Archive: August 2024

Yellowstone County “Grew like Crazy!”

23 August 2024
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

Montana’s economy is not doing too badly, and Yellowstone County’s economy “grew like crazy” over the past few months, according to economist Pat Barkey, Director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research  (BBER), University of Montana. He called the economy for Billings “a Goldilocks recovery,” following several years of lackluster performance because of a decline in mining, which happens to be the most important industry to the county because of the number of mines headquartered in Billings.

Barkey gave a mid-year update on what’s been happening economically in the state, early this month, at the Northern Hotel in Billings, with a special emphasis on the plight of housing.

The housing market is frozen. The country had a long period of low interest rates followed by high rates, which has prompted people who already own their home to resist selling because they don’t want to assume high interest rates, which is “freezing markets.”

Otherwise a little noted news story, he said, is how well the US economy is doing. The economy has accelerated – growing at 2.8 percent as compared to last summer’s 2 percent. We are leaving our “peers” behind, said Barkey, referring to Canada and European countries. He noted that the US share of the global economy is 26.5 percent – “higher than ever.”

He noted that India, China and Russia are growing at a faster rate, but in response to a question, he explained that he didn’t include them as “peer” countries, because their economies are not mature economies and are not as large. (China’s economy is 65 percent that of the US.)

It is no surprise that the cost of housing in Montana has skyrocketed over the past few years. The median cost of a home in Yellowstone County is currently about $419,000. In Gallatin County it’s $857,000 – about 120 percent more than in 2014.

A more meaningful stat is the ratio of the cost of housing to average income. In Gallatin County, which has the highest median income per household in the state, the ratio is 10.3. Yellowstone County has one of the better ratios at 5.5. Lewistown, however, has a ratio of 3.6.

The increase in the cost of housing has broader impacts, Barkey pointed out.  It increases sprawl as people move out seeking lower priced housing. It limits economic growth as mobility is reduced prohibiting people from seeking better jobs. And, those families have less to spend in all other aspects of life from food to recreation.

It generates a “war” between generations – one that “tragically the Boomers are winning – we have shut 20 and 30 year olds out of buying a house, which stops their wealth growth.” The level of home ownership for the younger generation compared to the “boomers” at the same age, is 40 percent less.

 The cost of housing also impacts the rate of homelessness, which has been rising in most Montana communities.

Barkey noted that there is always a flip side to every economic stat. “High prices are great for sellers.”

The solution for Montana communities is to build “houses, houses, houses.” “We are not building enough houses,” said Barkey, while showing graphs which demonstrated that in the past most Montana cities were building houses faster than their population was growing, especially so in the 1980s. That has totally flip-flopped; often to a dramatic degree for some cities.

Billings had its own period when population exceeded housing supply – during the oil boom – but the oil bust changed that. Billings had a surplus of housing before COVID, but the aftermath of COVID “wiped it out” —  it is currently neutral.

Barkey noted that in the past federal policies and regulations have focused on increasing demand for housing, while local regulations focused more on increasing supply. Some of Barkey’s recommendations included:

—don’t add more policies. There tends to be a “disconnect between intentions and outcomes.”

—don’t add more to demand.

—consider ending policies that don’t accomplish their stated objectives.

—consider ending the mortgage tax deduction, since it did not do what was intended.

—start holding local governments accountable for achieving progress. One measure for that would be to “assess what percent of vacant land that is buildable is vacant.”

Besides dealing with the impacts of a frozen housing market, the country is experiencing a slowdown in manufacturing, but a big surprise is that generally the economy has accelerated – growing at 2.8 percent as compared to last summer’s 2 percent.

The forecast for Montana’s economy is not at a point of “high drama,” said Barkey, but “we continue to be surprised as it remains on “the upside.”

Little discussed is the fact that the US economy has accelerated, reported Barkey. The US economy is dominated by what the federal reserve is doing.

 The bad news is that while the rate of Inflation is fading, “high prices are not fading and they are here to stay.”

Some of the reason for the US growth is the expenditure by government of money that doesn’t exist. “We are eating a lot of sugar candy,” said Barkey, “and it is not sustainable….We are doing it more than other countries that are our peers.”

Interest payments on the national debt exceed what the US spends on defense.

In Montana ag prices “are pretty good.”

“The wood products industry is changing and it is tough…those prices are low.”

Metals and mining is a “mixed bag.”

Montana industries are impacted by inflation. While inflation was 9 percent and it has dropped to 3.1 percent, “it is not falling anymore.” The Feds target is 2 percent, reminded Barkey, noting that contributing the most to costs are transportation and housing.

Energy prices have “plateaued” but they have done so at high prices.

The bad news, emphasized Barkey, is that prices are not going to go down.

The “appetite” for labor is shrinking. Job postings are declining. “We are not seeing as many voluntary quits.”

Montana added 10,000 jobs last year, but that is less than the previous year, said Barkey, “The trajectory is smoothing out.”

Construction is starting to cool off, while health care is “coming back” and the accommodations industry is strong.

Workers’ wages in Montana increased $200 million last year, which has a lot to do with the tech, service and health care market segments.

Largely because of the health care industry recovery, “Billings is back on track.”

Counties of the major cities in Montana are all growing economically, except for Cascade which showed negative growth due to construction that happened last year which is not being repeated this year. Of the counties, Gallatin is growing the most followed by Yellowstone, Missoula and Flathead.

