David Madison
David Madison is an award-winning journalist and documentary producer based in Bozeman, Montana. He’s also reported for Wyoming PBS. He studied journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has worked at news outlets throughout Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana.
Latest from David Madison
Along Montana-Canada Border, Tariffs Could Spike Prices For Beer, Fishing Lures
A lot of commerce flows across the 545 miles of border between Montana and Canada. With promised 25% tariffs going into effect Tuesday, locals expect prices for all kinds of things to spike, including beer and fishing lures.
David MadisonMarch 04, 2025
Bill Moving Through Montana Legislature Would Let Parents Sue Over Drag Shows
Wyoming lawmakers recently chose not to advance a bill outlawing the use of public money for drag shows. Across the border in Montana, a bill is moving through the Legislature that would let parents sue over "hypersexualized" shows.
David MadisonMarch 03, 2025
Country Music Stars Launching New Field & Stream Branded Hotel In Montana
Country music stars Eric Church and Morgan Wallen are building a Field & Stream-themed lodge in the middle of hotel boom in Bozeman, Montana. It promises guests a throwback summer camp experience filled with the magazine’s outdoors nostalgia.
David MadisonMarch 02, 2025
Montana, Wyoming Top List Of Fastest-Selling Real Estate Markets
A new real estate report shows Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska are the fastest-selling real estate markets in the nation. Inventory in Wyoming is very low -- ranging from 1.79% in Natrona County to 2.05% in Sweetwater County to 5.63% in Park County.
David MadisonMarch 02, 2025
New Study Adds Momentum To Return Of Passenger Rail To Wyoming, Montana
A January report from the Federal Railroad Administration recommends restoring Amtrak routes across the West, including through Cheyenne. It specifically recommended passenger train travel across southern Wyoming and a north-south route to Billings.
David MadisonMarch 01, 2025
Girl Scouts Push Back On Claim That Cookies Have Unsafe Levels Of Weed-Killer Chemical
Going up against Joe Rogan is no easy task, but that's what the Girl Scouts are doing after he discussed a study that called its cookies "toxic." The Girl Scouts of Wyoming and Montana told Cowboy State Daily the cookies are "very safe to eat."
David MadisonMarch 01, 2025
Montana Credit Union Worker Replaced $340,000 In Vault With Fake Money
When a credit union employee needed cash to feed his gambling habit, he bought fake cash from an online prop money company and swapped it with real bills in the vault. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to replacing $340,000 over seven months.
David MadisonFebruary 27, 2025
Montana Bill Would Charge Women With 'Abortion Trafficking' For Going Out Of State
A Montana bill would charge women with abortion trafficking for seeking abortions in other states. Opponents flooded a Wednesday hearing claiming overreach, supporters say it's needed to keep minors from being taken for secret abortions.
David MadisonFebruary 26, 2025
Legislature Making It Harder For Power Companies To Take Land For Power Lines
A bill landed on Gov. Mark Gordon's desk Tuesday that makes it harder for power companies to use eminent domain in Wyoming to take land to build power lines. Legislators say the goal is to protect property rights while preserving energy production.
David MadisonFebruary 25, 2025
Montana Man Gets 110 Years For Crashing Homemade Truck Bomb Into Neighbor’s House
A neighborhood feud turned into a scene from “Mad Max” when a Montana man transformed his truck into a firebomb on wheels and sent it crashing into a neighbor’s house. He was sentenced earlier this month to 110 years in prison for attempted murder.
David MadisonFebruary 25, 2025
‘Nuclear Verdicts’ Against Big Ski Resorts Could Price Mom-And-Pop Areas Out Of Business
A widow suing the world-famous Sun Valley Resort in Idaho over the death of her husband could end with a “nuclear verdict” that could spike insurance rates across the industry. That could price mom-and-pop areas like those in Wyoming out of business.
David MadisonFebruary 23, 2025
Strange On The Range: Wyoming Comic Artists Create Eclectic Compilation Of Wild & Weird
Strange on the Range is a new underground publication that features an eclectic mix of Wyoming comic artists. The hard-copy magazine is dedicated to the work of Wyoming comic illustrators.
