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
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