Looking at tax revenues for the state (the first report for which for this year just recently came out) indicate that the State of Montana tax revenues are not going to be as high as in the past couple of years. They look to remain flat. “Complete stagnation,” said Barkey, “Revenue growth is over.”

State Study Will Set Funding Levels for Housing for People in Behavior System

23 August 2024
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The state of Montana will be conducting a statewide study to determine what level of funding is needed to subsidize housing costs for low-income Montanans who are served in the state’s behavioral health system.

Governor Greg Gianforte announced that $1 million of public funds will be made available to conduct the study which will direct the allocation of $300 million to eligible Montanans as recommended by the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations (BHSFG) Commission. The Governor said that he secured the funding last year “to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems.”

“Access to affordable, stable housing is critical to ensure Montana youth, adults, and families can meet their behavioral health needs,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As the nation continues to grapple with a shortage of affordable housing, we need to ensure at-risk Montanans have access to the support they need. This study will allow the state to make the most effective and efficient use of our resources to take care of vulnerable Montanans.”

The one-time funding will be transferred to the Montana Department of Commerce which will work in partnership with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to conduct the Fair Market Rent Reevaluation Study.

“The BHSFG Commission recognizes that stable housing is fundamental and critical to ensuring that the behavioral health and developmental disabilities needs of Montanans are met,” DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton said. “The study will help maximize housing funding to support as many low-income Montanans as possible.”

Brereton said the Commission brought this NTI forward because low-income individuals served by the state’s BH and DD systems are increasingly unable to access affordable housing.

Through the study, information will be gathered on current rental rates throughout the state to help determine the funding necessary to supplement federal rental assistance.

Access to housing is shown to significantly improve BH and DD outcomes for vulnerable individuals, reduce strain on the health care system, and yield significant cost savings to emergency services.

In addition, studies show children whose families receive vouchers for rental housing change schools less frequently, are less likely to be placed in foster care, and experience fewer sleep disruptions and behavior problems.

On May 22, 2023, Gov. Gianforte made a generational investment to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems by signing House Bill 872 into law. A central component of the governor’s Budget for Montana Families, the $300 million investment will expand intensive and community-based behavioral health care and developmental disabilities services across Montana.

Pondering Property Rights

23 August 2024
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

One really can’t look at the events of the world today without realizing that there are forces coming from every direction trying to destroy our country. As bit by bit government chips away at our lives, we must realize that the effort has actually been going on for a long time, but it has largely failed. The US is still the largest economy in the world and it is still growing daily.

A lot of people do not make the connection between our economy and our freedom but the power mongers do. That’s why so many of their attempted restraints focus on the activities of business and how people use their time and property. How we use those things determines our level of production, and that is the strength of the US far more so than armies. That’s what makes armies possible.

To cripple our ability to produce is what the savvy power mongers are trying to do with most every new law,  with every shut down, with every law suit, with every distortion of history, and twisting of common sense.

And it shouldn’t be surprising that  many of those efforts are focused as attacks on the availability of  cheap and abundant energy. There’s only one thing more important to the success of our economy than energy and that’s property rights – the right of every individual to own property, to own what they produce, to own their own life.

Americans go to work every day to acquire property just so they can be independent.

But, as vital as property rights are to our personal and national well being, there is astounding little public discourse about them.

Regulations that erode them are incorporated into local laws with hardly a comment – they are called regulations.

Judges who rule to destroy private property in favor of empowering government or the collective, are publically applauded, and few people are aware that they are cheering their own demise.

Individual property rights, as our forefathers provided for in the US Constitution, give each citizen great strength in how they function in society and in dealing with politics.

Our individual property rights are unique in human history and their creation unleashed a force in civilization never before seen, and never duplicated by any other country since, despite their proven effectiveness in achieving what every foreign despot – as well as many domestic ones – claim is their goal — a higher standard of living for the citizens.

That’s no accidental oversight on their part, they know full well what they need to do to retain power. The despots of the world who collaborate in the great effort to bring the US down, know full well that they could achieve the same level of economic success as the US, if they too granted the same level of private property rights for their citizens. That that has never happened says most clearly that their true interest is in gaining power over others.

It’s been claimed that ‘private property is standing room for the individual’ for very good reason.

So as individual citizens, if it is our freedom and our standard of living we want to preserve, we should be focused on preserving this most coveted of rights. We must fully understand the depth of its importance and defend it at every turn.

Property includes all that we value and that which has value. It includes ideas, the cash in our pocket or savings in the bank. Our means of protection, our homes and our businesses. When a thief takes any of those things, because of the degree that our individual wellbeing can depend upon them, it makes theft a most heinous crime. There was a good reason that they used to hang horse thieves.

We should understand that when we purchase a parcel of land we do not purchase a pile of dirt to put in our pocket but we purchase the RIGHT to determine how to use it. A property owner has the legal right to determine whether to grow wheat upon that land or build a building. It is the ability to make those choices that they purchased, not a pile of dirt. The owner of property has the legal stance to resell that right, lease all or part of it to others or improve its value in some manner they think fit, even if their neighbors or the government disagrees.

Any effort to minimize the property owner’s ability to make those decisions is a taking of the right he has acquired. Without that legal power a property is nothing. It has no value.

So when neighbors (and all too often government) gather together to try to stop a property owner from doing what he wants to do on a parcel of property — when they are imposing their choices upon how that property is used they are taking a value from the owner. In legal terminology that is exactly what it is called – “a takings”.

