Archive: April 2025

Spring! Time to “Get Started”; Time to Register for  Women’s Run

21 April 2025
Dennis Pyburn
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Geting Started Clinic’s for the Montana Women’s Run started this week and continues every Monday hereafter until Race Day on Saturday, May 10. Getting Started Clinics begin at 5:30 pm in Pioneer Park. It is a fun opportunity to get into shape for the big race. Bring a friend. Win a prize.  There’s no better way to greet spring.

April 20 is the deadline day to make sure that when you sign up you will get a fabulous t-shirt by race day. It is also deadline for signing up a team. Team Captains get a special prize. And it is the deadline for nominating an outstanding woman for the Pat Jaffray Award. If you know of a woman who has been an inspiration to all around her and has made the lives of others better, nominate her for this very prestigious award. Get details on the website womensrun.org, where you can also REGISTER!!! You can also volunteer by emailing mwrvolunteer@gmail.com.

Montana Women’s Run is celebrating over 40 years of this renowned event which annually attracts some 5000 women who fill the streets of downtown Billings to participate in the 2-mile and 5-mile races – Rut it! Walk it! Live it! Everyone who registers gets a unique, specially designed t-shirt. People may also participate virtually and many do, from around the globe. (Get details on line.)

Proceeds from the event benefit charitable organizations in Billings that contribute to women’s and children’s health and wellness. To date, the Run has donated more than $1,827,500 to local organizations. The Montana Women’s Run began in 1982 with just 200 registrants and celebrated last year with over 5,600 women participating, including virtually, from around the world.

Major sponsors of the 2025 Montana Women’s Run are AVA Law Group, Billings Clinic, Par Montana, First Interstate Bank, Graphic Imprints, The Planet 106.7, and KTVQ. Tell them Thank You!

Wind Industry Tax Rates Under Fire

21 April 2025
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By Christina Lengyel,  The Center Square

A bill aimed at removing a 2007 tax break from wind energy producers has West Virginia legislators at odds over the supremacy of coal in West Virginia’s economy.

Senate Bill 439 would clarify that “wind power projects are not pollution control facilities,” which are taxed at salvage value. The clarification would subject them to real property taxes.

Supporters of the bill say the change would add millions in tax revenue to the state and take away an unfair advantage over the coal industry. Those who oppose it say the wind industry, which employs West Virginians and is an essential component of a clean-energy future, would suffer a huge blow.

Sen. Glenn Jeffries, R-Putnam, argued for an “all energy” policy, encouraging the incentivization of all energy production, including coal, rather than disincentivizing wind power production.

The bill’s sponsor and chair of the Senate Energy, Industry, and Mining committee Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, said the wind industry profits “at the expense of our hardworking coal and natural gas industries,” which he called “a slap in the face to the men and women who have powered this state for generations, digging coal and drilling gas to keep America running.”

Stronger Wood Developed

21 April 2025
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A new self-densifying technique for creating super-strong wood could bring about a new stronger building material.

 Individual wood fibers are made up mainly of cellulose, along with a binder material known as lignin. This mixture forms the wall of what is essentially a long hollow tube – the fiber – which runs lengthwise within the larger piece of wood. The hollow space inside the tube is called the lumen, and it is what limits wood’s strength. A team from China’s Nanjing University recently set out to address that shortcoming, by developing the new process.

It begins by boiling a block of wood in a mixture of sodium hydroxide (lye) and sodium sulfite, removing some of the lignin. That block is then immersed in a heated blend of lithium chloride salt and a solvent known as dimethylacetamide.

This causes the cellulose (and remaining lignin) to swell, expanding inwards to fill the lumen. In a final step, the processed wood is left to air-dry at room temperature for 10 hours. As it does so, it uniformly shrinks inwards from all sides, but maintains its original length. 

The resulting material is claimed to exhibit “ultra-high” tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact toughness – much more so than natural wood. It even surpasses wood which has been compressed by traditional methods, in which the fibers are just mechanically flattened in one direction.

Society Revives Yellowstone Trail; Christiansen Recognized for Dedication . . .

21 April 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

What if you had a brand new car but no place to drive it?

In the early 1900s that was exactly the dilemma faced by owners of the newfangled automobile. Just as new as the automobile, was the idea of roads. Early on, entrepreneurs across the country recognized the potential roads could bring to tourism; and, citizens – not governments — built the Yellowstone Trail – the first transcontinental automobile highway through the upper tier states.

