Kate Heston is a reporter at the Daily Inter Lake in northwest Montana, awarded the best daily paper statewide in 2024 and 2025 by the Montana Newspaper Association.
As a 2022 graduate of the University of Iowa, Hearst award finalist, photographer and writer, she is currently based in Kalispell, Montana. She formerly was a Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellow in Phoenix, Arizona in 2022, where she produced a major depth project on police reform on a national level alongside journalists from across the country.
At her current position, Kate is the lead features reporter at the Inter Lake, specifically covering local businesses, restaurants, events, culture and health care.
Kate previously reported on the 2023 Montana Legislative session, the 2024 election cycle, how drought impacts the local community, a deep dive into the presence of fentanyl in the community, continuous coverage of Montana's relaxed DUI laws, state wildlife management decisions and a multi- part series on the Endangered Species Act, which earned first place in digital multimedia at the 2025 Montana Newspaper Association.
She is passionate about digital media and storytelling through multiple mediums, utilizing a combination of written words and photography to reach audiences.
Originally a Midwesterner, Kate has lived across the country, from Austin, Texas to New York City, but northwest Montana has been home since 2022.