Montana’s cannabis industry sales are expected to exceed $1 billion just three years after legalization. Monthly sales average around $25 million indicating the billion-dollar mark will likely be hit early next year. From January to November this year customers spent nearly $300 million on marijuana products bringing the total since legalization in January 2022 to over $920 million.
Now at 3.2% Montana’s unemployment rate has remained at or below 3.4% for the 41st consecutive months. The next closest stretch was during 2006 and 2007 when the state’s unemployment rate remained at or below 3.4% for 15 months. Since the start of the year Montana added 12,000 jobs with payroll jobs increasing by 900 led by gains in the accommodation and food services industry.
As one of five members of the Montana Land Board State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen has accepted $92.3 million on behalf of public schools from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Agriculture leases timber sales wheat barley and hay grazing oil and gas coal and mineral revenues contribute to the Common School Fund used to support the state’s public schools.
The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 has been signed into law by President Joe Biden. It is a pilot permitting program to bolster not-for-profit cleanup efforts at mining sites across the country including in Montana. Projects that would be excluded include highly contaminated mines where federal agencies are supervising the cleanup or projects that require digging.
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its 2024 population estimates for the United States and all 50 states. the American population grew by one percent year-on-year in 2024 taking the total number of US citizens past 340 million for the first time. The population of Montana is estimated to be around 1,142,750. Montana is the fourth largest state in the US by size but has a relatively low population density of 7.7 people per square mile.
Former Montana Highway Patrol chief Colonel Steve Lavin’s suit against Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the state has been denied by a district court judge. Lavin alleged he was wrongfully terminated after he launched a management review and workplace climate survey. He also claimed they should be found in contempt for allowing the Department of Justice to disseminate confidential personnel information an allegation they denied.
Montana Medicaid providers are being urged by the Department of Public Health and Human Services to update their enrollment information by Dec. 31st to ensure uninterrupted payment reimbursement. To date over 8,400 providers have successfully completed the process but over 1,400 have not yet updated their enrollment information.
Alaska Airlines is now offering non-stop flights between Bozeman and Boise for the first time through mid-March. The seasonal service will be offered five times per week and passengers will have non-stop access to Orange County California as well through Alaska Airlines.
89 Montana school districts are eligible to apply for the Montana Reads Literacy Grant. District eligibility will be based on reading and writing proficiency levels and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students. A series of virtual meetings will begin January 10th to discuss grant requirements and the application process.
Big Sky Resort will be ushering in the new year with a new gondola and the longest eight-person lift in the world as it continues to expand Montana’s biggest ski area. The Madison 8 replaces the older Six Shooter lift offering a high-speed eight-person option with heated seats and weather shields which has become a resort standard.