Although now lost to history, the Yellowstone Trail is being revived by the Yellowstone Historical Society under the leadership of Renee Christiansen, who was recently presented with the Annual Eugene T. Carroll Individual Achievement Award in recognition of her ten years as president of the Yellowstone Historical Society and her dedicated interest in preserving the community’s history.

Signs designating the former route of the Yellowstone Trail can be seen in Billings, throughout Yellowstone County, and across the state, thanks to the efforts of members of the Yellowstone Historical Society, as well as other historian buffs across Montana, and along the entire 2,445 miles of the route that extends from Plymouth, Massachusetts, through Montana to Yellowstone National Park, to Seattle, Washington. That the trail would go to Yellowstone National Park was a top priority in its development because that was recognized as a top destination for tourists, said Christiansen, who has long been a strong advocate for the industry.

As the trail winds its way through the county, some of the old roadway is visible, but much of it has been incorporated into main highways and arterials. Travelers may notice Yellowstone Trail Signs along Hwy. 312 to Bench Boulevard in the Heights, and along First Avenue North in downtown Billings, as it jogs onto First Avenue South across the railroad tracks.

Besides signs being placed along the route, the Yellowstone Historical Society and similar organizations who are part of the Yellowstone Trails Association are putting together booklets that will tell its story and highlight historical sites along each segment to inform and encourage tourists. The association also publishes a magazine to which historians submit articles.

Christiansen said she became intrigued with local history as she and her husband, Lee, launched their business, Montana Fun Adventure Tours, in 1996. As they pulled clients into Montana from across the country and around the world, they quickly discovered there was great interest in the history of the area. “People were always surprised to discover that there is so much history,” said Christiansen.

Christiansen discovered and was quickly drawn to the activities of the Yellowstone Historical Society. Besides putting Yellowstone Trail back on the map, so to speak, members have placed other signage designating other historical sites in the area. Christiansen is proud of the line-up of outstanding speakers that Yellowstone Historical Society has hosted over the years. They also present Histories Mysteries with Prudy Ladd.  And, Christiansen was instrumental in initiating the lighting of the community Christmas tree in Community Park in downtown Billings.

Revised Regs Dictate Private Property Use in County

21 April 2025
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County regulations on how private property is used by owners, which were rewritten a couple of years ago, are being tweaked by the city/county planning department, to correct errors, spelling, grammar, etc. and make changes that weren’t working, according to Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator for the Planning Division of the City of Billings.

The 96 page document with its changes was approved by Yellowstone County Commissioners. The county’s regulations, which are laws mandating how property owners may develop and use their property, are different than those imposed inside the city boundaries.

Restrictions on how a property owner may exercise his rights to determine how to use a property, ostensibly exist to assure “public health and safety” but they often extend into issues of esthetics, environmental preferences, consistency, compliance, or the majority sentiments of neighbors.

Cromwell reviewed some of the more significant changes before the commissioners during their regular weekly board meeting.

Included in changes are details about where a property owner must store garbage, ie. “must be located in either the rear yard, or interior side yard;” it may be located inside the building  with “access doors off the rear or interior side façade. . . “doors must be opaque, screening a minimum of 80 percent of the opening.”

Added to the document are regulations dictating maximum height of a building does not include “spires, belfries, cupolas, antennas, water towers or tanks, chimneys or smokestacks, power transmission lines, cooling or elevator towers” etc. To exceed height limits a property owner must seek approval by submitting an “approved application for Administrative Relief” or a “Variance.” Signs must be approved . . . trees trimmed up 8 feet clearance. . . canopies are covers “attached to and supported by the structure to which it is attached . . .”

Minimum requirements for arterial setbacks are included. “No building or structure shall be erected or maintained within fifty feet of the centerline of an arterial street.” “. . . no required parking area or portion thereof, including driving aisles, shall be constructed or located within forty feet of the centerline. . .”

The number of buildings (residents) allowed on a lot was increased from one to two, with up to three accessory buildings. Details on where a property owner can locate a driveway or a garage are also included.

Due to a change in state law the zoning regulations can no longer discriminate as to manufactured homes, so all language that did so in past regulations has been struck. Regulations that dictated that a two-unit building must be “ located perpendicular to the street in a U-shaped configuration with a courtyard or shared yard,” was eliminated.

