Montana is a state full of hard working people and more are working past retirement age. According to LendingTree dot com Montana ranks fourth among states experiencing the most growth in this area. From 2022 to 2024 Montana has seen the percentage of older working adults rise from 18.9% to 24.2% for a growth of 28%. Montana also saw a decline in the number of people who have retired.
According to a new report from the Institute for Tourism and Economic Research at the University of Montana tourists spent an estimated average of $5.82 billion annually over the two-year period of 2022 and 2023. That directly supported 18,814 jobs and $100 million in state and local tax revenue. While spending patterns shift slightly across the state regions and communities near popular national parks consistently receive the most nonresident travel spending.
We’ll turn our clocks back Sunday morning at 2 but Montana has joined 19 other states in a push to “lock the clock” and keep Daylight Saving Time permanently. The “Sunshine Protection Act” would make daylight saving time the new permanent standard time. The legislation was first presented in 2018 and most recently March 2023. Montana passed Senate Bill 254 in 2021.
Republican Tim Sheehy is narrowly leading Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Tester in the homestretch of the Montana Senate race. A survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill released Sunday found Sheehy leading Tester 50 percent to 46 percent with 3 percent undecided. An aggregate of Montana Senate surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ shows Sheehy leading Tester 51 percent to 44 percent.
In the closing days of the election season both candidates for Montana’s western U.S. House district have been crisscrossing the region to reach voters on the terms they hope will resonate in a year occupied by larger campaigns. Republican incumbent Ryan Zinke has held tight to an economic message meanwhile his Democratic challenger Monica Tranel says she wants to bring Montana back toward political balance.
An E. coli outbreak has been linked to McDonald’s quarter pounders and the CDC says 13 of the 75 reported cases are in Montana. It’s believed to have been caused by slivered onions linked to Taylor Farms Colorado Springs delivered to facilities throughout the U.S. including portions of Montana.
The Anaconda Restoration Association plans a Marcus Daly Copper King statue for city he founded. It will be on the sidewalk outside the once-opulent hotel he built on Main Street renamed The Montana.
The Kalispell Lions Club’s seventh annual Christmas ornament fundraiser will begin Friday featuring the Hockaday Museum of Art from an original painting by artist and teacher Karen Leight. Only 350 of the limited-edition ornaments will be available at $10 each.
Montana State University will open its campus classrooms facilities and residence halls to prospective students and families Friday. Full-day programs will offer in-depth previews of college life at MSU.
MCA Nashville recording artist Josh Turner is set to perform at the Helena Civic Center January 24th 2025 as part of his nationwide ‘This Country Music Thing Tour.’ Tickets will go on sale Friday morning at 10 o’clock.
