Madelyn Beck

Madelyn Beck is a regional Illinois reporter, based in Galesburg. On top of her work for Harvest Public Media, she also contributes to WVIK, Tri-States Public Radio and the Illinois Newsroom collaborative.

Beck grew up on a small cattle ranch in Manhattan, Montana. Her previous work was mostly based in the western U.S., but she has covered agriculture, environment and health issues from Alaska to Washington, D.C.

Before joining Harvest and the Illinois Newsroom, she was as an energy reporter based in Wyoming for the public radio collaborative Inside Energy. Other publications include the Idaho Mountain Express, E&E News/EnergyWire, KRBD Rainbird Radio, the Montana Broadcasters Association, Montana Public Radio and the Tioga Tribune.

Many Mountain West Lawmakers Still Pulling In Donations From Drug Companies

By • Sep 13, 2019

Pharmaceutical companies are facing scrutiny over the opioid crisis, but that hasn’t stopped them from giving millions of dollars to members of Congress, including many in the Mountain West.

Addressing Female Genital Mutilation In the Mountain West

By • Sep 5, 2019

Warning: This story talks explicitly about female anatomy and traumatizing procedures.

A district court judge ruled last year that a federal law banning female genital mutilation was unconstitutional. He said it’s up to the states to make laws about this cultural practice. While we don’t know how many people undergo the procedure in the Mountain West, many hope to amplify the conversation as some states pass laws and others don’t.

Ammon Bundy Fails Background Check To Get A Gun. Then It Gets Complicated

By • Sep 5, 2019

Ammon Bundy, who led an armed standoff with the federal government in an Oregon wildlife refuge, took to Facebook this past weekend. He said he failed a background check to buy a firearm -- and then things took a turn.  

Japan Trade Deal To Help Mountain West Farmers

By • Aug 28, 2019

A new trade deal with Japan could soon help out dairymen, cattlemen, corn and wheat farmers, among many others.


Mountain West Fire Season Mild Compared To Recent Years

By • Aug 23, 2019

Wildfires are still burning across the Mountain West, but far fewer than in the last few years.


Months Of Flooding On Mississippi River Marooned Midwest Trade

By • Aug 16, 2019

A standard river barge can hold about the same amount as 60 semitrucks. In early June, 642 of them had floated to a standstill near American Commercial Barge Line's office outside Cairo, Ill.

"That's just me. That's not the other fleets in the area," said Mark Glaab, facility manager there. "That's just ACBL."