The number of calls the team responds to annually has increased about 140% from 2021 to 2025, from 1,300 to 3,130, with the team responding to an average of about eight or nine calls per day. Despite that indication of need, the team’s path to expanding hours is rocky and riddled with funding hurdles.
Author Archives: Katie Fairbanks
Katie Fairbanks covers Missoula politics, policy and social issues for MTFP Local. She is the author of the Missoula This Week newsletter, a deep-dive into local events and happenings. Before joining Montana Free Press in 2024, Katie worked as a newspaper reporter in North Dakota, a producer for NBC Montana’s KECI station, and spent five years as a health and local government reporter in Longview, Washington. She grew up in Livingston and graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism. Contact Katie at [email protected].
