What does a seizure actually look like? What do you do when one happens in front of you? And why is Montana one of the states still without a law requiring teachers to know the answer to that question?

On this episode of Outlaw Beat, we sit down with Jessica Veach — Regional Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation covering Montana, Nevada, and Utah — and Dr. Karla Mora Rodriguez, neurologist with Billings Clinic, to talk about one of the most common neurological conditions most people know almost nothing about.

Nearly 11,000 Montanans are living with epilepsy. 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their lifetime. And a free, one-hour, on-demand training exists that could prepare every teacher and school employee to respond — but Montana has yet to make it law.

Big Sky PBR is going purple in support of epilepsy awareness Thursday July 16. If this episode moves you, contact your Montana state legislator and ask them to support the Seizure Safe Schools bill when it hits the floor in February.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/epilepsyfoundation

Learn more and support the Epilepsy Foundation: Epilepsy.com

Resources:
📞 24/7 Helpline: 1-800-332-1000
📲 @epilepsymontana
🏥 Billings Clinic Neurosciences: 406-238-2410

Tags/Keywords: epilepsy Montana, seizure first aid, Seizure Safe Schools, Epilepsy Foundation Montana, Big Sky PBR, what to do during a seizure, ketogenic diet epilepsy, SUDEP, Billings Clinic neurology, Montana health, epilepsy awareness, purple day epilepsy

And plan your next trip to the Crown Jewel of the National Park System with Explore Yellowstone! ExploreYellowstone.com

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Meet Jeff Marks, senior author of “Birds of Montana” - the first comprehensive state bird reference since 1921. Jeff is the executive director of the Montana Bird Advocacy, a former editor of The Auk, and has spent decades studying everything from Long-eared Owls to Bristle-thighed Curlews in the Pacific.

We met Jeff in Grant, Montana to talk about the best places to birdwatch in the state, the worst bird in Montana (his answer might surprise you), how birds can literally see Earth's magnetic field, the controversial ethics of using bird call playback apps like Merlin Bird ID, and we play a rapid-fire birding etiquette game to find out what's actually frowned upon in the field.

Topics covered: the most underrated birding spots in Montana, why grassland birds are in trouble, the strange science behind bird migration, magpie funerals, and what it's like being the gatekeeper of the official Montana bird records list.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/jeffmarks

Support Jeff's nonprofit: MontanaBirdAdvocacy.org

This episode is sponsored by Vim & Vigr, Montana-born compression socks. A portion of proceeds from their limited edition Wildlands Music sock goes to this year's festival beneficiary. Find them at VIMVIGR.com.

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We’re talking home building and AI-proof trades for Gen Z with President of Southwest Montana Building Industry Association slash owner of Rivers Landscaping Riley Rivers and Career Outreach Coordinator for Bozeman and Gallatin High Schools Karl Schwartz, architect of the new Bozeman Construction Academy.

Riley breaks down the real inputs driving building costs in the Gallatin Valley: materials, labor, land, fuel, permit delays, government regulation, and the cost of holding land while projects wait for approval. Karl explains how the Construction Academy gives high school students hands-on trades experience, college credit through Gallatin College, and job-site readiness before they graduate.

They also get into why construction careers are much broader than “swinging a hammer,” why AI is not about to install sprinkler lines on a Big Sky hillside, and how private industry support helped launch a public-school trades program. Then Joe makes Riley and Karl play a deeply unserious but weirdly educational price-per-square-foot guessing game featuring storage units, Bozeman homes, Costco, Yellowstone Club, coffee shacks, the Las Vegas Sphere, and the International Space Station.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/swmbia

Join SWMBIA: SWMBIA.org

Support the Construction Academy: BozemanConstructionAcademy.org

And get your Big Sky Community Rodeo tickets here: BigSkyPBR.com

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Big Sky, Montana is technically unincorporated — no town council, no mayor — yet it generates $25 million a year in resort tax revenue and just became the most taxable community in the state. We sat down with Daniel Bierschwale, Executive Director of Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD), to break down how resort taxes work, what the new hospital district means for residents, and why Big Sky is essentially funding two teachers per school district across all 391 Montana school districts.

And while we’re talking dirty details, Karl Johnson, owner of YES Compost, joins to explain what vermicomposting is. It’s hundreds of thousands of worms eating your food scraps and pooping out garden gold. We talk worm aversions (no citrus, no onions, definitely no diapers), scaling from 10 lbs of worms to a city-wide composting operation, and the one commercial client who really should have read the green bucket guidelines.

This episode was made possible by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, for your enjoyment and information.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/yesbsrad

Learn more about Big Sky Resort Tax: ResortTax.org

And sign up for YES Compost here: YesCompost.com

Topics covered: Big Sky resort tax | BSRAD | Montana local government | vermicomposting | worm castings | Big Sky housing | hospital district | Gallatin Valley composting | Big Sky Chamber of Commerce

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Residents of Big Sky, Montana have an increasing number of options and opportunities, and on this episode, we’ll feature a couple of great examples.