In most circumstances when someone takes the property of another it is called theft, but I guess for the sake of civil decorum judges and lawyers prefer calling it a takings – but a theft is exactly what is happening. And it is rampant. Every day we hear about one group or gang taking away all or some of this value from others. And the really amazing thing is they can stand up in righteous indignation to declare they should be allowed to conduct such a theft.

In the name of scenic views, preserving history, the environment, or to protect their own property values, they have no compunction about conducting such acts of theft. And quite often the legal system supports these acts of thefts even though there is a much easier way to resolve the issue. Buy the property. Purchase the right to determine how to use it, just as the existing owner had to do.

Oh that’s not so easy if you don’t have the money. When you don’t have the value needed to legally determine how to use the property. What makes you think it was any easier for the existing owner to acquire the right to determine how to use the property? That is the value you attempt to take at no cost to yourself!

If you want to have control about what happens on a piece of property next to your house, your farm, or your business there’s a very simple straightforward way to do it. Buy that control. Buy that right. There are very savvy business people who do that every day. They purchase a property just so they can assure some future use won’t have a detrimental effect on their business or their home.

If you want to preserve the view of the neighboring landscape owned by a farmer, property rights can allow that to happen probably cheaper than a court case. One can pay the property owner some lesser sum to guarantee he won’t build a granary there or some company can’t pay him to build a cell tower. There are numerous legal mechanisms that can be used to control such things – agreements, contracts, covenants etc. and the glorious thing is they recognize everyone’s property rights – but they don’t allow “takings.”

More importantly, the very nature of exercising legal property rights and the people involved are acting to preserve the integrity of private property rights which is by far the greatest value to be preserved for everyone’s sake.

NWE will Acquire Another Segment of Colstrip Plant

23 August 2024
Evelyn Pyburn
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Effective Jan. 1, 2026, NorthWestern Energy will acquire, at no cost, Puget Sound Energy’s 370 megawatt share of the Colstrip Plant.

The acquisition will allow NWE to leverage existing infrastructure that is “well established, dependable, reliable and consistently available when our customers need energy the most”.

An equivalent resource would cost more than $700 million to build and would not be available to serve customers for at least 5 years. Including the previously announced acquisition of Avista’s 222 megawatts, that are under the same terms and timeline, NorthWestern Energy will own 55% of the Colstrip Plant.

Puget Sound Energy is a Washington-based utility.

“We are working hard to keep energy costs affordable knowing that many Montanans live on fixed incomes and are managing other life expenses,” states the company’s press release, “This 370 megawatt additional share of the Colstrip Plant presents an affordable opportunity that benefits our customers.” An equivalent resource, such as a natural gas plant, would cost more than $700 million to build and would not be available to serve customers for at least 5 years.

“Today’s announcement is yet another step in securing a strong future for Montana-made energy,” Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said. “Working with our partners, we’ve defended our all-of-the-above energy strategy to increase access to affordable, reliable energy for all Montana consumers. I thank NorthWestern for their continued investment in our state and in the community of Colstrip.”

Majority ownership allows NorthWestern Energy to effectively guide investments in operation and maintenance of the Colstrip Plant, ensuring the plant continues to provide on-demand, 24/7 cost-effective generation for our Montana customers until viable, equivalent, carbon-free energy resources are commercially available.

Montana has considerable low cost wind and solar generation on its system today, but that generation is variable. The Colstrip Plant’s generation provides power for Montana customers when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining at costs that are typically much less than the cost of purchasing energy on the market.

When the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, the amount of power being generated by the Colstrip Plant can be lowered.

Montana’s energy demand is growing. “We are in discussions with several large customers seeking dependable, established and consistent energy. This additional portion of the Colstrip Plant will not only allow us to reliably serve our current customers into the future, but it will also allow us to support economic development and load growth in Montana while helping to insulate existing customers from costs associated with serving new large load customers,” said the press release.

Puget Sound Energy will retain its obligation for its portion of environmental and decommissioning costs associated with the future closure of the plant.

“Other states require a transition away from coal resources at a pace faster than is feasible in Montana. This no-cost acquisition allows our customers to transition to a cleaner energy future at a pace that works for Montanans,” states the press release.

The Colstrip Plant is seen as a “dependable” bridge to a cleaner energy future, which could ultimately include new lower- or no-carbon emitting resources such as gas-fired generation, small modular nuclear reactors, long-duration storage or other technologies, which we believe could be located in the Colstrip area. Such changes will, however, take time and “we will not sacrifice service reliability during the transition.”

This announcement follows an announcement a week ago, from NorthWestern Energy, about a $39 million deal to purchase Energy West Montana, a natural gas provider headquartered in Great Falls. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. It must be approved by the Montana Public Service Commission.

New County Emergency Coordinator

23 August 2024
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Derek Yeager has been named as Yellowstone County’s new Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) Director, following the resignation of “KC” Williams, who served as director for the past five and a half years.

Williams has taken a position with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The position of DES Coordinator includes the duties of fire warden in Yellowstone County.

Yeager, a native of Yellowstone County from Laurel, served for eleven years with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) after serving as a wild land firefighter. Most recently he was head of the communications center which serves both the City of Billings and Yellowstone County.

