guard soon after graduation in June of 1993, and it has taken her to heights should could not have possibly imagined. Listen in as Col. Klima tells some of those stories.
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.
Ryan Busse is a former firearms executive turned critic of the industry. He wrote a book to expose the problems that he could just no longer live with.
The book is called "Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America."
Busse is also a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. He is looking to knock off incumbent Greg Gianforte next year.
Here is a conversation with Mr. Busse from the M&M in Butte.
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.
When he was in seventh grade, Tommy Mellott wrote a great essay about veterans. Now that he is a star quarterback at Montana State, his advice is still top notch.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Ryan Hitchcock is one of the best Butte athletes that you might not have heard about. He was an outstanding hockey player whose career ended in the minor leagues.
This is his story.
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.
No, it's not that Jim Norton. This Jim Norton is a former long-time high school football official with lots of stories to tell.
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.
Sign up your child for Saturday's Elks Hoop Shoot. I promise, it will not be a waste of time.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
The book "The City That Ate Itself" by Brian James Leech should be required reading for Butte residence. The rest of the world should read it, too.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
She is a ray of sunshine who just might punch in the face.
For the first time in about five years, Ariel (Beck) O'Neill will be back in the ring. She will take on Stephanie DiGiulio of Great Falls in a boxing match that will be the main event of the Murders Row Fight Card at the Butte Civic Center. (Tickets)
Ariel and her husband Shea also coach and team at the Copper City Combat Club in Butte. Check out the club's website, and maybe you can become a member.
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.
They say some people have nine lives, like a cat. Well, Bill Andersen says he's on his third cat.
Listen in as the commissioner for Butte-Silver Bow's District 10 talks about his long, amazing journey as he continually battles for his life.
The podcast is marked explicit because of a few F bombs.
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.
Being a fan of the Chicago Bears is a lot like being Charlie Brown tryin to kick the ball Lucy is holding.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jason Street earned 11 varsity letters at Butte High. He also won three individual state titles on the wrestling mat.
He is one of the best wrestlers Butte High has ever produced, and he is part of a family that will forever be known as wrestling royalty in the Mining City.
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.
I am running for chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow. Here's why.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Whether it as an athlete, musician, husband, father or grandfather, Butte's own Andy Larson has been known to swing for the fences.
Listen to his story.
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.
Dan Boyle is a Butte firefighter known for a mustache that he recently shaved off. He is also known to be part of Butte's great Boyle family.
That family is responsible for the Knights of Columbus Little Kids Hoops program, which begins another season Saturday morning.
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.
We need to preserve our heritage, and we need to save the Dublin Gulch. Dumping toxic material into the Berkeley Pit instead of the storied Butte neighborhood could help do that.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Henry and Colleen Klobucar are Butte's dancing couple. They will be part of the the Country Hoedown Fundraiser for the Butte Family YMCA Saturday at the Butte Ekls.
Listen in as they talk about their love of family, fun and dancing.
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.
Don McAuliffe will become the 19th member of Butte High's Diamond B's Friday night as the Bulldogs take on Missoula Hellgate at Naranche Stadium.
McAuliffe only played one year of football for Butte High, but he made it count. He earned first-team All-State honors at receiver. He also played basketball and was a superstar in the hurdles.
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.
Tim Wakefield died of brain cancer on Sunday, and it feels like I lost a close friend.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
In 2000, Alicia Kachmarik pitched Butte Central to the Class A State softball title not long after a line drive hit her in the face.
She pitched the title game while her eye was swelling shut. More than 23 years later, it is still hard to believe that it actually happened.
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.
Steve Stosich is part of so many team plaques from the Butte Sports Hall of Fame that he lost count.
Stosich was an undersized, but hard-nosed center and linebacker as Butte Central won the 1964 Class A State championship in football. He started three years on the gridiron for the Maroons.
After playing freshman football and then wrestling at Montana State, Stosich went on to a coaching career that is still going strong today.
In 1971, Stosich won his first State title as an assistant for Butte Central’s football team. In 2011, he was the head coach as Butte High won the Class AA State softball crown.
Along the way, Stosich won multiple football titles as an assistant at BC and Butte High. He was also an assistant coach as Butte High’s wrestling teams won 13 straight State titles. He coached track and field, guiding many individual state champions.
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.
Josh Vincent was a member of the 1991 Butte High State championship football team. He went on to a successful career with Montana Tech.
He is a successful businessman and engineer, and he is a proud supporter of Montana Tech Athletics. Recently he was named a Distinguished Alumni of Montana Tech.
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.
So many of my life lessons were learned from watching Seinfeld. I wish I would have listened when he said sports fans cheer for clothes.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Danette Harrington served 24 years as the auditor of Butte-Silver Bow. That, though, was only a part of her service as an employee of the local government.
She also grew up in the great neighborhood of the Dublin Gulch. The Gulch is now threatened as the Superfund partners are targeting for a toxic dumping round that will finish off the neighborhood.
The Dublin Gulch hasn't hosted a family in about 50 years, but its memory still burns strong in former residents like Harrington. That neighborhood is still worth fighting for.
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.
Butte deserves the Superfund cleanup Anaconda and Missoula got. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to fight for that.
We owe it to our ancestors to make sure the Dublin Gulch isn't turned into a toxic dumping site.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
It was actually a year ago last Tuesday that the ButteCast turned a year old. It's not to late to celebrate.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Evan Barrett is a Red Lodge native who came to Butte in 1979 because his boss, Sen. John Melcher, made him. Several years later, he decided to stay, even though Sen. Melcher wanted him to leave.
For more than half a century, Barrett has been a man behind so many great political leaders and policy in Butte and Montana. In addition to Melcher, he worked for U.S. Congressman Pat Williams, Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Don Peoples.
For 18 years, he headed up economic development in Butte. He served a three-year stint as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, and he was as a member of the Democratic National Committee for 12 years.
Lately, he has cemented his status as a Butte guy by fighting to make sure that Butte gets the Superfund cleanup that it deserves.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
Before he was the team doctor for Carroll College, Dr. John Michelotti made his mark on the world as a barber. During the 1985-86 basketball season, he gave Butte High teammate Bart Black his famous mohawk.
Michelotti was a quarterback who sometimes played receiver for Butte High. He took third at State in the 800-meter race, and he won the prestigious Harry "Swede" Dahlberg Award as the outstanding boy athlete for the Bulldogs.
He then went on to start four years on the Carroll College football team and then to medical school at the University of Washington.
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.
Manuel Herrera passed away last week at the age of 75. Manny, as his friends call him, will be sorely missed.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Barry Brophy, Mike Haggerty, Greg Markovich, Jerry “Buzz” Combo and Brian “Moose” Holland were the five senior offensive linemen for the 1973 Butte Central football team.
That year, the Maroons went 10-0 as they ran the school's winning streak to 28 games and gave the school its third straight Class A State championship.
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.
Listen in as former Butte High athlete and coach Kevin Petritz opens up about his battles with depression and addiction.
KP was an outstanding soccer player for Butte High. He was also a contributor for a boys' basketball team that, in 2011, came within two points of a berth in the Class AA State tournament.
He coached soccer at MSU-Billings, where he also played, Butte High and Great Falls High. He was also a successful club coach.
Here is a column KP wrote for Butte Sports in 2014.
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.
If you are fighting with the guys on the Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook, then you already lost. If they block you, though, consider that a win.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Robert Leipheimer is a 2018 graduate of Butte High School. He also earned a degree form Montana State University.
He went from a 230-pound offensive lineman for the Bulldogs to a 165-pound Spartan Race champion. The soon-to-be 24-year old Butte man is the reigning North American champion.
He will compete in the world completion again later this year.
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.
It's been more than 33 years since Curtis Smith played basketball for Butte High School. He is still mentioned all the time because he is one of the best players to ever suit up for the Bulldogs.
He passed like Magic Johnson, though he'd rather you say it was like Larry Bird. Either way, Curtis was great. He played on Butte High's 1989 and 1990 teams, and the Bulldogs only lost three games in those two years. Unfortunately, two of them were championship games.
He doesn't have that gold basketball of a state champion, but Curtis is a champion in my book. Curtis also really does seem to live by the Golden Rule. He is nice to everyone, and that is even better than being a great basketball player.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
Greg "Peach" Leetz has been my friend for as long as I can remember.
He is a veteran of the Northwest Little League, where he led the world in unnecessary Pete Rose slides, and the Navy. He graduated from Butte High and Montana Tech.
He is in town to watch the Montana Tech-Carroll College football game Thursday night at Alumni Coliseum. Yesterday, I saw him in person for the first time in years, and we had a great time talking about the glory days, the Vu Villa, the fact that he was a band-O, the Vu Villa and his large family. Oh, and the Vu Villa.
