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09/04/2026
Hello and good morning. It’s Katie with the latest edition of Missoula This Week.
In this issue, we have some local business updates (both comings and goings) and details of how the city plans to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. We also talk to a veteran about updates to the program that helped get him off the streets.
But first, a weather preview ☀️
I hope everyone is enjoying the rain because showers are likely throughout Labor Day weekend. Rain is forecast for Friday afternoon, with a high temperature of 70 degrees, according to the National Weather Service’s Missoula office. Saturday and Sunday will also have chances of rain and afternoon thunderstorms, with high temperatures reaching the mid-70s.
Poverello Center’s veterans’ transitional housing gets an upgrade
When Paul Barnes, a Vietnam veteran, became homeless 11 years ago, he went to the Poverello Center in Missoula.
Barnes was one of the first to join the shelter’s Housing Montana Heroes program, which provides transitional housing for veterans for up to two years while case managers help them access services and find permanent housing. March will mark 10 years since Barnes has lived in his own home after leaving the program, he told me this week.
“It made all the difference in my life,” he said.
The program provides space for 20 veterans to stay in semi-private rooms on the second floor of the Poverello Center’s shelter on West Broadway. Half a block down, Barnes, now a member of the organization’s board of directors, helped cut the ribbon Thursday at the new space for the Housing Montana Heroes program. The new location, the renovated former Clark Fork Inn, includes 16 private studio units, a community kitchen, community room, laundry facilities and offices for case management and supportive services.
“It’s the best thing to give people dignity from day one,” Barnes told me.
Since the Poverello Center partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to start the Housing Montana Heroes program in 2015, it has served 464 veterans and provided 64,000 nights of shelter, Barnes said.
“Keeping people warm, dry and fed is a very important part of our mission,” he told the crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting. “But the most important part to me was the staff and the caseworkers that individually treated us and helped us one-on-one with our problems and gave us advice for getting our own place and being independent.”
Jill Bonny, the Poverello Center’s executive director, said the organization applied for a VA grant five years ago for the Clark Fork project. After receiving the $800,000 grant, the Poverello worked to raise the rest of the funding for the $6 million project before breaking ground in August 2025. The organization is now hoping to raise the last $500,000 of about $800,000 needed to renovate the adjacent building to provide four more units for the program, Bonny said.
“We’ve come an incredibly long way, and we’re really excited to get these first 16 units open, but our goal is to finish what we started,” she said.
Veterans will move into the new building at the end of the month, Bonny said. The organization is seeking donations of twin-sized blankets, towels, laundry baskets, toiletries and coffee to include in welcome baskets for veterans in the program. Donations can be dropped off at the Poverello Center.
While the Poverello is still figuring out the long-term plan for the second-floor space in the main shelter, in the short-term, the organization’s less intensive veterans program will likely move upstairs, she said. That will likely provide more capacity for the Poverello’s high-demand medical respite program, Bonny said.
Ahead of the ribbon-cutting, Bonny told the crowd that celebrating the new building is a full-circle moment, as she worked in the veteran programs a decade ago when she first started at the Poverello Center.
“I’ve known many of the veterans that have gone through the program, and I’ve watched our staff do really good work,” she said. “So standing here today and looking at this is pretty incredible.”
Meeting Minutes 📝
City Council
The Missoula City Council Monday approved a $2.9 million contract with Jackson Contractor Group for the first phase of the planned $10.2 million renovation of the city’s water building on West Broadway.
The first phase of the project includes construction of a truck barn on the back half of the property, freeing up room for more office space and conference rooms, Jeremy Keene, the city’s public works director, told the council Aug. 26. Future phases of the project will include remodeling the inside of the building, updating the parking lot and landscaping, and adding new sidewalks and boulevards, Keene said.
Project funding includes two loans and about $910,000 in tax increment financing, which will be used to pay for updating the building facade, sidewalks and other public-facing improvements, Keene said.
Council Member Bob Campbell raised concerns about the use of TIF funds for the project, particularly because most of that money won’t be spent until fiscal year 2028.
County Commission
The Missoula County commissioners Tuesday signed on to two letters of support for agencies seeking federal grants.
Trout Unlimited is applying for a $3 million grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to rehabilitate the Grass Valley French Ditch Company’s dam on the Clark Fork River. The project would replace the outdated diversion with modern hydraulic gates to better control water flows to the irrigation ditch, and to improve fish passage and recreation on that stretch of river, Rob Roberts, the project manager with Trout Unlimited, told the commissioners Monday.
Mountain Line is seeking about $4 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emissions Grant program to improve bus stops. Mountain Line CEO Jordan Hess told the commissioners Tuesday that since the Trump administration has signaled it will not approve money from the grant program to purchase zero-emission vehicles, the Missoula agency is taking a different approach. The bus stop improvements will include adding seats to every stop and several shelters, as well as making stops fully accessible, Hess said.
Regardless if it receives the grant, Mountain Line plans to add new signs at bus stops that provide more information about the routes and a QR code that will link to real-time bus updates, Hess said.
“The whole effort is to just elevate the rider experience and make transit easier to ride and more comfortable to ride,” he said.
Public Notice 🧐
City warns of scams targeting developers
ℹ️ The city of Missoula has received reports of multiple instances of scammers using publicly available information about development projects to create emails that appear credible. Developers and members of the public should watch for emails that include an employee’s name or “city of Missoula” but do not end in ci.missoula.mt.us. The city does not request payment by wire transfer, and developers should be suspicious of unexpected invoices. Anyone who receives a questionable invoice or payment request related to a city project should contact city staff at 406-552-6060 or [email protected] before making a payment.
City holding 9/11 memorial and remembrance hike
🗓️ Friday, Sept. 11
⏰ 9:30 a.m.
📍 University of Montana Phyllis J. Washington Amphitheatre near the “M” Trail
ℹ️ The memorial marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 will include Celtic bagpipes and remarks from Fire Chief Lonnie Rash, Assistant Police Chief Jake Rosling, Josh Harrison with FEMA and Mayor Andrea Davis. The hike up the “M” Trail and a ringing of the bell to honor the fallen will follow the memorial.
Business Report 💼
A new cafe recently opened in the former Drum Coffee spot at 600 South Ave. W. The Biscuit Hound Cafe serves coffee and biscuit breakfast sandwiches. Drum Coffee’s 1000 E. Broadway location is still open.
Missoula is down two chain restaurants after Applebee’s and Famous Dave’s permanently closed in August, the Missoulian’s David Erickson reported. Both chain locations were owned by Ryan Restaurant Corp., based in Billings.
Local Lineup 🚶
Car enthusiasts and families can check out classic, custom and collector vehicles at the Montana Chrome and Classics Car Show Sunday, Sept. 6, at Ogren Park. The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include kids’ activities and concessions.
Soft Landing Missoula is holding events throughout September as part of “The Month of Welcome,” including the nonprofit’s 10th anniversary party Wednesday, Sept. 9. The event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Soft Landing’s office, 2925 Palmer St., and includes family entertainment, games and activities. Food will be available for purchase from Deli Arepas, Zeera and Puma food trucks.