For ten years, Linda Grosskopf was editor of Agri-News, a well-respected weekly ag paper published in Billings, Montana. In that position, she earned a reputation as a gutsy, tell-it-like-it-is news woman. Her passion, however, is preserving history—the stories and the photographs—for the generations to follow. In that capacity, she edited Les Leachman’s autobiography, No Better Bull, published in 2003, and she researched and wrote On Flatwillow Creek: The Story of Montana’s N Bar Ranch, published in 1991. Written but not published are two more ranch / family biographies—one the story of Homer Scott’s Padlock Ranch in Montana and Wyoming, and the other, the biographies of former Montana Governor Tim Babcock and his wife Betty. In addition, she has helped numerous folks self-publish their life and/or ranch histories. Most recently, she compiled and edited Treasures from Bill’s Warbag, a collection of true stories written by her great-grandfather Bill Huntington, who was born in 1876.
Raised in the midst of a multi-generational family located on Indian Creek east of Billings on the ranch which has been in her mother’s family since the early 1930s, Linda lives today just a couple miles north of her family’s ranch with four Border Collie dogs, a Russian cat, and a cowboy husband who sells ranch real estate. She is surrounded by grandchildren and family and considers her piece of real estate and her position in it as heaven on earth.
In her self-imposed capacity as full-time student, Nancy Morrison has devoted most of her energies the last few years presenting academic instead of commercial work. That has not, however, prevented her from being closely involved with both Linda’s and Leesa’s book projects. As younger sister to Linda, it has been a natural occupation to provide the frank critique necessary to every busy writer, and to offer, as a counter-balance to Linda’s tell-it-like-it-is manner, an artistic, intuitive tone. With years of editing the “editor” behind her, Nancy is moving from behind the scenes to the front line.
An artist and sometimes poet, she brings to the partnership a different perspective. First published at 16, she has written a collection of numerous poems and short works that are soon to be in print. Her interests in graphics, design and composition fit like a puzzle piece into the intricate jigsaw puzzle of Linda and Leesa.
Born and raised in south-central South Dakota, Leesa Kiewel Zalesky lives in the mountains of southwestern Colorado with her husband Dr. Doug Zalesky and son Sam along with four dogs and a three-legged house cat that she says “runs the joint.”
Over the years, Leesa has earned a reputation as a hard-hitting investigative journalist that specializes in agriculture and property rights issues, with a particular emphasis on the cattle industry. In addition to writing news, she provides consulting work and manages news development for several organizations. On a regular basis she writes commissioned pieces, but only for organizations or individuals with purposes and policies she believes in.
Leesa’s work has been published nationally, and at least one major investigative article, “The Bray Case,” became part of the congressional record when offered as testimony on issues surrounding the Illinois Brick Decision in the U.S. Congress.