Gone is the McDonald’s at the 2333 Central Avenue in Billings and soon to arise from a new foundation will be a new McDonald’s store, rumored to be the largest in Montana.
The new store will feature a redesigned drive –through which will occupy two lots, including that of the former Don’s Car Wash. Opening date will be around the first of November. The previous McDonald structure was built in 1973, Pat Newbury acquired the business 15 years ago. Newbury also owns two other McDonald stores.
Montana State University has been awarded a federal grant to create a public-private partnership for growing tech companies in Montana.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration announced July 23 that it had awarded $750,000 to MSU’s Prospect Montana, a newly created program to promote high-tech economic development statewide.
The three-year funding will support three complementary efforts to see high-tech companies grow across the state, said Daniel Juliano, head of MSU’s Technology Transfer Office, who applied for the grant.
The Prospect Montana program will begin this fall with a competitive request for MSU gap fund proposals. Grant funds will be awarded to three to five applicants based on the commercial potential of their technology. Roughly $400,000 will go into the new “gap fund.”
Pho 888 Vietnamese restaurant has opened in Kalispell. Owners are Thomas and Shannon Trinh. Pho —pronounced “fuh” — is a traditional Vietnamese soup. Their menu mainly features pho and two other popular Vietnamese dishes: bun vermicelli and grilled lemongrass stir-fry. The new restaurant is located at 2385 Unit 4, U.S. 93 N. in Mountain View Plaza.
A micro hotel is opening in downtown Belgrade. The Outpost, on 33 W. Main St., will open on September 1.With 14 rooms, developers behind the project aim to bring a form of lodging less common in the area, where either large chain or downtown Bozeman luxury hotels dominate.
Tax records show the number of mobile homes in Gallatin County has declined. According to data recently released from the Gallatin County Treasurer 167 fewer mobile homes have been on the tax records of the county from 2011 to 2019.
The Bakken production continues to drive Continental Resources engine, despite lack of North Dakota gas infrastructure. America’s oil champion, Continental Resources says, that the oil market is broken and this has prompted a buyback program that has already mopped up $92 million dollars worth of its own undervalued shares. It’s an aggressive strategy, but one that is fully warranted by Continental’s performance in the shale fields of America. In Continental’s second quarter earnings call, the company not only announced higher than expected production, but lower than expected costs.
Part of the Montana’s $400 million infrastructure investment package, passed by the state legislature and signed by the Governor, included $21.5 million for communities and schools negatively impacted by the decline of natural resource development. It’s called Delivering Local Assistance, and communities and school districts may apply before Sept. 30, for funding applicable to a range of infrastructure projects including water, sewer, bridge, public safety, government administration and schools. Awards will be announced this fall.
Enplanements at Sloulin Field International Airport (ISN) in Williston were up again in July. The latest numbers report 8,420 enplanements in 2019 compared to 6,639 in 2018. The first plane is scheduled to arrive at the new XWA on October 10, 2019.
After 40 years of business in Bozeman, Perkins Restaurant has closed. Owner Ray Ueland, who is retiring, attributed the closure primarily to a workforce shortage. He said that they needed about 50 employees to stay open 24 hours, and they only had about 25.
Airfares from Missoula remained the lowest in Montana through the first quarter of 2019 and continued to close on the national average price for a ticket, according to federal statistics. The Missoula airport has set record passenger counts in each of the last several years, including last year’s increase of nearly 15 percent. The average fare from Missoula fell to $386.89. That’s below other Montana cities, including Bozeman at $440.73; Helena at $482.58; and Butte at $533.37. Billings’ average fare is $428.18. The national average is $352.
The Montana Department of Transportation is planning to replace bridges over the Judith River, Warm Springs Creek, and Irrigation Canal on Montana Highway 81 near Denton. This project will be delivered using the Design-Build method and is scheduled for construction in 2020.
Ascent Vision Technologies (AVT), Belgrade, was recently awarded a contract to deliver a full suite of counter drone vehicles to the U.S. Air Force. This unique capability, known as the eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defense Integrated System or X-MADIS, was selected by the Air Force after 18 months of testing, trials and evaluation across multiple military services and operational spectrums. The total contract value exceeds US$23mm and deliveries will begin later this year.
Natrona County and Casper, Wyoming are looking economically healthy, according to state economists. Natrona County finished the fiscal year $14 million ahead in sales and use tax revenue from the previous year — a 19 percent year-over-year increase. Business-cycle indexes also indicate statewide economic growth. Oil and gas are the probable reason. From this time last year, oil production is up between 15 and 16 percent. The increase comes from increased efficiency. Casper home values are up 1.4 percent from last year. Cheyenne’s improved 3.8 percent.
