Earlier this month, Alani Bankhead basically came out of nowhere to win the Democratic nomination in Montana’s U.S. Senate race.

Bankhead is a self-described military brat who lived all over the country before settling down in Montana. She says Montana is the first place she chose to live.

Now, she is in a four-way race to replace outgoing Sen. Steve Daines. She will run against Republican nominee Kurt Alme, Libertarian candidate Kyle Austin and independent Seth Bodnar in the November election.

Bankhead got in the race because she feels like it is her duty to fight for the people of Montana. That comes after serving more than 21 years in the Air Force, where she wore many hats. That includes hunting terrorists with special operations, chasing spies internationally, and serving as a senior bodyguard for one of the top Pentagon leaders.

Since Bankhead is such an unknown, rumors spread that she was running a campaign to help Bodner, who has support from former Democratic Montana senators. Some speculated openly that she was going to drop out of the race when her campaign announced a major event Monday at University of Montana Oval.

Instead, Bankhead came out swinging at Bodnar, pointing out his many allegations of sexual discrimination as the president of the University of Montana.

To paraphrase Dr. Evil, she had me at hello.

That night, I sent her a Facebook message to share my story of Bodnar. I told her how he and his staff refused to protect my daughter, her roommates and other female students at the University of Montana from a female sexual predator and stalker. He could not be bothered to even answer a phone call or email. Jon Krakauer might have to write a sequel.

That conversation led to Bankhead agreeing to be a guest on the ButteCast, and we met up for a great conversation over Zoom on Thursday morning.

Listen in as Bankhead shares some of her experiences from the military and why she chose to live in Montana. Listen as she talks about the sense of duty that got her in this race.

Listen in to hear that she has a history of standing up to bullies and defending people who cannot defend themselves.

Listen in to hear a great American underdog story.

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This episode is also available on YouTube.

The 79th Montana East-West Shrine Game will be played Saturday at Naranche Stadium in Butte.

Captains for the Westside were voted on by the players and named Wednesday night. Those captains are Hagen Paddock of East Helena, Evan Pyron of Missoula Hellgate, Henry Griffin of Frenchtown and Asher Knopik of Kalispell Glacier.

Knopik and Paddock are the offensive captains. Knopik will play running back for the Westside, but he will be a linebacker at Montana Tech. Paddock will play receiver for the West and Carroll College.

Pyron and Griffin are the defensive captains. Both will play defensive line for the West. Pyron will play the same position at the University of Montana, while Griffin will compete in track & field at Montana State.

I met with the four captains after their selection in the Team Room of the Metals Sports Bar & Grill. I talked with Knopik and Paddock before talking with Pyron and Griffin.

Then, we caught up with all six coaches on the Westside staff. First up were head coach Tyler Murray and J.D. Ferris of East Helena. Then Dan Lacey of Anaconda and Connor Sullivan of Three Forks joined in before Jim Hogan of Helena Capital and Seth Mason of Frenchtown.

We caught up with Shriners Wynn Randal and Joe Sidor before closing the show with West team coordinator Jeff Hartwick.

Make sure to check out the parade, which starts Saturday at 10 a.m. in Uptown Butte. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. If you can’t make it to Naranche, you can watch on the local CBS stations.

Make sure to call in the telethon for a donation, too.

Today’s podcast is presented by the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kvichak Fish Co. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Think of it as salmon and halibut gone Girl Scout cookie. Place your order today.Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠timmontana.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more from Bill Foley, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ButteCast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.