Montana

Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg visits Montana, celebrates infrastructure investments • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2024

Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg visits Montana, celebrates infrastructure investments • Daily Montanan

MISSOULA — Touting $5.3 billion of federal dollars coming to Montana, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Monday investments in airport, road and other infrastructure projects have been sorely needed, already are having a positive effect, and are at amounts unprecedented in his lifetime.

Buttigieg spoke briefly at Missoula Montana Airport, which received $17 million from the federal Department of Transportation for the second phase of a terminal construction project. It opened a new $67 million terminal in 2022.

The airport has seen record growth in passengers in recent years. It remains a hardhat zone for the second phase of work, but director Brian Ellestad said it already has received wide recognition: Newsweek recently named Missoula Montana Airport a finalist for best small airport in the U.S.

Secretary Buttigieg talks with Missoula lawmakers, Democrats Connie Keogh and Zooey Zephyr. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

To a group of local and state officials including legislators and city and county leaders, Buttigieg said partnerships between Montanans and federal officials were key to completing the terminal, as was the union labor that built it.

“We always love hearing about a project that comes in under budget on federal dollars,” Buttigieg said.

Over the years, the airport expanded since it opened with funds approved through President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1938, he said. However, he said the upgrades haven’t kept pace with growth in western Montana.

Along the way, lots of people wanted to fly to Missoula — “for reasons that I now understand better” — but doing so was cost prohibitive. He said the federal investments help needed expansion, which attracts airlines, which in turn creates competition and drives down ticket prices.

Investments in Montana airports are important to the economy so the Treasure State can do business with the rest of the nation, said Brian Sprenger, president and CEO of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, the busiest in the state.

In a phone interview, Sprenger said Montana is remote — the only state in the lower 48 that’s not contiguous to a state with a city of a million or more — and air travel is critical to business.

“It’s the only way we can get things done relatively quickly is by being connected to the outside world,” Sprenger said.

According to the Department of Transportation, the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law is funding more than 508 specific projects in Montana. At the event, Buttigieg said federal support includes $2.4 billion in road modernization.

Buttigieg also highlighted a $24 million award to change U.S. Highway 200 near East Missoula from “a thoroughfare that bisects the community” into a main street that’s safer for bikers and pedestrians, along with $25 million going to a downtown Missoula project, and other initiatives.

“It’s a level of financial support from the federal government that we haven’t seen in my lifetime,” he said.

The DOT estimated $2 billion is going toward clean water and water infrastructure.

The investments are already translating into paychecks that mean people can buy Christmas presents or own a new home, Buttigieg said. He said the number of total construction jobs hit 8 million in September and has been reaching new records every month since.

Construction at the Missoula International Airport. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

Buttigieg also said he wanted to acknowledge Montana’s federal delegation and specifically U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, for the bipartisan infrastructure law. He said people such as Tester saw that Democrats and Republicans who didn’t agree on much could agree on funding for infrastructure.

“FDR had the New Deal,” Buttigieg said. “I call this infrastructure package the Big Deal — because it is a big deal … I think it recalls the best in the American tradition, which is having big visions and big aspirations and then going after how to get them done.”

Of the 51,000 projects the transportation department is funding, Buttigieg said not one of them was dreamed up from within agency headquarters. Instead, he said all of them came from community.

“And that’s how it ought to be,” Buttigieg said.

Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport

Brian Sprenger, president and CEO of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg isn’t stopping at Montana’s busiest airport this time, but Bozeman hopes to have him drop by in the future.

The airport in Bozeman anticipates it will handle 65% more passengers than it did in 2019, Sprenger said.

It also has undertaken expansions and upgrades, including a new $22 million baggage system. He said a major terminal project is kicking off, and the airport is also improving its airfield.

“We’re having a lot more aircraft than we were seeing as well,” Sprenger said.

He said the airport has received an estimated $14 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Montana Fact Sheet from DOT

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Montana

Montana State announces spring football schedule; Nolan Askelson joins coaching staff

Published

8 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Montana State announces spring football schedule; Nolan Askelson joins coaching staff

BOZEMAN — Montana State will begin spring football practices March 24.

