Jeannette Rankin

There are many reasons why no woman has been elected to federal office in Montana since Jeannette Rankin. But it largely begins with deeply rooted beliefs about where women belong and who should have power. Montana women say the challenges Rankin had to overcome are still largely present today. Learn more from them on this episode of The Big Why.

In 1916, four years before women nationwide won the right to vote, Montanans elected Jeannette Rankin to Congress. She served two nonconsecutive terms, retiring in 1943. Rankin was the first woman in the country – and the last woman in Montana – to hold congressional office. One listener wants to know why.

More than 100 years ago, Montana sent the first woman to Congress, before women had the right to vote. Jeannette Rankin blazed a trail for suffrage and the anti-war movement. Now, a new biography of Rankin's life and legacy is hitting shelves. MTPR's Austin Amestoy visited with author Lorissa Rinehart about her book.

This mini episode of ‘The Write Question’ is actually an excerpt of a much longer conversation with Lorissa Rinehart, author of ‘Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress,’ which publishes this Tuesday, November 4, 2025 (St. Martin’s Press). Absent from this excerpt, but included in the extended conversation, is Karen Sterk, the CEO of the Jeannette Rankin Foundation.

Lauren Korn chats with Karen Sterk, CEO of the Jeannette Rankin Foundation. The Foundation has partnered with the Masquer Theatre in Missoula to present a sneak peek of ‘We Won’t Sleep’ is a new musical about Jeanette Rankin.

MTPR'S Eric Whitney interviews WNYC's Mara Silvers, a Montana native, about the podcast episode she produced for WNYC's United States of Anxiety podcast,…

The five Democrats running to be their party’s candidate in the race for Montana’s U.S. House seat had a chance to do something a little different in…

On Saturday morning, a crowd some estimated at 10,000 gathered in Helena for the Women’s March on Montana, an event held in solidarity with the hundreds…

HELENA – The statue of Jeannette Rankin in the Montana State Capitol was dressed for the occasion on Election Day – not in bronze but in flowers.People…