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Dear Friend,

If you watch TV or spend any time on social media — and don't we all? — you're well aware that campaign season is in full swing. We're tracking the same ads you're seeing, some of which make straightforward allegations about opposing candidates, and many of which contain subtextual suggestions that add up to bigger-picture implications. This is messaging — the sometimes blunt and sometimes subtle attempt to create a compelling narrative about a product, be it a new car, a proposed policy, or a person running for office.

Marketers and campaign consultants are savvy about creating and sharing these stories in pursuit of customers and voters. Montana Free Press will be devoting a significant amount of time and energy between now and November 3 trying to be just as savvy about unpacking those messages to fact-check the charges, yes, but also to interrogate and contextualize the stories they're trying to sell you.

We're going to do this, in part, with a new occasional feature we're calling Muckwatch, and our first installment published this week, examining the picture that the Republican Governors Association has begun spending $3 million to paint of Democratic candidate for governor Mike Cooney.

And of course we'll be applying the same treatment to the messaging coming from each of Montana's major federal and statewide campaigns, so everyone will get their turn in the coming weeks and months.

But Muckwatch is hardly the only campaign coverage we're working on here at MTFP, and ads aren't the only avenue for campaign messaging. There are also the words of the candidates themselves, and one phrase that seems to be ubiquitous when a candidate is in the room (even virtually) is "Montana values."

Those certainly sound positive, and every campaign season they're trotted out for exercise, a blank slate upon which voters can inscribe their own interpretation of the common beliefs that supposedly define Montanans. But with every new election, that language seems to do just as much to drive people apart as to bring them together.

So as we embark in earnest on our 2020 elections coverage, we'd like to know what "Montana values" means to you. What are your Montana values? What values do you think bind — or divide — Montana voters?

Would you be kind enough to do us a favor?

Call our office at 406-640-8933 and leave us a brief message with your thoughts about Montana values — what they are, who embodies them, and how they'll fit into your decisions come Election Day. (And full disclosure: Our curiosity has an ulterior motive — we may use your responses in our reporting.)

Please let us hear from you, and thanks for reading.

—Brad Tyer, editor

Cooney’s ethics violation opens door for GOP attack

Republican PAC makes hay with ruling against the Democratic candidate for governor. By Eric Dietrich

The Republican Governors Association, a party-affiliated institution that supports GOP gubernatorial candidates, has jumped on a July 8 ethics ruling that faulted Montana’s Democratic candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, for participating in a campaign-related Zoom video call in his state office. In a television ad announced by the RGA July 9, the RGA faults Cooney for participating in the call with the Democratic Governors Association as the state economy suffers through the coronavirus pandemic. […]

Montana coronavirus report

As of Friday, July 24, Montana reports a cumulative total of 3,039 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 129 new cases since yesterday, 1,178 active cases, and 46 deaths from the disease. State officials also report that 191 of the cases have resulted in hospitalizations, with 56 patients currently hospitalized, and 1,815 patients considered recovered. […]

With delays, a ripple of impacts

How slow COVID-19 test results complicate life for public health workers and patients. By Alex Sakariassen

It’s a familiar enough story by now: Ramped-up testing goals, rampant outbreaks in certain corners of the country and thinly stretched supplies of critical testing materials have resulted in long delays. Those delays have resulted in waves of calls from an understandably impatient public, and have put health care providers in a difficult situation when it comes to treating non-COVID ailments. Responding to this latest challenge, Bullock announced a plan Wednesday to expand surveillance testing for frontline health care workers and other essential personnel by partnering with Montana State University. […]

Building community from the inside

Aging in place, with help from a local who knows the ropes. By Andi Bourne

“Her job has been connecting people to the resources they need. That is what it has changed into and that is why it has become so important. It is no longer just helping aging seniors in the Seeley Lake area. It is connecting anyone in need with the possible resources anywhere.” […]

Months into pandemic, concern persists for homeless people

For program operators, emergency funding is “not accessible the way we need it. Which is, we need it now.” By Mara Silvers

The COVID-19 pandemic, for many shelters and residents, has proven to be a distinct challenge compared to other disasters, such as fires or floods. Part of the difficulty comes from a tangled web of bureaucratic procedures and relief funds at the federal, state and local levels. But nearly five months into the crisis, some providers also describe feeling forgotten or misunderstood by policy makers, to the detriment of the populations they serve. […]

Hard to help

At least three Montana county public health officials have stepped down in recent weeks, citing disagreements with local elected officials. Others say lack of public cooperation and partisan blowback is complicating their jobs. By Justin Franz

It’s a hoax. It’s being blown out of proportion. It has something to do with the 5G cellular network.  Those are just some of the things people have told Public Health Manager Jennifer McCully and her staff at the Lincoln County Health Department as they try to trace how COVID-19 is spreading through their community.  McCully and other Montana public health officials said the number of people who are not cooperating with contact tracers is small, but that they waste valuable resources when they mislead nurses and pose a risk to others when they ignore health officials’ requests for information. […]

Bullock, Tester push back on Pendley appointment

Public land advocates call for nomination hearings to highlight acting BLM director’s agenda. By Chris Aadland

A day after Montana Gov. Steve Bullock sued to remove acting Bureau of Land Management Director William Perry Pendley from his post, public lands advocates and Montana’s Democratic senator called for hearings on Pendley’s nomination to lead a federal agency responsible for managing millions of acres of public lands, saying he is unfit for the position. […]

Full-court suppress

Land managers anticipate pivot to 'fast and furious' wildfire strategy in light of COVID-19. By Amanda Eggert

For decades, land managers and the general public both have made strides toward appreciating fire’s role in healthy forest ecosystems. But concerns generated by COVID-19 could reverse some of that progress as fire managers in the Northern Rockies prepare for a wildfire response that skews heavily toward suppression. This year, the agency’s goal is to catch and contain fires when they’re small so they won’t need to bring firefighters and support personnel from across the United States into fire camps of hundreds or even thousands of people. That could protect firefighters from COVID-19 infection and minimize the likelihood that they’ll introduce the virus to nearby communities, but it also has downstream consequences for the health and resilience of fire-adapted ecosystems. […]

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