Archive: June 2025

Khanthaly’s Success Exhibits in New York

11 June 2025
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From Visit Billings

Most Billings locals know the story of Khanthaly Keutla and her delicious egg rolls. But now, the creator of Montana’s first –ever food truck and Khanthaly’s Egg Rolls, and her family, are being recognized on the national stage, honored as part of New York City’s Path of Liberty exhibit at Freedom Plaza.

Path of Liberty at Freedom Plaza is a self-guided walking tour on Manhattan’s East Side, offering a look at what it means to be American, told through portraits, stunning landscapes and interviews.

Khanthaly, along with her children Tobee Keutla, Khuanmany Foley and Lukas Seely, were selected to be a part of the exhibition by the Path of Liberty crew as they traveled throughout the U.S. asking people what it means to be an American.

Khanthaly is the matriarch of her family, a woman whose journey embodies resilience, love and determination. After arriving in the United Sates as a refuge from Laos, she and her husband, Sisavath, worked tirelessly, taking on various odd jobs such as delivering newspapers and selling canned goods to support their family. She later began distributing egg rolls to local church members –an act of generosity that would later blossom into a thriving food truck and restaurant.

The family’s sacrifice and hard work didn’t go unnoticed by their children. Khanthaly’s oldest son, Tobee Keutla, opened his own restaurant in downtown Billings called Mia’s Wok, which is also featured in the Path of Liberty project. Daughter Khuanmany came to America in the mid 1990s on her own journey to America and opened the Noodle House. And Lukas Seely, the family’s only child born in America, chose a different path as he became the first Laotion American comedian to perform stand-up on national television. Lukas also created one of America’s best comedy festivals, The Big Sky Comedy Festival that takes place every October in Billings at the Alberta Bair.

“I love America. They give you the freedom to do what you want to do. I grew up in Laos – it was totally different; you cannot open your own business” Khanthaly says. “I really like [the] American system. If you want to do something they support you. It’s not easy, it’s really hard, but it pays off.”

In addition to being a restaurateur in Billings, Khanthaly is one of the city’s Tail Guides – a Visit Billings tourism ambassador program in which Billings’ locals share with visitors what they love most about their community and how the prefer to explore their hometown.

Tickets to the Path of Liberty are free of charge and available at www.visitbillings.com/billingsbuddies, where Khanthaly’s full story is told. Also view Khanthaly’s official Trail Guides video at www.visitbillings.com/billingsbuddies.

New Owner for Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream

11 June 2025
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Few foods are as popular in Billings as Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream.

People who have moved away have been heard to lament the loss of access to Wilcoxson’s ice cream. Some regularly order it to be shipped. Parents have been under strict orders to bring a box of Wilcoxson’s Fudge Bars when visiting their college students. Even kids, ever the ice cream fans, have been heard to insist that it be Wilcoxson’s.

No doubt about it – Wilcoxson’s is a beloved Montana institution. So it is understandable that the company’s new major shareholder, Neil Schultz, says he is dedicated to making sure the company remains a Montana company and that he has no plans to change the time-tested recipes or production processes.

News of the business sale was announced a couple weeks ago in the Bozeman Chronicle. Schultz acquired a majority stake in the company from Livingston resident Matt Schaeffer, prior president and company CEO, who has been involved with the ice cream manufacturer for more than 45 years. Schaeffer remains a minority shareholder and will continue an involvement in the company.

Schultz, who is a Billings native now living in Bozeman, told the Chronicle, “Montana is Wilcoxson’s country, and keeping Wilcoxson’s in Montana hands was important to both of us. We’re keeping jobs here in Montana and are excited about creating new opportunities for folks.”

Wilcoxson’s is the largest ice cream manufacturer in Montana and has distributed its products throughout Montana and Wyoming for the past 112 years.

It was founded by Carl Wilcoxson in Livingston in 1912. A manufacturing branch of Wilcoxson’s is located in Billings at 114 N 19th Street, which is where they make Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream Bars, Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Fudge Bar. It’s been in operation since the 50s.

Schultz said he gained his experience in food production and packaging from training in industrial design and working for Juicero, a food manufacturing startup.

Schultz cofounded Altrac, an agricultural company specializing in irrigation and frost protection automation that’s used by growers in the Flathead Valley. Schultz sold the company to Semios, a Canadian AgTech company, in 2021.