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.
The podcast is marked "explicit" because of a couple of accidental F bombs.
The EPA is finally promising us some transparency when it comes to the cleanup of more than a century worth of mine waste in Butte.
So far, we know the promises from the EPA have been as real as Butte's best ghost story.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Paul Panisko has a new gig at Montana Tech. That comes after 30 years on the radio, most of it at KBOW. He called football, basketball and softball games for most of those years, and he is as good as it gets.
Montana Tech fans will be able to hear Panisko call home football and basketball games on the Orediggers' YouTube channel. Go to godiggers.com to find links to check them out.
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.
Tawnya Murray is a recovering addict who knows how methamphetamine can ruin a life.
She knows what it is like to live on the streets, and she knows what it is like to lose everything, including her two children. Today, Tawnya is doing well, and she is looking to help others.
Her story is one you do not want to miss.
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.
Jon McElroy won 118 games in 18 seasons as head football coach at Butte High School.
Before that, he was a standout athlete and an All-State receiver on Butte High's 1964 state championship team. He played at Montana State before becoming a coach and teacher at his alma mater.
Coach Mac was also the best chemistry teacher this side of Walter White.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
The stone walls around Leonard Field are crumbling, and the school is repairing them with what one Montana Tech alumnus called "modern trash."
Where is the outrage from the historic preservation people?
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 Michelotti is the fifth executive director of the Montana High School Association. Before that, he was a Carroll College Fighting Saint, a Butte High Bulldog, a West Junior High Buffalo and a McKinley Viking.
Listen in as he talks about growing up in Butte, cheering for his sons as they play football for his former rival Montana Tech and some plans he has moving forward with the MHSA.
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.
Matt Buckley was a teacher and a coach. He is a writer, poet, realtor and a cowboy. He was also one of the great Mining City athletes in his day.
Buckley was part of Butte Central's back-to-back-to-back title run in football from 1971 through 1973. He received postseason honors on both sides of the ball at Carroll College. He was a 210-pound All-American defensive tackle for the Saints and an undefeated boxer at Carroll.
He also just might be the most interesting man in the world.
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.
Three months after suffering a sever injury in a fire in Butte, Capt. Brant Bristol is doing well and looking forward to being back on the job.
Listen in as Capt. Bristol talks about being injured, the long road to recovery and much more.
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.
The best scene in "A River Runs Through It" does not involve fly fishing.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Ray Jay Johnson and Steve Schulte have been best friends since they were kids. They were also standouts playing for the Butte Central Maroons.
Schulte is still BC's all-time leading rusher, and he is the only player to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the Butte High-Butte Central rivalry.
Both were part of the 1978 Butte Central Class A State championship basketball team. While Schulte went to Carroll College to play football, Johnson played hoops at the College of Great Falls. He was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
Schulte and Johnson are also Hall of Fame story tellers.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
As we approach the eighth anniversary of the unspeakable tragedy that claimed the lives of Kyle Burgman and Casey Boyle, we mourn the loss of 17-year-old Delaney Doherty.
Today's bonus 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.
Dale Burgman is a sportswriters' dream. He is one of the best interviews off all time, and he has pretty much coached everything.
After a long tenure at Butte High School, Dale retired and moved to North Dakota to coach and teach. He has one more school year before he returns to the Mining City for good.
In 2015, Burgman coached even after his son Kyle and his friend and roommate Casey Boyle were killed in a car crash shortly before the fall sports season began.
The families started the Burgman/Boyle Classic basketball game on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, and the "Boyles Buddies Game," the Special Olympian edition of that game lives on. It will be played Thursday, Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at East Middle School.
The Burgman/Boyle Scholarship has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to students from Butte High and Butte Central in the eight years since the tragedy.
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.
Pat Ryan has never had a bad day. He has also never had a boring day.
PR and his son Will recently racked up about 1,700 miles on their bikes as they rode to Iowa for a race across Iowa.
Listen in as PR talks about that month-long journey. Listen as he talks about his days playing football and wrestling at Butte High. Listen as he talks about the many jobs he has had along the way.
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.
A column on 406mtsports.com suggests that sports coverage is so good that the writers are routinely told "thank you" at events, stores and bars.
We know better.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Before he became a well-known sports official in Montana and well beyond, Glen Welch was an outstanding athlete at Butte High School and the University of Montana.
The speedy All-State receiver helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back State titles in 1967 and 1968. He was then part of a back-to-back conference championship team with the Grizzlies.
Even though he hasn't lived in the Mining City for decades, Welch still very much considers himself to be a "Butte guy."
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
Jeanette Kappes is carrying on a "segrevious" legacy as the third-generation owner of Butte's Crazee Carol's Casino and Mill Bar.
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.
I wrote about my best pals Bandit and Boogie. They are my dogs.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
He placed ninth in the 2019 Tour Divide, a grueling 2,745-mile race from Banff, Alberta to the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2021, he rode the Butte 100 course twice, making him the only ever competitor in the "Butte 200."
Yet, John "Bear" Stillwagon is not crazy. He just never does anything halfway.
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.
If you could give your 15-year-old self some advice, what would it be? I would tell myself to never quit playing high school football.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Kyle Samson is the head coach of the Montana Tech football team. Before that, he was a star quarterback at Helena Capital and MSU-Northern.
At his core, though, Samson is a Butte guy. He has deep family roots in the Mining City.
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.
Chad Okrusch is a Butte treasure. Actually, he's a Montana treasure. His songs Opportunity Blues, Big Hole River, The Angel Mariah and St. Patrick’s Day At the M&M perfectly capture the soul of the Mining City and its surroundings.
Chad is also a professor at Montana Tech, a former OK handball player and a Tim Meadows impersonator.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
The senseless death of a 23-year-old Butte man on July 3 tells us that we must do better as a society.
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.
In January of 2014, Skip Koprivic retired after 34 years working as the club pro at the Missoula Country Club.
He was in town Saturday as the Jack W. Crowley Jr. Clubhouse was officially dedicated at the Highland View Golf Course.
After the dedication, I was able to catch up with Skip, who is a golfing legend in Butte, Missoula and beyond.
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.
Today we catch up with seven of the eight Butte Miners seniors or super seniors.'
Listen in as we catch up with Ethan “Easy” Conningham, Kenley Leary, Kevin “Donnie” Donaldson, Tyler Duffy, Rye Doherty, Anthony Knott and Zach Tierney.
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.
Former Butte High quarterback and Montana Tech receiver Cal McQueary is still living his football life as a member of the Indoor Football League champion Idaho Horsemen.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
I have a million stories to tell about legendary Highland View Golf Course club pro Jack Crowley, this is one of them.
The Jack Crowley Clubhouse at the "Muni" will officially be dedicated at noon on Saturday, July 8.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Mike McGree isn't the best athlete of the McGree family. But he is probably the funniest.
Listen in as Mike talks about his father Tucker and his good pal Harp Cote. Listen as he talks about being a bench warmer on BC’s 1969 state championship football team and his not-so-productive six years as a college student.
Listen as Mike talks about his job as a first responder and recently receiving the Copper Heart Award from Butte-Silver Bow for saving a life.
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.
As the director of athletics at Montana Tech, Matt Stepan will not take the credit for the Orediggers winning the Frontier Conference Bandy Memorial All-Sports Trophy.
But we know better. And we know that right now, the Orediggers are the envy of the toughest sports conference in the NAIA.
Before he was the AD, Stepan was a Maroon and an Oredigger. He is also as invested in his community as any man you will meet.
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 they put in an artificial turf on Miners Field at 3 Legends Stadium, the girls should get one, too, at Stodden Park.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tedd Stanisich is a legend in Butte and Dillon. A former Longfellow Bomber and Butte High Bulldog, Stanisich spent decades as a coach and history teacher in Dillon.
He is also one of the best story tellers you will ever hear. Listen in to hear some of those classic Stanny stories.
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.
The lovely-and-talented Pam Green is wife of legendary Montana Tech football coach Bob Green. But she is so much more than that. Did you know that Pam has more Butte Sports Hall of Fame plaques than her famous husband?
During her many years as an athletic trainer at Butte High School, Pam was part of Class AA State championships in football, wrestling and softball. Pam is also has a great sense of humor that often goes unnoticed next to her husband with the booming voice and classic one liners.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
The Montana East-West Shrine Game is our yearly reminder that we have great people on both sides of the ball.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
The Butte Missile, Colt Anderson, went from walk on to All-American on the University of Montana football team. He played nine seasons in the NFL for the Vikings, Eagles, Colts and Bills, and he is currently a special teams assistant for the Cincinnati Bengals.
