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8/22/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
The Missoula County Elections Office this week sent more than 47,000 municipal primary election ballots to city residents registered to vote.
Ballots for the mail-only election are due by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Voters are encouraged to mail their ballots by Tuesday, Sept. 2, to ensure they arrive on time. Ahead of Election Day, voters can drop off ballots on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Elections Center. On Sept. 9, two drive-thru ballot drop locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hellgate Elementary baseball fields at 2385 Flynn Lane and just off Russell Street between the Missoula County Fairgrounds and the YMCA.
“The ballot return rate in the 2023 municipal primary election was 46.43%,” Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said in a statement. “We’d love to see that number rise above 50% for a local election.”
All city voters will decide which two candidates for mayor will advance to the Nov. 4 general election. Mayor Andrea Davis is facing Brandi Atanasoff and Shawn Knopp, who both previously ran for the position.
Ward 2 voters will determine which two of five candidates will move on to the general election. Hayden Cook, Justin Ponton, Tim Garrison, Rebecca Dawson and Michele Whitmire are running for the seat held by Sierra Farmer, who is not seeking reelection.
In Ward 3, voters will also decide between five candidates — incumbent Daniel Carlino, current Ward 1 Council Member Jennifer Savage, Nathan Coyan, David Knudson and Jon Vivas.
Ward 6 Council Member Sandra Vasecka is running to finish her term after being appointed following a tie in 2023. Sean McCoy, who tied with Vasecka for the position in 2023, and Valeda “Lynette” Jonessian are also vying for the position.
Races with fewer than three candidates advanced to the November ballot. That includes Wards 1, 4, 5 and the other Ward 6 seat, as well as the three municipal judge positions.
Residents can check their voter registration status, address information and view sample ballots at myvoterpagemt.com. Those who do not receive a ballot can call 406-258-4751 or visit the Elections Office to verify their registration or receive an undeliverable or replacement ballot. Residents can register to vote at the elections office.
Verbatim
“Missoula hasn’t had a confirmed [measles] case; boy, we have had a lot of fire drills. So when we have a suspected case and we’re waiting for those test results to come back in, we don’t just kind of sit on our hands and hope it’s not one. We get right in there and we figure out … what is the risk? If this comes back positive, we want to be ready straight away with messaging and connecting with people we need to connect with to kind of put a ring around that.”
—Jeanna Miller, Missoula’s health officer, said during a panel discussion and Q&A about the recent measles resurgence held by the University of Montana’s Public Health Training Center on Tuesday.
Montana recorded its first measles case since 1990 in April. As of Wednesday, the state had 31 confirmed cases, according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Lewis and Clark, Cascade, Flathead, Gallatin, Hill and Yellowstone counties have recorded cases, with 19 in Gallatin.
On Tuesday, health officials discussed measles, its vaccine and how school districts and public health agencies can prepare for potential cases as the school year begins.
Brooke Krininger, Missoula County Public Schools health services coordinator, said many factors influence how the school district would respond to a case, but officials would immediately be on the phone with Missoula Public Health. The school district would collaborate with the health department’s case investigation and decide on next actions, such as notifications, cleaning and identifying who may be at risk, she said. The district keeps a list at the ready of unvaccinated students and staff, as well as children with medical conditions that may put them at higher risk of infection, Krininger said.
Read more about the discussion here.
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5 Things to Know in Missoula
The Missoula City Council on Monday will consider creating a school speed zone on Phillips Street near Lowell Elementary School after a child in a crosswalk was hit by a vehicle this spring. The crash was at least the third child struck crossing Phillips between Scott Street and Shakespeare Street within the last four years, according to the city. The city’s public works department has installed temporary bulb-outs and rapid flashing beacons at the Hawthorne Street intersection to increase pedestrian safety, Ryan Guelff, a transportation engineer, told the city council on Wednesday. The current speed limit is 25 mph. The speed zone would run along Phillips between Scott Street and Burton Street. Public Works recommended a 20 mph speed limit when children are present, which is consistent with other school zones in Missoula and decreases risk to pedestrians while maintaining a speed that drivers are more likely to go, Guelff said. Council Member Sierra Farmer proposed a 15 mph speed limit. The council did not vote on the proposal or the staff recommendation but decided to continue discussion and vote on Monday.
