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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Art Exhibit at Pictograph Caves

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

The University of Montana Medicine Residency Program has received $750,000 to expand its training site. It was one of 15 throughout the country to receive a subsidy to develop new residency programs in rural communities to address the need for physicians in rural communities. The three-year award will support the development of residency training sites in Butte and Helena, in partnership with St. James Hospital and Southwest Community Health Center in Butte and St. Peters Health and PureView Health Center in Helena.

Nemont Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (Nemont) has sold its telecom properties in North Dakota to Northwest Communications Cooperative (NCC100%) fiber-to-the-home internet service and communications provider. Communities involved are Williston, Trenton, Fortuna, Ambrose, and East Westby.

Gov. Greg Gianforte declared a disaster in Missoula and Mineral counties following a July 24 thunderstorm storm with high winds that toppled trees and downed power poles in the Missoula area, leaving many residents without power. Wind speeds of 81 mph, lightning, heavy rain, and gusts up to 109 mph – caused damages to power poles across western Montana leaving tens of thousands of customers of Missoula Electric and Northwestern Energy without power. The State of Montana will expend funds from the general fund to meet contingencies and needs arising from these conditions

The U.S. Postal Service abruptly stopped air service in Montana last week even after Alpine Air, its air cargo contractor in the state, offered a roughly $3 million reduction in its contract. Alpine has worked with the Postal Service in Montana for some 35 years. Alpine Air anticipates having to look at layoffs in Montana. It employs 60 people in the state including 20 who have worked on the Postal Service contract. Two-day delivery will have to be obtained from companies other than the United Postal Service.

Puget Sound Energy, a Seattle-area electricity provider has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Clearway Energy Group for a 315-megawatt wind farm under development in Wheatland and Meagher counties in Montana. The additional power buy will satisfy about 15% of what the Puget Sound Energy needs to meet Washington’s 2030 clean energy targets. Construction on the wind farm is expected to start in June 2026, and the project is slated to go online in 2028. Puget Sound Energy is als building a wind farm near Rapelje, about an hour west of Billings, that will generate 248 megawatts. The Beaver Creek wind project will help meet Washington’s clean-energy laws. a second phase of the project could add wind turbines in neighboring Sweet Grass County, complete with a a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility.

Bridger Aerospace recently acquired Alabama-based FMS Aerospace in a $20.6 million deal. Sam Davis has become the interim CEO of Belgrade-based Bridger Aerospace.

Montana-Dakota Utilities is requesting that the Montana Public Service Commission approve a natural gas rate increase of $9.4 million in annual revenues, which would increase the average residential customer’s annual bill by 16.4%.

Justin and Kelsey Flake have recently taken on ownership of Sea Me Paddle. The business, under Tour Glacier, also offers a variety of tours in Glacier National Park and winter tours around the Flathead Valley. Since taking over, Justin and Kelsey have found that tourists enjoy the concierge experience and seeing sights as the locals do, so in addition to their outdoor adventures, the Flakes have started offering brewery and rodeo tours. 

The Pickle Barrel is celebrating 50 years as a sandwich and pickles shop. Current owner Jenny O’Brien took over the Bozeman location in 2014. Over the years it has survived changes and even an explosion that caused the business to move to it’s current location, acroos the street from MSU.

Miles City is currently attempting to remedy a budget shortfall of over $700,000 for Fiscal Year 2025. The preliminary budget information is warning officials to expect steep cuts to personnel and services that will likely need to be made to balance the budget. One update was delivered by Mayor Dwayne Andrews announcing that following a conversation with union leaders representing the city employees, the unions are willing to re-negotiate contracts to find a way to minimize the damage as much as possible.

The Interim Transportation Committee of the Montana Legislature recently heard an update regarding cost estimates of the Federal Rail Administration’s Long-Distance Service Study for restoring passenger rail service across southern Montana. People associated with Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority presented updates to the Committee. The mission and goal are of seeing passenger rail service along the North Coast Hiawatha route restored to service southern Montana. The total estimated cost for restoration and operation of the North Coast Hiawatha route is approximately $3.9 billion.

Last week film crews from America’s Best Restaurants will visit Outlaw’s Bar & Grill in Watford City and 3 Amigos Southwest Grill in Williston. The crew will highlight popular dishes and interview the respective owners. The episodes featuring these two restaurants will be aired at a later date on America’s Best Restaurants’ Facebook page and website. America’s Best Restaurants is a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently owned restaurants.

Connolly’s Nursery in Evergreen opened in April. The Nursery is located at 1654 Montana 35. From yellow to pink to green to white, everything that Connolly grows is made to grow in Montana. The business aims to provide quality plants for the Evergreen community and Northwest Montana in general.

Hunter and Julie Nguyen have officially opened the doors to their nail salon AJ Nails in Evergreen. The couple says they are slowly growing their business after renovating the former restaurant location.