Honorary Montanans: Famous Names Locals Claim

There are some people who will tell you that if you weren't born in Montana, you will never truly be a Montanan. For a lot of locals, that’s just the way it is. But then, there is this other side of it, where we start claiming people anyway.

Montana has a way of doing that.

The Power of Connection: Claiming Our Own

There are plenty of people who were born here and went on to do big things, and whether they talk about Montana or not, we still count them as ours.

Then there are those who haven’t been born here but have made a lasting impact on Montana. Someone like Mike Mansfield is an easy example. For someone who wasn’t born here; he was as Montana as it gets.

Honorary Montanans: Beyond Birthplaces

A few years back, we asked our listeners who they consider “Honorary Montanans”, and the list was filled with some amazing people with Montana ties. Huey Lewis, J.K. Simmons, and David Letterman were mentioned.

Since then, there have been a few people we have claimed as Montanans, even though they weren’t born here. Recently, astronaut Christina Koch, who lived in Montana for a few years before being chosen for the Artemis II program. The history-making astronaut has Montana ties, and some have claimed her as one of our own.

So, we posed the question again to our listeners to see who else we can claim as “Honorary Montanans.” Some of the names mentioned go way back in Montana’s history.