Chelsi Moy– is a full-time Missoulian staff writer covering county government and part-time political junkie. She’s covered the Montana Legislature from cramped quarters of the Capitol basement, slept on the floor of the Yellowstone County Courthouse during the 2006 primary awaiting results in a close U.S. Senate race, and gets the warm-fuzzies on Election Day. The lifelong Montanan hails from Helena, likes jokes and powder days.
Keila Szpaller — I cover city government for the Missoulian, and when I tell people that, I often hear something like, “Gee, I’m sorry. That must be so boring.” Well, it’s anything but. Sometimes, people wear chicken costumes when they come to meetings. Other times, a city councilor thinks out of the box — and suggests that people pay for soccer fields based on how far they tip the bathroom scale. Like, big guys should pay more than kids. Some of that stuff ends up in the newspaper, but plenty of tidbits don’t. Some of it’s important, and some of it’s amusing. Now, a lot of it will end up here on RedTape — and so will experiences with red tape. (Snip, snip.)
I started covering city government for the Missoulian in January 2007. Sometimes, nonprofit news lands in my lap, too. Every once in a while, I write about Allen, the dog. (Likes: hiking and eating mozzarella. Dislikes: having his paws pet and the vacuum.) Before landing here, I covered education for the Great Falls Tribune, and before that, was a staff reporter for the Missoula Independent.