While Amazon has delayed building a giant fulfillment center in Nampa, it’s set to open a smaller delivery station in Boise. A delivery station serves as the final point between an Amazon fulfillment center and a fleet of company delivery vans that rush packages to homes and businesses., Amazon plans a much larger regional fulfillment center in Nampa, Idaho, in another year. It is expected to have 3,000 employees in a building with 2.6 million square feet, the size of 15 Walmart Supercenters. It’s expected to cost $130 million.
Visit Billings assisted the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture as they promoted Montana-grown products on the tables of restaurants in Billings.
“Taste our Place” aims to promote and increase the use of locally sourced ingredients at Montana restaurants, bars, and other establishments serving ready-to-eat food and drink. The program is a category of the Made in Montana program which promotes products made in Montana to residents and visitors.
According to research by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, 12.5 million people from out state visited Montana in 2018 and spent $667 million at restaurants and bars, an amount second only to what they spent on gasoline.
Visit Billings Executive Director Alex Tyson says, “Locally sourced products offer a unique travel experience for visitors helping them connect to Montana in ways that elevate agriculture as the state’s top industry.”
While the Commerce Department administers and promotes the program and “Taste Our Place” members, the Agriculture Department helps connect members with local food producers. The program is free to join. In addition to promotional and ingredient sourcing opportunities, members receive a listing on the Made in Montana website and materials to identify them as being committed to serving food and drink made with locally sourced ingredients. Businesses are encouraged to review eligibility and register online at MADEINMONTANA USA.com.
Lil Market has opened in downtown Billings at 207 N. Broadway. The business of Larry Mathew, the store will provide the essentials of a grocery store that is lacking in the center of the city. Mathew is also owner of Mr. Thrifty.
A grand opening was held last week. Lil’ Market Groceries will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and closed Sundays.
From The Center Square
The Trump administration announced, last week, reforms to the Endangered Species Act that it says will “increase transparency and effectiveness” in the law’s implementation.
One of the reforms removes a blanket rule which treats protections for threatened species the same as endangered species. It will also require the same standards be used when officials consider delisting or reclassifying species.
Another change will require that “areas where threatened or endangered species are present at the time of listing be evaluated first before unoccupied areas are considered,” which the administration says will reduce the regulatory burden on land owners.
“The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal—recovery of our rarest species. The Act’s effectiveness rests on clear, consistent and efficient implementation,” U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement. “An effectively administered Act ensures more resources can go where they will do the most good: on-the-ground conservation.”
The Environment Research Center (PERC), a Bozeman, Montana-based think tank, says that the ESA has been effective at preventing species from going extinct, but not as successful when it comes to species recovery.
The reforms will help in efforts to recover species, the organization, which uses market-based approaches to conservation and environmental issues, PERC said. “These essential tweaks to the Endangered Species Act promise to make the law more effective and results-driven in the 21st century,” said PERC Executive Director Brian Yablonski. “It represents a win for all of us devoted to recovering species and a win for states and landowners who now have an opportunity to be more innovative and creative in their role as habitat protectors.”
The groups say that lifting the regulations will help “encourage states and landowners to recover [threatened species] before they reach endangered status.”
Industry and farming groups also praised the changes.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the changes will bring “long-awaited regulatory relief to American cattle farmers and ranchers.” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, said the current regulations of the EAS “hinders landowners and companies from effectively protecting and recovering species.”
“For far too long, the Act has been weaponized to stop the production of food, fuel and fiber that Americans need every day while turning a blind eye to how red tape actually inhibits the recovery of species,” Sgamma said. “This Administration has the fortitude to move forward with common-sense rules that follow the law while improving species protection, despite the hyperbolic rhetoric.”
Other environmental groups roundly criticized the reforms as weakening the ESA.
The Sierra Club called it the “Trump Extinction Plan,” saying the reforms “would gut critical endangered species protections.”
“Undermining this popular and successful law is a major step in the wrong direction as we face the increasing challenges of climate change and its effects on wildlife,” said Lena Moffitt, senior director of the Our Wild America Campaign, Sierra Club. “The Endangered Species Act works; our communities— both natural and human — have reaped the benefits. This safety net must be preserved.”
“It is particularly egregious that the Trump Administration is steamrolling through unpopular rules issued by an Interior Secretary embroiled in at least 17 scandals,” Endangered Species Coalition Executive Director Leda Huta said in a statement. “Losing our biodiversity isn’t something that any American can afford. We don’t live in an enclosed man-made bubble — our health and safety, the health and safety of our children and grandchildren, our access to clean air and water, actually depends on biodiversity.”
Yablonski added: “Our interest is getting this landmark wildlife protection law to work better. That means fostering conditions so landowners become more enthusiastic in their role as stewards for species recovery, not worried if they find an endangered species on their land. States and landowners will respond better to carrots, not clubs, in our efforts to improve species recovery results.”