David MadisonFebruary 23, 2025
Wyoming Only State Not Sending A Pinball Wizard To North American Championships
A budding pinball scene fizzled out a few years ago in Cheyenne, which means Wyoming will be the only state without someone competing at the North American Championships. But a Cinderella pinball wizard from Montana is going full-tilt to earn a title.
David MadisonFebruary 23, 2025
Environmentalists Known As “Tree-Hugging Hunters” Want More Yellowstone Bison Hunted
A group of environmentalists who describe themselves as “tree-huggers who hunt," are uniting around a message that might surprise some: They say it’s time to hunt and kill more bison outside Yellowstone National Park.
David MadisonFebruary 23, 2025
To Boost Bee Immune Systems, Researchers Strap In Honeybees For Live Test Flights
Viruses spread through honeybee hives like the flu virus in a crowded waiting room. Looking to boost bee immune systems, researchers are examining the impact of viruses on honeybee flight performance and testing supplements.
David MadisonFebruary 22, 2025
Jackson Hole Girls Basketball Snaps 79-Game Losing Streak With Last Second 3-Pointer
In a home game against Riverton, four seniors for Jackson Hole High School had never won a high school basketball game until a sophomore sharpshooter sunk a clutch 3-pointer Thursday. The 35-32 win snapped the Broncs’ 79-game losing streak.
David MadisonFebruary 22, 2025
House Committee Kills Bill To Store Radioactive Waste In Wyoming
A House committee rejected a proposal Wednesday to build small nuclear power plants. Assurances that the legislation would not bring radioactive “green slime” to Wyoming weren’t enough to convince committee members.
David MadisonFebruary 19, 2025
Wyoming And Montana Legislators Seek To Ban Lab-Grown Meat
Allusions to “Frankenstein” and “The Matrix” punctuate discussion of bills designed to protect “food traditions” and ban the sale of meat created in a laboratory. Wyoming and Montana are among states trying to ban it.
David MadisonFebruary 17, 2025
Cigar Bars Making A Comeback In A Post-Smoking World
Rocky Mountain states see stogie smoke rising around a growing trend of opening more cigar bars and protecting local cigar shops with tax breaks. Wyoming and Montana both are pushing forward to promote the industry.
David MadisonFebruary 16, 2025
Subzero Camping 101 Required For All At Small Wyoming College
The Wyoming backcountry offers a snowy campus for instructor-led expeditions into the Tetons at Wyoming Catholic College. Students are required to complete a course in subzero camping, and some even have fun.
David MadisonFebruary 15, 2025
In Montana, If You Kill Someone In A Duel, You Have To Provide For His Family
Montana legislators are taking aim at an antiquated law that says if you kill or maim someone in a duel, you have to then provide for his family. That it’s still on the books elicited laughter from the Legislature when the bill to repeal the law was introduced.
David MadisonFebruary 15, 2025
Montana Legislature Requires Public Bathroom Use Determined By Birth Sex
A law requiring bathroom use to correspond with a person’s sex organs at birth passed the Montana Legislature on Monday. Supporters say it will protect women and girls, while detractors worry it will only cause confusion.
David MadisonFebruary 13, 2025
Paranoid Montana Man Draws Prison Time For Pointing Laser At Aircraft
When a Kalispell, Montana, man became convinced he was being followed by low-flying aircraft, he laser-blasted a flight instructor. She used her plane to help police make an arrest, and now he’ll spend 2.5 years in prison.
David MadisonFebruary 11, 2025
It's Not Your Imagination: The Jerky Meat Industry Is Exploding
Riverton's Brian Tucker saw the writing on the wall in the booming jerky industry. His company, which focuses on the do-it-yourself jerky-makers, is one of the largest in the world. It's a $6 billion industry and could grow to $10 billion in the next 7 years.
David MadisonFebruary 09, 2025
Inside the Smoke Shack Underworld At A Ski Resort Near You
You won't find any smoke shacks listed on a trail map, but they're there. Across the Rocky Mountain West, fort building ingenuity lives on in the shadows of ski areas where friends gather to defog their goggles and fill makeshift structures with marijuana smoke.
David MadisonFebruary 08, 2025
Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner” TV Show Premieres Saturday Featuring Wyoming Parks
A documentary series premiering on Fox Nation this Saturday explores connections between two of the first national parks, and it follows up Costner’s unscripted project “Yellowstone: One-Fifty.”
