If you’re one of those lucky Montanans who own your home, or bought before the market decided to go crazy, congratulations.

Seriously, I mean that.

For the rest of us that are looking to buy and don’t make a bazillion dollars a year, well, at least we’re not alone.

While home prices in Montana have decreased over the last several months, the high interest rates don’t allow for much relief, and if you’re like me and you refuse to pay half a million dollars for a townhome with no yard in Bozeman, then what I’m about to say probably won’t help much.

However, if you’re a homeowner, listen up.

There are a few improvements that you can make on your home that will bring you a very high ROI (Return on Investment), so if you do decide to one day sell, you can make sure that your overpriced home has the best chance of making you the most money.

Before we reveal these home improvements, let’s look at the best places in Montana to call home.

How do I make my Montana home more valuable?

What are some things that add value to your home? An additional bedroom? An extra bath? Outside kitchen? Fire Pit? All of those sound great, but some of those improvements can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

According to the folks over at Roofing Craftsmen, there are a few things you can do to help with your return on investment and increase the value of your home.  Here are few of those improvements below:

• Vinyl Siding
• Window Replacement
• Composite Deck
• Concrete Patio Replacement

Of course, that is just a few items to help you make back the money you spend, but if you’re looking for a big return on investment, there’s something simple you can do that will give you a nice wow factor.

The number one item with the highest return on investment is…a new garage door. Yep, something that simple can not only make your home stand out, but it has over a 100 percent return on investment.

A few other items you might want to consider, a screened-in porch, wood floors, a metal roof, and new kitchen appliances.

A man shot and killed a mama grizzly bear in Montana after state wildlife officials said she charged at him.

The man was “shed hunting,” or looking for antlers shed by deer, elk and other animals, when he saw the bear on a “brushy hillside,” according to a news release issued Monday by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“As he was leaving the area, the bear charged him at close range,” the agency said. “He shot and killed the bear. Fortunately, the man was uninjured.”

Officials said the incident happened on Friday in north-central Montana near Dupuyer, about 70 miles south of the Canadian border.

Wildlife officials said it was an adult female bear that had “no history of conflict.” Officials also said the bear was estimated to be about 13 years old and about 250 pounds. They said a yearling cub was found unharmed at the site of the incident and that it was left alone.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a yearling is a young bear, older than a year old.

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s question Tuesday about whether the mama bear may have been defending her cub.

Officials say encounters with bears more likely

The agency said that grizzly bear populations have become denser and more widespread across the state, increasing the “likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in more places each year.”

Although the number of grizzly bears has increased, they are still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there are about 1,900 grizzly bears in the continental United States.

Other bear attacks and what to do

Back in July 2024, a 72-year-old man shot and killed another grizzly bear and was left seriously injured. Wildlife officials said the man was picking huckleberries alone on Flathead National Forest lands, when an adult female grizzly bear charged at him and attacked.

The National Park Service recommends keeping the following things in mind when exploring the backcountry:

• Be alert and aware of your surroundings and pay attention to signs.
• Make noise, especially in areas with limited visibility or when sound is muffled (e.g., near streams or when it is windy).
• Carry bear spray and know how to use it.
• Hike in big groups of three or more; avoid venturing into the wilderness alone.
• If you encounter a bear, do not run. Instead back away slowly.
• Immediately alert authorities if you see a bear.
• If you see cubs, be extra cautious. Mother bears are very protective of their young. Do not approach, touch or interact with cubs.

Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

GREAT FALLS — Thompson Falls in western Montana is the site of Patrol Base Abbate, named after Matt Abbate, who died in combat. The retreat helps veterans who may be struggling and now has chapters cross the country.

In the video below, Tim McGonigal learns about the organization from its founder, USMC Lieutenant Colonel Tom Schueman.

Montana ‘Patrol Base’ aims to help military veterans

Schueman joined the Marine Corps after the events of September 11, 2001. His service has taken him across the world, including the deadliest combat zones.

“I had three Marines commit suicide in April of 2020, and I fought in the bloodiest battle in the war in Afghanistan,” said Schueman.

“After those three suicides, I had lost more Marines on the home front than I’d lost on the battlefield.”

Schueman says while teaching at the Naval Academy he dove into research on suicide among veterans.

“I just thought, you did everything you could do to keep your Marines alive in combat. What are you doing to keep them alive at home? And I felt like not enough,” said Scheuman.

He says he found non-combat veterans are 68% more likely to die by suicide than combat veterans. And while he praises the nearly 45,000 veteran service organizations, he says about 99% of them only service about two percent of the veteran population.

“They had a barrier to entry. They had a box to check,” said Schueman. “You’re not disabled enough. You’re not disordered enough. You’re not Navy Seal enough. You’re not wounded enough. You’re not in crisis.”

Schueman wanted to give Veterans a place where the only requirement was, they had served.

“If you’re a Navy sailor on a ship, if you’re an Air Force maintainer, turning a wrench on a C-17, if you’re a soldier driving a truck, we think all that service matters,” said Schueman. “And this is your base, and you belong here.”

The family of a fellow Marine he served with homesteaded in Thompson Falls in the 1800’s offered space on their property to get the patrol base started. They upgraded the surroundings when a former boarding school property became available.

He said the participants felt the beauty and magic of Patrol Base Abbatte on the drive from Missoula to the base.

“And every river, every time you turn, you think, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” said Schueman. “And then there’s the next turn and they say, ou know, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Unlike many other veteran service organizations, PB Abbate built programs and activities based upon what veterans want to do.

“Some said jujitsu and some, some said weightlifting and some said hunting and some said golfing and scuba diving and music and art and yoga, and books,” said Schueman.

PB Abbate, which is free to attend, is named in honor of Sergeant Matt Abbate, killed in action on December 2nd, 2010. Schueman says Abbate was a man apart.

“He was in a class of his own,” said Schueman. “He was truly the Achilles of our battlefield, separate and distinct in his capabilities and honor.”

PB Abbate has 40 Chapters around the country and is dependent on volunteers. Their fundraising efforts include a recently released Montana license plate, with a picture of veterans outside a cabin and around a campfire that fittingly reads, return to base.

“When you are out on patrol in a foreign land and you’ve been shot at a bunch and walked through IED fields, and you make a call and say, ‘hey, we’re RTB, return to base’, it’s a good feeling that be able to head back to that base and know that for a second, you can eat some chow and take your gear off,” said Schueman, “So offer and extend that invitation, to all veterans returning to base.”