"The project is anchored by a national organic grocery brand making its Missoula debut, a tenant that will drive consistent, high-frequency traffic to the center."
In Missoula County, the fair market rent — an estimated amount that a property in a given area typically rents for, calculated by the federal government — is $1,655 per month for a two-bedroom apartment. However, someone making minimum wage can only afford a place that rents for $564 a month in order to not be cost-burdened.
So in reality, almost half the renters across the state and 48% of them in Missoula have little money left over for healthcare, groceries, gas, education and emergencies.
The housing statistics map of Montana can be found online montanabudget.org/interactive-housing-map.
Spotted $4.69 9/10 unleaded in Missoula yesterday. Montana is now $1.30 higher than this time last year. 77 days of war at the pump.
⛽ Unleaded: $4.69 9/10
🚛 Diesel: $5.49 9/10
📊 Montana statewide average: $4.56
📊 National average: $4.53 ← Montana is now ABOVE this
Montana used to run 30+ cents BELOW the national average. That is no longer the case.
Full war timeline — Missoula regular unleaded:
| Date | Price | Change from Feb 28 | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5 (pre-war low) | $2.75 | — | — |
| Feb 28 (war starts) | $2.78 | — | — |
| Mar 7 | $3.09 | +$0.31 | +11.2% |
| Mar 18 | $3.44 | +$0.66 | +23.7% |
| Mar 25 | $3.59 | +$0.81 | +29.1% |
| Apr 6 | $3.84 | +$1.06 | +38.1% |
| Apr 13 | $3.99 | +$1.21 | +43.5% |
| Apr 28 | $4.19 | +$1.41 | +50.7% |
| Apr 30 | $4.29 | +$1.51 | +54.3% |
| May 5 | $4.49 | +$1.71 | +61.5% |
| May 13 | $4.59 | +$1.81 | +65.1% |
| May 16 (today) | $4.69 | +$1.91 | +68.7% |
The math:
A 15-gallon gas tank costs $28.65 more to fill than the day the war started.
A 48-gallon diesel tank (standard large pickup) costs $96.96 more to fill than Feb 28. Nearly $100. Per fill-up.
Montana has seen almost no sustained relief since Feb 28 — any brief dips have been immediately erased.
We were under $3.00 before this war. Remember that.
*Sources: Personal observation Missoula (May 15), AAA (May 16), GasBuddy (May 11)
Below-average pay. Stagnant wage growth. A lack of qualified candidates for jobs. All three are key challenges facing the education and childcare sector in Montana. That’s according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s new analysis of the industry.
Missoula County has received a complete application to build a data center at the Bonner/Milltown industrial park (the old Bonner Mill site). Here's what you need to know — and why July 1st is actually the moment that matters.
What's happening
The property is already zoned industrial, so this isn't a debate about whether a data center can go there. The current review is a special exception process focused specifically on impacts to nearby residential properties — things like noise, water use, traffic, and visual changes to the area.
The body deciding this is MCCLUB (the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board) — not the county commissioners. MCCLUB has final authority to grant or deny the special exception. This is a meaningful distinction: commissioners aren't the ones to contact about this.
The hearing is Wednesday, July 1st at 6 p.m.
This is the public's main window to speak. If the special exception is approved, the next step — a zoning compliance permit — goes through administrative review only and does not include a public hearing. So July 1st is genuinely our best shot.
What the board is required to consider
If you live in the Bonner/Milltown area, or care about how this kind of development gets handled in Missoula County, showing up — or submitting a written comment — carries real weight at this stage.
How to get involved
The full application is available online and you can find meeting details and submit public comment at MissoulaCountyVoice.com.
See you there.
I was at the public library yesterday and petition gatherers said they had a new initiative for me to get on the ballot. I politely declined because I knew nothing about it and here is what I've found out.
Three separate initiatives are currently collecting signatures to cap Montana property tax increases at 2% per year — CI-129, CI-130, and CI-134. Before you sign any of them, it's worth asking: who benefits most?
A flat tax cap doesn't know the difference between a millionaire and a schoolteacher. A wealthy out-of-state investor with a $2 million vacation home gets the exact same rate protection as a retired teacher trying to stay in her house. No income consideration. No means testing. In raw dollar terms, the biggest winners are simply those who own the most property.
That's what makes these measures structurally regressive, even when they poll well.
And someone has to absorb the revenue loss. Property taxes fund fire departments, roads, law enforcement, and local schools. The Montana League of Cities and Towns has already warned that capping tax growth while communities are expanding would force cuts to services — or shift the burden onto other taxes that hit working people harder.
CI-134 at least exempts school levies and allows voters to override the cap. The other two measures, CI-129 and CI-130, offer fewer guardrails.