Schultz said his vision is to carefully bring Wilcoxson’s into the 21st century, expanding freezer capacity and modernizing distribution, while respecting the company’s rich heritage.

Visser Greenhouses Supply Local Gardeners

11 June 2025
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Many local green houses that sell bedding plants and seedlings for gardens in Yellowstone County are supplied by Visser Greenhouses in Manhattan, which is one of the largest nurseries in the state.

Governor Greg Gianforte joined Montana Department of Agriculture Director Jillian Streit for a tour of Visser Greenhouses, a family-owned nursery that has been supplying Montana retailers with bedding plants for generations.

“Montana businesses like Visser Greenhouses show the impact that family-run operations and value-added agriculture has on our communities, our economy, and the next generation of Montana families,” Governor Gianforte said. “It’s exciting, to see this generational family business grow, expand, and continue its legacy of excellence here in the Gallatin Valley.”

 Opening in 1972 and expanding in 1984, Visser Greenhouses has 50 greenhouses with the largest annual and perennial variety list in Montana.

 During the visit, Gov. Gianforte, Director Streit, and founder and owner Don Visser toured the nursery. Visser Greenhouses supplies flowers to numerous retailers across the state, with partners in over 30 Montana cities.

Producing hundreds of thousands of plants every year, the Visser’s primarily service wholesale customers but each May, invite Montanans to visit the location in Manhattan for retail sales. In 2025 alone, the business grew over 25,000 mums and produced nearly 70,000 hanging baskets.

 “Now we are open for the month of May, all thanks to the support we get from the community—they’re interested in what we do and they’re ready to buy. That’s fueled our growth and what we are able to do,” Jay Visser said, son of Don.

“As we work to strengthen and diversify Montana agriculture, family-run operations like Visser Greenhouses set a powerful example of innovation, entrepreneurship, and success,” Director Streit said. “Their story is exactly what we mean when we talk about adding value to Montana agriculture.”

Addressing alcohol use disorder in the workplace

11 June 2025
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Strategies for employers amid surging consumption

By Dr. Rhonda Randall, Chief Medical Officer for UnitedHealthcare’s Commercial Business

Alcohol use has become so deeply woven into our cultural fabric that its consumption often goes unquestioned. But a growing body of research signals a troubling trend: high intensity drinking is up among middle-aged adults, who make up a significant portion of today’s workforce. This demographic shift has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, the former U.S. surgeon general warned about the rising burden of cancer linked to alcohol consumption, and research funded by the National Institutes of Health indicates that 35- to 50-year-olds reported the highest prevalence of binge drinking ever recorded for this age group. In Montana, this pattern is worth noting. According to America’s Health Rankings, nearly 20% of adults report excessive drinking — placing the state among the highest in the nation and highlighting an opportunity for more open conversations around alcohol, health, and prevention.

A growing health and workplace concern

Excessive alcohol consumption is both a personal health issue and a public health crisis with serious implications for employers. Chronic, high-risk drinking has been linked to heart disease, liver failure, mental health challenges, and increased cancer risk. At the same time, other stressors—including economic uncertainty, job pressures, and post-pandemic burnout—are likely fueling higher rates of unhealthy alcohol use. According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of workers reported experiencing work-related stress in the past month, a key contributor to substance misuse.

Employees struggling with alcohol use disorder miss an average of 32 workdays per year, contributing to over 232 million missed workdays annually in the U.S. For Montana employers, addressing this issue is especially important given the state’s higher-than-average rates of excessive drinking. The ripple effect—reduced productivity, increased healthcare costs, and turnover—translates to an estimated $81 billion in annual losses for U.S. businesses.

Recognizing the signs 

Common signs of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the workplace include employees not meeting deadlines, experiencing memory impairment, or showing distress when alcohol isn’t available. They may have unusual difficulty completing everyday tasks, disappear for no apparent reason or frequently call in sick or show up late. It’s important to note that not all people who struggle with alcohol use will exhibit the same symptoms. These behavioral and physical signs aren’t always connected to alcohol.

Supporting your workforce

To mitigate these challenges, employers can implement strategies to support their workforce.

1. Promote the use of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Actively communicate the availability of counseling services offered through EAPs. These programs, which are generally offered at no cost to employees, offer support for those struggling with alcohol use, including referrals to addiction specialists and treatment programs. 

