An introduction is in order…
Hi. I’m Mark Thome, and I’m the publisher of this new adventure.
I was born & raised in Mitchell, South Dakota for my first 22 years. After that, I spent the next 30-some years living in Orange County, California (a dirty word to most Montanans, I know – please don’t crucify me for that, and I promise to not run for public office in this lifetime).
My in-laws moved from Boise to Missoula back in the mid-80’s, and my family spent most Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, and a bunch of summer trips relaxing and enjoying Missoula and the surrounding areas. At about 12:30 am on January 1st, 2000 (when the entire grid was supposed to go down) was the first time I left Missoula with tears in my eyes. Every time I left after that with the same issue, feeling rather verklempt, I started to awaken to the realization that maybe this is where I should call home. At that time, I was working for a weekly motorcycle publication and on the road about 42 weekends a year. After spending a bunch of years seeing just about every part of this great country, all that began to coalesce into my belief that this little teacup of a valley in western Montana is the best place in the United States to live. About seven years ago, I finally figured out how to make the leap. Since then, every day I wake up and get to participate in this community, I’m reminded how lucky I am – we all are – to live in Missoula. I love this place.
Last year, I was about as upset as everyone else I spoke with when our local alt-weekly newspaper was unceremoniously shut down by an out-of-state media company that had purchased it just a short time prior. It was clear that decision had as much to do with scooping up and eliminating its own strongest competitor, and had precious little to do with carrying forward the paper’s value as a much-loved and relied-upon community resource.
I was pissed off enough to decide to do something about it. After having a lot of conversations over beers with trusted and knowledgeable friends in town, making connections and chatting with numerous local business owners, gathering input from connections in the publishing, media, entertainment, arts, and food/beverage industries, the common thread of advice was “Do it!”. So, here it is, at least the beginning of The Missoula Underground – The MUG.
While this first column is a lot about me and my thoughts, The MUG is not much about me at all – except for all the things I love about Missoula, Montana – the stuff I think is pretty universally liked by everyone who lives and visits here. The top of that list is the people. This town is full of
fascinating characters – in a good way. I’ve often described Missoula to people who haven’t been here as being like the TV series “Portlandia”, with a mix of Austin, Portland, and Santa Cruz – all mixed together and put into an incredibly scenic mountain town.
Beyond that, we have an unbelievable amount of fantastic things to love about this place. The music scene – musicians, bands and venues. Microbreweries, distilleries, wineries and cideries. Coffee. Locally owned businesses. Outdoor activities numerous for all four seasons, and the bonus seasons we get in-between. Incredible mountains. Incredible rivers. The University of Montana and the Griz. The arts. Amazing restaurants, many featuring locally sourced ingredients. The variety of cycling, running, hiking, fishing, hunting, skiing, snowboarding, opportunities that are unparalleled. Farmers markets. Locally made vendor fairs. A robust downtown area that’s growing and vital. Old-school businesses still thriving, and new companies and jobs here and on the horizon. And every day looks different. The one common thread is it’s always beautiful, even on the harshest of weather days. I hope to reflect and convey that feeling with The MUG.
Missoula’s not perfect; no place is. But from every place I’ve seen and been in this lifetime, I think it’s hands-down the best place to be. We have no interest in displacing any of the other existing entities that cover Missoula in their various ways. All of those that are already in place perform a great job of what they do, and The MUG will support and applaud their continued efforts. We look forward to developing relationships and working together with many of them, and with our community & audience.
I’ve said for a long time, “It’s not a party unless everyone’s invited”. Welcome to the party!
Our Mission:
The Missoula Underground is a hyper-local blog about the best Missoula has to offer: food/beverages, music, events, activities, local people and business.
Hyper-local means we don’t write about anything that isn’t owned or locally managed or operated in the Missoula area. No corporate chains or businesses operated by investment groups from out of Montana.
We have a growing all-volunteer team of bloggers and contributors. We’re here because we care about our beloved Missoula and want to showcase the best of what’s here and what we love to do.
When you share our articles, you become part of a force for good in Missoula. Thanks for reading and participating in The MUG.
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