New Businesses July 2024

23 August 2024
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Tiny Bubbles Cleaning, 737 S Billings Blvd #10, 876-5131, Laforge, Lavora Ruth, Service, Billings 

All Pro Towing Jim Auto Repair, 510 N 24th St, 698-6247, Adkins/Norton, James/Frank, Service, Billings

Mt Power Ranger Llc, 2725 Howard Ave, 794-5200, Schlegel, Joseph, Service, Billings

Enw Carpet And Cleaning Services, Llc, 2024 Clubhouse Way #2, 384-9937, Coversup, Evelyn, Service,

D & L Roofing’s, 3051 St Johns Ave, 698-3023, Luoma, Laura, Service, Billings  

Mockel Precast & Excavating Co.,16 Industry Loop, 594-1769, Leland, Rob, General Contractors, East Helena

BSDW Cop-Billings Llc (St Andrews), 1634 Saint Andrews Dr, 672-7222, Hansen, Holly, Service, Billings

Copia Reserve Llc (6th Ave N),   2004 6th Ave N, 672-7222, Hansen, Holly, Service, Billings

Copia Reserve Llc (Grand), 1903 Grand Ave, 672-7222, Hansen, Holly, Service, Billings

Yellowstone Casino (S 32nd), 927 S 32nd St W Ste A-C, 850-3160, Grizzly Doc And Eddy’s Beverages Llc, Liquor License, Billings

Yellowstone Casino (King), 2300 King Ave W, 652-4980, Grizzly Doc And Eddy’s Beverages Llc, Liquor License, Billings

Vigilant Landscaping Inc, 4156 Frances Ave, 855-5289, Rookhuizen, Joe & Amanda, Service, Billings

Uproot Electrology & Aesthetic Llc, 1620 Alderson Ave Ste 27, 861-1422, Oppenborn, Raquel, Service, Billings

Amen Notary Services Llc, 1876 St Paul Ln, 698-2333, Amen, Mary Ann, Service, Billings

As One Solutions Llc, 6804 Commercial Ave Bld B, 647-9618, Smith, Adam & Stephanie, Manufacturing, Billings

Carlos C Sanchez, 516 N 22nd St, 561-0191, Sanchez, Carlos, Restaurants, Billings

Abi Scherer Consulting Llc, 243 Westchester Sq N Unit A1, (330) 676-3052, Scherer, Abigail, Service, Billings

T.P.C. Construction, 1123 Denway Pl, 661-5748, Prescott-Erwin, Tristen, Roofing Contractors, Billings

Coinstar (5317 Grand Ave), 5317 Grand Ave, (425) 943-8000, Shomler, Kelly, Service, Billings

Sky Country Therapy and Consulting, 1629 Avenue D Ste A5, 655-1795, Verhasselt, Jennifer, Service, Billings

Lark/Spur Interior Design Studio Llc, 1123 Iristan Ln, 465-0968, Chamberlin, Erin, Service, Billings

Harmonisounds Llc, 1613 Hollyhock St, (916) 667-2000, Brinlee, Todd, Service, Billings

Kennedy Family Counseling Pllc, 2525 6th Ave N, 384-3366, Kennedy, Sean, Service, Billings

DT Construction, 221 S 35th St, 366-3886, Thompson, Drew, General Contractors, Billings

JH Painting, 918 Avenue C, 855-9832, Handsaker, Larry, Service, Billings

BCCM Construction Group Inc, 100 E 7th St Ste 201, (816) 659-9115, Young, Jason, General Contractors, Kansas City MO,

Platinum Vape Llc, 1425 Broadwater Ave, 698-2776, Myrstol, Josh, Retail Sales, Billings

Preya Natural Soap Llc, 4865 Blue Spruce Circle, 839-5985, Gray, Mylyn, Retail Sales, Billings

Burritos Don Chuy, 1414 Main St, 539-4579, Martinez/Martinez Romo, Michell/Jose De Jesus, Restaurants, Billings

Clear Sky Home & Lawn Care, 12 North Street, 697-4598, Butts, Craig, Service, Fromberg

JM Test Systems Llc, 5857 Stearns Circle, (225) 925-2029, Harris, Luwana, Service, Billings

KC’s Puff N Stuff, 928 Broadwater Ave Suite 107, 939-0204, Cooper, Kelly Jo, Retail Sales, Billings

Town Pump Express, 691 S Shiloh Rd, 497-6923, Billings 13 Car Wash Llc, Service, Billings

Landrie Aviation, 436 Marathon Dr, 690-4926, Landrie, Adam, Retail Sales, Billings

Rock Star Painting, 2550 Wyoming Ave, 684-1232, Mallicott, Roger, Service, Billings

JG Distribution Inc, 1935 Belvedere Dr, 871-6523, Green, Jordan, Distributors, Billings

NO Creative, 1007 N 23rd St, 855-4888, Olsen, Nickolas, Service, Billings

Tanner Property Investments Llc, 4419 Loma Vista Dr, 591-2999, Harp, Rachel & Todd, Real Estate Rental, Billings

Wonderful Wiener, 401 E Main St, 591-3728, Schug, Brady, Restaurants, Laurel,

Anatnom Era EW Llc, 100 N 27th St, 690-4388, Delp, Ashley, Real Estate Rental, Billings

Buerkley Contracting, 5011 Haynes Rd, 580-4047, Buerkley, Brenton, General Contractors, Shepherd

Roaring Pearl Windows & Doors, 4206 Carlton Ave SW, 839-8820, Roehr, Jordan, Service, Billings

Xtreme Clean Llc, 1144 Horn Street, 855-1334, Limberhand, Dennis, Service, Billings

Stronghand Construction Llc, 1144 Horn Street, 855-1334, Limberhand, Dennis, General Contractors. Billings

Billings Shiloh Hotel Llc, 705 Henry Chapple St, 830-0866, Larralde, Raelene, Restaurants, Billings