Dr. Syd Desmarais of Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital and Jeremy Harder, head of school at Big Sky Community School, join us to talk about what it actually takes to serve a resort town of pet owners with active, sporty kids.

We cover some serious ground here: pet acupuncture, why dental powders are a waste of money, what a brand new hybrid K-12 school actually looks like, and how it’s connected to a school in New York.

This is part of a series brought to you by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, which is very cool of them.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/vetschool

Check out Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital: https://www.lonepeakvethospital.com/about-us

And learn more about Big Sky Community School: BigSkyCommunitySchool.org

Topics: veterinary medicine in rural Montana | alternative education | Big Sky Community School | Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital | pet acupuncture | hybrid homeschool | Big Sky Chamber of Commerce

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Big Sky PBR, recently crowned 12-time event of the year, will ride again this July 16-18. And I hope you’re hungry, because the lineup of chefs is a murderers row: event organizer and Top Chef alum Emily Hahn, James Beard Award winner Eduardo Garcia, plus some of the most acclaimed chefs in the Mountain West and beyond: Sheldon Simeon (Top Chef, touring his second cookbook), Jamie Lynch (Top Chef), Josh Adams of Livingston’s Campione (James Beard nominee), and Jarrett Wrisley of Shan (James Beard nominee). Plus local skybox chefs Joel Gil of BRAZA and Kenan Anderson of Provecho.

All in Big Sky, Montana for just three unexpectedly delicious days. On this episode, we sit down with Emily (chef-owner of Bozeman's Mountain Provisions) and Eduardo (founder of Montana Mex and host of Magnolia Network's Big Sky Kitchen) to talk about what they're cooking up – like whole bison sourced from North Bridger Bison, whole hog, whole lamb, fresh Alaskan seafood, and locally grown produce.

We also get into:

• Emily's four years as a commercial shrimper and how she earned her 100-ton captain's license before landing in Bozeman
• Eduardo's full origin story — the electrocution, 21 surgeries, cancer diagnosis, and the hook he chose over a bionic hand
• Why neither of them could care less about a Michelin star — and why that's exactly the point
• The Low Cuisine game: Eduardo's tia's rural kitchen and Emily's formative years at a sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll Italian restaurant in Richmond, Virginia.

This is a conversation about what food is actually for — community, land, ranchers, farmers, and the people eating it — told by two chefs who've both taken the long, hard, scenic route to get here.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/pbrchefs

Get your tickets to Big Sky PBR 2026: BigSkyPBR.com

Have another helping of Emily Hahn: MountainProvisionsMT.com

And Eduardo Garcia: ChefEduardo.com

And book an unforgettable stay in Yellowstone National Park this summer: YellowstoneNationalParkLodges.com

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Aaron Flint is a retired Army lieutenant colonel with two Bronze Stars, a former conservative talk radio host who spent a decade taking calls from Montanans for four hours a day, and the Republican frontrunner for Montana's open House seat in the western district. And even if he’s qualified, he’s not particularly excited about going to Washington.

We sat down with Flint in Bozeman to talk about why he's running anyway — and what he actually plans to do once he gets there. We covered public lands and whether he'll pick up where Ryan Zinke left off, his Trump endorsement (and what it means when the guy who gave it to you becomes less popular), housing costs, tariffs, AI data centers eating up Montana electricity, and what it was like to be one of the only white guys walking across the Howard University campus in Washington D.C.

Whether you're a Flint voter, a Flint skeptic, or just someone who wants to know who could be representing western Montana in Congress, this is worth a listen.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/aaronflint

Make sure you’re registered to vote: VoteMT.gov/voter-registration/

And register now for the 2nd Annual Running of the Bulls trail race in Big Sky bigskypbr.com/event/running-of-the-bulls/

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On this episode, we head deep into Montana ranch country with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance to figure out how an industry built on horses and grit is now running on GPS collars, data uploads, and conservation science. It’s part cowboy, part tech startup—and somehow still hanging on.

We get into the real pressures threatening ranching today: skyrocketing land prices, outside development, environmental shifts, and the uncomfortable reality that most ranchers are pushing 60. What happens when the people feeding the country start aging out?

At the same time, ranchers are doing something you probably didn’t expect—they’re quietly some of the biggest players in wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, and land management in the American West.

And we also touch on the day-to-day realities of ranch life – pulling calves, dealing with predators, and occasionally even bringing animals back to life.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/ranchers

Learn more about and join the RSA: RanchStewards.org

And Give Big April 30-May 1: GiveBigGV.org

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