Montana
Expert Predicts Cheaper Gas Prices This Fall in Montana
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – Montana gas prices have now dropped five weeks in a row. Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he provided the current numbers.
“Average gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 3.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.42 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “Prices in Montana are 9.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 56.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.”
As of Monday morning, many stations in Missoula had their prices set to around $3.42 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.12 per gallon yesterday while the most expensive was $4.19 per gallon.
Montana is currently ranked 14th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas, which is one spot lower than last week.
“The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.28 per gallon today,” De Haan said. “The national average is down 17.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 48.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen .2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.65 per gallon, a fresh multi-year low.”
READ MORE: Montana Gas Prices are Still Chasing the National Average
According to De Haan, the summer driving season is now over and we have much to look forward to for the fall.
“There will be more drops at the pump as demand drops seasonally, and the changeover to cheaper winter gasoline is just two weeks away,” said Patrick De Haan. “As long as we don’t see a major hurricane head into the Gulf and the situation improves in the Middle East, the national average could fall below $3 in the next two months. While diesel prices fell slightly last week, they may rise with winter growing closer and the economy’s likely rebound ahead of the Fed’s expected rate cut.”
De Haan said it’s great news for gas prices, but diesel will likely soon see its seasonal rise kick in.
LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving
Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.
Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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