Fleetpride Inc, 3605 Hesper Rd, (469) 249-7687, Curington , Mary, Service, Billings

Wise Designs, 331 Phyllis Cir E, 671-4023, Wise, Joshua, Service, Billings

KC Cares Llc, 3440 Cook Ave, 697-2807, Combs, Kelsey, Service, Billings

TJH Industries, 2315 1/2 Lewis Ave, 647-8199, Hoppe, Thomas, General Contractors, Billings

Artesania Reyna’s, 6048 Linck Circle, 560-2851, Antonio, Salome, Retail Sales, Shepherd

Lily’s Cleaning, 2107 Clubhouse Way #1, 671-7267, Anderson, Emilie, Service, Billings

Bath Fitter, 5710 Interstate Ave #2, 606-5556, Boomen, Rick Vanden, Service, Billings

The Endless Bead, 1009 Parkhill Dr,  698-1196, Carnathan, James, Retail Sales, Billings    

Miniso Winky Store Holding Llc, 300 S 24th St W Ste A14, (626) 463-4251, Choy, Bobby, Retail Sales, Billings

Southern Home Charms, 3721 Fort Laramie Dr, (435) 841-0606, Emmanuel, Amanda, Retail Sales, Billings

Ordnance Food Works, 4443 Phillip St, 671-1832, Thomas, Lance, Restaurants, Billings

59101 Handyman, 4139 Ryan Ave, 561-5408, Pena, Marcillino, Service, Billings

Charter Real Estate Company, 1148 16th St W Ste 16, 698-8203, Charter, Boyd, General Contractors, Billings,

MRE Handy Man Services Llc, 622 Orchard Ln, 561-9385, Nelson, Mike, Service, Billings

Live The Essential Oil Life Llc, 3001 62nd St W, 860-7433, Merkel, Nancy L, Retail Sales, Billings

Lane Estates Llc, 1204 Avenue E, 371-6534, Lane, Brittany, Real Estate Rental, Billings

Yellowstone Milling, 124 White Circle, 690-1224, Rambur, Todd, Retail Sales, Billings

Teske Construction Inc, 5165 Dovetail Ave, 670-9084, Teske, William, General Contractors, Billings

Downstream Design, 740 Topaz Ave, 698-9059, Sougstad, Tait, Service, Billings

Acapost Construction Cleaning, 293 Prospectors Ln, 591-4029, Hood, Service, Billings

R&M Solutions Inc, 206 North D St, 855-2349, Aasterud, Mary Beth, Service, Bridger

Odd N Ends, 806 Governors Blvd, 839-3300, Cadlo, Jason, Service, Billings

Malia’s Egress Windows, 1042 Broadwater Ave, 671-8575, Malia, Richard, General Contractors, Billings 

Yellowstone Valley Construction, 3122 Phillip St, 670-2011, Nelson, Ronal, General Contractors, Billings

Montana First State in the Nation to Open BEAD Portal

23 August 2024
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Montana will be the first state in the nation to open its Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) application portal.

On August 1, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) had given final approval to Montana’s BEAD proposal, allocating nearly $629 million to increase the state’s connectivity.

 “This generational investment for Montana’s communities can’t wait any longer,” Gianforte said. “Montana moved quickly to put together an application for the BEAD program, and tomorrow, we are taking the first steps to get the funding out the door. By bridging the digital divide, we’re expanding access to good-paying jobs, high quality education, and affordable health care for Montanans across the state.”

The Governor welcomed the news, adding this brings his administration’s total investment in expanding broadband connection to nearly $1 billion. 

Gianforte was among the first governors in 2023 to express interest in applying for a BEAD program planning grant. Montana Department of Administration Director Misty Ann Giles said there have been challenges to getting areas of Montana online, and this is going to help.

“BEAD funding provides a unique opportunity to meet these challenges, expanding broadband to unserved and underserved areas of Montana,” said Giles.

The state of Montana now has one year to launch the grant application, receive grant applications from Internet providers, and send selected proposals to the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for approval. 

Those interested may submit main-round applications to the Montana Broadband Office’s (MBO) ConnectMT portal beginning August 13. The close date for applications will remain October 15, 2024. The application and additional resources can be accessed at ConnectMT.mt.gov.

Upon signing their grant application, selected providers will have four years to deploy broadband services to Montanans in unserved and underserved areas.

Montana Families Deserve Choice School Options such as Charter Schools

23 August 2024
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By Chris Cargill, Kendall Cotton, and Derek Oestreicher

The Center Square

Families across the country have long benefited from the ability to attend a public charter school if they determined that was the best option for their children. Montana parents, however, have been stymied until recently when lawmakers finally stepped up. The Montana Legislature in 2023 passed two charter options for public education – HB 562 and HB 549. HB 562, the Community Choice Schools Act, is one of the strongest charter school laws in the country.

Public charter schools, called “Choice Schools” under Montana’s unique framework, are tuition-free public schools that are publicly funded but independently run. Choice Schools are granted flexibility from traditional public school regulations to build a learning environment and curriculum that fits the needs of their students. Choice Schools are subject to a contract that includes ongoing general government supervision, performance monitoring, and oversight. If Choice Schools don’t perform, they will be closed.

As they have done in nearly every state that has voted to launch public charter schools, the education establishment has sued to prevent implementation of HB 562 and deny families this important option.

This is why our organizations joined together to file an amicus brief in the case of Felchle v. Montana, to defend Choice Schools as an option for Montana families.

