U.S. Senator Steve Daines recognized Jon Axline, a retired Montana Department of Transportation historian, as his Montanan of the Month for September 2026, submitting a tribute to the Congressional Record in Axline's honor.
Axline grew up in Billings as a fourth-generation Montanan. Daines said in his tribute that a childhood moment — watching John F. Kennedy's presidential motorcade pass his grandparents' front yard — sparked Axline's lifelong interest in history. Axline went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in American history from Montana State University.
Before landing at MDT, Axline worked at the Museum of the Rockies, the Montana State Prison Museum, the Bear Paw Development Corporation, and the Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation. He joined the Department of Transportation as a staff historian in 1990 and retired after a 35-year career.
His writing covers a wide range of Montana history, including the labor history of Butte's mining unions and the Smith Mine disaster of 1943, in which 74 coal miners died near Bearcreek — one of Montana's deadliest industrial accidents.
"Jon is one of the superstars of the Montana history profession," Daines said in the tribute. "Jon's storytelling will continue to help educate people about our great state and bring communities together."
Through his Montanan of the Month program, Daines submits a formal statement of recognition for one Montanan each month into the Congressional Record. Nominations can be submitted by calling Daines' office at 202-224-2651 or through the submission form at daines.senate.gov.
Note: This release arrived via a Gmail address. The contact listed — Gabby Wiggins — carries a daines.senate.gov email, and the content is consistent with Daines' publicly documented Montanan of the Month program. Identity has not been independently verified against a .gov sending domain; see editor note.