Gophers forward, Kadyn Betts, entered the transfer portal on March 19, and it took him less than two weeks to find a new home and commit to Montana.

Betts joins Frank Mitchell (St. Bonaventure) and Brennan Rigsby (Radford) as the third former Gophers player to find a new home in the transfer portal this offseason. Tyler Cochran is the only other Gophers scholarship player currently in the portal.

Betts was a former three-star recruit in the class of 2022, and he chose Minnesota over top offers from Nebraska, Colorado State and Wyoming. He was never able to find his footing with the Gophers, but he will now bring two years of eligibility and some intriguing potential to the Big Sky Conference.

The Grizzlies are coming off a 25-10 season with a Big Sky Conference tournament title and a NCAA Tournament appearence. Betts will look to find his full potential in Missoula, Monatana next season.

MILES CITY — For 30 years, DeeAnn Sutter has been more than just an art teacher at Custer County District High School—she has been the foundation beneath her students’ biggest moments.

Whether in speech, debate, rehearsals, or performances, her impact has extended far beyond the stage.

“They’re not gonna remember what happened in their math class, they’re not gonna remember what happened in the really cool assembly they had, but I think they’re gonna remember this feeling of accomplishment forever,” said Sutter.

In Miles City, where students have gone on to become architects, writers, teachers, and lawyers, Sutter has played a vital role in shaping their confidence.

“You can conquer your shyness. You can conquer your stage fright. You can conquer your body image.” said Sutter. “Be brave and be unstoppable.”

Hannah Nash, one of Sutter’s first actors, recalled the early days of her mentorship along the theatre’s foyer, where play bills and photographs hung from each year of plays.

“What you see just simply reflected in this relatively short hallway has echoed through 30 years of us,” said Nash, a board member of Barn Players, Inc.

Students and faculty alike recognize Sutter as an institution.

“Much like our faculty, I don’t think I could find a kid who has a bad thing to say about her,” said Chase Breitbach, Sutter’s nephew and the school’s band director. “Most of (her students) would kill for her.”

As generations of students leave the stage and move into new chapters of life, they carry Sutter’s message with them.

“We could all dream of having a legacy like this someday—and I think that’s what she sent us all out into the world to do,” said Nash.

HELENA, Montana (Daily Montanan) — Once Gov. Greg Gianforte affixes his signature to House Bill 190, Montana will become the fourth state to adopt American Rodeo as the official state sport.

Other states have adopted official sports representing a facet of their heritage, ranging from the common – baseball in New York — to the increasingly popular — pickleball in Washington — to the less traditional — pack burro racing in Colorado, and dog mushing in Alaska.

During the last week the Legislature took its final votes on HB 190 and the bill will head to the governor’s desk for a signature.

Sen. Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, carried the bill in the Senate and wore her paisley scarf on the floor last Saturday when she spoke about the bill, because “this is more rodeo than almost anything else.”

“I don’t know that I can convey, really, how fun rodeo is here in the Senate chamber,” McKamey said.

“This is very unique in that it represents our heritage, the outdoors, and it’s an opportunity to have have a really unique statement about our state,” she added.

Some senators voiced their opposition to the bill — Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls, said that more Montanans hunt than rodeo, and Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, objected to the bill not specifically including Native American components.

“I just had hoped that they would have included the Indian Relay, which is a few centuries old here as part of this bill,” Webber said. “But we do have an Indian rodeo circuit that goes along with the National Rodeo Association. I just wish they would have done a little bit more.”

The bill was supported by the Montana American Indian Caucus, as well as by the congressional delegation and all six of Montanan’s statewide elected officials.

“There’s nothing better than a good rodeo all summer long. And the fine senator in the back near Kalispell said they have it all winter long going there,” Sen. Butch Gillespie, R-Ethbridge, said. “And as far as the Indian rodeos … nothing’s better than their rodeos and and the relay races, and they happen all over the place also. So let’s not let the other western states get the drop on us here.”

The Senate passing the measure 40-9, with an amendment making the law effective immediately. The House on Wednesday concurred with the amendment with only two votes in opposition.

Five colleges in Montana, including Montana State University, have rodeo clubs or teams. MSU hosted the collegiate rodeo finals for 24 years, until they moved briefly to South Dakota in the 1990s and then to Casper, Wyoming where they are still held.

At the high school level, Montana qualified 100 contestants to the National High School Rodeo Finals from the state championships held in Kalispell last J—une.

American Rodeo now joins the pantheon of state symbols, next to the duck-billed dinosaur (state fossil), Scobey soil (state soil), bitterroot (state floral emblem), blackspotted cutthroat trout (state fish), bluebunch wheatgrass (state grass), grizzly bear (state animal), and “Montana Melody” (state ballad) among others.