Author: Evelyn Pyburn

New Speed Races Now on Summer Venue

16 June 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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This summer is adding new events to all the many things to do in Billings – two speed races for “street” cars, which is being produced by The Order of Chosen Friends. It is hoped that the events will attract the participation of a wide range of vintage cars, according to Lyndon Scheveck, a member of “Chosen Friends,” a nationally registered Fraternal Order that was originally founded in 1876 and resurrected in 2022.

Scheveck explained that “Burn the Point”, which is today a popular parade of vintage cars, used to be a race for “street” cars, but somewhere along the line the race was dropped. He and fellow members of Chosen Friends hope to establish a return of the race and hope it will become an annual event – the True Street Throw Down.

There will be two speed races – two True Street Throw Down events —  one on June 28 and another on August 30. The events will be at the corner of Molt Road and Buffalo Trail Road from 3 pm to 11 pm.

“We don’t want full blown race cars but the kind of cars you would drive to work,” said Scheveck. And, they especially hope to see a wide variety of vintage vehicles – vehicles from the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc.

True Street Throw Down is a memorial race dedicated to Josh Whitcomb, who was an avid race car driver and “a great member of the community and even better friend,” said Scheveck.

Participating vehicles must be driven to the race site – not brought in on trailers. The winner will win a thousand dollars.

“Buy ins” to race are $50 (to help pay for insurance and other costs) and spectators are $20, with those 12 and younger free. All of the proceeds will be donated to School District 2 and the Career Center, in support of the trades – training young people to become welders, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, etc.

Community involvement is the purpose of Chosen Friends, with special focus on getting the younger generation into the trades. It is especially a passion for Scheveck, who believes the youth need more opportunities to become engaged and to help them discover interests and opportunities. He most specifically hopes to divert them from the very dangerous escapades of racing on public streets.

Chosen Friends have gained approval of the County to use the county roads for the speed race, having presented a safety plan and guarantees of insurance, security etc. Detours around the “race track” will be designated. There will be a parking area and bleachers, and vendors. It is meant to be a wholesome fun event for all, one that will serve the community as well as entertain.

For more information contact Lyndon Scheveck at lyndon@schevecklaw.com.

Force is Immoral

11 June 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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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.

The Nonsense of Nonpartisan

20 May 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

To declare an election to be “nonpartisan” is a farce and everyone knows it.

The declaration isn’t made to claim that the candidate has no opinions or political views  – it is to declare that the voters have no right to know what they are.

It is an orchestrated scheme to favor those whose views are contrary to what is perhaps the views of the majority of voters.

It is NOT a neutral strategy. It does, very much, favor one side over the other.

The puzzling thing is why some go along with it. I have encountered candidates who said that they have been hesitant to speak their minds when talking to voters because they are supposed to be “nonpartisan.” Why?

What a gambit for those who have faulty ideas!

How would a politician expect to defend their ideas and fight for what they believe is right should they be elected, if they are going to be so easily intimidated by those who don’t want to be forthright?

There is a good reason why some politicians refuse interviews that don’t provide questions in advance, or who do not attend town hall meetings, or steer clear of talk shows that field questions from phone callers. They do not have winning answers – or perhaps any answers.

Of course, it is implied that to be nonpartisan means to be neutral or impartial, which it is not. Nonpartisan, especially as it applies to political candidates, is but a very concerted effort to keep information from voters. After all, a party affiliation has to do with political ideas – if a candidate chooses to identify with one or the other, it’s meant as a signal about ideas with which they align themselves — at least that’s what it should be about.

Someone who actually has no opinions is pretty much brain dead, and certainly a poor candidate to do anything.

Can a person strive to be neutral in presenting an idea? Sure they can and there are times it is the right thing for which to strive. But not in the voting booth. Voting is a contest about ideas. Who has the best ideas? If campaigns are required to leave issues or political philosophies unspoken, upon what are voters supposed to base their decisions? How tall they are? Who they are related to? Where they were born? What their hobbies are? On what should voters base decisions if the first rule of the contest is not to discuss ideas?

No political contest displays that more than the nonsensical, non-partisan city council elections. Often there are novice candidates who have very little or no visibility in the community. As a city council election approaches the most common question among locals in any conversation becomes, “Do you know anything about this person?” 