Montana families struggling with rising housing costs deserve real relief — targeted toward people who actually need it, not a constitutional windfall for corporations and large landowners dressed up as populism.
Before you sign, ask who's really being protected.
Spotted $4.59 9/10 unleaded in Missoula today. Montana is now $1.30 higher than this time last year. 74 days of war at the pump.
⛽ Regular: $4.59 9/10 (eyewitness today, May 13)
📊 Missoula average (May 11): $4.49
📊 Montana statewide average: $4.49
📊 National average: $4.50
Montana is now essentially AT the national average — we used to be 30+ cents below it.
Full war timeline — Missoula regular gas:
| Date | Price | Change from Feb 28 | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5 (pre-war low) | $2.75 | — | — |
| Feb 28 (war starts) | $2.78 | — | — |
| Mar 7 | $3.09 | +$0.31 | +11.2% |
| Mar 18 | $3.44 | +$0.66 | +23.7% |
| Mar 25 | $3.59 | +$0.81 | +29.1% |
| Apr 6 | $3.84 | +$1.06 | +38.1% |
| Apr 13 | $3.99 | +$1.21 | +43.5% |
| Apr 28 | $4.19 | +$1.41 | +50.7% |
| Apr 30 | $4.29 | +$1.51 | +54.3% |
| May 5 | $4.49 | +$1.71 | +61.5% |
| May 13 (today) | $4.59 | +$1.81 | +65.1% |
The math:
A 15-gallon fill-up costs $27.15 more than the day the war started.
Montana prices are $1.30 higher than this exact time last year.
The cheapest station in Montana right now: $4.09 The most expensive station in Montana right now: $4.99
Montana has seen almost no sustained relief since Feb 28 — any brief dips have been immediately erased.
What higher gas prices actually do to Missoula:
It's not just your commute. Higher fuel costs ripple through everything:
🛒 Groceries — Every truck that stocks City Brew, Rosauers, and WinCo runs on diesel. Those costs get passed to you at checkout.
🏗️ Construction & housing — Equipment, deliveries, and contractors all burn fuel. That $100M Midtown Commons project just got more expensive.
🍕 Local restaurants — Food delivery costs more. Suppliers charge more. Your $18 burger is heading to $20.
🚜 Farmers & ranches — Montana's ag economy runs on diesel. Higher input costs mean higher food prices statewide.
✈️ Tourism — Visitors driving to Glacier, the Bitterroot, or Missoula are paying more to get here. Fewer tourists = less local revenue.
💼 Small businesses — Any business with a delivery van, service truck, or supply chain just absorbed a 65% fuel cost increase since February. That comes out of margins or your wallet.
This isn't abstract. It's your rent, your groceries, your night out. All of it costs more when fuel costs more.
We were under $3.00 before this war. Remember that.
Sources: Personal observation Missoula (May 13),GasBuddy (May 11), AAA (May 13)
Join Indivisible Missoula TONIGHT (May 13) for a community conversation to cut through the AI hype, share what you're seeing, and start shaping an AI future that protects human well-being.
Wednesday, May 13
4:30 – 6pm MDT
Missoula Public Library
455 E Main St
Cooper Room A
Missoula, MT 59802
Register: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisiblemissoula/event/950303/
A Montana PBS investigation uncovered dangerous levels of “forever chemicals” in Montana fish — and evidence the governor’s office buried the findings.
"Moving forward, we are evolving toward a more open venue model for The Backyard at Big Sky Brewing Co., where multiple promoters, nonprofits, organizations, and community partners are welcome to utilize the facility rather than the venue being tied to a single promoter relationship," Nabozney said. "While I wouldn’t say we are fully reintroducing The Backyard this season, we are intentionally taking measured steps toward what we hope becomes a more active and sustainable event program moving into 2027 and beyond."
We live in one of the most walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly small cities in the country. We have Mountain Line. We have the trail network. We have legs.
And yet every time we start a car for a 10-minute trip, we're feeding the exact machine profiting from this war.
43% of all US petroleum is burned as gasoline. Transportation accounts for 2/5ths of all US fossil fuel CO₂. That's not an abstraction — that's us, every day, every errand, every solo commute.
So here's the ask: print this flyer. Share it. Post it at Worden's, the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, your coffee shop, your gym, your work. Put it in the group chats. Text it to your car-dependent friends without comment and let them sit with it.
Missoula already knows how to do this. Let's actually do it.
🚌 Take Mountain Line 🚲 Ride the trail 🚶 Walk if you're close 📤 Share this everywhere
Flyer sources: US EIA, Scientific American, Congressional Budget Office.