It’s abundantly clear that Montana’s Community Choice Schools Act (CCSA) is constitutional, consistent with charter school programs in other states, and will enable quality public education options for students. This is why we’re asking the court to uphold the Community Choice Schools Act and preserve this opportunity for Montana communities to expand the local public education system with student-centered Choice Schools.

Our amicus brief emphasizes three key points:

Constitutionality: The CCSA properly acknowledges the requirement in the Montana Constitution for the Board of Public Education to exercise “general supervision” over Choice Schools.

Consistency: The CCSA’s framework is consistent with the understanding of constitutional requirements for state board supervision of charter schools in other states.

Quality: The data on similar schools in other states, including research from Stanford University, demonstrates that Choice Schools will provide equality of educational opportunity and offer a quality education to Montana students.

We conclude our legal brief by noting: “For over three decades, children across the country have attended public charter schools and became more successful students because of it. Charter schools have a clearly demonstrated positive effect on their students and the data continues to show a positive upward trend, even in states where the charter law contains broad exemptions from state laws and regulations. Based on this data, Montana’s Choice Schools will provide a quality education because they follow a model that has led to academic quality in other states.”

For example, neighboring Idaho has more than 70 charter schools and a new law was passed this year that makes them easier to operate. Discussing Idaho’s charter schools, Kimberly School District Superintendent Luke Schroeder recently said: “You have to look at education for your entire community, not just your district. It’s human nature to be competitive, but we’ve got to put our egos aside and see what’s best for kids … At the end of the day, we just can’t be territorial about education.”

We believe that equality of educational opportunity guaranteed to all students by Montana’s Constitution means an all of the above approach – traditional public schools, choice schools, private schools, micro-schools, homeschooling, and more. We’re hopeful that Montana judges will agree. Allowing families more education options shouldn’t be a controversial idea. Montanans have waited long enough.

Montana Highlights August 15, 2024

23 August 2024
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The Northern Lights Saloon in Polebridge proudly lacks cell service and Wi-Fi which creates more opportunities for patrons to connect with nature, music, and fellow diners. Catering to a wider variety of diets, the improved  menu features several fresh, wholesome, and vegetarian options such as the rainbow bowl which is comprised of avocado, roasted yams, peppers, and onions served over a bed of quinoa and black beans. Other touches at Northern Lights Saloon consist of made-in-house sauces and dressings, and locally sourced pulled pork.

Crazy Mountain Whiskey LLC is bringing an aspect of their bourbon whiskey production to Big Timber. Owners of the bourbon whisky named Lazy K Bar, bought a property in Big Timber to bring parts of the business closer to the namesake. The whisky is named after the Lazy K Bar Ranch in Melville. Crazy Mountain Whiskey LLC launched Lazy K Bar Bourbon Whiskey in December, 2023. With plans to bring distilling operations to Montana, the owners hinted there is a possibility bottling and later distilling operations could come to Big Timber in the long-term.

The new Albertsons store in Glasgow opened its doors to the public in late July 2024. The new store is located at 54151 US Highway 2 E. The grocery store was previously a Shopko store.

Running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere is no easy feat, especially when the area runs on generators and solar energy. Home Ranch Bottoms is a quaint spot in Polebridge, offering quality food and drink, and aiming to be a cultural hub for music, comedy and art. According to the owners the menu is focused on simple food made thoughtfully, such as burgers, chicken, hot dogs and salads. In addition to the classic pub fare, the kitchen makes a bison chili bowl and bison nachos. Home Ranch Bottoms is open seasonally and is located at 8950 North Fork Road.

New restaurant, Hugkan is now serving up Asian cuisine at 33 S. Willson in downtown Bozeman. The family owned-restaurant opened up three months ago after the owners and chefs moved to the area with family from the Southwestern United States. A trip to Bozeman sparked the idea for the move after his wife’s friend and Bozeman resident gave them a taste of the area.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte toured Tuscano Machine, a fabricator on Makers Way, in Big Timber recently. The visit was part of the governor’s fourth annual 56-County Tour and a larger effort to spotlight Montana small businesses. Tuscano Machine’s 14,000 square foot high-volume lathing and milling facility has nine employees to run the site. The Big Timber location operates leading-edge 3-D printing and other advanced additive manufacturing equipment, including Swiss lathes, mills, laser cutters, welders, markers and etchers.

Glendive Chief of Police Jeremy Swisher is no longer receiving pay while on administrative leave after a unanimous vote of the Glendive City Council. Depending on the verdict of his upcoming trial, he could receive at least four months of back pay. During a brief discussion at a recent meeting of the Glendive City Council budget constraints as a factor in the decision to stop paying Swisher while on administrative leave. Swisher was placed on administrative leave by order of the Mayor and the council beginning on June 17 after being charged with three felonies.

The new Dollar General store in Williston closed as quickly as it opened recently. The store, located at 302 Bean Drive, is contracted by Goodman Construction and was shuttered Aug. 2 by the Williston Building and Safety Department due to not yet passing its final city inspection. A sign on the front doors of the Dollar General explains the circumstances behind the closure. The store is located at the intersection of Bean Drive and East Broadway in eastern Williston.

Property taxes will go up across Lake County in November due to a $3.8 million judgement levy passed last week by the county commissioners to help cover the costs of expanding and remodeling the jail. As part of the settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by inmates, the county was ordered to add around 960 square feet of space to the jail and provide a secure outdoor recreation yard. The county has the authority to pass a three-year judgement levy, without voter approval, to pay for the improvements.