Voting for judges is no different. Do nonpartisan advocates really think that the ability to be able to interpret the law impartially means not to have personal opinions or the integrity to hold to basic principles? Indeed, as we have all clearly seen, judges do have biases that sometimes prompt them to ignore the law and decree a new twist to it – and those most prone to those kinds of decisions are those who most benefit from nonpartisan elections. To hold true to the mandate to interpret the law is indeed a difficult challenge, especially when it seems to contradict common sense or a person’s strongly held philosophical beliefs. Judges who can do that are indeed unique individuals.  Shouldn’t voters have all the information they can possibly have to identify which candidates seem to have that kind of integrity?

A judge who might be criticized for imposing a bad law because of its consequences, should freely state, “If you don’t like the law, then change it the appropriate way.”

If a law is really not a good law, how will it ever be changed if its true impact isn’t revealed in its application? That is really the role of judges – not to rewrite it. How can bad laws ever be identified and changed if not accurately applied? Voters must be able to identify who is truly capable of interpreting laws accurately and which candidates have the character and integrity to do so.

All I can suggest is, if someone believes nonpartisan elections are a good idea, don’t vote for them.

Ice Arena Groundbreaking

20 May 2025
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By Evelyn Pyburn

It’s a new era for ice hockey in Billings, Montana – in fact for all ice sports.

With Signal Peak Energy’s $6 million donation, this past month, along with the addition of many other community donations, a groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday to build a $12 million Signal Peak Energy Arena, which will feature two-sheets of ice for hockey, curling, figure skating, etc.

On a bright sunny and very warm day, hundreds of people and numerous dignitaries, including Governor Greg Gianforte, were on site to commemorate the launching of the new facility, which will eventually include a second phase of four basketball courts. The new sports complex is located on property the city purchased a few years ago, next to the Amend Park Soccer Complex, near the corner of South Billings Boulevard and King Avenue East.

The two-sheet ice project is a public – private collaboration of The Yellowstone Ice Foundation and the South Billings Urban Renewal Association, (SBURA), a tax increment finance district funded by property taxes from business growth in the vicinity of the intersection of Interstate 90 and South Billings Boulevard. SBURA donated $4.6 million.

The goal of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation, which will operate the new facility, is to build it without further reliance on public dollars. Over a year ago, City of Billings’ voters rejected a $143 million bond aimed at building and maintaining a full scale recreation facility, in the same location. That effort followed years of effort, by hockey and other ice sports participants to find a way to increase capacity for their growing sports, since they were out-growing the existing Centennial Arena, which has been the only ice arena in Billings since the mid- 70s.

The new state-of-the –art facility will not only serve the youth of today but will “drive long-term economic success and create opportunities for athletes of all ages,” heralded Parker Phipps, Signal Peak president & C.E.O.  Signal Peak operates Montana’s only underground coal mine north of Billings on the border of Yellowstone County and Musselshell County near Roundup. Phipps is also president of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation Board.

Alex Picicci, Signal Peak senior accountant and secretary-treasurer for the Yellowstone Ice Foundation, also spoke to the crowd about the potential for ice sports in Billings.

The crowd especially enjoyed a historical rendition about hockey in Billings, from a man referred to as the Godfather of Hockey in Billings, Joe Studiner.

There was no hockey in Billings when Studiner arrived in the city over 50 years ago, which made him inclined to think he wasn’t going to remain in the city very long. But when he heard that there was an effort to form a youth team, he arrived at the gathering ready to serve as a coach and became a leader for the sport in Billings and throughout the state. As strange as it might seem for a city located in the north, the sport’s biggest struggle – with only outdoor rinks – – was that it was often too warm to have ice.

Studiner is more than pleased with the prospect of having an indoor rink with two sheets of ice.

The 69,996-square-foot complex will have capacity for about 2,940 spectators, and is expected to contribute to future economic growth of sports tourism for Billings, which has been championed by Visit Billings as part of the Billings Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber of Commerce President/ CEO, John Brewer, underscored the growing importance of sports tourism to the local economy.  Billings Mayor Bill Cole, further emphasized the potential for the Billings economy, stating, “Tourism is a powerful economic driver.” He noted that each year, the city hosts 2.6 million visitors, generating $621 million in spending.

The Billings Tourism Business Improvement District has announced the commitment of $1 million over the next three years to support Signal Peak Energy Arena.

That announcement followed an earlier one from Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Billings of a $500,000 contribution, which secured the naming rights for the building’s lobby.

“Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company is well-known for their commitment to the Billings community,” said Phipps. “Pepsi’s donation brings a legacy of public support to the state-of-the-art ice arena.”

