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Billings photographer receives congressional honor

Billings Gazette photographer and pilot Larry Mayer is shown with the Beartooth Mountains in Montana.
Markku Lahdesmaki
Billings Gazette photographer and pilot Larry Mayer is shown with the Beartooth Mountains in Montana.

A Billings photographer's work is now in the congressional record.

Larry Mayer, a photographer with the Billings Gazette, along with videographer Chase Doak, published the first photos of the suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated over Montana in February.

Mayer received a congressional citation from U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale.

Mayer says his recognition was for more than just his photos.

“I kept sending the pictures out and calling people and trying to figure out what this thing that I had photographed in the sky had to do with the airspace closures in Montana. So eventually they admitted that so that’s how that story broke,” he said.

The commendation is now part of the congressional record.

"It’s kind of cool just because it will be there forever and you'll be able to look those documents up into the future," Mayer said.

Mayer received a plaque he says he plans to hang in an upcoming exhibit at the Western Heritage Center in July.

Orlinda Worthington hosts “Morning Edition” weekdays on YPR. She brings 20 years of experience as Montana television news anchor, producer, and reporter.