Journalist, attorney honored with Freedom of Information awards

The Montana Freedom of Information Coalition honored two Montanans at a ceremony last Thursday for work done to increase the public’s right to know about state government. 

Missoula broadcast journalist Anna Rau and Bozeman attorney Kyle Nelson were awarded the organization’s John Kuglin FOI Champion Award, according to a press release. 

“We usually give one annual FOI Champion award, but Anna and Kyle each made such vital contributions to advancing the public’s right to know in Montana this past year, that we decided to honor them both,” said Mike Dennison, president of the coalition.

Rau, a journalist with Montana PBS, produced a half-hour show this spring revealing that Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration had suppressed a report showing dangerous levels of chemical contaminations in fish found in Montana waterways. 

The state released the report in April, one day before Rau’s investigative piece aired on Montana PBS’ “Impact” news series. 

Nelson was involved in two major freedom of information court victories for Montana media this year, including unsealing charging documents in a 2025 homicide case in Anaconda and maintaining public access to legislative bill drafting information. 

Jim Strauss, an FOI Coalition board member, said that Nelson’s work not only was critical in those cases, but also provided at an affordable rate – at a time when media resources for legal battles are stretched thin.

The Daily Montanan was part of a media coalition that sued for access to the charging documents and Nelson argued in a court appeal that the district judge in the case had failed to consult the media, which is part of state law. 

The Montana Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the press.

“The win preserves transparency in a high-profile homicide case and it also prevents a dangerous precedent that would have allowed public officials to keep documents secret,” Montana FOI Coalition board member Keila Szpaller said Thursday in her nomination speech for Nelson.

Nelson also won a victory in state district court in 2025 that said materials used to draft legislation must remain open and available to the public. That case is currently pending before the Montana Supreme Court. The Daily Montanan was also involved in this lawsuit as part of a media coalition. 

Rau’s award-winning story found state scientists prepared a 2024 report warning anglers not to eat many types of fish found in Montana waterways due to elevated chemical levels above acceptable safety standards. Rau found records that showed Gianforte’s office had blocked the release in February 2025, and ultimately did not release it for more than a year, just before Rau’s report aired. 

Rau said she often relied on help from the Montana Freedom of Information Coalition when preparing information requests for her reporting. 

The coalition’s John Kuglin FOI Champion Award is named after the late former Associated Press Montana bureau chief, who was instrumental in establishing the coalition 38 years ago.

The Montana Freedom of Information Coalition, formerly the Montana FOI Hotline, has helped provide free open records and open meeting legal advice to members of the public since 1988. 

The coalition is supported by the Associated Press, the Montana Newspaper Association, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the University of Montana School of Journalism and the Montana Transparency Project as well as individual newsrooms, including the Daily Montanan. 

Editor’s Note: Daily Montanan deputy editor Keila Szpaller is a board member with the coalition. Szpaller was not involved in the editorial process of this story.