The Missoula County commissioners on Thursday approved two contracts totaling nearly $80,000 to thin trees at Marshall Mountain Park to improve ski runs and forest health and reduce wildfire risk. The project is funded by a Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation grant and a donation from the Friends of Marshall Mountain, said Jackson Lee, the park manager. Montana Wildfire Mitigation will hand-thin trees on about 40 acres, and KLM Contracting will use machines to remove other vegetation on 31 acres. Buffers will be left around trails, Lee said. The work will begin Sept. 2 and continue “until snow flies,” he said. No trail closures are planned during the work, but machinery will be in the area, he said.
On Thursday, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency board approved spending $1.6 million in tax increment financing to replace the baseball field at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field, the city-owned stadium. The field, which is more than 20 years old, is in poor condition and not suitable for another season of baseball, according to the staff report. Big Sky Professional Baseball, which owns the Missoula PaddleHeads, leases the stadium and is leaning towards an artificial turf replacement but has not made a final decision, said Matt Ellis, the PaddleHeads president. An artificial turf field has a lower annual maintenance cost and would extend the season of the field for baseball and other events, he said. Several members of the public spoke against using artificial turf because of its higher cost and concerns about the plastic polluting the environment and causing health problems. Ellis said turf technology has improved, and the field the group is considering wouldn’t have PFAs, chemicals that may cause health problems. It would also use a system to cool down the field, include a carbon catch system, drain into the sewer and be fully recyclable, he said. The artificial turf would cost about $2.2 million, and Big Sky Professional Baseball would pay the remaining amount if that option is chosen.
The Missoula County commissioners on Tuesday sent a letter to the Montana Department of Transportation requesting that the agency require Town Pump to improve the intersection south of its proposed store in Frenchtown. Following Town Pump’s purchase of 25 acres off Frenchtown Frontage Road on the north side of the Interstate 90 interchange, residents raised concerns that a gas station would worsen traffic and cause other disruptions, the Missoulian reported in June. In response to the concerns, the county commissioners wrote a letter to the community stating the board has limited authority over the proposal, particularly as it is in an unzoned area. The letter to MDT lists several safety concerns that would be addressed by adding a traffic signal or roundabout at the intersection of Frenchtown Frontage Road and Demer Street. There have been about 16 crashes, including one death, at the intersection over the past five years, according to the letter. No development plans or timeline have been released for the site.
Hikers can now access an additional 2.5 miles of trails linked to the city’s Bluebird Preserve in the hills north of the Interstate 90 interchange on Reserve Street. The new trails are on the Republic Services-Five Valleys Land Trust conservation easement property adjacent to the preserve. In 2010, Five Valleys partnered with the company to place a conservation easement on the 300 acres in the North Hills, according to the organization. Five Valleys bought the 124 acres that would later become the Bluebird Preserve in 2019 and transferred it to the city, which opened the two-mile trail system in 2023. That public access allowed the plan for trails on the conservation easement to move forward, according to Five Valleys. The Bluebird Preserve trails are open year-round, and the new trails will be open April 1 to Sept. 31 to support elk and other wildlife.
Public Notice
Those looking to cool down at Missoula’s outdoor water parks only have a few more days ahead of their seasonal closures. Missoula Parks and Recreation’s outdoor water park Splash Montana, located at Playfair Park, is set to close Tuesday, Aug. 26. Spray decks at Franklin, Bonner, Westside, Marilyn, Sacajawea and Southside Lions parks will be open through Labor Day. Currents Aquatics Center is closed for annual maintenance but will reopen Aug. 30.