Tom Dimich of Pepsi-Cola Bottling explained. “Our involvement goes beyond supplying refreshing soft drinks; we’re eager to invest in a project that will do so much for the families and athletes in the region.”

According to Yellowstone Ice Foundation they have has raised over $11 million of their $16 million goal.

Another $1 million was donated by the Larson Family. First Interstate Bank has contributed $45,000. Other contributions have come from KE Construction,  KOA, Billings Amateur Hockey Leagues, Tom and Joan Scott Foundation, Northwest Pipe Fittings, BNSF Railway, Western Security Bank, Altana, The Clark-O’Rourke Family, Weave, MCAHA, The Seedhouse Family, Billings Overhead Door Co., Edwards & Culver, The Wald Family, Mattress King, Intermountain Health, Collaborative Design Architects, A & E Design, and Allegra.

“This project is a win for Billings and for Montana kids,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Thanks to strong community partners and Signal Peak Energy, we’re investing in a stronger future for the community and for young athletes looking to grow, compete, and have fun.”

Dick Zier, who heads SBURA, also spoke to welcome the ice arena. He said that they expect the addition of a $20 million basketball court to be ready in a little more than a year.

The Signal Peak Energy Arena is expected to be completed in April 2026.

$16.6 billion State Budget

19 May 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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The Montana State Legislature concluded its business for the 2025 session. It passed over eight hundred bills, many of which await action by the Governor. Over the last 20 years, the average number of bills adopted was 614. The legislators approved a $16.6 billion budget, which is about 15% more than the 2023 budget. It includes raises for state employees, two new district court judges for Yellowstone County, additional spending on health and human services, and a $500 million recruitment and retention fund for state employees, housing lending program and child care. While it remained questionable, right up to the last hours of the session, the legislators finally passed property tax “relief” which will shift the property tax burden from homes and long-term rentals to secondary properties and businesses.

The budget relies upon about $5 billion from the General Fund, which is drawn from state income taxes.

About $60 million in tax revenue collected from taxes on recreational marijuana will be shifted from the general fund and directed more specifically to environmental rehabilitation projects on private lands under the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department. The shift draws funding away from funds previously directed to support treatment for substance abuse and health disorders, and support of law enforcement efforts and homelessness.

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.

Six Local Businesses Invest $175 million in Yellowstone County

7 April 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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Six businesses in Yellowstone County received two different forms of tax abatement on new investments from Yellowstone County Commissioners.

Total investments made in the county’s economy by the six companies totaled $175,702,197.

Applying for the tax rebates to cover recent new investment in their businesses are Phillips 66, CHS, Inc., and Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country. Par Montana received abatement on equipment.

The County Commissioners cannot deny these requests but they are allowed by state law to determine the amount of rebate at 80, 90 or 100 percent for an initial 5-year period. After the initial abatement, the tax is increased incrementally over the next four years until the property is fully taxed.

County commissioners granted a rebate of 80 percent for these applicants:

—Phillips 66 invested $11,591,018.

—CHS, the refinery in Laurel, has invested $10,501,546.

—Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country invested $21 million.

—Par Montana has purchased $10,909,633.19 in equipment.

County Commissioners are allowed to accept or reject two other requests, as well as determine whether to abate at 80, 90 or 100 percent They approved, also at 80 percent, abatement for:

—Town and Country Supply Association, 3833 Coulson Road, Billings, which has invested $6,400,000;

—Rocky Vista University, Billings, completed construction in March 2026, on medical facilities and veterinary school, with an investment of $115.3 million.

County Elections Department Plans Move to Metra Park

7 April 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

Yellowstone County Commissioners are taking a hard look at moving the county’s Election Department, in its entirety, to Metra Park.

With the Election’s Department Director, Ginger Aldrich, concerned about not having enough space for the Department to perform its functions, especially after what was experienced in the November general election, County Commissioner Mike Waters took on the challenge of delving into the problem to come up with a solution. At Wednesday’s discussion meeting county officials reviewed the options, challenges and recommendations.

Waters and Aldrich’s top recommendation is to do some renovations of Cedar Hall at MetraPark and make it the one-stop location for most aspects of conducting elections. While the move will not provide all of the space that Aldrich projected as needed it does come close and offers many benefits.

Such as: The location of MetraPark is well known to everybody and many people are already used to going there to vote. The location has ample parking and plenty of space to accommodate dropping off ballots. And perhaps most beneficial is that ballots remain in one location which generates more public confidence in the integrity of elections.