The Montana Secretary of State’s office announced it is again waiving fees for Montana businesses. The 2025 Annual Report filing fees will be waived for all Montana businesses. This action will result in millions of dollars in savings. The fees also were waived in 2024, allowing businesses to file their reports at no extra expense.

Wickens Salt Creek Ranch of Hilger has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Montana Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors ranchers, farmers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in the management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land. Wickens Salt Creek Ranch’s owners, Eric and Emma Wickens, will be presented with the award at the Montana Farm Bureau Annual Convention in November. They will receive $10,000 for being selected.

After being closed for six years, one of the Choteau area’s best antique stores is reopening with a new name. Rose Clark’s “Country Rose” antique store and Big Sky Antiques are becoming just Big Sky Antiques. The grand opening of Big Sky Antiques was in early August. Big Sky Antiques is located at 850 Fifth Lane NW outside of Choteau. The store will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Remedial construction is underway at the Grove Gulch site off Lexington Avenue in Butte. Work at the site will include, among other things, a stormwater basin to help remove contaminated sediments from Grove Gulch Creek. Atlantic Richfield/BP presented it current remedial plan at an open house in Butte. The plan pinpointed two sites under consideration to receive Superfund-related wastes. The highlighted locations were the Berkeley Pit and a Shields Avenue site on property owned by Montana Resources.

Upgrades are planned for Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport following the completion of an environmental assessment. The airport held an open house to inform the public and gather feedback on a proposed expansion project recently. The airport is undergoing an environmental assessment a federal evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of expansion and possible mitigation alternatives.

New statistics from the Montana Department of Transportation show that ridership on Cape Air Airlines has increased this year compared to 2023. The number of passengers using Cape Air in Glasgow has increased 4.3 percent compared to last year.

The Cottonwood Inn of Glasgow has recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Community members turned out for food and drinks, as well as fun and music to celebrate the achievement.

A single-engine Cessna 182K Skylane crashed in the Scapegoat Wilderness near Augusta recently. The crash occurred as the plane was enroute to Great Falls. The three people onboard were killed. The plane had departed from Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, Washington.

 Missoula County is asking voters to approve a mill levy that would raise about $1.8 million annually for public infrastructure. Missoula County commissioners approved placing a five-mill levy on the Nov. 5 general election ballot to help fund construction, repairs and maintenance of public roads, bridges and trails

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Art Exhibit at Pictograph Caves

Susan Nelson and Mana Lesman will hold an exhibit of their paintings “Pictograph Cave and Beyond” at Pictograph Cave State Park on August 29, 30, 31 and September 1, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The park can be reached off I-90 East, Exit #452, turn right on Coburn Rd. just after exit. It is 3 1/2 miles to Pictograph Cave State Park.

Hard Look at Energy and Future of Colstrip

21 August 2024
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By Evelyn Pyburn

The community of Colstrip is enthusiastic about NorthWestern Energy assuming ownership of the interests in the Colstrip plants held by Puget Sound and Avista. Especially about the fact that the company will hold 55 percent ownership of the power generating facility, which many in the community believe spells a bright future for Colstrip.

Given news of the possible forced closures of the power generators, many recent reports have portrayed Colstrip as something of a forlorn and dejected community, with residents scrambling to be the first out the door in anticipation of economic doom, but people attending the Southeastern Montana Development Corporation’s annual Energy Open Conference were not that at all. They were very upbeat.

 The reason was most clearly stated by Brian Bird, CEO of NorthWestern Energy (NWE) who said he doesn’t think of Colstrip as a “coal town” but as an “energy town”.  Bird’s comments made it clear that NWE has no intentions of reducing operations at Colstrip but plan to accelerate them as they transition to the future of the industry. He said, Colstrip “is where I  think that transition is going to occur.”

Bird’s message follows recent reports, not only of NorthWestern Energy acquiring a majority interest in the Colstrip plants, but also the significant news that Montana received a $700 million grant to help extend a 525-kilovolt line electric transmission  grid, to the east and the west. The lack of transmission lines in Montana has for decades encumbered the efficiency of its energy system.

The U.S. Department of Energy grant will aid in building the $3.6 billion North Plains Connector, a 415-mile, high voltage, direct-current line between the Colstrip substation and Center, North Dakota, which will allow power to move from Portland to Minnesota, and serve 20 states.

Because of the expanded transmission, Bird said, NWE plans to build new substations.

News also recently broke that as of Jan. 1, 2026, NorthWestern Energy will acquire, at no cost, Puget Sound Energy’s 370 megawatt share of the Colstrip Plant, which will join their earlier announced acquisition of  Avista’s 222 megawatts, also at no cost and at the beginning 2026.

From Bird’s perspective there is no doubt about the future of Colstrip as being a vital energy hub for the state. NorthWestern Energy is building in Colstrip because “someday common sense is going to return to the United States… when that happens we are already going to be there.”

Bird said, “We will retire the coal plants when they are no longer cost effective.” And he made clear that they intend to move in that direction while pursuing their goal of being at “net zero“ in terms of carbon emissions by 2050.

Much of the current focus is exploring the feasibility of using modular nuclear units as a means of generating energy – that is the future of energy generation in the US, according to Bird and others at the conference. If that is not possible in a timely way, Bird said they would build another natural gas powered plant like the Yellowstone County Generating Station the company recently completed in Laurel.

Bird said that 133 natural gas plants are being built in the United States today. “That number will double in the next ten years,” he said. And, it will do so because it is the cleanest fossil fuel.

