A Year in Review: 10 Highlights from 2025

Dear Listener,

At the first of every year I journal about highlights from the past year and what I'm looking forward to in the new year. While we're a few weeks into January already, I wanted to share some Reframing Rural milestones we're celebrating from 2025, my first year back to the podcast after staying home with my son after he was born in 2024.

The major highlight has been launching Reframing Rural's fourth season, Succession Stories, created in collaboration with the celebrated rancher-led nonprofit, Winnett ACES.(Thanks Yellowstone Public Radio for your story this week about the new season!)

Last year we also started working on Season Five (a bit more on that below)!

Thank you for being part of this journey. I didn't know when I created Reframing Rural as a graduate school project at Seattle University in 2019, that I'd make four and now onto five seasons of the podcast. I'm endlessly grateful for everyone I've gotten to know throughout these years: collaborators, funders, listeners and guests alike.

Wishing you a healthy and happy year ahead,

Megan Torgerson

Reframing Rural Founder & Producer

10 Reframing Rural Highlights from 2025

Season 4: "Succession Stories"

Aging farmer demographics, rising land values, climate change and farm stress are creating a challenging environment for the successful transfer of farms and ranches to the next generation. Behind the legal, financial and familial considerations of farm and ranch transition, lies a wellspring of stories that do not often surface in conventional planning discussions. In Season Four, Reframing Rural unearths the stories laying beneath the logistics, stories from families navigating complex social and environmental factors as they work to preserve their agricultural way of life.

Hiring Madeline Jorden

Maddie Jorden joined the Reframing Rural team as an associate producer in July! She began her career working on a cattle ranch in E. Colorado, an experience that shaped her passion for telling stories about land, food, community and culture. She's now based in Missoula, where she received a master's in environmental journalism from UM. At Reframing Rural, she brings a love for amplifying rural voices and exploring how communities and landscapes shape one another.

Speaking at Montana Farmers Union's Eastern Montana Women's Conference

In Feb., Megan and her family escaped a snowstorm on their way up to Malta where she interviewed Andrea Lien for Season 4, tried to get her son down for a nap and then delivered a speech for MFU!

Rural Plenary at the ServeMontana Symposium by AmeriCorps

Megan spoke to the most engaged group of AmeriCorps VISTAS in March in Helena. Over the course of an hour, she shared how her childhood on a farm and ranch in Northeast Montana shaped her as a storyteller, narrative frameworks that undo harmful rural stereotypes and the reporting she's done in the rural West on rural gentrification, regenerative agriculture and farm/ranch succession.

Speaking at Sheridan Electric Co-op's Annual Meeting

In October, Megan stepped back into the Medicine Lake School for the first time in nearly 20 years to share the origin story of Reframing Rural, its mission and the work that she has done through the podcast, as well as a community needs assessment she conducted for Red Ants Pants Foundation, that seek to celebrate rural Montana and further the resiliency of the state's most remote communities.

Collaborating with Winnett ACES on "Succession Expert Panel"

In October Reframing Rural and Winnett ACES convened more than 50 ranchers for a panel discussion on succession, featuring experts Dr. Marsha Goetting, Stacie Arntzen​, CPA and Michael Stolp. It was the first live podcast recording Reframing Rural has done, and it was published in December as a resource listeners could turn to after listening to the Succession Stories season.

Began reporting for Season 5: "Rural Motherhood" (Coming 2027)

In Sept., Reframing Rural story editor Mary Auld and Megan went to Dillon to report on the state of childcare in the Montana county with the largest geographical footprint. There they met with parents, providers, nonprofit leaders and childcare advocates. In Nov., Megan also went to White Sulphur Springs to report on maternal mental health and farm stress for the new season.

Fundraising wins for Season 5!

After the time it takes to produce a long-form narrative podcast, the next-most time consuming part of pulling off a project like Reframing Rural, is fundraising. But it is time that is very well spent! Before the end of the year we received our two largest grants so far: a $25,000 from Headwaters Foundation and $22,000 from Llewlyn Foundation, along with a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation toward Season 5! Thank you very very much for the support!

Montana Ag Network interview

Last year we had the privilege of being on Montana Ag Network during Women in Ag Month! Senior producer Eric Gaylord was a joy to work with and made the process of being interviewed on camera an enjoyable experience.

Moving back to Missoula!

A few days after Season 4 was released and just a few days before Christmas, Megan and her family moved back to Missoula, where they're closer to family and Reframing Rural's story editor and associate producer!