He will be inducted into the Montana Football Hall of Fame this weekend in Billings.
That, however, all takes a back seat to Colt's Dream Big Foundation. Along with is wife Keelie, Colt works hard to make sure children dare to dream big. The event brings NFL players and other role models to town, and it has been a huge success. This year, the skills camp booked in a matter of hours.
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.
This special edition of the ButteCast includes the four West Side captains for Saturday’s Montana East-West Shrine Game along with their coaches and some local Shriners. The show was recorded inside the Coaches Corner at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill.
All four captains are future Montana State Bobcats. They are J.J. Dolan and Adam Jones of Missoula Sentinel, Patrick Duchien of Florence and Talon Marsh of Helena Capital.
Dolan is a 6-foot, 165-pound safety/nickel back. He will Wear No 5 Jones is a 6-1, 185-pound running back. He will don No. 6.
Duchein is a 6-2, 205-pound quarterback who will wear No. 15. Marsh is listed on the roster as 6-1, 235 pounds, but he is at least 15 pounds heavier now. He will wear No. 2.
Duchein and Jones, the offensive captains, joined the show first. The were followed by the defensive leaders, Dolan and Marsh.
The captains were voted on by their teammates and announced Wednesday night, just before the podcast.
West head coach Kyle Mihelish and assistant Matt Reyant followed the captains. Both are coaches for reigning Class AA State champion Helena Capital.
They were followed by Dillon coach Zach McRae and Polson head coach Carson Oakland. Oakland is taking over at Polson after two years at St. Ignatius. The 25-year-old Oakland, by the way, is married to the former Sierra Pica, a star for Butte Central’s State champion 2016 girls’ basketball team.
Pat Duchien, coach of two-time defending Class B State champion Florence and Missoula Loyola coach Todd Hughes followed McRae and Oakland.
Then came some men and women behind the scenes, Jeff and Velvet Hartwick, Darrel Storey, Wynn Randall and “The Closer” Joe Sidor.
The Shrine Game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Naranche Stadium.
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.
By jumping in bed with the gambling industry, our sports leagues are giving us a not-so-gentle nudge down the slippery slope to a gambling problem.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
John Thatcher is a true Butte legend. He earned all-conference honors in football, basketball and baseball at Western Montana College, which is now called Montana Western. He scored the first touchdown at Alumni Coliseum, and he played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Of course, Thatcher is known more as a coach because that is what he was put on this planet to do. He coached Butte Central's boys to the 1978 Class A State title, and he led Butte High's boys to Class AA title games in 2004 and 2007. He also coached with Kelvin Sampson at Montana Tech.
J.T. was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
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.
Wayne Paffhausen was an outstanding athlete and coach at Butte High School. He was a key member of Butte High's undefeated state championship football teams in 1960 and 1961. He then coached the Bulldogs on the gridiron from 1970 through 1972.
Paffhausen went to the University of Washington to play football, but his career as a Husky was cut short when he suffered a broken neck. Of course, Wayne is probably best known as the father of Marc, Scott, Todd and Josh Paffhausen.
Today, at 79, Paffhausen is still busy with his construction company. He and his wife Patty are also busy traveling the state to follow the athletic careers of their grandchildren.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
Don Peoples Jr. will lead Butte Central's football team for the 35th season this fall. No high school football coach in the Mining City has coached more, and only Butte High legend Swede Dahlberg has more wins than Peoples.
The BC mentor picked up his 200th win during the 2021 season, putting him in some pretty exclusive company.
Football coach though, is only one of many hats that Coach Peoples wears in his efforts to carry on the great tradition of Butte Central schools.
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.
It isn't the fault of football coaches that our country is on the verge of a civil war.
The days of the meathead football coaches are in the past, for the most part. Stereotyping them to point fingers is lazy and just plain wrong.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Eddi Walker is simply one of the most amazing people on the plant. She seems to be everywhere, doing everthing.
Whether it is coaching the Special Olympics, volunteering at track meets, marking and timing road races, giving blood or working as a full-time substitute teacher, Eddi seems to have more time in a day than the rest of us.
Eddi also doesn't like talking about herself. It took a near-death experience to get her to join the podcast. She nearly died last week because she bit into a bun she didn't know included sesame seed flower. Eddi wanted to share her story because changing ingredients is something that caught local restaurants off guard.
Listen to this story and please pass it along. You might save a life if you do.
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.
Elizabeth Gardner has a story to tell. The 1999 Butte High graduate has been through hell and back the last several years.
She lost her daughter, Bridget Mallo, to cystic fibrosis on May 5, 2019. She was 15. After battling through a bout with depression following her daughter's death, Elizabeth nearly died from COVID.
Now on oxygen and looking forward to a lung transplant, Elizabeth is working to bring awareness to the homeless problem in Butte.
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.
Scott Mansanit was, pound-for-pound, the hardest hitter I have ever seen play football. He was an All-State running back and linebacker before taking his talents and hard hits to Montana Tech.
Oh, and Chunky Thatcher once sent him into a high school basketball game to guard the referee. You read that correctly.
Listen in as Scott talks about his playing days and the time he guarded the ref.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow. 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.
Sean Ryan is the head coach of the Montana Tech golf program and the director of the Southwest Montana Junior Golf Tour. He also has one of the greatest marriage proposal stories of all time. He proposed to his wife Happy Gilmore style.
Sign up for the Southwest Montana Junior Golf Tour at SWMJGT.com.
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.
We teach high school students world, national and local history. We should start teaching sports history, too.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jack Hogart was my junior high football coach. He is also one of the funnies people I have ever met. He certainly comes from the funnies family I have ever known.
Listen in as Jack talks about that family, his coaching days and his years as a football official in high school and the Frontier Conference.
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.
Keith Miller has devoted his entire life to children. He has spent the last 40 plus years as a Little League volunteer. He taught in Cascade, at East Middle School and Butte High School. He is currently the principal at East Middle School.
Listen in as Keith talks about his days as an umpire, president and administrator in Little League. Listen as he talks about his days in education. Listen as I confront him about the time in 1984 when he called me out on three pitches — and one of them was a ball.
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.
Basically playing with one arm, Butte High freshman Clyde Stajcar gave everything he had to help Butte High try to win a state title on the baseball field. Bulldog coach Jim LeProwse called Stajcar’s effort the “most gutsy performance” by any player he has ever coached.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dr. Pete Knudsen has been instrumental in putting on the Butte Mineral and Gem Show for decades. He was also instrumental in turning Montana Tech into the great university it is today.
Listen to Dr. Knudsen talk about both. Also, check out the show Saturday and Sunday at the Butte Civic Center. The show runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is just $3, and students under 12 will be admitted for free.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
Ed Kelly was a star running back at Butte Central. He played at Montana State and Eastern Montana College, which is now MSU-Billings. He also served in the Army during the Vietnam War, returning home with a Purple Heart.
Listen in as Ed talks about those playing days, Vietnam and how he got into NBA and NFL games without paying.
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.
My uncle Al Hansen passed away last week at the age of 69. One fall Saturday morning in 1988, he made my day and so much more.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Paul and Al Cutler are a pair of Butte brothers who helped lead Butte High to State titles on the football field. Then, they ventured out in careers in education, coaching and officiating.
Paul taught and coached in Butte, while Al taught and coached in Deer Lodge. They are also both very good story tellers.
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.
Mick Dennehy rejuvenated the Montana Western football program. He was the offensive coordinator for the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA national champion Montana Grizzlies. He was the head coach of the Grizzlies and Utah State.
Before that, he grew up in the best part of Butte, Centerville. He was a two-year starter in football and basketball at Butte High School. He helped lead the Bulldog football team to the 1967 State championship, and he won the javelin at State as a senior in 1968. Then, he was a standout at safety for the Grizzlies before getting into coaching.
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.
The people who make YouTube instruction videos almost always skip through the hard parts.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Amy (Ostermiller) Schulte grew up in Shepard, just out side of Billings, where she became a three-time Class B State champion in track. She won the discus as a junior in 2009 before winning the shot put and discus as a senior in 2010.
After marrying Luke Schulte and joining one of Butte's best families, Amy started coaching track at Butte High. She also started a couple of business and founded her "passion project," Graceful Gowns, which makes hundreds of dresses available — and for free — to area high school girls going to dances.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
Mark Beckman retired last year after an 18-year run as executive director of the Montana High School Association. In all, he served 25 years at the MHSA and 40 years in education.
He was a fair-and-steady hand leading the MHSA, and he oversaw the addition of high school baseball and girls' high school wrestling. He also guided Montana high school sports through the pandemic and the tornado that ripped the roof off the Billings Metra.
