Senator Christine Kaufmann has been in the Montana legislature for quite a while, and has been involved in Montana politics since the 1980s. She’s a partisan without being cynical about it, and she’s worked with both sides of the aisle to get great legislation passed. For more information on the show, listen in!

When you meet someone who literally touches the mind and molds the worldview of high-schoolers, you want that person to be an amazing, thoughtful, insightful, fair person. You want them to be our guest this week, Don Pogreba. Don has been teaching English for several years, and debate as well, and gets his own voice out at his blog, Intelligent Discontent, and sometimes posts stuff to YouTube as well. He’s not running for office, but he’s a major fixture of Montana politics. I know you’ll enjoy this episode of PoliticktickBOOM. Be sure to follow Don (@dpogreba) on twitter!

Bryce has been interested in politics since his time in High School, was a founding board member of Forward Montana, and he’s our first incumbent on the show. Bryce has lived in Eastern Montana and Western Montana, in some of the most rural areas, to some of the most urban. You might think you know Bryce, but there’s guaranteed to be something new you’ll learn about him in this, our 6th episode!

You’ve gotta admire the get-up-and-go of anyone who is willing to throw their hat into the ring (fire) and run for political office. Especially when they are young. Our guest this week is Ed Zimpel, of Butte as well, who is running for HD 74. Eddie has been around politics his whole life, and looks forward to taking on this leadership role. You know you want to know more, so listen to the show!

Why leave to improve the world when there are ways to do it right near your home? Good Question! I wish I asked it. Amanda is a high-school math teacher in the lovely town of Butte, U.S.A. She brings a ton of community service and Montana history into the race for House District 76. She’s been working on helping Butte grow since she arrived there just after she graduated high school in Billings – a true native Montanan, with Butte in her soul.

Marnée Banks is the political beat reporter for MTN Stations here in Montana, which is state-wide CBS. We cover some of her history, some of the legislature, the state of politics and what we think might be coming up with this election cycle. Join us for this non-politician-who-works-with-every-politician-in-Montana episode of the show.

Kelsen Young has been around politics her entire life, and has actively lobbied the legislature for several years. Her work as the Executive Director of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has given her plenty of insight into our current political climate and, perhaps more importantly, a desire to change it. It’s our first real episode of PoliticktickBOOM, and we’re happy to have Kelsen as our inaugural guest.

Welcome! I’ve been working on this idea for a while, and it’s finally coming together. I’m excited about both getting going and who is joining us and what we’re doing. Want to know more? Listen to episode 1 of the podcast!