This is an excellent list of indie publications, perfect to gift to those who love interesting, entertaining, and no BS journalism (like yourself, perhaps).

At a new farmer-owned slaughterhouse co-op in Tennessee, farmers can have meat processed and ready to be sold in two weeks, and they share the plant's profits. This puts control of food back in the hands of the people, not corporations. See what a better food system looks like ➡️ buff.ly/slY6v3c

This story is wild. It almost reads like a corporate/political thriller. Bottom line, if you have cash, you can poison whole neighborhoods of people and get away with it (esp if they’re poor, rural, or marginalized).

What’s the smallest crime that can reasonably lead to a story being called “crime fiction?” Does speeding cut it? Where do you draw the line? 📚⚡️ 📚💙

After fleeing war and persecution, Missoula’s refugee families face losing the food and health care benefits that have long served as a bridge to rebuilding their lives.

There is nothing at all about A-pillar visibility (or mirror patches) in federal car safety rules. With cars getting bigger and blind spots expanding, that seems like a serious oversight.

If I’m writing in 3rd-person close, and somewhere along the way it changes to first-person w/o me noticing, I know I’ve got it. #fiction

#4 way to Support Family Farmers? Connect with a farmer in-person or online! Learn more farmaid.org/10ways

Heads up, writer friends. For the second time I received a cute email from an 11 year old asking if I'd read their short story and give feedback. Story Not an attachment but a link. Be safe. Delete. Do not respond. Emails virtually identical but for boy/girl name.

I had a character (unwittingly) give me the ending for my WIP. I love it when they work with me, rather than against me. #writing #writingcommunity

This game is like I got caught smoking a baseball and now I have to smoke a whole pack of baseball

It’s also the first snow hitting the ground in the (Missoula) valley this fall. I’m definitely not ready for summer/fall to end, but it’s kind of pretty.

It’s Indigenous People’s Day, Montana! Lots to celebrate and memorialize.

No. 3 immediately got my brain firing. What would it mean to be a human mind w/ no gut biome influencing it? Which prompt would you choose and why?

A reminder that Missoulians’ take on free speech and workers’ rights hasn’t changed.

If they spend enough taxpayer money, maybe they can kick everyone off healthcare.

We’ve all canceled Disney, stopped going to Target, opted out of Prime, given up Paramount+, & abandoned our Starbucks addictions, so now we have $5 a month to celebrate books! 📚💙

The only thing sadder than hearing from ppl who want to bike more but are afraid of drivers (understandable) is finding out someone used to bike a lot but stopped because they became frightened of drivers (also understandable).

Today is the day! #farmaid40 I’m volunteering at the fest and couldn’t be more excited. If you’re a reporter interviewing one of the incredible farmers (or one of said farmers), maybe I’ll see you there.

Join freelance photographer, Tailyr Irvine, HCN Visuals Editor, Bear Guerra, and HCN’s Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sunnie Clahchischiligi on September 23, 2025 at 11a.m. MT for an informative conversation about freelancing and collaborating with HCN.

Calling in sick to work for the next couple months.

I don’t read a lot of historical thrillers, but this kind of has everything I want. Maybe too much of everything.

This is the most Billings thing I've read in a while. I hope everyone is ok (two and four-legged). www.cbsnews.com/news/montana...

Dropping into my 50th year like:

I just learned that the tunes I’ve been vibing to while working on my novel are a genre called “Futurepop.” The name Futurepop makes me love them even more. open.spotify.com/playlist/37i...

It's not just AI. Some days it really feels like our collective reading habits are making writing itself obsolete. I just had a year of reporting whittled down to 1,400 words bc most people don't want read narrative + policy in one story. Or at least editors now firmly believe that they don't.

Remember how much fun mountain biking was in the mid-to-late ‘90s? We got a good reminder this morning by hitting the trails on the Gunnar and Fuji. Steep head angles and narrow 26ers make for some rowdy good times!

you know you’re doing some cool shit when haters turn into “guy who imagines zero sum games where they don’t exist” and this writer has completely spun out on that they blame bike lanes for crime, homelessness and addiction gj Peter, keep it up

I need this kind of break from the news.

