The Department of Transportation wants to move the rest area near Bozeman to Three Forks to a site near Wheat Montana. Residents of the area, however, are objecting to the plan based upon fears that rest areas become magnets for crime, which will impact the residential community. MDT said the purpose of the rest area, which will be double the size of the current rest area, is to offer a safe place for travelers to stop during harsh weather and road closures. Construction would start at the end of this summer.

Officials at the Sidney-Richland Airport are in the beginning stages of expanding their terminal, including giving more space for TSA agents during screening and baggage claim. The airport is considered a primary airport with over 10,000 enplanements a year, which qualifies it for $1 million in federal funding.  Since the pandemic the airport has been at about 78 percent of capacity.

Montana State University is suggesting vaccinated and unvaccinated staff and students wear a mask indoors on campus due to the rise in the spread of COVID-19 and its variants. The university emailed all students about a new vaccine incentive program during the fall which would give prizes each week to fully vaccinated students.

Sun Country Airlines, based in Minnesota, will begin flights between Williston and Las Vegas beginning Sept. 2.

The Montana Scene is a lifestyle clothing and apparel company in Bigfork, owned by Melissa Bonnet and her husband, Sean. It opened in 2010 known as Bear Food Inc., a giftshop and deli, but was rebranded in 2014 to The Montana Scene a clothing company that shares their love for the great state of Montana. Thanks in-part to the popularity of their designs and a strong web-presence, the Montana Scene has since grown to multiple storefront retail locations in Missoula, Whitefish, Bozeman, Kalispell, including children’s boutique, and a new micro-retail concept store.

The XWA AIR SHOW is coming Saturday, September 11 from 7 a.m-12 p.m. at the Overland Aviation tarmac in Williston, ND. It is being sponsored by the city. (barbp@ci.williston.nd.us)

Billings Clinic’s 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in Bozeman in the late spring of 2022. The plan for the center includes a multispecialty physician group practice, urgent care and an outpatient surgical center. The facility will employ more than 250 people in Bozeman, including more than 50 providers. Three of those new physicians have already arrived and are seeing patients. By Sept. 1, 10 more physicians will arrive and begin practicing in Bozeman in the specialties of OBGYN, family medicine, internal medicine, urology, radiology and ophthalmology. Because these physicians are ready to start practicing right away and due to the growing need for more health care services, temporary onsite clinic space will be available for patient care beginning on Sept. 1 and continuing in construction of the full facility is complete.

Many people in Bozeman are being forced to live in RV’s due to the high demand for housing in Bozeman. Others have been forced to turn their homes into rentals. Many Bozeman homeowners are selling their houses and moving to lower priced markets in the state. The Human Resource Development Council in Bozeman said they are currently working with over 35 different campers to help those people in need. The agency said that the number of people without stable housing in Bozeman has doubled over the past year.

The U.S. trade deficit increased to a record $75.7 billion in June. The Commerce Department reported that the deficit rose 6.7% from a revised May deficit of $71 billion. The June deficit set a record, topping the old mark of $75 billion set in March. The trade deficit represents the gap between what the country exports to the rest of the world and what it purchases from other countries.

Plastic Design and Manufacturing, or PDM, a plastic manufacturing company Manhattan, is nearly doubling the size of its factory. A custom injection molding company, PDM plans a 20,000-square-foot expansion to its building and expects the addition to be completed by October. The company makes custom injection-molded plastics, ranging from the plastic tops on Werner ladders to dog food bowls and other pet products. The company also has a factory in Juarez, Mexico.

The Huckleberry Children’s Boutique held a ribbon cutting and grand opening on July 31 in Sidney. Huckleberry will fill the need for clothing and accessories for babies and new mothers in the Sidney area. Huckleberry Children’s Boutique is located at The Shoppes at Pifers General Store building, 141 7th St. SW. 

Zach and Kate Whipple-Kilmer have opened Limberlost Brewing Co. is open in Thompson Falls. The brewery is full of local historical items and material. The brewery is located at 1017 Main St, Thompson Falls.

The city of Missoula has agreed to buy a 21-unit apartment building that provides affordable housing for people living with mental illness or disabilities. The apartment building was built in 1998 with public funds. It was put on the market for over $2 million. The City of Missoula will be purchasing the building through the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.

The City of Kalispell is breaking records for water usage as the heat and drought continue. Kalispell’s water demand has reached up to 12.4 million gallons in a single 24-hour period; last year’s daily record was 11.51 million gallons.

Visitation to Montana parks has increased 11.1% over 2020 and 44.1% over 2019, according to data provided by the University of Montana’s Institute of Tourism and Recreation Research. In 2019, out-of-state guests brought in $3.76 billion in revenue, and even with the travel challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw $3.15 billion of revenue. The Helena City Commissioners voted to amend the conditional use permit (CUP) for Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC, better known as Helena Chemical. The amendment will allow the company to periodically store anhydrous