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Madison Valley Medical Center (MVMC) had a couple COVID-19 cases early as the coronavirus hit Montana. A nurse tested positive within the first two weeks.

“I would yell so loud and then I would come back on Monday to Helena to work and I couldn’t talk, and I think that’s what happened,” Pam Birkeland said as an explanation for her soft voice. Beyond cheering, Birkeland sang the National Anthem at Montana State University (MSU) football games twice during her son’s collegiate football career.

It is true that you never really know someone’s whole story.

Ron Hardwick is 75 years old, but over the phone, and arguably in person, you would peg him in his early sixties tops. Over these 75 years, he has learned, seen and discovered much, some aspects well-known to those around and others more on the back burner.

Memorial Day weekend is often viewed as the beginning of camping season in Montana. More often than not, it snows the very same weekend. In some ways, the end-of-May holiday embodies many of the factors that make rivers in the area more dangerous in the spring.

Kari Swenson, a biathlete, was kidnapped at gunpoint by two ‘mountain men’ while on a training run in the Spanish Peaks. FBI teams, helicopters, and multiple facets of law enforcement searched for Swenson for months. Local sheriff, Johnny France, was the man who apprehended the captors.

Mother’s Day may look a little different this year. Some families have been spending an increased amount of time with their
moms while others are unable to visit. Both scenarios in consideration, there are still ways to make the holiday special for moms and grandmas alike.

Marshall Bettendorf loves coffee. In fact, it was the only beverage offering he had at his office in the Ennis Chamber of Commerce building during our interview before the coronavirus crisis set in.

Breweries changed with the times during prohibition and again as craft brewing became trendy. In the coronavirus era, social distancing effectively shut down breweries, but their adaptive nature keeps the kegs flowing.