However, it now restricts that garage entrances located on the front façade be limited to 50 percent of the front façade width. Eliminated was the mandate that only one entrance may be located on the street from the garage, now two entrances are allowed by the regulators.

If a property has no alley or other rear entrances, the law will allow the property owner to put a garage on their property fronting onto a street so long as it has  “. . . single-wide garage entry door of ten feet in width or less. . .” If a property owner wants two garage doors, not only must each be no more than ten feet wide but they must share the driveway, that can be no more than 25 feet wide. Front entry garages are prohibited from taking up more than 40 percent of the front of the lot, and the garage doors must be set back at least 8 feet behind the front door.

Also eliminated was a 20,000 square feet minimum size of a “parklet” or landscaped open space, which still is mandated to have 70 percent living plant material and extend at least 20 feet along street frontage. A “green” must extend as much as 50 feet along a street. A “natural area” is a large area “to conserve a natural feature, such as a stream, wetland or woodland” must also extend 50 feet.

How far different kinds of structures must be set back from a property line are also dictated.

In “mixed-use” permitted areas a restriction that dictated that only “upper stories” could accommodate residential and/or office uses, was struck in the revised regulations, and now a property owner may use any story of the property he owns for such purposes. Also struck were restrictions on allowing dwelling use below the ground floor level.

Another change stipulates that manufactured homes may not be used for any commercial use or as an office for a manufactured home sales area.

The regulations grant permission for either private or public ownership of amusement and recreation facilities, and they grant permission for such entities to charge fees. Ice arenas, playgrounds, picnic shelters, community centers, gardens and orchards and nature preserves were added to the list of acceptable amusement and recreational facilities.

The rules further restrict how storage facilities may be used, disallowing any business activity, mandating fencing and where it must be, and that stacked stored items cannot exceed the height of the fence. And shipping containers shall be screened from view from any public right-of-way.

Agriculture, commercial and industrial zones have been included as allowable users of “Antennas co-located on existing stealth communication facilities or existing antenna support structures which have previously received all required approvals and permits shall be permitted . . .”

Other regulations restrict the size and number of detached accessory structures, depending on lot size.

There are extensive additions to regulations pertaining to expanding by fifty percent or more the gross building square footage, requiring that it comply with current mandates. Many of the esthetic changes are only required if they front the street.

Some of the mandates regarding how the outside of such a remodeled building should look, require replacing existing front-facing façade with up-to-date approved materials and dictating the size of windows. Also the roof, should it need to be changed, would have to be changed to meet new standards. Lots larger than 1.5 acres will have to have a plan prepared by a licensed landscaper, and owners of smaller lots will be strongly urged to consult with a professional landscaper. Regulations note that a list of appropriate plant species for Yellowstone County can be obtained from the Planning Department.

“All multifamily residential projects, manufactured home parks, and all mixed-use and non-residential projects shall include on the landscape plan, a detailed drawing of enclosure and screening methods to be used in connection with mechanical equipment, trash bins, recycle bins, storage yards, service areas, loading docks, and other equipment storage areas on the property.”

“Any fence greater than a height of three feet and equal to or less than 7 feet in height shall require a fence permit.” Added to the planners’ list of acceptable fencing materials are “corrugated and uncorrugated metal panels framed in wood, vinyl, composite, brick or stone. Metal panels shall be coated with a non-reflective material . . . “

Changes have also been made to regulations dictating signage requirements for businesses and when they are required.

Montana Tops GDP

21 April 2025
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In a report from the Ninth District of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Montana is at the very top in terms of our Gross Domestic Product – or how much we produce, as compared to the other states in our district. The Ninth District is comprised of five states, including Montana.

The latest data, which is third quarter of 2024, shows that Montana has a GDP of 117.7 as compared to the next highest state, South Dakota at 111.7. We are also producing at a higher level than the US average at 114.5 – also we have had a very steep incline in the increase of our GDP, ever since COVID – exceeding all other states in the district.

Montana also has the highest percentage employment per 100 people than other states in the Ninth District and it has been steadily rising. Montana’s ratio is 111.3 as compared to the next highest, again South Dakota at 106.5. The National average is 106.3.

