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Legislature

Podcast: Montana’s Constitution and the 68th Legislature — Observations with Lee Banville

Host Micah Drew talks with political analyst and head of the University of Montana School of Journalism Lee Banville about what makes the 68th edition of the Montana Legislature unique

By Micah Drew

Dig even deeper into the biggest stories of the last seven days with the Beacon’s weekly podcast.

Since the Montana Constitution was crafted in 1972, the state’s governing document has undergone a mere 34 changes, a rate of fewer than one amendment per year. However, over the last three months of the 68th legislative session, Montana Republicans have introduced a record 67 constitutional amendments.

This week, Flathead Beacon reporter Denali Sagner wrote about the crossroads the state constitution is facing with multiple efforts, almost all unsuccessful, to alter it. To gain additional insight, host Micah Drew reached out to Lee Banville, political analyst and director of the University of Montana School of Journalism, who joins the podcast to share some of his observations from the session.

Later, Micah runs through the news of the week including new census data showing Flathead County’s continued growth, the delayed start to Montana’s inaugural high school baseball season, and a visit by Governor Gianforte to Kalispell highlighting work-based learning.

Subscribe to this show by searching for “Flathead Beacon” wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.

The music in this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. The episode also features two songs from local singer/songwriter Mike Murray’s album We Are Like Warriors, “The Good Ol’ Days You’re In” and “Moment of Time,” used with permission.