Kim Rudnigen is a mother of four, working as an environmental compliance officer in the oil and gas industry in Northeast Montana. In Reframing Rural's first episode, we'll learn from Kim what it is like to raise a family in a county where there are two people per square mile and how the Rudnigens are helping to reinvigorate the community surrounding Dagmar, MT.

Margaret Hoven and David Anderson moved to Plentywood, Montana from Washington D.C. 15 years ago. Northeastern Montana culture, political memory, change and the power of music are themes explored in this episode named after Margaret's original song "The Scary Prairie Will Not Get the Best of Me" from a play the couple co-wrote, "Dead Thing On the Wall."

Eddie Hentges grew up and later taught history on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Northeast Montana. A descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, he discusses the politics behind looking Native, the history of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and how he approaches teaching U.S. high school history through a multicultural and decolonial lens.

Ralph Summers is a mailman, bus driver, taxidermist and preacher living in Dagmar, Montana. In this episode, we explore the history of rural mail delivery, the value of neighbors, and what it means to have faith.

The Torgersons have farmed for as far back as the family has record of, at least the 1500s, but likely much longer. Beginning with the onset of industrialization, this episode tracks the story of a family who left Norway for the promise of a better life in America nearly 150 years ago, and how this family continues to preserve its farming legacy in Northeastern Montana despite a dwindling population, unpredictable weather and an unfavorable commodity market.

This special Mother's Day episode features Kay Brinkman and Renny Torgerson two old friends and rural Montana farm women who have lived in the Scandinavian farming community of Dagmar, since the 1970s. From braving a whiteout with a herd of cattle, to teaching in a two-room school house, these matriarchs are an example of the integral role women play in small towns and rural communities across the country.

In the final episode of Reframing Rural's inaugural season, founder Megan Torgerson recounts her experience leaving rural Montana to attend college in Missoula, her journey encountering and dismantling rural stereotypes, and why she is working to reframe the narrative on rural America. Offering a glimpse into Megan's childhood, this narrated essay explores how her rural roots informs her work today.