Russell Cleveland grew up on a ranch near Stevensville, Montana, and after a stint in the Navy and a couple of corporate jobs, he became involved in children’s health care, opening dozens of clinics focused on childcare and enrichment in Colorado. The Cleveland family moved back to Montana in 2021 after the tragic death of their 13 year old daughter, Madison, who passed away in August of 2020 after losing her battle with Leukemia. In a commitment to honor Madison’s dream of living on a horse ranch in Montana, Russ and Kate bought land along the Clark Fork River, now known to the Saint Regis community as Madison Ranch. Now that he and his family are back in Montana, Cleveland has also been called to run for political office, choosing to oppose Ryan Zinke for the District One Congressional race.
Episode 48 - Russell Cleveland
Candidate for Congressional District One
May 20, 2025

The State of Montana
Montana has a long history of very complicated politics, often influenced by major corporations, as with the Copper Kings in our early history, or oil money. But we also have a strong track record of very progressive milestones, the most significant of which was the election of the first woman to ever serve in Congress, Jeanette Rankin. We also have what most constitutional historians consider one of the strongest state constitutions in the country. We have always boasted a very significant balance of power as well, but recently that has changed, and I want to understand why, and what can be done about it. So I'm going to interview some of our more high-profile citizens, not necessarily politicians, to explore this issue. My first guest will be Dorothy Bradley, who was the first woman to run for governor of the state. Dorothy just barely lost to Marc Racicot in 1992.
Montana has a long history of very complicated politics, often influenced by major corporations, as with the Copper Kings in our early history, or oil money. But we also have a strong track record of very progressive milestones, the most significant of which was the election of the first woman to ever serve in Congress, Jeanette Rankin. We also have what most constitutional historians consider one of the strongest state constitutions in the country. We have always boasted a very significant balance of power as well, but recently that has changed, and I want to understand why, and what can be done about it. So I'm going to interview some of our more high-profile citizens, not necessarily politicians, to explore this issue. My first guest will be Dorothy Bradley, who was the first woman to run for governor of the state. Dorothy just barely lost to Marc Racicot in 1992. Listen on
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