Offering up lots of fun and knowledge, the first annual Yellowstone Dig it Days will be held in Billings on Saturday, August 17, at the Johnson Lane Interchange, 10 am to 4 pm.
Kids can explore, inspect, take pictures and learn about all kinds of heavy equipment – and even operate a back hoe.
Kids of all ages, including parents and grandparents, will find this unique display of heavy equipment, as well as emergency service vehicles a wholesome, constructive family experience, which besides being fun and educational, will generate funds for three worthwhile youth-oriented organizations – the Yellowstone Boy and Girls Club, the YMCA and the Lockwood Optimists Club.
The first 500 kids will receive “Dig It” t-shirts and a plastic hard hat. Concrete and materials will be available for kids to make and decorate “stepping stones” to take home. Food and drink vendors will be on hand, as well as a kid tattoo booth, and best of all, a big sand mountain. Knife River, one of the event sponsors, will haul in 200 tons of sand for one of the biggest sand mountains ever seen in Yellowstone County, for the sole purpose of having fun in the sand.
Other sponsors of Dig It Days are RDO Equipment Co., Northwestern Energy and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. The sponsors and the beneficiary organizations will be providing volunteers, who will be making safety, during the event, a priority.
The event is being produced by Yellowstone Family, a newly created non-profit dedicated to supporting the community.
The plan is officially underway to link Lockwood and the Heights via the Billings Bypass. This new road system will not only make traveling between the two areas of Billings much faster; it will also make it easier on truckers as they will no longer have to drive down Main Street to continue their truck routes on Roundup Rd. The plan will eventually connect the Johnson Ln. Exit in Lockwood to both Roundup Rd. at the northern end of the Heights as well as HWY 312.
The first section scheduled to begin construction this coming fall will build a new segment of 5 Mile Rd. from Dover Rd. to HWY 312, with a new roundabout positioned at that intersection, and reconstruction of the stretch of 5 Mile between Dover and Mary St. That intersection will also have a roundabout placed there. They hope to have this segment finished within the year so that they can begin construction of a new bridge, with a separate bike path, over the Yellowstone River in 2020. This $25 million bridge is the only stretch of the project projected to take two years, but it will be built to last. It will have eight pillars and nine spans. While this is larger than technically necessary, it will allow the bridge to hold up for much longer and able to fare fine against even a hundred-year flood.
After these two phases – hopefully by 2022 – serious work can begin at the Johnson Lane Exit on I-90. This will be Montana’s first diverging diamond interchange. While the interchange may be strange at first, this type of interchange is growing in popularity across the country because it creates less conflict points, provides better sight distance, and it is extremely difficult to enter a ramp going the wrong way. While the construction at that Exit may become frustrating, the end product should make it all worth it.
In 2023 work is tentatively scheduled to start on RR O’Pass, a stretch of road starting off from the end of the bridge over the Yellowstone and working its way southeast before crossing Coulson Rd. in Lockwood. There they plan on picking up work the following year to connect RR O’Pass to the new Johnson Lane Interchange, making it a straight shot from the Johnson Lane Exit to HWY 312. The final stage, tentatively set to begin in 2025, will see construction from the roundabout at the intersection of 5 Mile Rd., Mary St., and the new bridge over the Yellowstone and running perpendicular to Mary St. all the way to the intersection of Main St. and Roundup Rd.
This project is just the first of two major plans to better connect the city of Billings, making it easier to travel around the city. The other piece will be the Inner Belt Loop, which will eventually connect W. Wicks Ln. to the intersection of HWY 3 and Zimmerman Trail. This piece will cut the time it takes to travel between the Heights and the West End in half, removing the need to drive through Downtown and Midtown or going out of your way to jump on the Interstate.
More Information at Montana.gov
Billings Clinic’s Simulation and Experiential Learning Lab (SELL) has earned full five-year accreditation for teaching and education by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).
Full SSH Accreditation requires a peer-reviewed, customized evaluation of the program’s core processes as well as documented outcomes in the category of teaching/education.
Accreditation is awarded to programs that demonstrate regular, recurring simulation educational activities with clearly stated objectives (knowledge, psychomotor skills and behaviors) and provide evidence of ongoing improvement of educational activities. This includes the four education standards of education design, qualified educators, educational activities, and evaluation and improvement.
The SELL program was created at Billings Clinic to improve patient safety by promoting health care education and practice of skills, high risk and low volume scenarios and teamwork interactions. Simulation imitates real world processes and is used to educate health care professionals to respond quickly and accurately to all kinds of health care scenarios. An increasing body of knowledge suggests that patient care providers using evidence-based simulation as part of their initial and ongoing training are able to demonstrate improvements in patient outcomes.
