I founded The Bozeman Magpie in early 2010, though I’d been mustering courage for a long spell while working as a builder.  After a full calendar year of running the newspaper, a provocative highway stretch in Gallatin Canyon suggested that it was one of the best decisions of my life.  Even so, nothing compares to the time I share with my son, Dean, who stampedes over me at every chance, leaving a cloud of pride and laughter.

Fittingly, this Notre Dame grad has been like a Saint Peter of the Magpie – robust and proficient in his output of dynamic sermons.  A gutsy climber and endurance athlete, his rich trip reports and wildlife essays generated a loyal following (and at least one estrogen-charged stalker).  If ever you’re venturing off-trail in Montana, there may not be a more capable, studied, and affable guide.  Bakes up a heart-warming ziti dish, too.

A native of Billings, Dan got frisky with the lenswork while collaborating on Montana Surf, a seminal almanac for area kayakers.  Immortalizing friends and river escapades led to winter sports photography and the establishment of his namesake studio in Bozeman. For the future, Dan’s actively pursuing architectural shoots and more marketing work with big hitters like Patagonia and KAVU.  Last year, he lured schools of viewers to his ‘Focal Point’ photo essays, and we’re proud that a big chunk of the Magpie’s jaw-dropping banner images are Armstrong originals.

The unflagging do-gooder on staff, Kim has championed the cause of fellow Native Americans, Bozeman’s homeless, and those suffering from addiction, while she works part-time with the elderly.  A wife and mother of two wildcat, free-hearted children, Kim’s a Renaissance gal who’s always got her next three assignments figured out.  After family, her loves are poetry, religion and Reiki.

A fly-fishing guide and an academic?  It’s true; Eric’s got a master’s in ecology, ensuring clients quality fishing and an educational experience about natural life above and below the waterline.  When this Livingston-based outfitter isn’t netting massive trout or retooling the Montana Fish Bum Blog, he’s giving us much-needed internet tips.  (“SEO?  I thought that was a Ford...”)  In the off-season, look for Eric near good saltwater fishing, archery hunting elk, or up where the powder skiing can be had.

A Gallatin Valley native and a plucky veteran of the food service industry, she's our maestro on all things epicurean.  As Bozeman’s original restaurant reviewer, Bev's made it a personal mission to protect Montana diners from the fleecing imposters, the lazy sourpusses, and the just plain rotten.

“Ol’ Leatherneck” still hasn’t kicked the bucket (which means somebody owes me $30 and a Milka chocolate bar).  Born under the Big Sky and the spiritual leader of the Dirty Bird, Ike’s got a long view that’s only superseded by the oldest Ponderosa pines in western Montana, and he wields a pen even better than his trusty .270.  He may take a long time setting up, but it’s one-shot-and-down when this guy’s peering through the crosshairs.

Though we have begged, harangued and rubbed his face in southwest Montana snow reports, Dan insists on raising his family in Littleton, Colorado.  Another native Iowan who put his thumb out for the Magpie long haul, he’s the unsung and under-compensated hero behind our design and marketing.  Grace, his one-year old daughter, has robbed Denver’s trails and crags of a most ardent follower, and she shows no sign of giving his heart back.

Living rurally near McAllister, Montana, Cindy is the avid gardener behind the popular blog, petuniagirl. An earnest volunteer for Madison Farm-to-Fork, she has donated her time to USAID (State Department aid program), Aid to Artisans, the University of Maryland international job creation program, and CHF, International. Late in 2010, she took the reins as the Executive Director of Red Feather Development Group, an NGO building homes with America’s Native peoples.

Brad has come a long way from a knees-and-elbows wisecracker in suburban St. Louis.  Owner of Spindrift Films, he’s now a videographer/photographer specializing in high-altitude assignments.  After meeting his wife, Tonya, while at work in Everest base camp (each has summitted the world’s highest peak from both sides), the two operate an international guiding business that frequents Africa and the Himalayas. On those occasions when the passport ink has time to dry, the couple can be found scaling Colorado’s Boulder Canyon or giving motivational presentations.

Matt’s a former Chicago lawyer turned Wildlife Advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council.  Away from the front, he’s a committed outdoor sportsman when he isn’t notching national publishing credits or slumming with us.  Another contributing writer, Sarah is a “lover of all things art & design.” She’s the owner of SKS Art Company, the curators of private and corporate art collections as well as the promoters of emerging and established artists.  They live in Bozeman.

Among the Original Magpies who’ve been here since the pipedream days, Rob’s our “all-things-‘puter” expert.  That means he wrote the code that schleps this goat show at warp-speed around the stratosphere.  Doing business as RB Web Development and a top-notch beach volleyball player, Rob lives with his wife Angie back in the Olde Country: Iowa.  Honestly, we owe this guy more than we’d ever let him believe.