David MadisonFebruary 07, 2025
Montana GOP Pushes To Display Ten Commandments At Public Schools
Debate is heating up in the Montana Legislature over a bill that would require putting the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state. Republicans are pushing the bill, while Native Americans want to include the “Indian Ten Commandments.”
David MadisonFebruary 03, 2025
Sagebrush Murder Mystery Reveals Two Potential Killers Of Range Plant
In Montana’s Centennial Valley, a sagebrush die-off triggered an investigation into what was killing this anchor species of the open range. The killers turned out to be insects native to the sagebrush seas of the West.
David MadisonFebruary 02, 2025
Montana Drug Trafficker Who Wouldn’t Flip Accused Of Bear Spraying Girlfriend
When a drug smuggler busted in Butte, Montana, wouldn’t flip and become an informant, he went on the run. Then a domestic violence call revealed the true scope of his crime spree, including bear-spraying a girlfriend.
David MadisonJanuary 31, 2025
Wyoming Trainer Helps With Rescue Of 86 Neglected Morgan Horses In Montana
When a Montana horse breeder allegedly stopped caring for his herd of Morgans, a pair of ranch hands alerted authorities. A Wyoming trainer has been part of the rescue effort to save 86 neglected Morgans.
David MadisonJanuary 30, 2025
Senate Easily Passes Resolution For Wyoming To Be Part Of A Convention Of States
The state Senate easily passed a resolution Tuesday 22-7 for Wyoming to become part of a growing convention of states movement under the Constitution. In the meantime, a committee killed a bill that would have called for congressional term limits.
David MadisonJanuary 29, 2025
Arrival Of 2 New Businesses Means There’s More Than A Bar In Tiny Pony, Montana
The remote former mining town of Pony, Montana, went bust more than 100 years ago. But the recent arrival of two new businesses downtown, this picturesque outpost at the foot of the Tobacco Root Mountains is experiencing a new kind of boom.
David MadisonJanuary 25, 2025
Drinking Wyoming: The Kitsch, One-Time-Trendy Aprés Ski Cocktails Time Forgot
The 50s, 60s, and 70s were the highpoint of the Après Ski scene -- the post-slope, happy-hour tradition of sipping adult beverages and tasting fondue, preferably while wearing a turtleneck. Here’s a sampling of three classic cocktails, one from each decade of après ski’s golden era.
David MadisonJanuary 25, 2025
Montana Pastor Used His “Karate Lessons” To Sexually Assault At Least One Child
A small-town Montana church pastor was convicted last week of sexually assaulting a child and has been accused of another. He used the self-defense “karate lessons” he taught to get close enough to abuse his victims, court documents say.
David MadisonJanuary 23, 2025
Wyoming Filmmakers Join Campaign To Increase Montana Production Tax Incentives
After failing to convince Wyoming lawmakers to enact tax incentives for filmmakers, two brothers from Sheridan are taking their plans to build a production studio to Montana.
David MadisonJanuary 22, 2025
Montana Bill Would End Online Certificates For Emotional Support Animals Sight Unseen
A Montana state senator says it’s too easy to log online, pay a fee and get a certificate to have an emotional support animal. He says that’s unfair to landlords who are forced to accept these animals, whether or not they really serve a medical purpose.
David MadisonJanuary 21, 2025
Growing Pains In Big Sky, Montana’s Exclusive Playground For The Rich And Famous
Big Sky is Montana’s exclusive playground for the rich and famous. It’s also one of the fastest-growing areas in the region, bringing on growing pains that includes lack of access to a hospital landowners pay taxes for.
David MadisonJanuary 19, 2025
Montana State Rodeo Team Invited To Be In Trump’s Inaugural Parade
A contingent from the Montana State University rodeo team will be part of the Inaugural Parade for President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Monday. They wrangled six local horses and a wagon for the event. UPDATE: After this story was posted, it was announced that because of a forecast for extreme weather and cold for Monday, the inaugural plans in Washington, D.C., have been moved inside. The school issued a statement thanking the organizers for the invitation.
David MadisonJanuary 18, 2025
Rock Climbers Want Legislature To Make It Easier For Landowners To Allow Access
Rock climbers are urging the Legislature to make it easier for landowners to allow access to some of Wyoming’s best climbing areas. A bill would specifically say landowners who allows rock climbers onto their property won’t be liable if they’re hurt.