Other options that were scrutinized included splitting operations between the new administration building, which is in the process of being refurbished for county departments, and to continue to lease space from Wells Fargo, which is a solution that has been used in the last two years. Waters said he was anxious to end the cost of that lease.

Another suggestion was to continue with the plan to have the main “front facing” Election office in the County Administration Building (CAB), the former Miller Building, and perform some of the other functions in the Cedar Hall location. Aldrich and some of those working for the department commented that it was one thing to have to walk back and forth between the Election’s office and the Wells Fargo Building (often as many as five times a day) and quite another to have to drive back and forth from the CAB and MetraPark. It also increases concerns about security and election integrity.

Aldrich also announced out that the City of Billings offered first floor space in their new office building (the Stillwater Building) at a “very generous rate.” While the distance between the Stillwater Building and the CAB is greater than that of their current office and Wells Fargo, it would still be doable, and the great entry way into the Stillwater Building would accommodate the long lines that often occur for Elections.

Kevan Bryan, Director, Office of Management Budget at Yellowstone County, expressed concerns about the fact that the Cedar Hall location will still not meet all of the space that Aldrich, initially, estimated as needed.

Waters’ provided a statement regarding the positive aspects that the Cedar Hall option provides:

“The strength of this option is based on the fact that it can be used to maintain the front-facing office and the operational side in one place. This is a significant advantage and the Elections Department is willing to configure a smaller space specifically to ensure both registration and ballot processing stay together. Management of election judges and registration in two areas is challenging when they are one block apart. Separating them by more than a walkable space would not allow effective oversight or management of both registration and ballot processing.

The ground level space provides positive aspects for:

— Accessibility of the public including disabled and elderly voters

— Movement of mail, ballots, and other bulky items such as polling place material drop off by county staff and election judges

–Negates the need for adequate elevator space / a freight elevator

Rejected ballots and other materials flow between the registration office and the operations side. Unifying these processes ensures:

— Temporary election judges work under direct supervision from permanent staff

— Ballots and other election materials remain within the custody and control of election space, rather than having to move between spaces with additional paperwork requirements and the logistics of moving those materials to another site.

Commissioners Reject Bike Trail Master Plan

7 April 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

Yellowstone County Commissioners unanimously rejected the Billings Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, which was presented to them by the City –County Planning Department. Besides the commissioners, the plan goes before the Yellowstone County Planning Board, the Billings City Council, and the Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) for approval.

As the plan was being presented to the County Commissioners by Alta Planning+ Design, the engineering firm engaged to develop it, Commissioner John Ostlund raised questions about whether they weighed the cost vs benefits of spending so much on building trails for the use of so few people.  He said he has been involved with the issue for many years and has observed that one can drive around the community on a very nice day and not see even ten bikes on the bike trails.  “I can’t find a bike on the bike trails,” he said.

Ostlund referenced S. 32nd  Street W. in Billings, where a bike trail shares the pavement of a very busy thoroughfare with heavy traffic that is often stalled waiting to move forward – with their motors running – while beside them is a  bike lane with not one bike on it, that could be used for more space to improve the traffic flow.

Ostlund said, “I am not going to rubber stamp the plans going forward. I will vote no,” because over the years, “I have asked and asked” about whether this has been reviewed. “It’s a terrible investment. I have never seen anything that spends so much with less benefit.”

Ostlund pointed out that the cost for striping and for signage of a bike trail on city streets, exceeds the cost of striping and signage for the street.

He challenged the practicality of following the federal “Complete Streets” program, which Billings adopted, saying he believes “Complete Streets is a complete failure.”

Elyse Monat, Transportation Planner for the City of Billings Planning Division, said that there have been changes to the plan to make users more comfortable in using bike trails, those routes are identified in the plan as “high comfort.” They involve shared-use paths and provide facilities for pedestrians such as neighborhood bikeways, bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, and separated bike lanes.

Lora Mattox, Transportation Planning Coordinator for the Planning Division, explained the goal of having a bike trail system. “We are trying to make sure people who don’t drive have a means of transportation.”

County Commissioner Mike Waters said that he has noticed trails get the most use in park areas. He added that they do serve “such a small population” and while “it is a lofty goal, we spend a lot of money on them.”

Mattox replied, “We do try to take advantage of the parks .. we are trying to be more diligent in how we plan for these facilities.”

County Commissioner Mark Morse asked about the funding.

Elyse Monat explained the “external funding” they have received in the past, citing a number of federal grants.

