Montana
Who's in, who's out among Montana connections as NFL teams announce 53-man rosters
BILLINGS — Tuesday was final cut-down day in the National Football League as teams were required to reach an initial 53-man roster limit for the 2024 season.
Some with Montana connections were locks to make their respective squads. Others fighting for jobs weren’t quite as fortunate.
Those that made teams — and figure to again be featured prominently this season — include Dillon product and former Montana State star Troy Andersen, Bozeman High grad Will Dissly, and ex-Montana State standouts Alex Singleton and Daniel Hardy.
Andersen, a second-round draft pick in 2022, is beginning his third season as a linebacker with the Atlanta Falcons. Dissly, a tight end, signed with the L.A. Chargers in the offseason and is embarking on his seventh NFL season after a six-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks.
Singleton, a linebacker, is back with the Denver Broncos for the third straight year, his sixth season in the NFL. Hardy, a defensive end who played in six games with the L.A. Rams in 2022, made the 53-man roster with the Chicago Bears.
Meanwhile, Butte High grad and former Montana offensive lineman Dylan Cook will begin the 2024 season on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ reserve/injured list with a foot injury. He could be activated later in the year.
Those who were waived on Tuesday included Seahawks linebacker Patrick O’Connell and safety Ty Okada. O’Connell, a Kalispell Glacier alum and former Montana Grizzlies All-American, appeared in one game with the Seahawks last season while Okada, a former All-Big Sky performer at Montana State, played in five games.
Alex Gubner, the 2023 Big Sky defensive player of the year with the Griz, was let go by the Kansas City Chiefs. Former Montana State offensive lineman Lewis Kidd was waived by the San Francisco 49ers.
Bozeman High graduate and former Bobcat wideout Lance McCutcheon was also waived Tuesday by the New York Jets. McCutcheon played 10 games with the Rams in 2022 and spent time on the Houston Texans’ practice squad last season.
Former Montana and Nebraska wide receiver Samori Toure was let go by the Green Bay Packers. Toure played in 22 games with Green Bay over the past two seasons, catching a touchdown pass in a game at Buffalo in 2022.
Players who did not make initial 53-man rosters are eligible for waiver claims, and can be added to practice squads or sign with other NFL teams.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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