City Desk
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By Mark Moran - Producer-Editor, Contact - Supported by/Underwritten
Big Sky Connection - Conservation advocates say they're investing in voter education efforts at the local level. Montana Conservation Voters is adding "boots on the ground" around the state. The latest effort is in Billings, where organizers are ramping up door knocking, mail and digital advertising. Comments Molly Bell, political director, Montana Conservation Voter and Jesc Gallegos (JESS-ee guy-AY-gos), lead Billings field organizer, Montana Conservation Voters.
Click on the image above for the audio. Montana consistently reports one of the highest voter turnout rates in the nation, and Montana Conservation Voters is trying to make sure it stays that way, with on-the-ground organizers across the state. (Adobe Stock)
Mark Moran
December 18, 2023 - Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund is upping its education efforts, adding field offices around the state and putting boots on the ground, even in Montana's frigid winter months.
The newest organizing campaign is in Billings.
The Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund has historically focused on issues like public land access and renewable energy. Now, it is expanding efforts to get that message out in Billings.
MCV's political director Molly Bell said it will use its newest field office to start important community conversations about climate and Montana's cherished natural resources.
"Out in the community," said Bell, "talking to neighbors to really launch a conversation in communities between neighbors - about how we can protect our clean air and water, create good paying jobs and lower energy costs."
In addition to knocking on thousands of doors, field organizers will include mail and digital ads focusing on conservation policy in Yellowstone, Gallatin and Flathead Counties.
The state Constitution guarantees Montanans the right to clean land, clean air and clean water.
But critics are convinced recent policy decisions are threatening those rights - and MCV's new Billings field organizer, Jesc Gallegos, said she hears from young Montanans who are worried about the state's future climate.
"Because we're living in such a confusing environment for young people," said Gallegos. "They're not necessarily sure who or what to believe, because they're just worried about, 'If I have a family, what is our world going to look like?' And that's a question that I get a lot."
Gallegos said being on the ground in local communities also makes field organizers uniquely positioned to deliver a compelling case to Montanans about the positive local impacts of recent federal legislation and investments.
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PNS - Monday, December 18, 2023 - Georgia election workers react to Giuliani's verdict. Lawmakers come under fire for questioning of Gaza. Michigan takes key steps to aid voting rights for formerly incarcerated people.
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By Mark Moran - Producer-Editor, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - The National Institutes of Health have awarded the University of Montana's Center for Translational Medicine $12.3 million as researchers pursue a vaccine for tuberculosis. While there are still thousands of cases a year in the United States, TB is widespread and often lethal in underserved parts of the world. Comments from Jay Evans, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana and chief scientific officer at Inimmune Corp. (Inimmune listed for financial disclosure).
Mark Moran
December 15, 2023 - Researchers at the University of Montana have been awarded more than more than $12 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue their work on a tuberculosis vaccine.
It is the latest step toward developing inoculation, which is especially important in the world's underdeveloped countries. The grant to the University of Montana's Center for Translational Medicine will be used to advance a promising vaccine candidate from the pretrial stage to clinical trials; the last stage before it is approved for clinical use.
Jay Evans, director of the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana and chief scientific officer at Inimmune, said tuberculosis remains a potent killer in many parts of the world.
"TB, now behind COVID, was the world's leading infectious disease killer worldwide," Evans reported. "And the only one that surpassed that was COVID and that was just for the last few years of the pandemic that we all just experienced."
All told, the National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $25 million to university and private researchers to develop a commercial tuberculosis vaccine, which -- due to testing and clinical trials to ensure safety and effectiveness -- could still be a decade away.
Evans acknowledged ready access to antibiotics has made tuberculosis less of a problem in the United States, but in underdeveloped parts of the world, it remains hard to manage, highly contagious and often lethal.
"In areas where TB is endemic and antibiotics aren't as broadly used and available for it, it's a huge problem," Evans explained. "A lot of the people walking around are carriers of TB, and when that progresses to pulmonary disease, oftentimes it's deadly, especially for those people who don't have access to antibiotics."
Evans added a vaccine will help get ahead of the antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis currently circulating. He and his fellow scientists have been pursuing a vaccine for 20 years.
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PNS - Friday, December 15, 2023 - The White House continues to pressure House GOP members to pass aid for Ukraine. Senators are renewing calls for stronger gun safety laws on Sandy Hook's 11th anniversary and New Jersey looks to boost voter participation.
