Montana
Montana Heritage Center opens in Helena
Politicians, philanthropists and an excited public are celebrating the opening of the Montana Heritage Center, a $107 million project showcasing the state’s history.
During a ceremony Tuesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte called it a “world class facility,” and its historical exhibits and art galleries would not be out of place at major museums in Chicago, San Francisco or New York.
“This accomplishment is remarkable and highlights the generosity and the love that Montanans have for Montana,” Gianforte said.
Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was the result of decades of work from many Montanans who wanted to help preserve the state’s history. A 70,000-square-foot addition was added to the building and an existing 90,000 square foot area was remodeled.
The Homeland Gallery will likely become a destination for visitors to the state capitol, taking them through Montana’s rich history all the way back to the Ice Age. The space has exhibits from the state’s Indigenous peoples, with artifacts and deep explanations of nuanced history.
“If you think about it, 160 years ago, a number of pioneers met in Virginia City to talk about the process of starting to collect and preserve and honor the history of this area, and to be sure, it didn’t start with them, right?” Tim Fox, board president of the Montana Historical Society, said. “Our indigenous peoples were the first humans here, and our history goes back way beyond the discovery of gold, copper or silver.”
As visitors walk through that section, they’re treated to sounds that change as they move through the gallery. There’s interactive exhibits, things to watch and plenty to read. There’s also a smudge room, gardens, paths and gathering areas outside, as well as a cafe and event space.
The Charlie M. Russell Gallery also houses an extensive collection of work from the famed western artist. With low light, some incredible frames and even a sitting area, it is a home for many paintings that had been in storage.
There’s also another rotating gallery that will house additional exhibits. Only about 10% of the total collection is on display, museum officials said.
And in the Homeland Gallery, there’s even a covered wagon, a simulation of going down a Butte mineshaft and an exhibit on where the nuclear missiles in Montana are.
“One of the goals that we’ve had in this gallery is to make sure that there are lots of different stories and lots of different perspectives presented,” Amanda Streeter Trum, head of curatorial with the Montana Historical Society, said. “History is not just told from one group’s point of view. And so we’ve got lots of stories and lots of people represented here, as it should be.”
The final $60 million for constructing the facilities was privately funded. The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, Norm Asbjornson, and BNSF Railway together contributed more than $40 million, according to a release from the governor’s office.
Gianforte helped fundraise after taking office, he said at the ceremony. He was supportive of the project, but wanted cost overruns to be paid for by private donations.
“I called every major business in the state … telling them about our plans and asking them for support,” Gianforte said. “Many of you got those calls and are here today.”
Hundreds of people filled the main atrium of the building for the ceremony and then were able to wander the facility after.
Gianforte also announced about $3.5 million had been donated toward an endowment to support Montana students getting to experience the museum. The goal, Gianforte said, is that every student in the state gets a tour the year they study the state’s history.
The target for the endowment is $10 million.
Some facilities and parts of the center are still under construction and a full grand opening is planned for next summer.
“I hope that we can be a space where we can talk about difficult things and present challenging topics in addition to the fun, joyous topics as well,” Streeter Trum said.
LEWISTOWN — 27 teams of cheerleaders from across Montana gathered at Fergus High School for Cheerfest.
Justin Robicheau reports – watch the video here:
Cheerleaders showcase talent at Cheerfest
“It’s the largest interscholastic cheerleading competition for Montana. We’re very excited that schools can come and show what they’ve been working all season for. This is our state, this is our divisional. So we’re very excited and can’t wait to see what Montana brings to the mat,” Cheerfest Director Rayna Phelps said.
Phelps said this year’s event is different from last year.
“We were really focusing on ways that we can really up this experience for cheerleaders and dancers across the state of Montana. This year, we included a backdrop, and lots of beautiful accents all throughout. We have a judging table, so it looks really nice,” Phelps said.
“There’s a high school mascot competition. Junior high team competition. There’s all classes of high schools. Class B, class A, double A, small group and large group. There’s dance solos, dance teams from across the state. And we have a college showcase,” Phelps said.
Glasgow High School senior Annika Smith said her school finished third in last year’s Cheerfest.
“I’m so excited. This last year we got third. So I’m really excited to come back and really go and try and get first. And it’s a little sad because it’ll be my last year, but I’m really excited to go out and give it my all,” Smith said.
MTN News
For Fergus High School senior Miriam Pavlovick, being surrounded by other cheerleaders from across the state is uplifting.
“It’s nice to see, like, a lot so many cheerleaders who enjoy the same thing. So much. And we just all come together and support one another,” Pavlovick said.
“Obviously when we go travel for basketball and state, like that, we’re cheering on our team. And this is a cool opportunity to show what cheerleaders can do and our stunting on all of our dancing and really get to show off a different side of cheerleading,” Smith said.
Registration for next year’s competition will open after Christmas.
MTN News
KALISPELL, Mont. — Flathead Electric reports more than 9,000 customers in Flathead County are currently without power.
Officials say the outage is due to a transmission service disruption from Bonneville Power Administration.
Their outage map currently shows 9,700 outages.
The BPA outage is also affecting Lincoln Electric customers Eureka, Rexford and Trego. Close to 6,000 outages are reported on their outage map.
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