2. Offer a comprehensive network of providers. Work with a benefit provider that offers an extensive network of healthcare providers specializing in substance use disorders and behavioral health. Providers that offer specialized care can offer personalized care plans, including in-person and virtual treatment options to help employees receive the right level of support tailored to their needs.

3. Facilitate digital health solutions. Offer digital health solutions that provide accessible and flexible support for employees. These can include educational content to help your workforce understand the impact of alcohol consumption and problem drinking, as well as self-screening tests, virtual support groups, telehealth services, and app-based tools to help them access care discreetly and conveniently.

4. Foster a supportive work environment. Training managers to recognize the signs of alcohol use disorder and providing them with resources to support their teams may help create a more supportive and understanding environment. Regularly communicating the availability of resources and support can also reduce stigma and encourage employees to seek help.

By taking proactive steps to address alcohol use in the workplace, employers can help create a supportive and productive environment, reduce the financial burden of alcohol use disorders, and improve overall employee well-being. In Montana, these efforts can make a positive impact on both employees and the broader community.

Prepared for Big Sky Business Journal to run in June

Much Happening on Nuclear Energy Front

11 June 2025
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A lot of policy changes regarding energy are happening very quickly around the world, according to Robert Bryce of Substack.com. They are especially changing in regard to nuclear energy. “The politics and policies around nuclear energy have shifted faster than at any other period in the post-Chernobyl era,” said Bryce.

“Germany, the world’s long-time anti-nuclear poster child, just did a screeching U-turn. Under its new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Germany will cooperate with France and treat nuclear as a “green” power source under EU regulations. The move comes just 25 months after Germany took its last three nuclear plants offline. As one German official said, the move is a ‘sea-change policy shift.’”

The announcement from Berlin came just days after Belgium’s federal parliament voted by a large majority to repeal a 2003 law mandating the phase out of nuclear energy and banning the construction of new reactors.

On May 20, Bryce reported that the Danish government announced it was reconsidering its ban on nuclear power, which has been in place since 1985. The country’s former prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told the Financial Times, “Wind and solar are good as long as you have wind and sunshine. But you have to have a non-fossil base-load and it’s ridiculous to exclude nuclear power.”

On May 13, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (a Democrat) announced a plan to repeal a state law passed by voters in 1982. Healey’s administration is pointing to a recent report by ISO New England, which found that nuclear power can reduce emissions more cheaply than wind and solar.

Further, the move comes as offshore wind, which a few months ago was the darling of East Coast Democrats, is slowly sinking under the weight of market realities and political headwinds, said Bryce.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis (a Democrat) signed a bill into law that allows nuclear to count as a “clean” resource to meet the state’s decarbonization mandates. “Polis signed the bill despite his 2019 campaign promise to run the state solely on wind, solar, batteries, and a soupçon of fairy dust.”

Bryce went on to say, “I wrote about the challenges facing the nuclear renaissance in the US and gave five reasons why the US won’t be able to quadruple the size of its reactor fleet by 2050.” He said he stands by that statement. “Nothing about the nuclear comeback will be cheap, quick, or easy. . . . new reactors cost too much, building them takes too long, there are too many reactor designs, and the US has to develop domestic sources of nuclear fuel.”

But it’s also apparent that the politics of nuclear is changing like never before. “Politics leads policy,” said Bryce, “And now, in heavily Democratic states and in European countries where nuclear bans have been in place for decades, politicians are changing their rhetoric and their policies.”

This tectonic shift will gain momentum when the White House releases four executive orders on nuclear power, which sources tell me will be released later this week. The orders will be the most consequential endorsements of nuclear energy by a US president since Dwight Eisenhower delivered his Atoms For Peace speech in 1953.

Bryce said that a draft of the White House release proclaims that the US is losing the race to deploy new reactors and that China has announced plans to:

“Bring 200 new gigawatts of nuclear power online by 2035, at which point its total nuclear output will more than double that of the United States. Further, as American development of new reactor designs has waned, 87% of nuclear reactors installed worldwide since 2017 are based on Russian and Chinese designs. These trends cannot continue. Swift and decisive action is required to jump-start America’s nuclear renaissance and ensure our national and economic security by increasing fuel availability, enabling research and development, and preparing our workforce.”

