The Story Behind the Current
The Missoula Current launched in 2015 as a digital news journal. It was founded on the belief that local news matters and that the greater Missoula region needed more reporting, more perspectives and more journalistic competition.
As part of its mission, the Missoula Current focuses its coverage on business and the environment, local and state government, Montana’s congressional delegation, and the region’s rapid growth and development. Our team members are deeply ingrained in the local community and have been for years, and together we look to provide readers with a full and accurate picture of what’s going on across Missoula and the Northern Rockies.
To fund the Missoula Current and is related publications, including Montana Today and Missoula Business Weekly, we rely on the support of our advertising sponsors and donations from readers. If you’re interested in partnering with the Missoula Current, contact our Director of Development at sales@missoulacurrent.com or 406-493-6296.
Meet our Team
Martin Kidston, Founding Editor
A Colorado native and non-fiction author, Martin moved to Montana in 1994 after serving in the Marine Corps, including the first Gulf War. A graduate of the University of Montana, he went to work in the newspaper industry in 1998 and logged 17 years with Lee Enterprises in Montana and Wyoming, including the Helena Independent Record, the Billings Gazette and the Missoulian. He launched the Missoula Current in December 2015 and spends his free time on his paddle board, hiking and dabbling as an artist.
Lisa Vachio, Director of Development
Lisa Vachio is a Missoula business owner who relocated from Oregon to Montana in 1995. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1989 and has been self employed for more than 20 years. In addition to her business endeavors, Lisa is passionate about her involvement in the Missoula community and is active in several organizations, including the Missoula Businesswomen’s Network, Missoula Community Theater and Hellgate Lacrosse. Lisa enjoys spending her free time with friends and family, and partaking in Missoula’s recreation and cultural offerings.
Sherry Devlin, Reporter
Sherry Devlin is a longtime Montana journalist, having worked as the Missoulian’s natural resources reporter for 25 years, then a dozen years as the newspaper’s city editor and editor-in-chief. Her career also included stints reporting forthe Spokesman-Review and Chronicle in Spokane, Wash.; the Associated Press in Spokane; the Longmont (Colorado) Daily Times-Call; and the Summit County Journal in Breckenridge, Colorado. She has a bachelor of science degree in news-editorial journalism from the University of Colorado, and has taught reporting and advanced reporting for the University of Montana School of Journalism.
Laura Lundquist, Reporter
After stints as an Air Force and airline pilot, Laura Lundquist yearned to return to her home state of Montana. With her engineering and biology background, she landed in Missoula in 2001 and got a job with an environmental consulting company but was laid off during the economic downturn in 2008. A friend recommended the University of Montana environmental journalism master’s program. Since graduating in 2010, Laura has covered the environmental beat in Twin Falls, Idaho, and Bozeman, in addition to a year of a court reporting in Hamilton. Laura freelances for the Montana Outdoors and Montana Quarterly magazines and spends her free time playing music and exploring Montana’s mountains and rivers.
Mari Hall, Reporter
A Billings native with long family ties in Great Falls, Montana, Mari attended the University of Montana in Missoula, receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism along with a minor in Spanish and English. She studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico for a semester and was a reporter for the 2018 Native News Project, exploring the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation’s developing food systems through the University of Montana School of Journalism. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing fiction, and spending time with friends and family.
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