Montana Highlights April 15, 2025

21 April 2025
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Whitefish Mountain Resort saw over 400,000 skier visits during the 2024-25 season. This is the fifth year in a row that the mountain has tallied more than 400,000 skier visits. The resort set a new record for skier visits between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day with this year’s almost 62,400 skier visits were counted. Next season’s passes are already on sale.

The Pine Hills Youth Correctionl Facility is doing something it hasn’t done in more than 90 years. The facility will return Pine Hills to its mission as a juvenile-only facility. The change was announced by the Montana Department of Corrections on March 21.

Paddlefish anglers will see a some changes to the regulations issued by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 2025. Among the changes to this year’s paddlefish regulations are concerning hooks, one treble hook per line plus forward forward-facing sonar.

Princess and Buck is a new boutique which recently entered the downtown Kalispellmarket. The shop is owned by Beth Kornick and Kyle Waterman. The name, Princess and Buck, came from two historic businesses in downtown Kalispell.  The store features a range of items, gifts and clothes from the Flathead Valley.

Construction on a new fishing access site near Sportsman’s Bridge in Bigfork is expected to begin this spring. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks have approved plans to construct a boat ramp, parking lot and pit latrines. Once complete the new facility will make way for the reconstruction of Sportsman’s Bridge.

A total of 30 breweries competed in 22 beer categories at the second Montana Beer Awards.

The Montana Folk Festival in Butte will be July 11-13. Admission is free to all performances during the three days of the festival, although organizers urge attendees to donate up to $35 for a family.

Federal agencies informed Missoula County officials recently that two of its grants have been discontinued, which could eliminate up to three positions and halt some work around energy efficiency and case management. The county lost a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and Partnership Health Center lost the remainder of a $1.8 million grant from the Centers For Disease Control.

Emily Garza has opened a branch of Onyx + Ivory Boutique. a women’s clothing boutique, in Miles City.

Helena’s liquor distillery, Gulch Distillers, will be expanding into a location. The new spot will be at 4 W. Lawrence St., between Queen City Ballet and the Gold Bar. It will have tasting rooms and a bottle shop on the main floor. They are also adding a new space in the lower level that will serve as a bottling facility. Once the new space is completed the business will close public access to their facility at 790 Front St. expand the space to production.

Miles City officials are focusing on finding funding to possibly reopen at least one of its recreational water features. The Wibaux Park splash pad, froggie pool and the Riverside Park Oasis are in danger of not opening this summer due to budget shortfalls. Funding for the three recreational sites was cut for the 2025 fiscal year as the city needed to balance its 2025 budget.

A Missoula official working on a cross-country passenger rail line that would pass through Montana called on Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to restore multiple federal grants for the project. The Department of Transportation has placed some grants under review. These reviews could slow down an infrastructure project related to the rail line.

Research conducted at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton has identified several mosquito-borne illnesses that can cause encephalitis circulating in Montana.  The findings are detailed in a report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal. Several viruses that can cause encephalitis (brain swelling) and are unfamiliar to most physicians are circulating in Montana mosquitoes. 

Construction is expected to start next month on the new, 6,100-square-foot VA clinic in Lewistown. A survey showed the need for a larger VA facility in Lewistown. The current plan is for the outpatient clinic to begin operations in the spring of 2026. There are nearly 800 veterans in the Lewistown area who are enrolled with the VA.

For the second year in a row, the home of Montana State University has been ranked the No. 1 college town in America, according to the website RentCafe.com. Bozeman’s ranking was based on a combination of factors, including the affordability and quality of education available at MSU, the town’s highly educated population and an abundance of nearby natural amenities. The website also notes that Bozeman is home to numerous startup companies and major employers, who provide students with internship and career development opportunities.

Malmstrom Joins Visit Billings

21 April 2025
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Maddie Malmstrom joined Visit Billings, managed by the Billings Chamber of Commerce, as the new Content Coordinator in March. In her new role, Malmstrom will spearhead content creation and curation for Visit Billings’ annual marketing plan.

Leveraging her graphic design and writing skills, Malmstrom will craft and disseminate engaging content across various social media platforms. Her focus will be on producing high-quality written and visual materials that elevate Billings’ profile as a premier travel destination.

Malmstrom brings a wealth of experience in digital marketing and social media management. At City Vineyard, she scaled Instagram followers by 46 percent, profile visits by 907 percent, and online orders by 62 percent in the first year. Her expertise in establishing routine social media data analytics and content calendars, as well as initiating cohesive brand standards, will be invaluable to Visit Billings.

