Havre native running for Congress

Havre native and pharmacist Kyle Austin has filed as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana's District 2.

Austin will be running against incumbent Matt Rosendale, James Boyette of Bozeman and Mary Todd of Kalispell in the Republican primary for the seat.

In his letter announcing his candidacy he says current and preceding elected officials have failed the people of the state which prompted him to step forward and run for the seat, because "Montanans deserve more from our elected officials."

"As a pharmacist I have focused on accelerating my patient's health to higher altitudes and stepped forward during this pandemic," his letter continues. "As a representative my focus will be to move us forward while gaining us altitude."

The letter mainly talks about his childhood in Havre, his career as a pharmacist and his enthusiasm for aviation.

Austin's letter says he graduated from Havre High School in 2001 and complete his pre-pharmacy schooling at Montana State University-Northern before being accepted to the University of Montana Pharmacy School in Missoula, which he would graduate from in 2008 with a doctorate in pharmacy.

Despite his career in medicine, the letter says, he continued to pursue the passion for agriculture he developed growing up on his grandfather's farm west of Havre, as well as his love for aviation, acquiring his general aviation private pilot's certificate with a single engine rating.

During the pandemic, the letter says, his company Pharm406 opened an innovative retail pharmacy in Billings, offering all the services of a normal pharmacy but exceeding expectations with their walk-in, no-appointment-necessary model, offering specialized prescription packaging, vaccination, cryotherapy and the services of their lab.

Austin's letter says he also created a mobile vaccine clinic he used to reach the entire state of Montana, mostly rural communities, and partnered with other locally owned businesses, like brewery's, to provide access to all vaccines for those who wanted them.

"My wonderful staff and myself have proudly vaccinated over 40,000 residents in this great state this past year that chose to do so without mandates," his letter says.

Last year, Austin's traveling vaccination clinic was the only option offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only one approved for people younger than 18, in some rural parts of the state, along with offering rapid COVID tests which were in short supply through most of last year.

The letter says in his career and childhood he endured the same challenges all Montanan's are facing in health care, agriculture, and "the new problem of rapid population growth."