David MadisonJanuary 17, 2025
Montana Fitness Guru Faces Jail For Selling Unapproved Drugs To Fight Man Boobs
A Montana fitness-based business owner faces jail time for illegally selling bodybuilding drugs that fight "man boobs." He pleaded guilty to selling drugs not approved by the FDA, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.
David MadisonJanuary 15, 2025
California Couple Builds House In Glacier National Park Without Permission
A California couple built a house inside Glacier National Park in late 2022 without permission or permits. Now they’re suing to keep officials from tearing the house down.
David MadisonJanuary 12, 2025
Like It Or Not, Self-Driving Semi-Trucks Are Inevitable; Montana Company Leading The Way
Self-driving technology for the trucking industry is evolving quickly. Many of those advances originate in Montana through a company that researched autonomous trucking technology on the treacherous Lone Peak in Montana.
David MadisonJanuary 11, 2025
Montana Trans Bill Goes Beyond Bathrooms, Includes Prisons And College Campuses
Montana’s Legislature heard testimony Friday on what could become one of the most far-reaching transgender bills in the nation. House Bill 121 goes beyond requiring use of bathrooms by sex at birth at schools, it includes all public spaces.
David MadisonJanuary 10, 2025
People Keep Leaving California, But Fewer Moving To Wyoming, U-Haul Reports
Fewer newcomers made their way to Wyoming and Montana in 2024, but the stream of transplants continues into Idaho. That’s according to data reported by U-Haul, which also reports California is the place people most want to leave.
David MadisonJanuary 08, 2025
Montana Sues To Reduce Number Of Bison In Yellowstone National Park By Half
Montana Gov. Gov. Greg Gianforte wants to throw out Yellowstone National Park’s new bison management plan and reduce the park’s bison’s population by half. He’s suing to make that happen, claiming Yellowstone is mismanaging its bison.
David MadisonJanuary 08, 2025
Huge Second Half From Montana State’s Touchdown Tommy Not Enough To Win FCS Title
Montana State University quarterback Tommy Mellott lived up to his nickname Touchdown Tommy in the second half of Monday’s FCS title game. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a big North Dakota State lead, losing 35-32.
David MadisonJanuary 07, 2025
Wyoming Man Took Jimmy Carter Fishing After He Lost Election To Reagan
A Wyoming man remembers the time in 1981 when he guided Jimmy Carter on a fishing vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The former president had just lost to Reagan, so Steve Winters and his wife took him fishing and fed the Carters homemade tamales.
David MadisonJanuary 03, 2025
Former Montana Official Accused Of Using State Money For Tattoo, Divorce And Rent
Montana’s top official responsible for preserving historic sites is accused of stealing up to $300,000 in a kickback scheme. He allegedly used the money to get a tattoo, pay his divorce fees, take a fishing trip and rent a condo.
David MadisonJanuary 03, 2025
Video Of Rodeo Horse From Cheyenne Drowning In Montana Triggers Investigation
A horse from Cheyenne was bought by a Montana college rodeo rider, but drowned in a pond before they got to compete together. A disturbing video of the drowning posted last week has infuriated locals, triggered an investigation and prompted demands for justice.
David MadisonJanuary 01, 2025
Most Of Wyoming’s New Year’s Fireworks Sales Are To Folks From Other States
Wyoming fireworks stands report steady business from Colorado ahead of New Year’s Eve, but some stores say the upcoming New Year’s holiday is a dud.
David MadisonDecember 30, 2024
Montana’s Big Sky Resort Surges Ahead Of Jackson Hole In Lift Capacity Race
Big Sky Resort in Montana continues to compete with nearby Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for upscale ski clientele. It has surged ahead of its Wyoming neighbor with the opening of Madison 8, the longest eight-place chairlift in the world.
David MadisonDecember 29, 2024
Gallatin County, Montana, Is Drunkest County In America
A new CDC study shows that 27% of people who live in Gallatin County, Montana, drink to excess, making it the drunkest county in America. Nearby Teton County in Wyoming isn't far behind, dubbed the booziest in the Cowboy State.
