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What the Helena 2025

What the Helena Issue#12 March 24th-28th

Toplines: Montana Objects to Politicized Courts; Ethical Dilemma in the Senate; Watchlist + Calls to Action. Events, Gatherings and Rallies Trans Day of Visibility: Monday, March 31 from 12-1pm at Montana Capitol Flag Plaza in Helena. Join us at the State Capitol to Rally for Trans Rights to celebrate trans joy, resilience, and community! This…

Notes from the Field

What the helena Issue 11: March 17th-21st

Toplines: It’s Time for an Affordable Housing Market; Clean Air and Water on the Chopping Block; Plus, Watchlist & Wins  While one week certainly didn’t feel like enough time to recoup from the first half of the session we are back from transmittal break! Legislators are wasting no time, surprisingly, getting the next round of…

Notes from the Field

What the Helena #10 Transmittal Edition

Toplines: Don’t Skip The Recap; Your Questions, Answered; Watchlist Events, Rallies and Gatherings Tuesday, March 18th from 6-7:30pm at the Headwaters Confluence Center Join us in partnership with TransVisible Montana for our Queer Skillshare: Vision Boarding! Together, we will learn how to use vision boarding to help us clarify our goals as a community, envision success,…

What the Helena 2025

What the Helena Issue 9: March 3rd-7th

Toplines: The Culling of the Bills; Session Halftime  Wow! We are officially halfway through the 69th Montana Legislative Session and like the last few sessions, well, it’s been a lot. While the lows have been really low, from disgusting anti-trans bills to disparaging comments about young people and attacks on our impartial courts, we have…

Notes from the Field

What the Helena Issue #8 February 24th-28th

Toplines: The Pre-Transmittal Frenzy; Up Next in Attacks to the Judiciary; Plus, Watch List + Wins   Events, Rallies and Gatherings Saturday, March 8th from 3-5pm – Join our partners at Empower MT will be holding a LGBTQ+ Teen Clothing Swamp at the Center in Missoula.  Monday, March 10 from 6-7pm PM Wilson Hall, Bozeman-…

What the Helena 2025

What The Helena #7 February 17th-21st

Toplines: Session Vibe Check; Hands off our Voting Rights; Watch List +Wins  Events, Rallies and Gatherings Forward Montana legislative team will have our final zoom event next week. We’ll walk you through what’s happening at the Legislature around housing policy, share how to give public comment, and answer any questions you have about the session!…

What the Helena 2025

What The Helena #6 February 10th-14th

Toplines: Slate of Hate, Republicans Attack MEPA, Big Things Coming Our Way; Plus our Watchlist + Wins  Events, Rallies and Gatherings Forward Montana legislative team will be hosting a series of zoom events. We’ll walk you through what’s happening at the Legislature around LGBTQ+ Rights, Reproductive Rights and Housing!  Stand with us to protect our…

What the Helena 2025

What the Helena #5 FebruaRY 3RD-7TH

Toplines: Hate of Our State (pt. 3), Attacks on Reproductive Health Care, and A Senate in Disarray (pt. 2) + What We Are Watching  At the time of publishing this newsletter the links to the ‘bill text’ were not working on the legislative website.  As we ask you to continue giving public comment, virtually testifying,…

What the Helena 2025

What the Helena #4 January 27th-31st

Toplines: The Hate of our State (pt 2);Indigenous Justice for Kids, Culture, and Resiliency; Updates + A Couple Wins Events, Rallies and Gatherings In Billings at the MetraPark February 1st & 2nd, starting 10am there will be a peaceful protest against the Yellowstone County commissioners’ willingness to use the MetraPark for immigrant detainment Join us…

Notes from the Field

Reflecting on My Journey at Forward Montana

I’m filled with so many mixed emotions writing this! It’s becoming very real that this is my last week at Forward Montana. When I first accepted this position in 2019, I knew that I would be in the role for 3-5 years – just the right amount of time to have an impact while also…