Montana's larger public media organizations gain fundraising momentum after Trump's clawback. But smaller outlets in the state face existential questions.

This is how you create characters that feel “alive.” I’m really looking forward to reading A Dream in the Dark. ⚡️📚

This is a great thread about bike commuter motivations, the slow-but-visible shift in bike travel safety priorities (in Chicago, at least, but other places, too), and inspiring workplaces to set aside dedicated bike space.

Don't miss the latest Writers' Podcast episode! We spoke with award-winning author, poet, screenwriter, and playwright Clay Stafford! We ask the questions you want to know about their starts, processes, and what motivates them. Listen at: www.sistersincrime.org/podcast #SinC #WritingCommunity

Enjoyed an unforgettable show at the K-Hole: Death Cab for Cutie and Sea Lemon. Huge musical energy under a spectacular Montana sky. @deathcabforcutie.bsky.social #missoula

I recently biked along the Baltic Sea, from Gdansk to Sopot in Poland. It was one of the most sublime rides of my life. I wondered: Why are there so few places in North America where people can experience seaside cycling, separated from cars? My exploration, in Bloomberg

Nat Park Service gets salty: "Standing on clear-cut hillsides with a bucket of garbage in each hand, they looked down on the rivers, saw carp swirling happily in the mess humans had created, and made a correlation—albeit the wrong one—between the rise of carp and the fall of game fish." #research

I just finished @michaelconnelly.bsky.social ‘s Brass Verdict. It’s the 2nd in the Lincoln Lawyer series. I forgot how good these were. I’m already digging into the next one. I also just learned that it’s part of Harry Bosch’s LA, so I’m starting at the beginning with him now, too. ⚡️📚

Wildfire seen on the south side of Pattee Canyon visible from Missoula. Photo taken at Playfair Park.

This now-famous story, published 44 years ago today, was the NYT's first report on AIDS (which did not yet have a name). The subject was considered so minor that the NYT ran only 2 more stories about it in the year following. By the time the story made the front page, the death toll was over 1000.

Fiction writers: what’s your vision for the next 180 years?

🏳️‍🌈It's Pride Month and that means it's time for our 2025 Pride Award!🏳️‍🌈 Open to all emerging LGBTQIA+ crime writers with unpublished crime fiction - everything from kid's books to adult mystery! You don't have to be a member to apply! Enter thru July 31! #writingcommunity #booksky #lgbtq+

Happy Pride Month! For the month of June, 4horsemenpublications.com is offering 25% off of LGBTQ+ books. Check it out! You might just find your next favorite read. #bookstagram #writingcommunity #pride #books #bookseries #fantasybooks #4horsemenpublications

The drive between Missoula and Boise is hour after (slow) hour of stunning mountains, rolling farmlands, and deep arid canyons. This is the only photo I took, but each scene was gorgeous.

vibe-cycling verb | /’vīb-ˌsī-k(ə-)liŋ/ Definition: The act of riding a bicycle with no fixed destination, guided purely by mood, scenery, and spontaneity—often leading down the nicest roads, quiet streets, and unfamiliar ways that feel just right in the moment.

Earlier I got condeseed, and now I’m assoured.

Looks like an awesome event.

Love this town.

One of my favorite characters in my current WIP is tough, smart, and has seen it all. It will surprise no one that when I hear her voice in my head, it sounds a lot like @npr.org’s Nina Totenberg. ⚡️📚 The Supreme Court's Trump Dilemma one.npr.org/i/1268423588...

Solid find in a Bainbridge bookstore. Even though we arguably live in a cyberpunk dystopia (untethered corporate power, alternative and virtual realities, AI) I still love reading the stuff. 📚🪐

unironically: the realization that being a "fake man" was an option in my early twenties was among the most personally rewarding decisions I've ever made. highly recommend