Through it all, though, we always know Beckman as a Butte guy.
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.
Pam Parvinen might not be a household name, but she sure has a story to tell. Pam has undergone kidney dialysis three days per week every week for more than 20 years. In between, she found time to raise a family.
That might not get your name in the newspaper as much as her husband, two-time Butte High state wrestling champion Kevin Parvinen, but Pam is impressive in her own right. For Pam, though, she is just doing what she has always done. She overcomes.
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.
The 19 recipients of the 2023 Mariah's Challenge Scholarship prove that Mariah's message is still going strong.
Today's bonus 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.
Every family has one. In my family, it is Mike. Know as "Skinny," Mike has served as a sports official for more than 40 decades. I always thought he loved to officiate because he loves to argue.
There might be something too that. Listen in to get a look into the life of My Cousin Skinny.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
In 2012, Mick Delaney took over as head football coach of the Montana Grizzlies. In doing so, he saved a program that was spiraling out of control.
That three-year run as head coach of the Griz put a bow on great coaching career that saw the 1961 Butte Central graduate find great success as an assistant at Montana State, Montana and Colorado State. He also led Great Falls High to the 1974 state championship.
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.
If the fear of people yelling at you is stopping you from becoming a sports official, then you should think again. Getting yelled at by fans is not as bad as you might think, and it is not a legitimate excuse.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Note: If you can't play this on Spotify, go to Apple Podcasts or ButteCast.com.
Amanda Curtis is the president of Montana's largest labor union, the Montana Federation of Public Employees.
She is a former teacher and former member of the Montana House of Representatives. More than anything though, Amanda is a Butte girl. Sure, she was raised in Billings, but she now calls Butte her home. She says she is never going to leave.
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.
The real Jon Wick is not an action star. He is actually more interesting.
Jon is a native of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which was made famous by the Netflix documentary series Making a Murder. John and his wife, Cassie, own 5518 Designs in Butte and Anaconda. They also own Dig City Supply.
More importantly, the couple always works to make our community a better place. Jon might come from Wisconsin, but he seems like he has been in Butte his whole life. Listen in, and you will see what I mean.
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.
Local box scores have all but disappeared from local newspapers, and that is a damn shame.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Butte High senior Max Kluck has officially arrived as a Nordic skier. Max recently earned a spot on the U.S. Ski Team after an outstanding 2022-23 season.
A signee with the University of Utah ski team, Max has had his eye on competing in the Olympics as a skier since before he knew how to spell Olympics. He just drew the rings.
Max is also the 2021 Butte 100 Mountain Bike Race champion, and he has dual citizenship between the United States and Germany. Listen in as Max discusses his training, his dreams as a Nordic skier and much more.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
C.D. Holter is the heartthrob lead singer for High Ore Road, Butte's middle-aged rock band sensation.
Holter, by the way, disputes both those titles, but his band is really fun to listen to. You can check them out April 21 at the Elks Lodge in Butte.
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.
For 32 years, Ellen Crain served as the director of the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives. There, she helped turn piles of papers and boxes into a treasure.
Ellen retired last year, but her legacy of Butte history will live on.
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.
Robert Lester is a 2015 Butte High graduate and a winner of the Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship. He is a mountaineer known for climbing the highest peaks to ski down them. He once skied down that black slag pile outside of Anaconda. In the summer.
In May, Robert will board a canoe in Silver Bow Creek and travel about 1,230 miles down the Clark Fork River and Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Why, you might ask. Listen in for a great answer.
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.
Butte High graduate Brittney Tierney might be my favorite player of all time. Her much larger litter brother Zach isn't far behind.
Today's bonus podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
Tim Dick was the class president and class clown of Butte High School's Class of 1986. Not many ever held those two titles at the same time.
Tim is currently an attorney in Butte, and he is one of the funniest people you will ever meet.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
In 2011, Jaimee Paffhausen helped lead the Butte High Bulldogs to the Class AA State softball championship. On the final day of the State tournament in Billings, she threw 329 pitches over 24 innings.
Shortly after the season, she was named the Montana Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
Now Jaimee Richards, Jaimee is a physical therapist who is a big part of the Copper City Softball program in the Mining City. She is helping grow the sport she loves.
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.
Butte journalist Kathleen McLaughlin returns to the Podcast. Her first appearance came on Podcast No. 2 in September. Her book Blood Money: The story of Life, Death, and the Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry is now available wherever books are sold.
I highly recommend the book that is a great piece of journalism that examines an aspect economic inequality in America. Kathleen also penned a piece about Montana journalistic icon Chuck Johnson and how legends like him are not being replaced in The Nation. Click here to check that out.
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.
No matter how much it snowed and how much they say 'I told you so," high school baseball in Montana is still a good idea.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Davey Dunmire is a misguided New York Yankees fan. He is also the public address voice of the Butte Miners, Butte Muckers and now the Butte High Bulldogs.
His passion and hard work help give the baseball games a big league feel. Listen in to get a glimpse of that passion and some semi-educated baseball talk as we get ready for Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season.
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.
Chris Heard has worked to keep student-athletes in the Mining City — and beyond — for more than a quarter of a century. He is tasked with leading St. James Health Care's Sports Medicine team of Athletic Trainers.
March is National Athletic Trainer Awareness Month. If you see Chris or any other athletic trainers, tell them thank you for what they do for our young student-athletes.
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.
Somehow, the Southwestern A coaches did not vote Butte Central senior star Brooke Badovinac to the All-State team. That is an injustice that I could not ignore.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening 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 know Bob Pavlovich as the guy who owned the Met Tavern in Butte for 50 years. You might know him as the guy who played first base and pitched for Butte's 1946 American Legion state championship baseball team. You might know him as the politician who served 20 years in the Montana Legislature.
Pavlovich's greatest legacy might turn out to be the Southwest Montana Veterans Home. In the two decades after he left the legislature, Pavlovich continued to fight to bring that home and the accompanying clinic to Butte. At nearly 94, he is still fighting for that cause, hoping to add another building to the facility that opened in 2021.
Listen in as Bob talks about that fight, his playing days, his army days and so much more.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
Adam Hiatt is the coach behind building the back-to-back Frontier Conference champion Montana Tech men's basketball team. Listen in as he talks about building that program, it's run to the National Tournament and what's in store in the future.
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.
Coxie, as John Cox is affectionately known, was a beloved bartender at Maloney's Bar in Butte until he retired at the age of 75. A Marine and former police officer in San Diego, Coxie provided a friendly face at the greatest bar ever. He was quick with a joke and might even light up your smoke (back when you could still smoke in a bar.)
Now 81, Coxie is still going strong. Listen in as we catch up with an old friend.
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.
Walter Hinick is responsible for so many iconic photos in and around the Mining City. For more than 40 years, he was a photographer at The Montana Standard. If something big happened, Walt was there to shoot it.
Listen in as Walt talks about some of those photos, some of the stories and some of the great journalists he worked with.
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.
Aaron Rodgers might be one of the greatest Packers of all time. He might be one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But he couldn't hold a candle to Bart Starr.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tom Powers is the lead singer of the great Butte band Dublin Gulch. Tom and the boys will be playing at about 1 p.m. Friday at the Butte Depot. They will continue to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a show at 6:30 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center.
Listen in as tom describes what it is like to play Irish songs in Butte on St. Paddy's Day and so much more. For more on the band, go to DublinGulch.com.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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 McCarthy will serve as the parade marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade Friday in Butte. He says there are other people who are more deserving. We know better.
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.
Montana Tech basketball player Caleb Bellach will be back better than ever.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary. Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Brooke Badovinac has been a scoring machine for the Butte Central girls' basketball team. She hopes to continue that when she becomes a Montana Tech Oredigger next school year.
Listen in as Brooke, known as "The Assassin," talks about her hoops career that started in the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club's Little Kids Hoops program on Saturday mornings. Listen as she talks about her career with the Maroons and her upcoming career at Montana Tech.
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.
Charlie Merrifled passed away Sunday in Butte. The. Mining City lost an icon.
Today's podcast is presented by Metals Sports Bar & Grill, where the food is the star. 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 Anderson did not take his granddaughter's diagnosis with Cystic Fibrosis lying down. He fought back, starting Butte's NCAA March Madness Calcutta Cystic Fibrosis Benefit.
The latest addition of the event will be held Wednesday, March 15 at the Butte Country Club. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the auction of teams begins at 7:30. Click here to visit the Calcutta website for more information.
Listen in as Rick talks about the Calcutta and its success over the last decade. Listen as he talks about his grandchildren and why he is fighting like mad to give them and so many others a better life.