The order assesses the situation in the US, stating, “Between 1954 and 1978, the United States licensed 135 civilian nuclear reactors at 81 power plants. Since 1978, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized only five new reactors, and of these, only two have been built. It charges applicants by the hour to process license applications, with prolonged timelines that maximize fees, throttling American nuclear power development. The NRC has refused to license new reactors even as significant technological advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper, more adaptable, and more abundant than ever.”

The same order directs the agency to “undertake a wholesale revision of its regulations.”

Mid-year Economic Outlook Seminar

11 June 2025
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The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana has announced the dates for its mid-year economic update.

The program will be held in seven different Montana cities. In Billings the date is August 7, 7:30-8 am at the Northern Hotel. Registration is open at https://www.economicoutlookseminar.com/

Other programs will be held at Helena, Great Falls, Kalispell, Bozeman, Missoula, and Butte.

Speakers will include the new director of BBER, Jeffrey Michael, who has replaced the retiring Pat Barkey. Dr. Michael has decades of experience in regional economic forecasting, public policy analysis, and environmental economics, including work on the economic impacts of the Endangered Species Act, climate change, and regulation on land use, infrastructure, property values and employment growth. Prior to joining BBER, Dr. Michael was director of Public Policy Programs and professor of Public Policy at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, executive director of the Center for Business and Policy Research in the University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business, and associate dean and director of the Center for Applied Business and Economic Research at Towson University (MD).

Also presenting will be Todd O’Hair, President and CEO, Montana Chamber of Commerce. O’Hair is a Montana native, from Livingston where his family owns a multi-generational family ranch. Before being named President and CEO of the Montana Chamber, Todd was the Senior Manager of Government Affairs for a major coal mining company, Cloud Peak Energy. While at Cloud Peak, he served on the Montana Chamber of Commerce board of directors and was the chair of the board in 2016-17. Before Cloud Peak Energy, Todd worked in Gov. Judy Martz’s office for four years. He also served as the Natural Resources Policy Advisor for Congressman Rick Hill in Washington, D.C., and later as State Director.

The event is sponsored by First Interstate Bank, Sibanye Stillwater and Northwestern Energy.

Lab-Grown Meat Banned in Montana

11 June 2025
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Governor Greg Gianforte has signed into law HB 401, a bill banning the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat in Montana.

“If you’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying a cut of Montana beef, you know there is no substitute,” Gov. Gianforte said. “By signing House Bill 401 into law, I am proud to defend our way of life and the hardworking Montana ranchers who produce the best beef in the world.”

Sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, House Bill 401 prohibits the manufacture for sale, sale, or distribution of cell-cultured edible product. The bill defines cell-cultured edible product as, “the concept of meat, including but not limited to muscle cells, fat cells, connective tissue, blood, and other components produced via cell culture, rather than from a whole slaughtered animal.”

Starting October 1, any retail food establishment in Montana that manufactures, sells, or distributes cell-cultured edible product is subject to suspension of their license and could be found guilty of a misdemeanor and faced with fines and imprisonment if convicted.

“As Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and someone whose family has been involved in Montana’s meat processing industry for over 80 years, I’m proud Governor Gianforte signed House Bill 401 into law,” Rep. Mitchell said. “Agriculture is our state’s number one industry, and this bill takes a clear stand to protect our ranchers and our food supply. We won’t let synthetic products with misleading labels undercut the hard work of Montana’s farm and ranch families.”

The Montana Farm Bureau Federation praised the signing of the legislation, thanking the governor and legislature for defending and protecting the Montana way of life.

“Montana ranchers grow some of the best meat in the world, we are thrilled consumers in the treasure state will continue to enjoy authentic meat. Thank you to the legislature and Governor Gianforte for supporting ranchers and consumers with this new law,” said Montana Farm Bureau Federation President Cyndi Johnson.

Force is Immoral

11 June 2025
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By Evelyn Pyburn

When liberties seem to be in conflict, one must check their basic premises. One must go back and determine what they know (or don’t know) about the Bill of Rights.

It should be remembered that the whole point of the Bill of Rights is to protect the individual citizen from the over reach of government. It was not intended to dictate how individuals should interact with each other. The Bill of Rights is all about restraining government, not citizens.

So when it comes to issues like discrimination, we should keep in mind that the Constitution is addressing government – government is not supposed to discriminate in how it deals with citizens. Citizens are free to discriminate!

Every citizen discriminates every day in a thousand different ways. It is the human condition that we have to make choices in order to survive and we must be free to do so. We must be free to choose– to discrrimnate.

