Mad About Montana Podcast

The Mad About Montana Podcast returns to about an important issue: The fate of our volunteer firefighters.

That destiny will be put on the ballot this November, and it is a very contentious and confusing issue. We did not want to engage in the Facebook fighting, where some of our volunteers are taking an unfair beating. Instead, we are giving a forum to the volunteers, talking to Racetrack Chief Twoie Mattern, Rocker Chief Jonathan Rice and Big Butte Chief Brandon Dale.

Listen in to hear how they stand on a ballot choice they say can make or break the future the volunteer firefighters of Butte and Silver Bow County.

As always, we leave the door open to anyone who would like to discuss the matter from any other angle. Our goal is to inform the electorate.

Guy Alsentzer is the founder of the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization that fights for clean water.

The organization is currently involved in a lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s approval of less stringent water quality standards for nutrient pollution in Montana. The suit alleges that the policy shift allows would-be polluters too much leeway by rolling back protective criteria that have been in place for years.

If you care about the Bighole River, Guy is fighting for you. If you care about clean water to fish in, swim in and drink, then Guy is fighting for you.

Listen in as Guy talks about the importance of fighting for clean water. Listen as he talks about how things might already be bad, and our water resources are under attack. But he said most of Montana’s problems are solvable.

You can join Guy’s fight by visiting the Upper MissouriWaterkeeper website and donating today.

Maggie Amato joined the Mad About Montana Podcast today to scare the heck out of us.

No, she isn’t telling ghost stories. She is talking about the very real dangers of artificial intelligence and data centers. They threaten our security and privacy. They also threaten our water supplies and power rates. They kill jobs and the environment, threatening our way of life in Montana and around the country.

Maggie is a cybersecurity expert and whistleblower. She led aprogram that was credited with helping the United States healthcare industry defend itself from potentially debilitating impacts of the WannaCry ransomware attack. She had Whitehouse security clearance, and she was one of SC Media’s 2022 Women in IT Security honorees.

So, it is safe to say Maggie knows what she is talking about when she warns of the dangers of AI and data centers. As Butte-Silver Bow jumps in bed with the data center industry, it is time for us all listen to the scary words of Maggie. It is time for the people to stand up and demand that our government strengthen AI guardrails and tell our local leaders to kill any plans for data centers in Silver Bow County.

The time to act is right now because the scariest thing about Maggie’s words is they are the truth.

If you can’t prove them wrong, create a distraction. That seems to be the government playbook in Butte and around the country.

In this episode, Erik and Bill start off agitated by the rumors being spread that they said a recently-hired Butte firefighter was not qualified for the job. They were accused of saying he only got the job because his uncle is a member of the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Erik and Bill have done nothing but praise firefighters — paid and volunteer. The brave men and women who sign up to go into a burning building to save lives are nothing but heroes, and Erik and Bill would never profess to be experts on the hiring qualifications of those heroes.

They figure that the rumor dates to an episode earlier this year when Trudy Healy mentioned an ethics complaint she made against fellow commissioner Josh O’Neill because he did not disclose a conflict of interest while chairing the Fire Advisory Board. There was no mention of nepotism or qualifications in the complaint, and Erik and Bill had nothing to do with it.

You can read the complaint at MadAboutMontana.com.

The rumor is nothing more than a distraction to take away from the fact that our local government recently poisoned our water. It is a distraction so we might not notice that our chief executive lobbied the United States Department of Urban Development to raise — yes raise — the acceptable lead standards for affordable housing.

Distractions are also been used by dark-money groups to attack citizens over the Bozeman Water Adequacy Ballot Initiative

Well, Erik and Bill are not falling for it, and neither should you.

Is our local government in Butte-Silver Bow lying about the latest water disaster that shook the community in August? Is it really being transparent when it comes to data centers planned for the Mining City?

The answers to those questions are “yes,” “no,” and “whichwater crisis are you referring to?”

Anonymous whistleblowers alerted the Mad About MontanaPodcast to the fact that Butte-Silver Bow’s response to the report of possible contamination from Montana Resources to the public drinking water actually made the problem worse. They also said that the imaginary dividing line of FrontStreet was just that. Imaginary.

The five dividing valves that would have separated the water from downtown to uptown are on Aluminum Street. So, those who live and work in the blocks between Front and Aluminum were given a false sense of security while the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Butte-Silver Bow pretended to solve the problem by handing out bottles of water.

The whistleblowers will remain anonymous because Butte Silver Bow has a long — and recent history — of retaliating against anyone willing to blow a whistle.

This episode also dives into plans for data centers in Butte and the insane amount of water it will take to run them. These plans, by the way, were made with little to know public input, and anyone who asks questions only gets chastised by the Council of Commissioners.

The Montana Environmental Information Center will hold adiscussion, which will be moderated by Erik Nylund with the Mad About Montana Podcast, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Montana Tech Copper Lounge.