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.
The party of less government is trying to use more government to control our thoughts with Montana HB329.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Ted Ackerman was a standout on the Montana Tech basketball team 50 years ago. From 1971 through 1974, Ackerman tossed in 1,681 points for the Orediggers.
He went on to a successful coaching career at Butte High, where his girls' teams went 96-80 from 1982 through 1989.
With the Oredigger men playing some huge games (hopefully two) at the HPER Complex this week, I thought it would be a good time to go back and remember a Tech great from a half century ago.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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.
He is a one-man metal band, Butte's Luigi of Metal.
Shawn Roxx Hoskins has not just been listening to heavy metal for most of his 57 years. He has been living it.
Listen in as he discusses growing up in Walkerville, not making the cut in basketball because he refused to get a haircut, his love for the band Kiss, his parents, his family and so much more.
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.
This episode is marked explicit because of some language toward the end.
Gina Evans works at "Gina Speed," and she is usually doing something to make the community a better place.
She served as the race director for the Butte 100 mountain bike race for 11 years, and she runs a shuttle service, Linked Adventures, where she helps people enjoy the outdoor life that has been so important to her.
She does this, even though she was nearly killed in a hit and run in June of 2010. Listen in to hear that if you knock Gina down, she will get back up.
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.
For about 50 years, Bob Rowling hardly had a day off. He was busy making Butte a better place as the Butte-Silver Bow Parks & Recreation Director. He also served as a sports official, officiating football, basketball and softball.
Affectionately known as "Rollo," Rowling refereed football at the Frontier and Big Sky Conference level. He worked hoops in the Frontier and worked countless high school football and basketball games. He worked well into his 70s.
Listen in as he talks about that incredible career and how he knows every day is going to be a good one if he starts it off with a laugh.
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.
Just when you thought it was going to be the Year of the Freshman, Butte High's eighth grader Cadence Graham stole the show.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening 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 Querciagrossa is a four-time letter winner on the swimming team at the University of West Virginia. He is now a physical therapist at Lone Peak Physical Therapy in Butte.
Listen in as Jake talks about his athletic days and his approach to physical therapy at Lone Peak.
Today's podcast is presented by Lone Peak Physical Therapy. Call today and start feeling better as early as tomorrow.
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 can call him Dusty Dan or Deepcourt Dan. Either way, you are talking about a true Butte legend.
Dan Sullivan starred in basketball for Butte Central before heading to play baseball and basketball for the Montana Grizzlies in Missoula. There, he roomed with Butte High legend Bob O'Billovich, and the two have been close friends since. Dan introduced Bob into the Montana Football Hall of Fame a few years back.
Listen in as Dan talks about his playing days and his years teaching at Butte High School. Listen as he talks about his nicknames and how he once beat the legendary Bill Peoples in the handball court.
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.
We can and must do better when it comes to youth sports. A child's sporting event should never be turned into a hostile situation.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Butte High senior Mason Christian became a two-time State wrestling champion last weekend in Billings. He brought home the Class AA heavyweight title at the All-Class State Wrestling Tournament at the Billings Metra.
A year ago, he won the 182-pound crown.
Listen in to hear Mason talk about both those titles. Listen as he discusses his family moving to Butte before his freshman season and his plans to wrestle for NCAA Division II power West Liberty University in West Liberty, West Virginia,
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.
Richie O'Brien has been through a lot in his life. In high school he lost his father and battled a form of bone cancer.
As a police officer in Butte-Silver Bow in May of 2017, O'Brien was involved in a high-speed chase and shootout with the father and son who murdered Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore. That chase was recently featured on NBC's Dateline.
Listen in as Richie talks about losing his father and beating cancer. Listen to him describe the chase and shootout. Listen as he talks about his family and his plans as the head coach of Butte Central's first baseball team this spring.
Today's podcast is presented by Metals Sports Bar & Grill, where the food is the star. 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.
It turns out Montana Tech men's basketball coach Adam Hiatt was not crazy when he said the 2022-23 Orediggers would be really good.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
He could be a heel in the WWE, but he is one of the best basketball players in Butte history.
In 1986, Scott Ferguson was named Montana's first Gatorade Award winner for boys' basketball. He was also named a Converse All-American.
Listin in as Fergie talks about playing at Butte High, Eastern Montana College (now MSU-Billings) and Montana Western. Listen as he talks about an incredible winning streak in Las Vegas and the short-lived perks that followed.
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.
Jackie (Street) McKenna was an outstanding track athlete for Butte High School. She was a key piece for the Bulldogs as Butte High shared the Class AA State girls title.
Jackie is currently an official in volleyball and wrestling. She is believed to be the first woman to referee a State wrestling tournament.
Listen in as Jackie talks about beating up her brothers Randy and Jason. Listen as she talks about her athletic achievements and her teaching career. Listen as she talks about growing with her though-as-naisl parents, Jim and Barb.
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.
Dylan Cook spent the 2022 NFL season on the practice squad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is an offensive lineman.
The 2016 Butte High graduate sure came a long way from his days playing quarterback for the Bulldogs. Cook, who missed almost all of his senior season at Butte High with an injury, played quarterback at MSU-Northern before heading to the University of Montana. The Grizzlies put Cook on the offensive line, and his career took off.
Listen in as Cook discusses his journey to the NFL and his first season with the Buccaneers. Listen in as he talks about his days playing for the Bulldogs and the Grizzlies.
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.
Dougie Peoples passed "Jumpin'" Joe Kelly to become the highest scoring boys' basketball player in Butte history. Nobody would have enjoyed that more than Pat Kearney.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Connie Kenney is a true Butte icon. Her voice on the radio told us something important was happening. Her work at the Chamber of Commerce helped turn Butte around from the hard economic times of the 1980s.
Listen in as Connie talks about covering big events, like the placement of the Our Lady of the Rockies statue on the East Ridge. Listen as she talks about Bill Murray stealing the Old No. 1. Listen as she talks about her family roots that run deep in the Mining City.
Today's podcast is presented by Metals Sports Bar & Grill, where the food is the star. 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.
Dr. Kellee Glaus is one of Butte's newest family practice physicians. Before she came to town, she was one of Montana's all-time great track & field jumpers.
She won the 2010 Montana Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year Award after winning her third straight Class B State title in the triple jump and her second straight in the long jump.
Listen in as Dr. Glaus talks about growing up on a ranch near Cardwell and her stellar career competing for the Whitehall Trojans and University of Montana Grizzlies. Listen as she talks about going through medical school and a residency.
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.
Mike Thatcher is the Bob Uecker of the Mining City. Whether he is talking about his athletic career or his overall smarts, Mike always delivers a self-deprecating line.
We all know better. Mike is a brilliant business man who heads Community, Counseling and Corrections Service, which is a company that helps give second chances. He has spent the last 40 years helping make Butte at better place.
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.
Warning: This podcast is marked as explicit because of language.
In the 1990s, Skyla Sisco was my favorite player for the Lady Griz. All these years later, she still is.
Join Skyla's team as she battles late-stage breast cancer. Click here to donate to her cause.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Brother Patrick "Dunk" McCormack is a beloved former teacher and coach at Butte Central. Brother McCormack is well into his 90s, some of Brother McCormack's former students got together at the Knights of Columbus to discuss the impact he had on their lives.
Following is a discussion including Joe McCarthy, John Paull, Jack O’Brien, Bernie Boyle, Tom Kenneally Jr., Rich Thornton and Terry McLaughlin.
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.
Fritz Daily has long been Butte's biggest supporter and Butte's biggest cheerleader. Simply put, he loves Butte as much or more than anyone who ever called the Mining City home.
Fritz wants nothing more than for Butte to get the Superfund cleanup it deserves. He is not afraid to be outspoken about that fact, either.
Listen in as Fritz talks about growing up in Butte, his work in the Montana Legislature and fighting the good fight.
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.
Chris Tippett is known as the "Iceman." He is also known to give 100 percent on everything. That probably goes double when Butte's Forrest Gump is out running.
Listen in as the "Iceman" talks about growing up in Butte and learning his work ethic from his father. Listen to him talk about the athletic achievements of his children. Listen to how he describes his wive.
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.
Butte Central senior Brooke Badovinac teaches us a valuable lesson. Never leave a game before it is over.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening 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 O'Neill is the Butte native and former Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden in the forehand. Thrice.
I knew Rob long before he was a war hero who hangs out with Dave Growl, Jim Jefferies, Kid Rock and Tim Montana. I knew him when he was a dorky kid with a head way to big for his body. He was just like me, only he had a bit of that Opie Taylor look going for him.