To attempt to prevent citizens from choosing is not unlike attempting to legislate morality, which is a violation of freedom of religion — a violation of allowing each person to  choose their philosophy about life and the freedom to choose how to live one’s life. It is to attempt to use force to make individual citizens think in some approved way. It is violence against the human mind. Nothing should be considered more vile by human beings, whose very means of survival is the human mind.

To change biases requires addressing the mind. It falls to the very challenging task of persuasion and reason — reason being the hallmark of the human mind.

To coerce people to think some specific way, is an impossible quest, as history has amply demonstrated. It also requires the use of force against people who have not initiated the use of force themselves. The very essence of a free society is accepting that the only moral use of force is for self-defense or the defense of others.

Government is pure force. It is the legalized use of force. Ultimately, everything government does, it does at the point of a gun. That is the vision one should hold in mind when suggesting government should “do something.” The only legitimate use of government in a moral society is to protect its citizens from the use of force by foreign adversaries and to stand as defender and arbitrator when citizens use force, one against another.

Hence, the only legitimate purpose of government in a free society, is the moral use of force. In a moral society government is established in recognition of that fact.  Government should exist to defend the country, the citizens, from outside forces, and to restrain how citizens use force against each other. Such is the purpose of law enforcement and courts, to protect citizens from murder, theft, fraud, government, etc.

Almost all other issues that a society sees as legitimate concerns — such as philanthropy in regard to human kindness, welfare and charity, most issues of health and safety, all of education, research, innovation and community benefits or enhancements — could and would be provided for by the private sector. Many are already provided for in creative ways, and they would be to an even greater extent if not for the competitive interferences of government force. There would be voluntary systems and processes and alternatives that ingenuous citizens would quickly devise should they see a need for them– innovations that would amaze us all.

So in trying to decide when government is right or wrong the conclusion should fall to the issue of force and how much emphasis was put on restraining government in the use of force. Anything that requires the use of force against citizens who have initiated no use of force themselves teeters at the brink of being a crime in and of itself.

For government— or to use government as a surrogate, to force someone — which essentially means using the point of a gun – to do something against their will, has to be seen for what it is – wrong. So when we are told the Constitution says it is illegal to discriminate, or to adhere to one religion over another, or over no religion at all, or that we have to wear a mask, or drive a certain kind of car, or use one cooking stove over another — it is all untrue. It is all a crime against humanity. What the Constitution and the Bill of Rights say is that none of those things should be dictated to any citizen in a free country – most especially since it is an abhorrent violation to choose – a human being’s very means of survival.

Essential Air Service Uncertain

11 June 2025
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Small communities in Montana dependent on Essential Air Service (EAS) may lose the $300 million those airports have depended upon to fund air service from services such a CapeAir.

Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget issued a letter in May which included the loss of that federal subsidy as one of the cuts that the federal executive branch wants to make in the fiscal year 2026 budget.

“The EAS program funnels taxpayer dollars to airlines to subsidize half-empty flights from airports that are within easy commuting distance from each other, while also failing to effectively provide assistance to most rural air travelers,” the document reads.

Montana has seven airports that receive EAS funding: Butte, West Yellowstone, Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Montana had 2.87 million passengers boarding a plane, in 2023. About 2.5 million of those boardings came from airports in Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell, and Billings. Bozeman had 1.2 million.

Through the EAS program, Butte and West Yellowstone received about $2.5 million combined in 2023 for SkyWest to operate flights to Denver and Salt Lake City.  West Yellowstone had 8,750 passengers an increase of 19.11% and Butte had slightly more than 16,000 passengers in 2023.

Sidney had 8,000 boardings — a 22% increase more than 2022 — with Wolf Point, Havre and Glasgow each having around 3,000 boardings. Glendive had 2,177 boardings in 2023.

Bull Mountains Mine Expansion Tucked into Budget Bill

11 June 2025
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By Amanda Eggert, Montana Free Press

Congress has tucked an 800-acre expansion of an underground Montana coal mine into a budget reconciliation bill that cleared its first committee vote last week.

A two-page provision of the Natural Resources Committee’s bill authorizes Signal Peak Energy to access federally owned coal beneath central Montana’s Bull Mountains in accordance with an expansion plan the company submitted to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in 2020.