“Maddie’s proven track record in digital marketing and her creative mindset make her a perfect fit for our team,” says Marya Pennington, marketing director of Visit Billings. Malmstrom holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Marketing from Boise State University, with a minor in Entrepreneurship Management. She has extensive experience in content development, project management, and client relationship management. Her skills in copywriting, graphic design, and social media management will help elevate Billings’ presence as a top travel destination.

Malmstrom officially joined Visit Billings on March 24, 2025. She has called Billings’s home for 23 years since moving here with her family at a young age. Outside of work, she enjoys travel, outdoor adventures, fashion, music, reading, and finding new creative outlets.

Japanese Scientists Invent New Safer Plastic

21 April 2025
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Scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use “as the regular stuff” but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind safe compounds.

It takes decades before plastic fully breaks down. And when it does, it forms microplastic pieces that are turning up in all corners of the natural world, including our own bodies, where they wreak havoc on our health.

RIKEN researchers have developed a new type of plastic that can work just as well as the regular stuff but breaks down readily into safe compounds. It’s made of supramolecular polymers, which have reversible bonds that can be attached, removed and reattached.

Researchers identified sodium hexametaphosphate, a common food additive, and monomers which are used in fertilizers. When these two compounds are mixed together in water, they form a viscous material that can be dried to form plastics.

The material is as strong as normal plastic, and is non-flammable, colorless and transparent. Immersed in saltwater though, the plastic completely dissolved in about eight and a half hours.

The team found that applying hydrophobic coatings prevented any early breaking down of the material. The material breaks down into nitrogen and phosphorus, which are useful nutrients for plants and microbes.

Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Stadiums

21 April 2025
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By Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square

The debate over whether taxpayers should be on the hook for constructing professional sports stadiums has made its way back to Capitol Hill as lawmakers look to end taxpayer subsidies for multi-billion-dollar complexes.

Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., and Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation calling for the end of taxpayer subsidies to build professional sports complexes.

The No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act would terminate the ability for professional sporting teams to utilize tax-exempt municipal bonds to finance the construction of stadiums. The lawmakers argue that the tax exemptions were “originally intended to help local governments fund essential public infrastructure projects,” including hospitals, schools and roads.

The legislators claim the “loophole has enabled wealthy sports franchises to benefit from taxpayer dollars, often with little measurable economic return to the surrounding communities.”

The lawmakers contend that in the last 25 years, over 40 sports stadiums have been “financed” using the tax-exempted municipal bonds, claiming to have cost taxpayers “an estimated $4.3 billion in lost federal revenue.”

In February, The Center Square reported on $1.2 billion in public funds requested to help build a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns, which is estimated to cost $2.4 billion.

In 2023, The Center Square reported on another stadium project involving the construction of a new stadium to house the Tennessee Titans, requesting a $500 million bond from the state of Tennessee.

The Tax Foundation reported that, according to sports economists, over 50 years between 1970 and 2020, taxpayers “‘devoted $33 billion in public funds to construct major-league sports stadiums and arenas’” in the U.S. and Canada. Adding that the public was left “on the hook for nearly three-quarters of the costs of each new sports venue.”

In 2023, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a plan to build a “world-class” entertainment district in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood to house Washington’s NBA and NHL franchises as part of a $2 billion public-private partnership.

At the time, Youngkin touted the development as a major economic boost. Supporters claimed it would generate a $12 billion economic impact for Alexandria and the commonwealth while creating 30,000 jobs. The deal to move the teams across the Potomac has since died.

Despite the governor’s claim, The National Conference of State Legislatures says the “economic impact of stadiums” on cities “is negligible.” However, construction of new stadiums does create jobs, such as, construction and seasonal employment.

NCSL questioned the “quality of the jobs,” citing stadium workers and “game-day personnel,” who often perform “low wage, temporary and part-time” work.

Beyer, whose district includes Alexandria, argues that taxpayers shouldn’t be “forced to fund” sports complexes. “Billionaire owners who need cash can borrow from the market like any other business. Arguments that stadiums boost job creation have been repeatedly discredited. In a time when there is a debate over whether the country can ‘afford’ investments in health care, childcare, education, or fighting climate change, it is ridiculous to even contemplate such a radical misuse of publicly subsidized bonds,” said Beyer.