When he turned out to be an exceptional high school basketball player, I knew Rob had an insane work ethic. His days as a Navy SEAL proved that.
Listen in as Rob talks about SEAL training, shooting the three shots heard 'round the word, and never being able to be the most famous person from Butte, America.
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.
Warning: This podcast is marked as explicit because of language.
John "Harp" Cote will turn 100 years old in October. He is one of the greatest of the "Greatest Generation."
Harp served in the Navy in World War II. He ran a supper club in Meaderville, and he worked for New York Life for a half century. He and his wife Esther, who passed last January, have been known for their kindness and generosity. They have given in the shadows, and Harp's fingerprints are all over the Mining City.
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.
Riley (Kenney) Ungaretti was a three-sport star for the Polson Pirates before she went to the University of Montana in Missoula and eventually moved to Butte. She is now a St. James Sports Medicine athletic trainer at Butte High School.
Ungaretti also has deep family roots in the Mining City. Both sides of her family are from Butte, including her father Tom, who was a star on Butte Central's 1984 State champion Butte Central boys' basketball team. Her grandmother Connie Kenney is the former news director at KBOW.
Listen to this podcast as we shine a light on the importance of athletic trainers at sporting events in the wake of the on-field incident involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin a couple of weeks ago. Riley discusses the duties her and her colleges share at local sporting events. She discusses her upbringing and her surprising road to the hometown of her parents and grandparents.
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.
Bill Rundle started working with Evel Knievel when he was just 14 years old. He worked as the crew chief for Robbie Knievel for 35 years. When Robbie had a crazy idea for a jump, Bill had to figure out how to make it happen.
Listen in as Rundle discusses his days working with Evel and Robbie. Listen as he talks about creating Evel Knievel Days in his hometown.
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.
I saw Robbie Knievel jump Jack Ferriter's El Camino in Butte's 1979 Fourth of July parade. I was mesmerized by him ever since.
"The Kaptain" passed away after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer last week. He was 60. That has to be at least 130 in Knievel years.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening 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 Sparks is a Butte Central coaching legend. Before that, he was a Butte High Bulldog.
"Sparky," as he is affectionately called, was an All-State center for Butte High's undefeated state championship football team in 1964. He is one of seven members of that team inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame. He then went on to play for the Montana Grizzlies before returning to Butte to coach the Maroons.
Listen in as Sparky talks about his career as an athlete and a coach. Listen as explains how he wishes he gave Brian Morris the ball one more time in the classic 1981 overtime game against Butte High. Listen how he fights with crybaby fans at Grizzly games.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Blake Hempstead has been the voice of the Anaconda Copperheads for more than two decades. He has also been the Smelter City's biggest defender and supporter.
Listen in as he discusses growing up in Anaconda and how much the town has changed over the years. Listen to him discuss the many great athletes Anaconda has produced. Listen to his man crush on Butte Central coach Brodie Kelly.
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.
If there is a silver lining to the Damar Hamlin scare, it is that maybe some people will start to see the human being inside the uniform.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Bernie Boyle is the man behind the MAC and the Knights of Columbus.
Listen in as Bernie discusses his love affair with the KC and all the great things the organization does for the community. Listen as he discusses his 30-years as a fireman and what stopped him from storming the court when Butte Central's boys' basketball team won the Class A State title last March in Missoula.
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.
Shawn Wetzel is the unofficial mayor of Montana. That should probably become an official title.
Listen in as the sixth generation Montanan talks about his legendary grandfather, Walter "Blackie" Wetzel. Listen as he talks about how he treats every person like he has known him for years. Listen as he discusses his long road to the Mining City.
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.
Kevin Denny left us too soon on Christmas Day. That loss will be felt in the Mining City for decades to come.
Listen in for a nod to the great James "Gus" Janhunen, too.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Father Patrick Beretta was born and raised in Paris. He was educated in France, Ireland and Italy. He also owned fine-dining restaurants in Southern California.
Yes, Father Beretta just might be the most interesting man in town. He could star in his own Dos Equis commercial.
Listen in as Father Beretta discusses his education to become a Roman Catholic priest. Listen as he talks about his brief 22-year leave of absence that led to him joining the restaurant industry. Listen to him describe his road to the Mining City and learn how he celebrated surviving being buried by an avalanche while driving on Interstate 90.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening 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 know him as "Touchdown Tommy," but Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott is about so much more than scoring touchdowns.
Listen in as one of the greatest Butte High Bulldogs of all time discusses his career with the Bulldogs, playing quarterback for the Bobcats, what it is like to be saddled with that nickname and his viral words following the Cat-Griz Game.
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.
Dougie Peoples' huge performances in the Class A State championship game is the story of the year. But it had some competition.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Whether you are talking about an athlete or a coach, nobody was better than Meg Murphy when it comes to girls' and women's sports in the Mining City.
She was part of three team state titles (two in track and one in basketball) in her playing days at Butte Central. As a coach, she led the Maroons to five state titles in two sports (1997, 1999 and 2000 in softball and 2011 and 2016 in basketball).
Murphy retired following the 2021-22 season. Listen in as she discusses her playing and coaching days and the lifelong friendships her career brought her.
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.
Thomas Dilworth, a boys' basketball coach in Big Sandy, Montana was apparently sidelined because he shared his story about battling mental illness and depression with his players. That really pisses me off.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
A longtime radio man and musician in the Mining City, Tom O'Neill is also the older brother of world-famous former Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill.
Known affectionately as "Tommy O," the older O'Neill is the public-address announcer for the Butte Central Maroons, Butte High Bulldogs and Montana Tech Orediggers. He is a member of Butte's middle-aged sensation High Ore Road, which will be playing New Year's Eve at the McQueen Club.
Listen in to learn how Tommy O got into radio, the long list of bands he has played for and how his many atomic wedgies helped lead to the killing of the most notorious villain this side of Adolf Hitler.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Sheriff Ed Lester has been working in law enforcement in Butte for 33 years, the last 10 of which he has served as sheriff.
Listen in as the 1984 Butte Central graduate talks about his days in law enforcement, his days as an athlete and what it was like to watch his son be part of a state and regional American Legion baseball championship.
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.
Luke Powers is entering his third year as the head coach of the Belgrade boys' basketball program. The 2002 Butte High graduate also coached four seasons at his alma mater.
Listen in as Powers discusses his days as an athlete at Butte High, his coaching beginning in North Dakota and his new outlook on basketball — and life — after leaving the Bulldogs.
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.
As of about three weeks ago, I am a member of the Montana Officials Association to referee basketball. I have to say, so far I am having a blast.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Coach Jim Street is a true Butte legend. He led the Bulldogs to 15 Class AA State titles in wrestling. That includes 13 straight from 1980 through 1992. Coach Street was also a standout on Butte High's undefeated 1964 state championship football team.
Listen in as Coach Street discusses his great influences, his great teams and his so many great wrestlers.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Johnny Robbins is the new owner of Butte Sports. The Butte native is jumping into the new gig with some great enthusiasm.
Listen in as Robbins talks about his plans for the website, which is in its 11th year covering sports in the Mining City.
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.
Growing an audience is hard. Unless you write about Tommy Mellott.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening 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 Larson was one of the great athletes Butte has ever produced. He also had the reputation of being a bit of a problem child.
Listen in as Jake talks about his playing days, which still continue on the softball field. Listen as he gives an honest assessment of his work ethic, or lack thereof, that accompanied his natural ability.
Listen to hear Jake's plans for the Copper Cages, an indoor baseball facility that he recently opened. The Copper Cages are located at 1609 Harrison avenue. Call (406) 560-8658 to book a time.
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.
Legendary Montana State football coach and all-around nice guy Sonny Holland passed away Saturday night at the age of 84. Here is a column I wrote about the coach after I finally got to meet him in January of 2017.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Bruce Sayler has been covering sports as a writer for 50 years, with all but a few of them coming in the Mining City.
He is a Missoula native, but he has lived the majority of his life right here in Butte, America, where he set the standard for covering local sports around the state.
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.
Deann Johnson is universally known as D.J.
She was a star basketball player at Butte High and Montana Tech, and she was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
A physical therapist with St. James Healthcare, D.J. has also been a member of the Montana Officials Association, refereeing basketball for in the Butte pool for the better part of two decades.
Listen in as D.J. discusses her playing days, the call to the Butte Sports Hall of Fame and her rewarding job.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tommy Mellott's words following Cat-Griz game were so much more than sportsmanship. They were sounding an alarm.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tom Roberts was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
He was an outstanding athlete, who was a standout in track at Butte High, Montana Tech and the University of Montana. He was also a championship-winning coach and a longtime sports official.
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.