The House Committee on Natural Resources voted in the early morning hours of May 7 to advance the nearly 100-page bill, with Republicans in favor and all Democrats except Rep. Adam Gray of California opposed. The bill is part of a larger budget reconciliation package that representatives are expected to debate in the coming weeks in the House Budget Committee and on the House floor.

In addition to directing the Interior Department to authorize an expansion of the Bull Mountains Mine, the bill allows for noncompetitive leases of federally owned fossil fuels, creates a pathway for companies to pay for expedited review — and guaranteed approval — of environmental impact statements, reduces royalty rates for coal, oil and gas, and reverses the Biden administration’s moratorium on new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.  

According to committee members’ remarks on the bill during the nearly 12-hour hearing, the budget bill is either the “most extreme anti-environment bill in American history” and part of an agenda to “help Big Oil executives and billionaires profit any way they can,” or a sincere effort to address the country’s national debt by “delivering on the American people’s mandate to restore common sense to the federal government and stop the fiscal bleeding.” 

Committee Republicans estimated the bill will generate $18 billion in new revenue and savings. Democratic members of the committee argued that Republicans are forwarding a flawed fiscal argument and said the measure would increase the country’s deficit.

Environmentalists and agricultural groups opposed to coal mining’s effects on the state’s climate and water resources are critical of the bill’s Bull Mountains Mine provision, arguing that Signal Peak should be subject to the standard environmental review process outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Shiloh Hernandez, an Earthjustice attorney representing environmental and climate groups in litigation about the Bull Mountains Mine, described the measure as a “giveaway to Signal Peak” that reflects both how “desperate” the company is for an expansion and its clout with Montana’s all-Republican federal delegation. (Montana Reps. Troy Downing and Ryan Zinke do not sit on the House Natural Resources Committee.)

“The Office of Surface Mining has been reversed twice now for not following the law in permitting the mine,” Hernandez told Montana Free Press May 14. “If the Trump administration was following the law, they wouldn’t have to create a legal exception for the mine, which is what the reconciliation bill is doing.”

Pat Thiele, a Roundup resident who serves as vice-chair of the Bull Mountain Land Alliance, argues that regulators should take a “hard look at the mine’s impacts.”

“Why is the U.S. Congress rushing through legislation that benefits a criminally convicted corporation while risking further damage and safety risks to our community?” Thiele wrote in an emailed statement to MTFP. “We’re tired of politicians spending all of their time bending over backwards for corporations while ignoring the concerns of everyday people like me and my neighbors simply trying to protect our land and water.”

In 2022, Signal Peak was fined $1 million for illegally dumping mine waste and violating safety standards. Executives with the company were separately convicted of drug and firearm violations, embezzlement, tax evasion and bank fraud. 

All four of Montana’s elected federal officials have supported efforts to expand the Bull Mountains Mine. In 2023, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke wrote in a letter to then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that more than $100 million in revenues and royalties are riding on the expansion, and saying the U.S. government has a national security dog in the fight. 

The vast majority of coal pulled from beneath the Bull Mountains is bound for Asia via a shipping terminal in Canada. Signal Peak’s access to international markets appears to have made it less vulnerable to the demand decline that’s squeezing mines more reliant on domestic markets, according to Hernandez.

Judge blocks coal mine expansion sought by Signal Peak

In a Feb. 10 ruling, a Missoula judge found that the federal government’s environmental review of Signal Peak Energy’s proposal to expand the Bull Mountains Mine harbored “sufficiently serious” errors. The order effectively halts Signal Peak from mining federal coal until an environmental impact statement has been completed.

Signal Peak and the Montana Coal Council did not respond to MTFP’s requests for comment.

The budget bill comes amid Signal Peak’s frustration with the pace of the Interior Department’s production of a court-mandated environmental impact statement on the mine.

In 2023, a federal district court judge in Missoula ordered federal regulators to prepare an environmental impact statement to examine how a 7,100-acre expansion would impact climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and local water supplies. Signal Peak has been impatient with the time the EIS is taking, telling the Yellowstone County Commission last year that the company will run out of coal to mine sometime this year if the expansion is further delayed, and that 262 jobs are at stake.

If the plan is approved, Signal Peak could garner access to an additional 175 million tons of coal, bolstering its position as one of the country’s largest underground coal mines.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has set a goal of passing the budget package out of his chamber by Memorial Day to comply with Trump’s request that Congress present him with a “big, beautiful bill” to sign by July 4.

This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.