Post your "Moving to Montana" (MtM) questions here.

This isn't meant to be political, its just the truth. It has obviously been going on for awhile but we truly are under assault. Let me explain.

Im sure youve heard, Tallgrass and Blackstone Infrastructure announced a $105 million fund for Yellowstone National Park. What makes this worth scrutinizing is the connection to AI. Tallgrass is developing a massive natural-gas-powered data center project near Cheyenne, Wyoming, involving an announced investment exceeding $7 billion.

Matthew Sheehy, Tim Sheehy's brother, previously served as Tallgrass CEO. Given the scale of the data center project and the company's relationship with major investors, I think it's fair to ask whether this donation could help build political goodwill while major energy projects move forward.

To be clear, I'm not claiming a quid pro quo has been established. But when companies make enormous donations while pursuing projects requiring government approvals, transparency matters.

Who funded the donation, what permits are still pending, and are there any communications linking the two? Those are reasonable questions the public deserves answers to.

This is according to the Cato Institute. Full link: https://www.cato.org/freedom-50-states/2026

At the peak now.

Hello!

I'm currently a graduate student studying Creative Writing on the East Coast.

Despite (or maybe due to) living as far across the country from it as one can get, I have always favored writing about the Pacific Northwest and West Coast, particularly Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Western Montana specifically has taken over most of most of my academic and creative writing over the last few years, although I have had to rely on heavy and somewhat outdated research to develop an accurate scope of it--as a 22 year old grad student, I have been too broke and busy to take a trip, but am hoping to this summer between semesters.

As I start to prepare my thesis, I am hoping to adapt my perspective on Western Montana to be accurate not to the abstracts of old research papers and textbooks but to the first-hand experiences of people who know and love it. I want to be aware and sensitive to the fact that many people from the West don't want East Coasters in their business, overpopulating their states and disturbing the peace--I aim to do none of this, and am approaching this purely from a place of genuine creative, academic, and personal interest. Probably a total of ten people will read my thesis even if its published, half of them being my professors, who are obligated to, and the other half being my family, who are also obligated to. The only real audience here is me.

Finally, to my point. To the people who have grown up in Western Montana (particularly Missoula or the surrounding area, but not only) I would love to hear about your experience. Anything that comes to mind that I wouldn't be able to read in an article or research paper. Smells, sounds, beautiful (or not at all beautiful) things that have stuck with you through your life. As a nature writer, I am especially interested in the natural world and landscape (surprise surprise) of Montana. The other aspect I'm most interested to hear about are the people: family culture, regional dialect, general personalities, common professions, etc etc. I'm interested to hear anything at all!

Nothing personal or anecdotal will be used in the thesis. This is really just my attempt to listen and not write this project from an East Coast perspective.

Thank you so much to anyone who responds or took the time to read this!

hi! sorry if this isn’t the right place to post this. trying to get some food and medicine delivered to my sick family member in the Lame Deer area and i’m struggling to find any sort of courier service. fully willing to pay $30-50, im just struggling to find a company.

Blackfeet Chief's descendants fight to restore Washington Redskins name and logo

Hello!

I am a music teacher and sociology adjunct instructor in eastern Montana. Last year I posted about problems with staffing and open music teacher positions. A lot of people here pitched in and helped me find the information I needed.

Long story short-The state isn’t tracking some kinds of data that would likely shed a lot more light on why we have a teacher shortage.

With input from two professional organizations that I’m a part of, I have created a survey for any teacher that has had a contract in Montana between the fall of 2023 and now. The survey is operated through my media business so I am not using school resources.

I really, really need to get responses from people who:

1. Are happy with their job and school.
   
2. Are unhappy with their job or school.
   
3. Who have left teaching in that time frame.
   
4. Who left the state for higher pay.

I need help distributing the survey link, but I’m afraid of posting it on social media, as I’m sure I’ll get a lot of troll responses. I am not a union member, so I don’t have access to any mailing lists, though I am utilizing the mailing lists I do have.

Would there be anyone willing to post the link to their mailing lists? Or have other ideas of how to spread the word?

Hello everyone 👋

I’m a 26 year old gay man, living in NYC but from Washington state. I’m staying in Columbia Falls until 10/31, as I work on my first novel.

The novel is set in the Flathead Valley, and one of the main characters is a trans woman. I’m hoping to speak with anyone in the Valley, or the Missoula area, who could help provide some background on your life in MT. Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people, how the region shapes your identity, answers to questions like these would be a huge boon to my process.

More than happy to pay for a meal or a drink somewhere as a thank you for your time. PM me if you’re interested!

Montana isn't worth it anymore. Sure, it's kind of pretty, but there are prettier places with better options year-round. The local economy is lousy. The housing is too expensive, especially for the kind of town. Bozeman has always been kind of a fancyish place, but places like Kalispell have always been dumps, yet somehow are now expensive. Comparably, you'll find better outdoors, especially for all 4 seasons, in Utah. There's just more to see and do out there compared to Montana.

Montana is also relatively crowded in the desirable areas. Summer is too short, winter too long, and you'll be competing with tourists in the summer. I was out at Capitol Reef in Utah last April, perfect weather, and there was literally nobody there. You'll never find that in Montana nowadays. Utah is also just better located for both outdoor and city amenities. It's cheaper too.

Last week two of my favorite animals graced me with their presence. This time of year, bull Elk move about the forest with zero finesse. They crash through anything that gets in the way of their strong drive to pass their genes on to the next generation. I still heard this guy long after he had vanished into the forest. About the only thing left were their tracks and a fog that hung in the air from their collective condensed breath. 

Conversely, there are few animals that move about as apparently effortlessly as a Red Fox. They often behave more like a feline than a canine, and even have cat-like vertical pupils. They’re not an uncommon creature around these parts, but they are stunningly beautiful. 

I’m a college age guy in Bozeman but can’t find anywhere to play indoor volleyball like a team club team or just rec center any suggestions?

Flying in a couple of great comedians this weekend, come hang out!

Due to a tremendous amount of personal lore and backstory that I’d rather not get into, my wife, my one year old son, and I are needing to move to great falls soon from our tiny little town about forty minutes from it. I am planning on getting us a month at a local motel I think the Legacy Plaza does a month for $1000. Does anybody know of any cheaper motels? And especially does anybody know of anyone felon friendly hiring? I am an experienced Coal Miner but broke my leg and came out here looking for work. Thanks guys!

Shitty :/