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3.7 Buck & Bridget Miller – Tattoo Artists
Buck and Bridget Miller are the creative power-couple behind High Life Tattoo. After meeting each other through the Missoula tattoo community, their mutual love of Butte’s grit and weirdness had them traveling I-90 anytime they had the chance. As soon as they could, they made the move and went full-Butte, raising the city’s cool-factor exponentially. …
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3.5 Dr. Chad Okrusch – Professor & Musician
Chad Okrusch is a professor, author, photographer, philosopher, and singer-songwriter with deep roots in Butte, Montana. After attending graduate school in Eugene, Oregon, circumstances brought him back to his hometown to accept a pair of jobs in a city that, at that time, had no jobs to offer. The Butte “vortex” has kept hold of…
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3.2 John McKee – Owner/Founder Headframe Spirits
John McKee is the owner and founder of Headframe Spirits; Butte’s first (legal) distillery that opened its uptown doors in 2012. His journey is as tasty as the whiskey he brought us to enjoy during our recording. As a typical Butte kid, John played on mine dumps and brought home liquid mercury that bubbled up…
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Cassie Wick 3.1 – Disability & Community Advocate
Cassie Wick likes good trouble, the kind that elevates community and the people around her. She is certainly doing that as the business owner at 5518 Designs, as a member of uptown Butte’s Business Improvement District, and most recently as the Public Policy and Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator at Ability Montana. She credits the roots of…
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*Bonus Episode* 2.10: Mike Handley & Maisie Sulser – Historic Building Renovations
The powerhouse duo behind RESTÔR design + build is the husband-and-wife team of architect Maisie Sulser and contractor Mike Handley. This two-person, one-stop shop for historic renovations is bringing back the magic of Butte with one of their first (of hopefully many) major developments – restoring the historic Fairmont Creamery Warehouse. From the outside, it…
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*Bonus Episode* 2.9: Dr. Les Cook – Montana Tech Chancellor
Dr. Les Cook is the recently retired 12th chancellor of Montana Technological University. During his six years of leadership, Montana Tech has cemented a reputation as one of the nation’s top STEM institutions. His student-first, community building approach has been transformative for campus life and student success. We sat down with Les, almost literally, on…
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2.7 Shera Konen – Film Location Scout
When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Shera Konen jumped at the chance to leave the real estate industry for an opportunity in television and film. After a healthy dose of ‘almost’ reality TV, and several adventures wrangling mountain men, Shera eventually found her niche in location scouting. Shera talks about her experiences in Butte,…
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2.6 Maggie Dallen – Author & Screenwriter
Author Maggie Dallen is proof that unicorns walk among us disguised as talented, charismatic neighbors wearing sweatpants. She has published a library’s worth of Young Adult titles and a growing collection of screenplays in those sweatpants. Most recently, her work ‘Believe In Christmas’ was developed into a 2024 Hallmark Christmas movie. Yes, that Hallmark.Maggie shares…
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2.5 Cassie Loretta – Artist & Business Owner
It feels like the many chapters of Cassie Loretta’s journey have culminated into her recent opening of a Dandelion Salad brick-and-mortar storefront in uptown Butte. Anchored by her own art, her boutique carries a creatively curated selection of locally-sourced art, vintage clothing, home goods, and one-of-a-kind gifts. Cassie tells the story of making dandelion salads…
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2.4 Mark Thieszen – Owner of Homestake Lodge Ski Area
Whether it was to decompress after a day practicing law or to “study snowboarding” in college, the pull to be outside never left the attorney-turned-snow farmer, Mark Thieszen. When the opportunity to purchase the Homestake Lodge Nordic Ski Area presented itself after a summer spent clearing trees on the property, he jumped at the chance. Now,…