Peers Reaching Out About Drunk Driving

Peers Reaching Out, or PROs at the University of Montana works to educate students about various health and safety issues including the dangers of drunk driving.
According to their data, 1825 college students die each year from alcohol related injuries. They say the majority of those are due to car crashes.
UM News reporter Tara Oster and photographer Bernie Riggs talked with the PROs to see how they educate students about this issue.

UM News for November 16, 2011

Find out how the University of Montana students teach us about pine beetles and how Missoula's homeless community shows off their creativity on this week's edition of UM News. Broadcast journalism seniors Tara Oster and Annemiek Wilson anchored today's newscast. Stephanie Hansen produced the show; and Bernie Riggs directed. UM News airs Thursday mornings at 8:25 a.m. on KPAX-TV in Missoula and KAJ-TV in Kalispell. UM News is a production of the Department of Radio-Television and the School of Journalism at the University of Montana.

Media Arts program features variety

The School of Media Arts at the University of Montana began their first annual Movie Fest. Students of the program entered in different projects ranging from animation and motion design to narrative and experimental. They demonstrate that you don't need to be in Hollywood to make high-quality material. UM News photographer Bernie Riggs and reporter Dustin Klemann got their popcorn ready for a look inside the program making projects possible on the silver screen.

Mexican Holiday Heats Up Cold Rocky Mountain Town

The passing of a loved one in the U-S brings feelings of mourning and saddness, but in Mexico, it's a three-day long celebration. Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead celebrates the lives of family members who have passed on by creating larger than life memorials. In Missoula, where Hispanics make up three percent of the population, the Mexican holiday is celebrated by creating six-foot-tall wood carvings and printing them on to sheets. UM News Reporter Adrienne Ellsworth and Photographer Bernie Riggs learned how this Mexican holiday is bringing a little spice to the cold Montana winters. The finished products will hang in the Missoula Art Museum until next Friday.

Pumpkins Fly Through The Air At Punkin' Chunkin' Contest

Hundreds of Missoulians got into the Halloween spirit at a pumpkin cannon shooting contest called Punkin' Chunkin' at Ryan Creek Meadows. Once properly loaded, the cannons have enough power to launch a pumpkin almost a mile away.

UM News reporter Emily Foster and photographer Bernie Riggs found out why competitors choose to shoot pumpkins through the air instead of carving them.

University of Montana College Radio Station Competes At Spontaneous Construction

Employees from the University of Montana's college radio station built more than playlists for a contest called Spontaneous Construction, also known as SponCon. Reporter Emily Foster and photographer Bernie Riggs found out how KBGA used 100% recycled building materials from Home Resource to create a sustainable art form.

UM News for September 28, 2011

Senior broadcast journalism majors Dustin Klemann and Beth Beechie anchor today's broadcast of UM News. Tara Oster produced the program. Bernie Riggs was today's director. Feel free to give us your comments on the program. UM News is a production of the Radio-Television Department at the University of Montana School of Journalism. (Click below to watch UM News.)