Arie Grey has been the head football coach at Butte High for the past 15 seasons. He led the Bulldogs to the Class AA State title in 2012. He also coaches the boys' and girls' track teams.
Grey grew up in Deer Lodge and starred for the Powell County Wardens. He then ran track and played football for the Bobcats at Montana State. After a short stay in Kalispell, Grey took over the Bulldogs in 2008.
Listen in as Grey discusses growing up in Deer Lodge, his days cheering for the Montana Grizzlies, playing for the Bobcats and coaching the Bulldogs.
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.
After refereeing the Montana Special Olympics State Games Basketball tournament, I have a new favorite player. His name is Kip, and he is awesome.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Tom LeProwse, who became Butte High's 13th Diamond B in 2019, passed away at the age of 94 in May.
This interview was record in September of 2019, about a month before his long-awaited induction on Silver B's Night.
LeProwse is a sports legend in Butte, Bozeman and around the state of Montana. He played in the first Montana East-West Shrine Game in 1947. He was a standout football player at Montana State before becoming a legendary coach at Bozeman High School. He is a member of the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Thanks to the documentary series "American Greed" on CNBC, Garrison Courtney is a well-known conman. He bilked defense contractors out of more than $4 million in a scam that was straight out of a spy movie.
Twenty-five years ago, Garrison was my roommate at the University of Montana. Here is my take on living with a standup comedian turned weatherman turned conman.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dr. Nick DiGiovine is a Pennsylvania native who has been practicing as an orthopedic surgeon in Butte for more than a quarter of a century.
The former Notre Dame walk-on football player and assistant team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers started Montana Sports Medicine, which has been working on athlete safety for most of Dr. DiGiovine's time in town.
Dr. DiGiovine is retiring next month. While we hate to see him go, we know that Dr. DiGiovine will leave a strong legacy of safety and common sense that will last for decades.
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.
The Marcus Miller Oredigger Killer Game was the craziest football game I ever covered in all my years as a sportswriter. Montana Tech dominated the state sheet, but Carroll College won 17-14 on Nov. 10. 2007 in Helena.
Miller, a 2019 inductee into the Saints Athletic Hall of Fame, scored all 17 Carroll points. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns, booted two extra points and kicked the game-winning field goal.
Now 15 years later, that still stings the Orediggers. It probably always will.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
It's been 12 years since Bob Green retired as the head coach of the Montana Tech football team. He is still synonymous with Oredigger football. He always will be.
Green led the Orediggers for 24 seasons. His teams won a ton of games and Frontier Conference titles, and he had radio, television and newspaper audiences laughing along the way.
At 73, Green is still the same guy who moved to Butte after he was hired by Tech in December of 1986. He is not only a great Oredigger character, he is a true Butte character. While they might have been raised in Nebraska, Bob and Pam Green seem like they meant to live in the Mining City. It is hard to imagine life in Butte without them.
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.
Next month, Brodie Kelly will begin his 19th season as head coach of the Butte Central boys' basketball team. The only high school coach to win more games in Butte is legendary Butte High coach Swede Dahlberg.
In his first 18 season, Kelly led the Maroons to the Class A State tournament 16 times. His Maroons shared the state title with Hardin in 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maroons won it outright, beating Lewistown in a title game for the ages last March in Missoula.
Today we catch up with Brodie Kelly the player, the coach and the seventh grader.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Just as it appears that the Chicago Bears fans might finally be emerging from a 30-year run in Football Hell, Green Bay Packers fans are spiraling down into some really hard times. I will be here to laugh at them along the way.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Jesse Laslovich was sworn in as United States Attorney for the District of Montana earlier this year.
His confirmation came even after he called the fifth foul on Butte Central's Kyle Holter in the Class A State championship basketball game in Missoula. Laslovich is one of the best high school and college basketball officials around. He is also one of the best people.
Laslovich is part of a huge Anaconda family and the son of the late, great Tony Laslovich.
In this podcast, we discuss growing up a Laslovich in Anaconda, an early start in politics and officiating that championship game.
Today's podcast is presented by Anode Designs, home of the Mack Daddy T-Shirts.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Yelling at officials is usually a waste of time that only makes you look like an idiot. Also, you should consider signing up to be an official. They are going away at an alarming rate.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Hattie Thatcher is the first Thatcher to appear on the ButteCast. She will not be the last.
Hattie was a standout athlete in volleyball, basketball and softball at Butte High. She was a member of the 2011 Class AA State champion Bulldog softball team. She also left Montana Tech as the all-time leader in assists and steals of the women's basketball program.
Now, Hattie represents District 3 on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners.
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.
To this day, she is simply known by her initials, KJ. Kellie Johnson-Mead was a superstar in basketball, volleyball and softball at Butte Central before taking her hoop game to Illinois State.
Today, KJ works at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. She is a human performance advisor for special operations.
Listen in as KJ discusses why Meg Murphy is such a great coach, what it was like to score 42 points against Whitehall and her days coaching at the Air Force Prep School.
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.
After 44 years as a basketball official, Mike Anderson is hanging up the whistle. Well, kind of. He will still work some junior high games to help train officials for tomorrow.
Mike refereed in high school as well as at the college level in the Frontier Conference and Big Sky Conference. He and his wife, Michele, raised four successful children, including Butte High Bulldog and Montana Grizzly legend Colt Anderson.
Listen in as Mike discusses his long career, learning from his mentors, chasing around his grandchildren, maintaining his perfect hair and watching the Cincinnati Bengals.
Today's podcast is brought to you by the UpTop Clothing Co. Enjoy the moment.
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.
Arch Ecker, aka "The Archean," was a larger-than-life character who left his mark in his 16 years in the Mining City. He left his mark everywhere he called home in his 56 years on this planet.
Arch left us way too soon. But he also showed us all how to live life to its fullest. He showed us how to live the dream.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
I live down the street from a real-life feud. It is Hatfield vs. McCoy level feud, and it worries neighbors and police that it could escalate into some real violence.
Today's bonus 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.
John Emeigh is known as "Mr. Butte," the upbeat KXLF TV reporter who always seems to have fun. KXLF views feel like they know John, and the cool thing is that they do. The John Emeigh you see on the television is the same John Emeigh you see at the grocery store.
He is a singer/song writer, an actor and an author. He is also a blast to talk to.
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.
I quit playing football after my freshman season in football. I would give everything I have to go back and stick it out.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Simply put, Leo McCarthy is my hero. Not only is he one of the best friends a guy could ever have, he is one of the best people to ever walk the planet.
In the aftermath of his daughter Mariah's death on Oct. 28, 2007, McCarthy, his wife Janice and daughter Jenna started Mariah's Challenge, which rewards young men and women who do not drink underage and do not drink and drive. To date, the scholarship has given out more than $400,000. My oldest daughter is one of Mariah's Messengers, and I could not be more proud.
In this podcast, we get to know Leo, who grew up the youngest of 11 children in Walkerville. We talk about his days playing and coaching football. We talk about him becoming a highly respected insurance salesman for State Farm, and we talked about his daughter. Friday marks the 15th anniversary of the tragic death. It also marks 15 years since I last took a drink of alcohol. I owe so much to my buddy Leo.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts, count on Markovich Construction.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Butte High boys' basketball coach Matt Luedtke will begin his fourth season with the Bulldogs in a little over a month. His first three campaigns ended at the Class AA State tournament.
The 2000 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year from Ronan, Luedtke was the first player to sign with the Butte Daredevils of the CBA. He played several years professionally, and now he dominates in the KC League. Well, at least on the offensive end.
Luedte also started the UpTop travel basketball program. This year, the program will include boys and girls grads fourth through eight. Cost is $300, but scholarships will be available because Luedtke does not want to turn one person away. Visit the team's website to sign up.
Today's podcast is brought to. you by Thriftway Super Stops. Join the Thriftway Loyalty Club today.
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.
Fritz Daily is not a crazy man. He is the guy we should be listening to when it comes to Superfund cleanup and the dangers of the Berkeley Pit.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Julie (Leary) Nadeau is a true inspiration.
Once a great basketball player for Butte Central, Julie has been in a wheelchair since a November 1989 crash left her paralyzed from the chest down. She only has the use of her right arm.
That did not stop her from getting a degree from Montana Tech, learning how to drive again, raising a son and working for the Butte Central foundation. Julie doesn't make excuses; she just gets thing done. Click here to read a story I wrote about her in December of 2020.
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.
Kaven Notor broke the unbreakable record of 64 at the Highland View Golf Course, and not a word was said about it. Today, we try to right that wrong and honor a young golfer who just might break his own new record of 62.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dougie Peoples is a household name after his 27-foot 3-pointer lifted Butte Central to the Class A State boys' basketball title March 12 in Missoula. Somehow, that has not changed him at all.