David MadisonDecember 28, 2024
Big Joe Almost Died In A Mud Hole, Now The Idaho Ranch Horse Is Working Again
Big Joe was just an average working ranch horse until he got stuck in a muddy death trap in an Idaho pasture. He came close to death, but now is back to working on the ranch.
David MadisonDecember 28, 2024
Rupert Murdoch Feeds His Montana Cows Seaweed To Make Them Burp And Fart Less
Cattle are a gassy lot, but seaweed has been shown to reduce the methane in their burps and farts on Rupert Murdoch’s Montana ranch. The Fox News mogul is testing the approach on a mix of Angus and Waygu cattle.
David MadisonDecember 27, 2024
Idaho Tops 2 Million Population For First Time, Wyoming Still Below 600,000
Idaho has topped 2 million people for the first time, showing double-digit population growth. That outpaces Wyoming, which remains the least populated state with fewer than 600,000 people.
David MadisonDecember 26, 2024
Holidays At Four Corners, Montana: Christmas Crack And Gourmet Meat
Not hip enough for a Christmas stroll and about as scenic as a Costco parking lot, Four Corners, Montana, is home to Bozeman’s ugliest building and under-the-radar holiday traditions. But the Christmas Crack is worth the stop.
David MadisonDecember 25, 2024
Wyoming Experiencing Referee Shortage; Some Say Fan Abuse To Blame
A referee shortage is causing scheduling issues across Wyoming as high schools have trouble finding referees. Some say poor sportsmanship is making it harder to recruit new referees and keep experienced officials.
David MadisonDecember 23, 2024
Montana State’s Touchdown Tommy Leads Wyoming Supporting Cast Into FCS Title Game
Montana State University punched its ticket into the FCS championship game Saturday with a dominating 31-17 win over South Dakota. Quarterback Tommy Mellott, aka Touchdown Tommy, led a supporting cast that includes four Wyoming players.
David MadisonDecember 22, 2024
Hard To Imagine Now, But High Schools Used To Have Smoking Areas
It's hard to imagine now, but high schools across the country used to have designated smoking ares for students who liked to light up. At Cheyenne's East High, that was the courtyard outside the cafeteria.
David MadisonDecember 21, 2024
Fueled By Wyoming Talent, Montana State Guns For National FCS Championship
If undefeated Montana State University wins a national FCS title this season, it will have Wyoming fingerprints all over it. The Bobcats feature a host of former Wyoming high school players and are coached by a longtime UW assistant.
David MadisonDecember 20, 2024
Barrasso Says Targeting Gas Exports Act Of A “Bitter Administration On Its Way Out”
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso doesn’t like a Tuesday U.S. Department of Energy report calling for fewer exports of liquified natural gas. He calls it “a biased study from a bitter administration on its way out the door.”
David MadisonDecember 19, 2024
Disappearing Creek In Montana Reveals How Deep Water Fights Can Get In The West
When water in a southwest Montana creek disappeared, a couple fought all the way to the Montana Supreme Court and won. It shows how deep water fights can get in the West.
David MadisonDecember 17, 2024
12 Years In Prison For Fugitive Montana Meth Trafficker With Massive Arsenal
A Montana man who became a fugitive after he was caught with a massive cache of weapons and meth has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. He also was breaking into storage units while running his drug dealing business from an upscale neighborhood.
David MadisonDecember 16, 2024
Controversial Montana Land Developer Has A New Big Project, But No Land
After a failed luxury community project, Robert Rule is back pitching a grandiose Montana land development. This time, he wants to build a community for veterans, but the controversial developer has just one problem — he has no land.
David MadisonDecember 01, 2024
Montana Principal Pleads No Contest To Blocking Police Investigation Of Teacher
A Montana school principal and former candidate for the state’s top education post pleaded no contest Tuesday to blocking a police investigation into a teacher. Prosecutors didn’t buy her claim she hindered police to protect parental rights.
David MadisonNovember 27, 2024
Montana Sen. Pushes To Get Redskins Logo Back, Native American Group Says He Didn't Push Hard Enough
Montana Sen. Steve Daines has led the way in trying to get the original Redskins logo back for the now Washington Commanders but a Native American group -- which wants the name and the logo back -- says he hasn't pushed hard enough.
David MadisonNovember 26, 2024