What is uncertain about the nuclear modular units are issues of cost and permitting time. It may be possible to get a federal grant, as Bill Gates did in building Naughton Power Plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. And over time, the permitting process will get better, but whether those things will evolve quickly enough to meet the needs of NorthWestern Energy’s customers is  yet to be seen.

Bird further commented, “We care a tremendous amount to transition to a cleaner future, but we want to do it smart and we need to do it over time.” 

“Over the past twenty years we have been too pensive waiting for someone to tell us what to do. Not anymore. We are going to do what we need to do for our customers. I care about the wellbeing of customers, right now – not ten, twenty or thirty years from now.

Bird emphasized that it is NWE duty to be concerned about serving people in Montana today. ”I will take some heat from environmental communities more than I want all of you in this room and everybody in Montana ticked off, because we can’t serve you.”

“I worry about this country, not just Montana. We have a capacity problem. We worry about the health of customers, 20 or 30 years out, more than we worry about them today. And we don’t worry about the cost of serving customers, because if you don’t have capacity and you have to go procure power it is going to get expensive,” said Bird. He added,  “We are going to see blackouts in this country.”

North American Electric Reliability Corporation has predicted as much, especially so for the western half of the United States. Wind and solar does not address that problem because they don’t have “capacity.”

“If we can have excess capacity, we are less apt to have these problems.”

Last January, said Bird, “We were close to not being able to serve our customers.  I would love to have had the incremental Colstrip. .. I wouldn’t have had to go buy power in the market place for a thousand bucks a megawatt.”

He also emphasized that when they do have to buy from the market, it is for energy that has been generated by coal.

How well a utility company does depends on how well they manage three aspects of business: liability, affordability and sustainability. “Those are the three most important things for a utility to focus on and balance,” said Bird.

“We not only want to be able to serve our customers inexpensively but to have excess capacity to allow the state to grow.” He pointed out that the Governor is trying to bring new business to Montana and “we don’t have the power to serve growth.”

Bird also said that claims that wind and solar are cheaper than fossil fuels are “right.” The energy is cheaper, he said, but what they aren’t right on is capacity.

“By the way, we love excess wind energy, We can sell it on the market place and give the money back to our customers.” Also, “we can buy excess solar energy from California, during the day, cheap, and we can actually reduce costs for our customers.”

But those sources do not have capacity, which is “a resource that you can turn on and off and run for as long as you want. It is called duration. You can flick a switch and have energy. You can’t flick a switch for solar. You can’t flick a switch for wind. But I can flick a switch for Colstrip and our gas plant at Yellowstone County.”

“So don’t get fooled by ‘wind and solar is cheaper than fossil fuels.’ It is for electricity but not for capacity.”

The natural gas fired Yellowstone County Generating Station, “was built as a partner with renewables…it is the perfect plant to offset renewables.”

Almost every day NWE has excess energy. “We are long energy, short capacity.”

Demand growth for electricity over the past 20 years has been flat, according to Bird. It has grown by about one percent.

“That is going to change in the United States.” Both, Elon Musk and Bill Gates believe that demand for electricity in the future will be two -and -a -half to three times higher than it is today. “Should we be closing dispatchable, long –duration resources …until we have resources for the future?” questioned Bird.

Bird predicted that to achieve the next 40 percent of “carbon free” emissions will be much harder than the first 60 percent. It’s going to be “really, really tough…but you don’t tear down the old bridge until you build a new bridge.”

“Soon we will begin to hear terms like ‘energy reality,’” predicted Bird, because “when people die, reality is going to show up in an instant.”

Bird said that hydro is his favorite resource because it is clean and has good capacity, but we need all of our resources. “We have to have ‘all of the above resources’ to serve our customers and we will gladly take our neighbor’s ownership interest for zero capital cost. … when this plant was built we all had similar objectives. Politics today has changed those objectives and those changed objectives of the West have been a benefit to us and our customers.”

“Do you think those two companies wanted to give us those pieces for zero?” queried Bird, “No. They didn’t. Their states are making them get out of coal by 2025….one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We will gladly take their interests in Colstrip.”

Bird explained that even if they have to build a bag house, which is a proposed mandate that the Environment Protection Agency may impose, costs that will be less than have to build new generation.

“If we invested $200 million to maintain the plant and $200 million in a bag house – that compares to a cost of $1.6 billion for a 30 megawatt gas plant at current prices.”

Bird said that NWE has been criticized for not having a shorter time frame to their “net zero goal.” “They  have asked us to change it to 2035 or 2040. One skiing community has a goal of net zero by 2030 and wanted us to change.  But I don’t believe that because they get their power from NWE.”

He also explained that getting the Colstrip pieces, while a huge benefit to customers, aren’t seen as such by investors. Investors make money on investments. Getting something for zero is no means of getting a return on investment.

Bird had a few critical remarks regarding Montana media.

He asked the audience how many knew that Northwest Energy is the second best in energy transition in the United States from an investor owned facility perspective. “The media hasn’t told you that?” he asked with mock incredulity. “I can’t believe it.” NWE is second to Idacorp, Inc. which has significant hydro generation.

Bird pointed out that typically Montana media attempts to imply that NorthWestern Energy is not a Montana business. They emphasize that the company is headquartered in South Dakota. He explained that NorthWestern Energy is a South Dakota – Montana – Nebraska company which gained ownership of Montana Power 25 years ago and, today, 90 percent of the company’s business is in Montana.

“We are going to be here a long time,” said Bird.