Who collects used engine oil in Missoula? Thx 🙏
Local chapters of Women in Black and Veterans for Peace gather at the south end of Beartracks Bridge every Friday in dedication to a just, peaceful world. Here, 82-year-old Carel Schneider hands out small origami cranes known as peace cranes. The peace crane represents hope, healing and unity. Schneider hands them out to share peace and empower people to spread it.
People headed to the landfill in Missoula might notice a new drop-off location for donated items where some materials could get a second life in a larger effort to reach "zero waste" in the Garden City.
The "last chance" donation center launched on Friday in a partnership between Home ReSource and the City of Missoula with the larger goal of educating residents on materials that can be diverted from the landfill.
⛽ Regular: $4.49 9/10 (eyewitness, May 4)
📊 Missoula average (May 4): $4.39
📊 Montana statewide average: $4.34
📊 National average: $4.42–$4.46
Full war timeline — Missoula regular gas:
| Date | Price | Change from Feb 28 | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5 (pre-war low) | $2.75 | — | — |
| Feb 28 (war starts) | $2.78 | — | — |
| Mar 7 | $3.09 | +$0.31 | +11.2% |
| Mar 18 | $3.44 | +$0.66 | +23.7% |
| Mar 25 | $3.59 | +$0.81 | +29.1% |
| Apr 6 | $3.84 | +$1.06 | +38.1% |
| Apr 13 | $3.99 | +$1.21 | +43.5% |
| Apr 28 | $4.19 | +$1.41 | +50.7% |
| Apr 30 | $4.29 | +$1.51 | +54.3% |
| May 4 | $4.49 | +$1.71 | +61.5% |
The math:
A 15-gallon fill-up costs $25.65 more than the day the war started.
Montana prices are $1.18 higher than this exact time last year.
Montana jumped 43.4 cents in a single week — one of the largest single-week increases ever recorded in the state.
The most expensive station in Montana hit $4.99 yesterday per GasBuddy. We are approaching all-time records.
Montana has seen almost no sustained relief since Feb 28 — any brief dips have been immediately erased.
We were under $3.00 before this war. Remember that.
Sources: Personal observation Missoula (May 4), GasBuddy (May 4), AAA (May 5)
Volunteer Day — May 9 @ 1PM
Join Missoula Neighbors United at the Missoula Public Library (Blackfoot Communication Room) to post flyers and signs in support of the Blackfoot River.
Data Center Panel Discussion — May 19 @ 5:30PM
MEIC and partners at the University of Montana are hosting a panel on the proposed data centers in Montana — including one in Bonner. What's at stake for our energy, water, land, and community? Come find out and learn how to organize.
Sign the Petition
Over 3,200 people have already called on Missoula County to reject permits for the Krambu Inc. AI data center at the Bonner Mill site. Add your name — every signature counts.
These issues are connected. Industrial development pressures in the Bonner area from a proposed gravel pit and asphalt plant to a massive data center threaten the same river and the same neighborhoods. Show up. Stay informed. Take action.
The University of Montana
Friday, May 1, 2026
May Day Strong! ✊
A huge thank you to Noteworthy Paper & Press, The Space, This Old Frat House, and Upcycled for closing in solidarity on May 1st!
And thank you to Bathing Beauties, Betty's Devine, Biga Pizza, Bridge Pizza, Confident Stitch, Ear Candy Music, Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, Lara Mattson Radle LCPC, Little Pink Coffee Trailer, Slant Street Records, and Tandem Bakery for taking alternative actions in solidarity.
Missoula — let's show our appreciation and shop these businesses today and every day in May! Share this post, spread the word, and let's make sure these businesses know their community has their back! 💛🖤
Quick context: May Day is being organized nationally as a stress test for a longer-term general strike. The January ICE Out actions showed the country could fill the streets. May 1st is the attempt to prove the economic lever actually works, not just the street presence.
Closing for the day:
Taking alternative action in support:
Events on May 1st:
12–1 PM — May Day Rally at the UofM Oval Live speakers and music. Organized by Missoula Resists Montana, UMGEU, and Stand Up Fight Back. Free, all welcome.
3–6 PM — Picket ICE corporate & political supporters Meet at Free Cycles (732 S 1st St W) at 3pm to carpool to each location. Organized by Western Montana DSA.
6–9 PM — BBQ, Potluck, Music & Presentations Return to Free Cycles at 6pm. Food, community, and presentations about May Day and the broader movement. Organized by Western Montana DSA.
These are local businesses and organizations putting something on the line. That matters — not just for Missoula, but because the movement is tracking which cities show up.
If your business wants to commit, take the May Day Pledge at maydaystrong.org and comment or direct message me and we'll get your business counted!