Listen in as we get to know Dougie Peoples. We talk about that 3-pointer, the steal and three-point play that led to the game-winning shot and his four-point play in Dillon. We also talk about Dougie's college plans and how his family roots have helped keep him humble.
Today's episode is brought to you by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Dion Williams is perhaps the greatest Montana Tech receiver of all time. Now, the Fairfield, California native is back in town working for the Inspire Academy. It is Montana's first sports academy for kids.
Dion has some big plays for the Mining City. He already held one camp. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 29, he is holding the Youth Speed & Agility Camp at Bulldog Memorial Stadium. The camp fee is just $30, and it is for athletes of all sports, even cheer and dance.
Contact the Inspire Academy at (707) 628-3147 or visit them on Facebook or Instagram.
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.
This episode is brought to you by Thriftway Super Stops. Join the Thriftway Loyalty Club today and save big.
Here is my review of Ghosts of Devil's Perch on the Travel Channel. In short, it was horrendously silly, but I couldn't take my eyes off it. It was our Tiger King.
Opening music by Tim Montana. Check out more from the Elk Park native at timmontana.com. Check out more from Bill Foley at ButteCast.com.
Today's reading of Tap 'er Light is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Butte boxing brothers Ethan and Eli Wroblewski have quite the story. From a rough upbringing to promising careers in the ring, the Wroblewski brothers have proven to be outstanding role models for the youth of the Mining City.
The brothers planned to fight in the Murderers Row Boxing event Oct. 29 in Butte (click here for tickets), but they found out shortly after recording this podcast that USA Boxing rules will prevent that. Still, they have lots of fights in the future.
Listen in as we get to know the Butte brothers who fight for the Mining City and Blackfeet Nation.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's podcast presented by Markovich Construction Inc. When performance counts.
The moral police say Aaron Judge is the real home run king. The problem with being part of the moral police, though, is you almost always set yourself up to be a hypocrite.
Sorry, Yankees fans, Barry Bonds is still the home run king.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
Cathy Tutty can name off all 10 of the children of Tom and Kay Tutty without hesitation, Good Will Hunting style.
Unlike Will, however, Tutty’s siblings are real.
“Real” is a good word to define Cathy, the older sister to the Tutty clan of Butte. A bright and talented lawyer, Tutty dedicates most of her time helping others.
While she helped send many criminals to prison in her days as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, she found a better life living close to her roots in the Mining City.
She is the public address announcer for Butte High volleyball matches, and she follows in the footsteps of her late father by running the pole vault competition at local track meets.
Tutty is also a past president of the Montana District of Kiwanis, an organization dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.
Tutty is a motivational speaker who helps others live their best life, and she is writing a book about Zach Bunney, who might be Butte High’s all-time leader in inspiration. She is also a certified laughing yoga instructor.
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.
Today's podcast brought to you by Casagrande's Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
Mickey Tuttle helped lead Butte High's boys' basketball team to the Class AA State title with a win over Great Falls High on St. Patrick's Day 1984. After the game, Tuttle climbed up and sat on the rim to celebrate, and Bulldog fans have celebrated that iconic photo and memory for 38 years.
Today we catch up with Tuttle, and he tells us how he got up on that rim and how his grandson, Butte High freshman Hudson Luedke, will do the same if his Bulldogs give Butte High its first state title since his grandpa's team captured the heart of the Mining City. Tuttle will says he will make sure it happens.
Intro music is by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's episode is brought to you by Thriftway Super Stops. Join the Thrifty Loyalty Club today.
Jack Prigge is Butte High’s first boy state champion golfer since 1963.
Last week, the Bulldog senior overcame a nine-shot deficit with nine holes to play to win the Class AA crown at a cold, wet and windy Green Meadow Country Club in Helena.
Listen in as we get to know the City of Champions' newest champion.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more form Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's episode is brought to you by Metals Sports Bar & Grill, where the food is the star.
On the course, Jack Prigge is everything every golfer wants to be. On Friday, he came from way behind to become Butte High's first boy state champion golfer since 1963.
At one point, Prigge trailed by nine shots. Yet when the tournament concluded in the cold, wind and rain in Helena, Prigge was wearing the champions medal. The title comes two years after Prig's promising sophomore season was derailed by a really unlucky break.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your stories legendary.
Mike Hamblin is a renowned artist whose work can be seen all over town, around the state and beyond. He painted portraits of Bob Green, Colt Anderson, Pat Kearney and the legends of Naranche Stadium.
Mike turned his Walkerville garage into an incredible studio/hangout area/living area that seems to take you back to the 1800s. If they had projection TVs in the 1800s, that is. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can find it on Airbnb.
In this episode of the ButteCast, we get the full Mike Hamblin experience. We also learn a whole lot about the process of how Mike creates a work of art, and we learn that he does not care if you like it or not. We also learned that he has a heck of a time drawing a straight line.
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.
Today’s ButteCast is brought to you by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
As amazing as it sounds, a college football defensive lineman was too happy when he caught a touchdown pass from a running back. Crazy, but it is true. College football needs to lighten up.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors. Make your story legendary.
J.P. Gallagher is the ninth chief executive in the history of the Butte, America. However, he is the first Butte-Silver Bow chief executive to call the Ghostbusters.
Listen in as we catch up with Butte’s current chief. We talk about his days at Butte Central, his service in the Navy, his role in the Yellowstone prequel being filmed in Butte, and how he became an unlikely academic All-American on the football team at Montana Western.
We also tease J.P. about his role in the insanely silly ghost hunting show Ghosts of Devil’s Perch.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's episode brought to you by Thrifty Super Stops. Become a TLC member today.
Today’s podcast is a bit of a reunion.
Matt Vincent and I wrote a column called Rat Chat for The Montana Standard for about seven years starting in December of 1998. Ever third Thursday, or so, we published a column that was written on an old laptop computer while we sat at the bar. Usually that bar was Maloney’s. Today, we returned to the scene of the crime to talk about the good old days.
Opening music is by Elk Park native Tim Montana. For more from Tim, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Casagrande's Steakhouse.
While some might see her as the “Karen” who canceled Butte’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration during the COVID-19 pandemic, we see her as the strong, courageous leader whose work helped save lives.
It is hard to say how many lives Sullivan and her crew saved when she was serving as Butte-Silver Bow’s health officer. But it could have been yours. Or mine.
Without question, she is no ordinary Karen.
Opening music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Today's podcast brought to you by Thriftway. Sign up for your TLC card and start saving today.
This is the audio version of Bill Foley's column, Tap 'er Light.
Jim Hanley, the man we called "Fonz," left the world knowing his Butte Miners were Class A State and Northwest Class A Regional champions, and there is nothing cooler than that.
Opening music is by Tim Montana. For more on the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com.
For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com. Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by Park Street Liquors.
Butte native Jim LeProwse moved back to his hometown last summer. In his first year back, he guided the Butte Miners to their first State title since 1953. His American Legion baseball team also won the Northwest A Regional title in Vernal, Utah. The Miners went 45-9, putting together winning streaks of 20 and 15 games.
LeProwse, who had a highly-successful run as the head coach of the Dawson Community College softball program in Glendive, was also hired to be the first head baseball coach in the history of Butte High School. The Bulldogs will take the field for the first time in the spring of 2023.
This episode was recorded from the Coaches Corner at Metals Sports Bar & Grill, where a plaque honoring LeProwse will soon be hanging.
Opening music by Elk Park native Tim Montana. For more on Tim, go to timmontana.com.
For more on the ButteCast and Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Kathleen McLaughlin, a 1989 Butte High graduate, is an award-winning journalist who reports and writes about the consequences of economic inequality around the world.
She contributes to the Washington Post and The Guardian. Kathleen’s reporting has also appeared in the New York Times, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, The Economist, NPR and more, and she covered labor issues for the better part of two decades in China.
Now back in her hometown, Kathleen just wrote her first book. "Blood Money, the Story of Life, Death, and Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry" will be released in January. Click here to preorder it today.
Opening music by Butte High graduate Tim Montana. For more on Tim, go to timmontana.com.
For more on the ButteCast and Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.
Don Peoples Sr. served as chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow through the 1980s. He guided the Mining City through probably its toughest decade after the closure of mining operations in Butte. He coined the term "Can Do City," and he led the charge as Butte was named an "All-American City." He is also a very proud father and grandfather of some outstanding athletes and coaches.
Thanks to Tim Montana for the music in the opening. Check out Tim's music at TimMontana.com.
Check out more from Bill Foley at ButteCast.com.