by Emily Freeman, HMHB Storytelling Coordinator and Mother Love Podcast Host

As Emily gears up for the release of new Mother Love episodes on the 2025 Montana Legislative session, she takes a moment to reflect on the process, and the people who shape it. 

The Montana State Capitol during Montana Zero to Five’s 2025 Have a Heart for Kids Day.

If global politics feel out of reach, or national policies don’t seem to reflect your immediate on-the-ground concerns, I urge you to consider taking a closer look at what happens at a state level. This link will let you peek into the meetings and hearings of the current Montana legislative session. Here, in a sea of navy-blue blazers – with the occasional pop of a floral dress, or a wild beard – you can watch the slow but compelling work of statecraft. It’s a masterclass in interpersonal communication, restrained conflict and decorum (well…most of the time).  

The humanity is heartening: the vulnerability of an unpolished legislator stumbling through what may be their first time reading aloud at the podium; the low-level Dad jokes; the look of someone who’s clearly not a lifetime suit-wearer, but has forced himself into one because that’s what it takes to play the game. And the game is an important one.  

These 120 legislators are engaged in future work – planting trees in whose shade they may never sit, as the old saying goes. And they’re also doing past work, as they attempt to shift legislation from previous sessions into greater alignment with current needs, through policy changes or formal acknowledgement. 

It can be easy to fixate on the legislators who appear to be working tirelessly and unapologetically around an issue that seems out of touch with the most pressing concerns of their constituents. Or those who seem to have a personal grudge against one of their colleagues and starts to lose hold on their ability to control it as the day goes on. And yet, for the most part, the people in these meetings seem like they truly want to work together, to listen and learn, so that they may collectively advance policies that will uplift Montana.  

In these meetings you’ll also see non-legislators, ordinary Montanans delivering personal testimony in support, or opposition, of a bill. Watch enough meetings and you might just see someone you know standing at the podium, or speaking through Zoom, doing the brave work of letting their voice be heard in order to make change. I challenge you not to be moved by some of these testimonies: by the mom who drove halfway across the state to share about a challenge she faced with her child, and how a certain program or policy helped; by the advocate speaking on behalf of those who can’t do so on their own, but whose security hangs in the balance; by people who know firsthand what it means for state funding to make or break a life.  

Come for the feels, stay for the unintentional moments of comedy: the hot mic, the late-afternoon popcorn-munching in the back row of the House, the wrong button pushed, the sheepish apology. Legislative session meetings might just wind up being your new favorite reality show. 

Last session, I came to Helena in my role as Executive Director of the Early Childhood Coalition of Beaverhead County, participating in an advocacy day hosted by Zero to Five Montana. I’d lived in Montana for over a decade, and yet the legislative session had never felt accessible or — to be perfectly honest — all that interesting. But on that February day, standing in the rotunda, which in itself is a transformative experience (the architectural interiors of the statehouse are next level), watching ordinary people speak about their experiences navigating the early parenting years, entreating their legislators to take their concerns seriously, and thanking them for the ways that they already had, I realized that this experience truly is for everyone. Every Montanan, whether you’ve been here a week or a lifetime, is entitled to participate in the legislative session, in whatever capacity feels right to you.  

Session Voices guest, Mary Collins, testifying about HB360.

Political involvement can look like everything from traveling to Helena to speak at a podium, to leaving a voicemail, to simply making an effort to get to know the legislators from your own community when they’re not at work in Helena. Whether or not you voted for them, they’re now installed in their role to hear your concerns, your priorities, and your hopes for the future of our state. You don’t have to be a policy expert, or know the details of bills, in order to be involved (although if you are interested in doing so, this bill tracker is excellent and easy to navigate). 

My goal with “Session Voices”, the new Mother Love podcast miniseries, is to bring you guests who’ll help us all to understand the legislative landscape a bit more, and to explain the ways in which we can be a part of the process, whether it’s during the 90 days of the 2025 session, or during the many months and interim year between sessions, when laws aren’t made, but relationships can be. You’ll hear voices from across the legislative ecosystem, from policy experts to parents, and will hopefully gain a bit more understanding of how it all works, and how much of it is within your reach. You can find Mother Love on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Our first episode, with Mary Collins from the University of Montana’s Center for Children, Families and Workforce Development, is live now, and on Monday you can hear my interview with Grace Decker, of Montana Advocates for Children. And if you have a great guest in mind (maybe it’s you!), feel free to reach out at stories@hmhb-mt.org.