The super-rich run the Yellowstone Club, and they have taken over the Crazy Mountains and Flathead Lake.

Could Virginia City and Nevada City be next?

Well, Mark Savinski sure thinks so. Our legislature and governor are primed to giveaway an authentic slice of the American West to turn it into yet another playground for the super-rich. The only use for the working class of Montana will be to serve the billionaires as they destroy Virginia City andNevada City.

Of course, there has not been much — if anything — said in the media. So, we invited Mark to the Bagger Vance studio — if that is what it is called — to talk about what is going on that special slice of Montana he loves so much.

This is a story that needs to be made public before it is too late. Call your legislators and tell them to do whatever they can to stop it. Tell your neighbors and friends. Tell everyone. As it is, Virginia City and Nevada City are a places where you can take your family and not break the bank. If the billionaires take over, that will be as dead as the gunfighters in Boot Hill.

So, please, speak up so we do not lose even more of our heritage and our history.

Russell Cleveland is a Navy veteran who played football for Coach Bob Green at Montana Tech. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the St. Regis Tigers football team.

Russ grew up in Stevensville, and was a part of some great football teams there. After starting a successful business in Colorado, Russ moved back to Montana with his wife, Dr. Kate Cleveland, and their six children.

Russ is a descendant of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. He bills himself as a moderate — he refuses to wear a red or blue tie — who is running on the platform of youth development, affordability, stewardship, public health, and financial reform.

When he isn’t helping the Tigers win football games, Russ has been traveling around Western Montana talking to voters and hearing about the issues that are important to them.

On Wednesday, his travels brought him to the Bagger Vance Studio to talk about his campaign and why he is running. It should be noted that we learned of the horrible assassination of Charlie Kirk while we were talking, and Russ, without hesitation, Russ quickly condemned any and all political violence.

Click here for more on Russ.

Mike Jopek threw his hat in the ring to become the char of the Montana Democratic Party. The Flathead County Garlic farmer will square off against Missoula’s Shannon O’Brien as the party convenes for its convention this weekend in Livingston.

Mike is looking to return the party to the playbook of Jon Tester and Brian Schweitzer. He wants to use the 56-county approach to help Democrats start winning elections in Montana once again. As it is with Democrats from Missoula and Bozeman calling the shots, Mike says the party is losing rural Democrats, and they have long been the staple of the party of the people.

Mike, a former Montana legislator, wants to end the system where candidates are coronated by the party elites. He wants to see primaries that will strengthen candidates for the general election. He says candidates who win primaries are candidates who win elections.

This is Mike’s second appearance on the Mad About Montana podcast. He made an appearance in April as he fought for real property tax reform.

Since they have spent so much time complaining, Erik and Bill decided to drive on the wet highway to Helena Thursday to talk about a solution.

That is where they found Jeff Mangan, the leader of The Montana Plan. Also known as the Transparent Election Initiative, The Montana Plan is a ballot initiative aimed at making the Citizens United Decision irrelevant and getting rid of dark money in Montana elections. Mangan is a former Montana legislator and Commissioner of Political Practices. He has been working on the Montana Project for about a year with the hope of getting it on the ballot in November of 2026.

The Montana Plan uses the state’s authority to define what powers corporations get and stops giving them the power to spend in Montana elections. It is not a partisan issue. It is not about red and blue. Rather, it is about green.

We are all tired of the endless election ads and smear campaigns that have defined politics in Montana and around the nation. We are tired of the commercials and the endless supply of election junk mail. The Montana Plan could be the solution to that headache and help us take our state back from out-of-state and even overseas corporations.

Listen in as Jeff talks about the whys and the hows of the plan and how you can join the fight by going to TheMontanaPlan.com. Listen in to hear why he is so confident that the Transparent Election Initiative will make it to the ballot and be passed by the voters of the Treasure State.

The people of Butte, America are pointing fingers and fighting with each other about the latest water disaster. This time, water from Montana Resources might have accidentally contaminated the potable water supply in the Mining City.

People are scared and angry, and they want answers. Erik and Bill suggest that those fingers should be pointed at Helena. They suggest that the Department of Environmental Quality and Gov. Greg Gianforte dropped the ball with their reckless deregulation campaign.

Where is Gianforte in this crisis? Where are Sen. Tim Sheehy and Sen. Steve Daines? Where is Rep. Ryan Zinke? Their silence on this matter is deafening.

Instead of pointing a finger and laughing at the Mining City and getting ready to chant “Dirty water” at the Bulldogs and Maroons, the rest of the state should be paying attention, too. If the DEQ can drop the ball when it comes to our drinking water, their water could be contaminated, too. Maybe it already has.

In the meantime, Erik and Bill suggest that we all chill out a little bit. They recommend catching a little comedy to help do that. Namely, they suggest you go see Sam Miller’s show Friday night at the Covellite Theater. Check out Uptown Comedy for more information.