This story is excerpted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday.
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Belgrade remains by far Montana’s busiest airport. But hundreds of thousands of passengers also flew into other parts of Montana last year, according to data collected by the Montana Department of Transportation.

While Billings remains the state’s largest city, its Billings-Logan International Airport was just the fourth-busiest Montana airport in terms of passenger arrivals recorded in 2022, behind the Missoula Airport and Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell. Both Kalispell and Missoula did, however, see greater seasonal variation than Billings, drawing much of their traffic during the summer tourism season.
latest stories
Federal judge blocks Montana’s AI campaign ad law
A Montana law regulating the use of generative artificial intelligence in campaign ads has been dealt a blow by a federal judge based on freedom of speech concerns. The order greenlights general election advertising that former legislator Dan Bartel and ASG PAC planned to use, but feared being prosecuted for.
Montanans are using AI, but remain wary of its societal impact
Almost four years after OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, AI is now firmly rooted in many Montanans’ day-to-day tasks, according to a Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll of registered voters conducted in late August and early September. More Montanans use AI — and to some extent trust AI — for general searches, work tasks and writing, than…
Broadview area data center sees first phase of construction with roads, well work
Quantica has agreed to use local, unionized labor when possible, under a memorandum of understanding it signed with the Southeastern Montana Building and Construction Trades Council. Riley McCauley, vice president of the council, said they won’t have details on job numbers or wages until Quantica has secured an “end user,” or a digital or AI…
