Arts + Culture

Made by "Maid"

Stephanie Land shares a snippet of her world with MVL Article by Susie Wall | Photography by Rick Szczechowski You may recall a certain Netflix mini series called “Maid,” which aired in 2021 and quickly became wildly successful. The series follows a young mother who fled a bad relationship and finds a job cleaning houses to provide for her daughter. Her dream, though, is Missoula—pursuing an education here and building a better future. While the series strays from the accuracy of real life...

Local Services

The Mother of All Maps

Xplorer Maps puts out a new Missoula map featuring four notable anchors in our community Article by Emma Trotter | Photography by Rick Szczechowski Read this article, and start seeing them everywhere: Xplorer Maps. The hand-drawn story maps feature epic locations around Montana, the United States, and the world. From prints and home or office decor to clothes, games and more, Xplorer Maps products are hiding in plain sight around Missoula, once you know where to look. “We actually have an...

Food + Beverage

The Woman Behind Wild West Chocolate

A chocolate bar that feels like home, pure and simple Article by Marko Capoferri | Photography by Rick Szczechowski Sometimes a chocolate bar is more than just a chocolate bar. For instance, a chocolate bar can mean coming home. Around the time BJ Howard was developing the idea and formula that would bloom into Wild West Chocolate, she was, she says, “going through a personal journey of coming back home” to her native Western Montana, “reconnecting with my roots, which is really cowboy...

Food + Beverage

The Bounty of Baking with Mom

Local pastry chef shares the memory of her mother and how it inspired her career in baking Article by Chelsea Lyn Agro | Photography by Rick Szczechowski and Melissa Nordberg “Getting together at my dad’s house—the backyard, on the patio—just getting the family together and all the grandkids running around, screaming and having fun.” Melissa Nordberg, who goes by Missi, describes what the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death might look like this month. She’s been a pastry chef for a...