Montana officials tell BLM they want more coal available to mine in Powder River Basin
The Gianforte administration wants the U.S. Department of Interior to open up millions of acres of coal land in eastern Montana’s Powder River Basin for future leasing but a group of nine environmental organizations from Montana Wyoming and other western states caution against moving too quickly. Their comments were submitted by the final day last week of a public comment period for the BLM’s proposal to reconsider future coal leases in its Miles City and Buffalo field offices.
New DLI Report Highlights Opportunity to Reconnect Montanans with Meaningful Work
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry reports the state’s economy continues to be strong with June marking the ninth straight month of unemployment rates under 3% but childcare access and affordability has resulted in an estimated 64,000 underemployed Montanans. More than 17,000 are dealing with illness or disability as a barrier to work with mobility challenges being the most common challenge. The new report is available on the Department of Labor’s Market information site.
2025’s Best States to Live In – WalletHub Study
With around 7.8% of Americans having moved according to the latest data slightly less than the year before today WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Best States to Live in. Montana ranks 15th across 52 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and income growth to the education rate and quality of hospitals.
Lack of Smurfit-Stone progress yields frustration in Frenchtown
Testing data from groundwater and soil sampling at the former 3,200-acre Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation site west of Missoula has been released by the Environmental Protection Agency. What to all means for the toxic industrial site won’t go public though until at least November.
Investigations Begin On Russia Palladium Imports
The U.S. International Trade Commission is beginning investigations of palladium imports from Russia after a petition was filed by the South African headquartered Sibanye-Stillwater mining company advocating for tariffs on the country’s imports of the metal. It says unfairly priced imports are hurting its business in Montana after laying off 700 workers at its Treasure State mines last September.
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The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is reporting 16 new fire starts across the state through the 24-hour period ending Sunday evening and 42 active blazes across the state. Almost all of the new fires are related to lightning strikes from a series of thunderstorms that moved across parts of the state Saturday afternoon and evening.
Congressman Ryan Zinke is looking for $2.5 million in federal funding to support the replacement of the 102-year-old Noxon Bridge. State officials closed the bridge which spans the Clark Fork River and connects Noxon with Montana 200 in July 2024 after inspectors discovered structural deficiencies. A bill with the federal funding already passed the House Appropriations Committee and is now headed to the House floor for a vote.
A Montana property tax rebate of up to $400 become available for those who qualify and apply starting Friday. Montana homeowners who claim and receive a property tax rebate in 2025 may be automatically enrolled in the Homestead Rate for 2026 provided the homeowner did not move or change ownership in 2025.
The Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo begins Tuesday and will run through Sunday at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. A limited number of discounted “Pay-One-Price” tickets for the carnival are on sale now at all Whitefish Credit Union branches and the fairgrounds office. Thursday seniors 65 and over and children 12 and under will be admitted to the fairgrounds free of charge.
According to data provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services via the H-2A Employer Data Hub employers classified under the Manufacturing industry based in Montana submitted three H-2A job orders during 2024. All three were approved. Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.
