Shared State
Pledging to bring Montana more “good-paying jobs” is a time-honored cliche for politicians on the campaign trail. But what can elected officials really do to expand economic opportunity for Montanans? And what concerns are Montanans weighing as they decide whether they can build the life they want here?
Exploring Montana’s economic future
Montana, as the saying goes, is one big small town with really long streets. The Long Streets Project aims to cover it like that, focusing on the economic trends and issues that shape the opportunity Montanans have — or don’t have — to make a decent living.
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Next stop: uncertainty
Passenger rail advocates say Amtrak’s plan to reduce the Empire Builder to three days a week will cost the state more than $38 million.
State ‘stabilization’ grants try to plug the holes in federal relief efforts
Entrepreneurs say state-administered grants are welcome aid, even as critics complain that Gov. Steve Bullock hasn’t written checks fast enough
Homegrown
If Montanans want to keep Montana-grown food — and the associated dollars — in-state, the local supply chain will have the be expanded. That includes storage and distribution infrastructure, but the bottleneck is mostly at the food processor level.
Feds release data on Paycheck Protection loan recipients
Data released this week by the U.S. Small Business Administration provides the first detailed accounting of the businesses aided by the Paycheck Protection Program, indicating that Montana’s loan recipients span nearly the full width of the state’s economic landscape.
Lagging rural census response could cost Montana second U.S. House seat
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted get-out-the-count efforts
Coronavirus chill hits Montana newspapers
As of April 1, every large daily publication in the state is facing newsroom furloughs intended to help their companies survive the crisis.
Privacy measure could muddle 2020 census results for rural Montana
In some sparsely populated Montana counties, official population counts could be skewed by 10%.
Montana property taxes keep rising. Here’s where residents shoulder the heaviest loads.
A new tax study was commissioned in part to explore whether state and local governments rely too heavily on residential property tax revenue.
As trade war simmers, Montana farmers get federal relief. Here’s where the 2019 subsidies hit home.
Industry leaders are skeptical that the program puts ag producers back in the black.
A look back at the top MTFP stories of 2019
From the 66th Montana Legislature to the 2020 elections, it’s been a news-filled year.
Hutterite-commissioned study says communities’ collective operations add 2,200 jobs to state economy
The study, billed as the first of its kind, concludes that the communities’ collective business operations contribute $365.3 million annually to the Montana economy.
MTFP Reporter Eric Dietrich talks about data reporting and new Labor Department projections
MTFP data reporter Eric Dietrich’s latest story, “What Jobs May Come,” examines state economists’ forecasts for job openings, wages, and job turnover in Montana in the coming decade.
What jobs may come
State labor department figures released in late September estimate 62,300 job openings in Montana each year through 2028. What they pay, and whether you can get them, has a lot to do with education.
Student enrollment is up statewide, but dwindling numbers threaten to squeeze rural schools
For districts in agricultural towns on the state’s eastern plains, a decades-long trend toward larger farms and fewer ag families means there are fewer students to go around.
It can be tough to find fresh food in small towns. It gets harder when you lose your county’s only grocery store.
Where do rural communities turn for fresh food when their only grocery store goes up in flames?
Where born and bred Montanans do, and don’t, live
Montanans prize birthright, but less than half of us were born here.
Few state job creation grants go to rural Montana. Here’s why.
As Montana’s urban centers add jobs faster than small towns, dollars from a key state economic development program flow disproportionately to cities.
Grappling with rural ‘brain drain,’ Montana leaders mull incentives to lure in college grads
The ‘Catch and Keep Act’ — grants for grads who commit to rural careers — didn’t pass the 2019 Montana Legislature. But lawmakers did renew a program helping rural teachers with student loans.
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