Rachel Cramer

Bozeman Reporter

Rachel Cramer is YPR’s Bozeman-based reporter. While her roots are in the rolling hills of southwest Iowa, Rachel fell hard for Montana during family vacations. She started working for Montana Public Radio as a website assistant while finishing a master’s degree at the University of Montana, and joined the news team in 2017. As an evening newscaster and reporter, she covered issues ranging from wolf-rancher conflict solutions to tech start-ups. Later that year, she was selected for a fellowship with Crossing the Divide, a cross-country reporting project developed by the GroundTruth Project and WGBH. Rachel and four other early-career journalists covered divisions in five communities across the US, partnered with local news outlets and visited high schools. Before joining YPR, Rachel worked for Threshold, an award-winning public radio and podcast based in Montana.

Montana Businesses Apply For Second Round Small Business Loans

By • Apr 30, 2020
A manequinne in a black and white striped shirt shows in a window with a closed sign behind it.
Nicky Ouellet / Yellowstone Public Radio


Financial leaders in Montana say the majority of loan applications for the federal Paycheck Protection Program have been processed after some major roadblocks earlier in the week.

Montana Gubernatorial Debate Focuses On Agriculture, Rural Issues

By • Apr 27, 2020
Host Jim Sargent on the left, Democratic candidate Mike Cooney on the top right and Democratic candidate Whitney Williams on the bottom right during the virtual debate Apr. 27, 2020.
Montana Right Now

The Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primary candidates debated virtually Saturday on agriculture and rural issues, each facing off against their respective party members.

The debate was hosted by the Montana Farmers Union, state and national cattlemen’s associations, and Northern Plains Resource Council.

Women In Ranching Program Forges New Ways Of Connecting

By • Apr 23, 2020
Participants in one of the Women in Ranching Circles gather at the J Bar L Ranch near Twin Bridges, Montana in August 2019.
Courtesy of the Women in Ranching Program

Ranching can be an isolating profession in a good year. But the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the few staples of social contact women ranchers rely on. A program led by a woman in Garfield County, Montana is forging new ways of connecting that will likely outlast the pandemic.

Montana Businesses Encouraged To Prepare As More Loans Become Available

By • Apr 23, 2020
The Ellen Theater in Bozeman, Montana, the evening of March 30, 2020.
Rachel Cramer/Yellowstone Public Radio

Montana financial leaders are encouraging business owners to get their ducks in a row as more funding for the federal Paycheck Protection Program was approved by Congress Thursday.

Tracie Kenyon, President and CEO of Montana's Credit Unions, says small businesses, as well as non-profit organizations and co-ops, will likely get a second chance to receive forgivable loans to pay employees.

Park Leaders, Gateway Communities Discuss Plan For Yellowstone Reopening

By • Apr 21, 2020
A sign near Gardiner, Montana, sits near the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, May 16, 2019.
Rachel Cramer / Yellowstone Public Radio


Yellowstone National Park is gathering input from gateway communities, governors and federal agencies to develop a gradual reopening plan. 

Expanded Tele-Health Services Could Continue Post-COVID, Health Professionals Say

By • Apr 21, 2020
The Partnership Health Center based out of Missoula.
Partnership Health Center website / Partnership Health Center


  Community health centers across Montana provide care to people who wouldn’t have access otherwise. While they’ve had to pivot with COVID-19, their expansion of tele-health and new ways of connecting with patients could stick around well after the current pandemic subsides.

Gallatin Health Department Planning For Gradual Reopening Of Businesses

By • Apr 17, 2020
A sign in the window of a restaurant in Bozeman, Montana outlines service options during COVID-19, Apr. 9, 2020.
Rachel Cramer/Yellowstone Public Radio

The Gallatin City-County Health Department said Friday it’s working with business owners and faith groups to coordinate a gradual reopening of non-essential services.

Montana Launches Housing Assistance Program For Families Affected By COVID-19

By • Apr 17, 2020
Apartment complex
(PD)

 

The Montana Department of Commerce announced Friday that families who have suffered substantial financial hardship as a result of COVID-19 may now apply for rental and security deposit assistance.

Emergency Loans Aim To Keep Montana Health Centers Running

By • Apr 16, 2020
A stock image of a doctor wearing a stethoscope.
PD / PD

Three Montana health care centers will receive a total of $1.4 million in the form of state emergency loans.

McCone County Health, a frontier critical access hospital and clinic in Circle, Glendive Medical Center, a critical access hospital for east central Montana and western North Dakota, and Alluvion Health, a community health center in Great Falls will receive short-term, low-interest emergency loans up to $500,000.

Yellowstone National Park Plans $40 Million Bridge Replacement

By • Apr 15, 2020
A closeup of the bridge taken on October 24, 2017.
Yellowstone National Park / Public Domain

 

Edit April 16: The article has been corrected to say the bridge is near Tower Junction. 

The National Park Service recently gave the green light for the replacement of a nearly 60-year old bridge in Yellowstone to improve visitor safety. 

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