Is America media illiterate?

A Montana film producer and an Oscar-nominated director have teamed up for a timely documentary showing how biased media and sensationalism is undermining trust. “TRUST ME” explores the need for better “media literacy,” in an information age that often promotes fear and division.

Click to hear the film’s producers and Getting Better Foundation Founder Joe Phelps and Managing Director Rosemary Smith discuss the impact the movie is making and how to overcome the challenges caused by information in the palm of our hands.

The post How Do You Know Who To Trust From The Media? first appeared on Voices of Montana.

The Russsian-Ukranian war rages on and one of Montana’s Representatives saw the fallout from the conflict in person. Montana Senator Steve Daines recently became one of the first American leaders to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion and calls into the show to talk about what he saw firsthand in the embattled country, the steps he believes needs to be taken to end the war and some of the global implications possible if it were to continue.

The post “Images I Wish No One Would Have To See” – Sen. Steve Daines Recounts Scenes From Ukraine first appeared on Voices of Montana.

The Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs has been rolling over rough waters of late, with difficulties maintaining staff, a COVID-19 outbreak that claimed the lives of four patients, and, most recently, a loss of Medicare funding. Listen to the podcast to hear Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Adam Meier talk about these recent and ongoing challenges and what’s being done to address them.

The post DPHHS Update On The Montana State Hospital first appeared on Voices of Montana.

Recreational Marijuana is now a thing in Montana – but it ain’t necessarily a done thing.

There are opponents of legalized marijuana who are using provisions within the new law to encourage counties to opt-out of retail sales. Click to hear from the founder of Safe Montana, Steve Zabawa, about the group’s on-going effort to roll back the tide of recreational pot in the state and break down some of the recent statistics of legal recreational marijuana.

The post Pot Or Not? Counties Taking Another Look At Recreational Marijuana first appeared on Voices of Montana.

There was a population of over 40 million Ukrainians not too long ago. 5-6 million have now fled the country, with many landing in neighboring Poland, as a result of the ongoing war with Russia, and a group of Montanans has stepped up to help.

Click the podcast to hear Bozeman First-Responder and EMT Cathy Trainor share her experiences along the Polish-Ukrainian border after spending two weeks there providing medical aid to refugees. Learn how you can help support further efforts at ukrainereliefeffort.org

The post Back From Poland: Bozeman EMT Looks Back On Aiding Ukrainian Refugees first appeared on Voices of Montana.

You almost don’t want to call it a win-win, since it may sound too good to be true. But a new pipeline that just opened in Southeast Montana will simultaneously extract untapped oil in the Cedar Creek Anticline by using Carbon Dioxide all the way from Wyoming. That means we’ll soon be gaining oil while reducing carbon emissions.

Click to hear from Denbury Inc. President and CEO Chris Kendall on how CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery can help Montana get more out of its existing energy infrastructure!

The post Are We A Step Closer To Energy Independence? first appeared on Voices of Montana.

Montana has received billions of federal dollars in recent years. The question now is how exactly it’s being spent? The USDA Rural Development program in Montana is taking major steps in updating communities’ broadband, mental health and meat packing development across the treasure state, just to name a few. Click to hear from new State Director Kathleen Williams and hear about the variety of grant programs helping out Montana’s rural communities!

The post How Is Rural Montana Making The Most Of New Federal Funding? first appeared on Voices of Montana.

How are Montana’s tourism and recreation industries recovering from the past two tumultuous years? The industry was among the hardest hit by the pandemic, but there are some silver linings and we look at how it’s recovering and adapting live from the Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Recreation.

Click to hear from Jan Stoddard and Adam Schaefer with the Montana Department of Commerce, Keynote Speaker Peter Shankman on the customer experience and AIANTA CEO Sherry Rupert how tourism planning can encourage more visitors to cultural and tribal attractions.

The post Embracing Change For Success: Live From the Governor’s Conference On Tourism & Recreation first appeared on Voices of Montana.

It’s been said that whiskey’s for drinking and water’s for fighting, and we’ve seen plenty of fighting across Montana in recent decades.

Montana’s rural water systems recently received over $100 million of new bureau of reclamation funding while the conflict between developers and environmentalists continues with a ballot proposal for the 2022 elections. Click to hear guest host Jennifer Owen discuss the new water infrastructure funding with Jody Hellegard, Project Manager for the North Central Montana Regional Water Authority, and I-191 with United Property Owners of Montana Policy Director Chuck Denowh.

The post Wading Through The Montana Waters first appeared on Voices of Montana.

How can you help your rural community overcome mental health challenges?

First, ask people how they are doing and get “Beyond The Weather.”

Second, listen in as we talk to Amber Martinsen-Blake, Founder and Executive Director for Catalyst for Change. The program started in Sweet Grass County and has since expanded to Wheatland County with a model that adapts to each community’s unique needs. Hear from Community Health Worker and retired Sheriff Dan Tronrud and Sweet Grass County Commissioner Bill Wallace to discuss how the telehealth service went from a grant-funded program to a county program and has now helped hundreds access life-saving Mental Health Services.

The post Catalyst for Change – A Model for Rural Mental Health first appeared on Voices of Montana.