Morse responded, “All of it is government tax money.”

Monat conceded that it was, but there is some funding from private organizations—mostly for upkeep.

Morse asked whether they push some of the costs onto private developers.

Monat replied that, “Yes, it is very common that developers will enter an agreement with the city to build sidewalks” and other internal structures in subdivisions to serve the transportation needs.

Mattox further explained, “We have been hearing that people want more connectivity…they want to connect between subdivisions . . . they want to have sidewalk connections.”

Ostlund underscored that sidewalks are not bike trails, and replied, “I like the sidewalks. The Safe Routes to School, if they have a funding source.”

Morse questioned varying data included in the plan regarding attendees at public hearings and surveys. One survey was conducted at the Strawberry Festival where the number of respondents was stated to be 200. Morse asked, “Is this because you had a booth at the Strawberry Festival and anyone who walked by was counted as an attendee?”

Mattox said “We had an interactive poll and we counted them if they participated in it.”

There was discussion about the Billings Area Pedestrian and Bicycle program’s struggle to fund the cost of maintaining the trails. Morse said, “When your own plan says we can’t afford the maintenance. It is time to reconsider building them.”

The Plan sets out several goals of the Billings Area Pedestrian and Bicycle system. An overall objective of the Billings Area Pedestrian and Bicycle program is to reduce reliance on motor vehicles and to contribute to more walking and bicycling.

Most of the funding for bike trail construction comes from the federal government’s Federal Highway Administration

Local property tax dollars fund maintenance and safety improvements. Property owners are also assessed fees when developing new areas of growth, which may include donations of right away for trails.

Constructing bike and pedestrian trail costs between $62,652 to $1,523,144 per mile depending on where it is located and the degree to which safety measures and signage is required, whether it is separated from traffic or paved.

According to data in the master plan the daily average use of shared use paths, in the Billings area, is 3,786. Bike trail usage averages about 467 bikers a day throughout the system, according to plan data.

The Billings trails, over 61 miles of bike and pedestrian path ways, have been constructed including on-street bikeways, paved trails and sidewalks.

Another Shot

21 March 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
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By Evelyn Pyburn

Unleashing the American citizen — that’s what Trump is doing.

It’s the act that built America — allowing citizens to pursue their own happiness, dreams and ambitions. How some of Trump’s actions will impact our economy and relations with other nations may not be readily evident, but the fact is it cannot be worse than the smothering of citizens by government debt and regulations that inhibit the glorious ability of average everyday citizens to do great things.

President Trump and his cabinet picks are making the news absolutely entertaining. His forthrightness about what he thinks and how he says it, is startlingly refreshing – as compared to the banal political clichéd comments we are all so used to hearing. He subtly reveals how much politicians from both sides of the aisle have systematically deceived us about what was going on behind closed doors for decades and perhaps a century. He speaks clearly and bluntly, and amazingly the world does not end – and only a few citizens become apoplectic “clutching their beads” —- and more than a few politicians.

We are truly living in an exciting era of history. It is exciting because it appears to be the next gigantic step in the process of advancing civilization – and this isn’t really the most exciting part of it – that is yet to come. All Trump and the legions of people who voted for him are doing right now is removing the shackles that has restrained the ingenuity and ambition of the common man – not just in the US but for people around the world. What every day people will be able to do with that freedom – THAT will be the really exciting part.

There is no doubt that the citizens of other countries want their freedom just as much as do we in the US. Their points of view do not make the headlines but they are there, observing and rooting for us. Those who expressed empathy with illegal immigrants crossing our southern border, contending they were seeking freedom were not incorrect. While that was a huge aspect of what was happening — which was rigorously and studiously avoided by our own media — it is blatant evidence that most people want freedom. But, all freedom- seeking peoples can’t just come to the US – they have to fight for it in their own countries. So be assured that they are taking notes on what is happening here. And, be assured that their dictatorial, collectivist autocrats are well aware of that, worried as they are about what their citizens will do. It is primarily why they too hate Trump and are currently shaking in their boots. Even in countries like China or Iran this is happening.

President Trump is going to go down in history not just as the greatest president in the US, but the greatest leader ever. He is that because he respects the common man. We are on the precipice of the second Revolution for freedom for the common man — the first having been that of George Washington and that era of founders. They respected the common man and their rights — and not just for the colonists. Their rejection of tyranny was “the shot heardaround the world” because it was an awakening for the commoners around the world.

Trump’s election is the second shot heard round the world.