The reigning national champion Bobcats will hold 12 practices, two scrimmages and the Sonny Holland Spring Classic over the course of five weeks. The Sonny Holland Spring Classic is scheduled for Saturday, April 25.

Also on the schedule is the MSU Pro Day, which will be held April 2.

In addition to releasing the spring practice schedule, Montana State confirmed the addition of Nolan Askelson to the coaching staff. Askelson, a Billings Senior High School alum, will be an assistant defensive line coach for Bobby Daly, who is returning as Montana State’s defensive coordinator after spending last season at UTEP.

Askelson was a standout linebacker for the Bobcats, capping his MSU career with first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2023. He played in four games as a true freshman in 2018 before becoming a regular rotation player in 2019. An injury shortened his 2021 season, but he played 11 games in 2022 and finished with 64 tackles.

As a senior in 2023, Askelson wore Montana State’s legacy No. 41 jersey and led the team with 84 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss and two sacks.

In high school, he was a two-time all-state selection for Senior and helped the Broncs win Class AA state championships in 2016 and 2017.

Montana State spring football schedule

Tuesday, March 24 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, March 26 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Friday, March 27 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Monday, March 30 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Wednesday, April 1 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, April 2 — Pro Day (no practice)

Friday, April 3 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Saturday, April 4 — Practice, 10:05 a.m.

Tuesday, April 7 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Friday, April 10 — Closed scrimmage, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, April 16 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Saturday, April 18 — Closed scrimmage, 10:05 a.m.

Tuesday, April 21 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Thursday, April 23 — Practice, 7:05 a.m.

Saturday, April 25 — Sonny Holland Spring Classic, 1 p.m.

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March 5 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

20 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

March 5 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana GOP won’t endorse in federal races this cycle • Daily Montanan

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Montana GOP won’t endorse in federal races this cycle • Daily Montanan

Although newly minted GOP candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate have garnered heavyweight endorsements, the Montana Republican Party said Thursday it won’t throw its support behind any candidates for federal office in the primary.

“The Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) stands behind its deep bench of qualified candidates seeking to represent Montanans and supports a competitive primary process to let voters pick their preferred candidates,” the Montana GOP said in a news release Thursday.

Monday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he was retiring due to health concerns once his term ends, and he immediately tapped talk-show host Aaron Flint as his preferred successor in Congress.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chairperson Al Olszewski also filed for the U.S. House as Republicans, as did Ray Curtis of Bonner.

Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines withdrew, and in a statement the same night, announced an endorsement of former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who had filed the same day.

In the Senate, Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child also filed to run in the Republican primary.

Endorsements for Flint and Alme cascaded. U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed both candidates, and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte threw their weight behind Flint and Alme.

Late on Wednesday, the Montana GOP did not immediately have comment on the news Daines, Montana’s senior U.S. senator, had resigned, but Thursday, the party thanked Zinke and Daines for their service.

A news release said the party would not endorse any candidates in the federal primary and would leave the job in the hands of voters.

“The party hopes every candidate will make their case to the public, contrasting their Republican policies and principles with those of Democrats — as well as phony ‘Independents,’” the news release said.

Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar announced a run for the U.S. Senate as an independent this week.

A tension within the Republican party has emerged in recent years between hardline conservatives and more moderate members, and some legislative primaries illustrate the split.

This week, the state GOP said the number of primaries for state legislative seats shows a high interest from Montanans who want to serve the state and pass Republican policy, and the MTGOP “is glad to see so many Republicans being called to public service.”

In a brief call, MTGOP spokesperson Ethan Holmes said the party had not ruled out endorsements in legislative primaries.

In the news release, however, the MTGOP offered its view of the larger political debate.

“Montana voters know that beyond the primaries, there is a clear choice between Republican and Democratic governance; one path leads to lower taxes, less crime and stronger families, and the other leads to higher taxes, more crime, and social decay,” MTGOP Chairperson Art Wittich said in a statement.

The news release also said the state GOP is working “tirelessly to deliver a Bright Red Future” at both the state and federal level and looks forward to help candidates whom voters select win in November.

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