Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Conrad Burns, Former Montana Senator, Dies At 81

Conrad Burns, Former Montana Senator, Dies At 81.
(PD)
Conrad Burns, Former Montana Senator, Dies At 81.

Conrad Burns was a polarizing figure in Montana politics. Burns died at his Billings home yesterday of natural causes. He was 81.

His former Chief of Staff, Leo Giacometto, describes him as a character.

"He might have been a little crude for some of the city folks, but for the common man it was very easy to understand where he was coming from and what he was trying to get across. He meant no harm to anybody, ever."

Giacometto is now the founder and CEO of the lobbying and international business consulting firm, GAGE International.

“He was like my brother. Coming from Alzada, being in the ranching business, he spoke my language. He was a heck of a lot smarter and shrewder than I was. When you watch Muhammad Ali do his rope-a-dope that was Conrad Burns.”

Burns was Montana's Republican senator for 18 years. He was a former cattle auctioneer. During his political career he frequently championed agriculture and energy interests. Those positions earned him the bitter disdain of his political opponents. But Giacometto says Burns’ true genius was telecommunications.

In 1975 Burns founded the Northern Agricultural Network with four radio stations.

"His whole Northern Ag Broadcasting was the crux of what I believe the media world is today. It was, ‘How do I get information out to those producers on the ground so that they can make better business decisions to take care of their families.’ That was really the birth of the Internet that he was behind and pushing for with rules and regulations. That’s where we’re at today.”

Burns was praised by some and cursed by others – sometimes under the same breath - for his uncanny ability to bring home federal dollars to Montana, a state that receives far more federal funds than it contributes.

"The senator was very conservative, but once that budget was set in Washington D.C. and said ‘X number of dollars was going to go into this budget’, he fought like hell to make sure as much as possible went to Montana.”

Giacometto recalls one Housing and Urban Development budgeting process in particular.

"Out of a multi-billion-dollar budget there was one million dollars left over. Conrad looked at me and he said ‘Alright, how do we get that to the road in Carter County, Montana. From the Washington, D.C. standard, a million dollars to them was a penny on the floor. We picked that up and put it into that Highway 323 from Alzada to Ekalaka which is now paved today.”

Burns was not a politically correct politician. His sometimes insensitive remarks about minorities got him in trouble. I asked Giacometto about that.

“In terms of style – not policy – was (Burns) like the Donald Trump of his time?"

"No, I wouldn’t say it that way. Ok, for the Northern Ag Network, and in order to get elected you’ve got to be able to get people to pay attention, but he was always Conrad. He didn’t have to be an entertainer. That was just him.”

Burns was defeated by Democrat Jon Tester in 2006. Many blamed his loss on his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff was eventually jailed for conspiracy and fraud. No charges were ever filed against Burns.

That loss didn’t seem to discourage him from participating in Montana politics. State Republican Party Executive Director, Jeff Essman, saw Burns at a GOP candidate gathering just a couple of weeks ago:

"He looked pretty sharp and I enjoyed a conversation with him. He wrote a check to help each of those candidates. He was a loyal Republican to the end."

Burns was also a loyal family man to the end. He made special mention of his wife Phyllis in a video when he was inducted into National Association of Farm Broadcasting Hall of Fame back in 2011.

"And even through this business - after having a stroke, she’s been a rock. She was a great, great supporter when I was in the United States Senate. You just don’t find many like Phyllis. What you see is what you get. There’s not one phony bone in that woman’s body.”

Funeral Services for Conrad Burns will be held Friday, May 6 at 11:00 a.m. at the MetraPark Arena in Billings.

Copyright 2020 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Edward O'Brien is Montana Public Radio's Associate News Director.