Montana

Polebridge Mercantile owners bring store back to Kiowa Junction

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2024

Polebridge Mercantile owners bring store back to Kiowa Junction

There hasn’t been a business at Kiowa Junction in years, but the new Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile aims to fill that gap — including bringing back the junction’s famous fried chicken at the request of many locals.

Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is named after the Blackfeet word for bear (pronounced “key-eye-oh” k̇yīyō) That’s according to owner Will Hammerquist, who has also run the Polebridge Mercantile with his wife Katerina for nearly 10 years. He didn’t have plans to expand the business, but when the opportunity arose to build something at the Kiowa Junction, he decided to give it a shot.

“This was an opportunity to expand and do it in a way where I saw real need. We’re also kind of in a little bit of a food desert out here. There’s a lot of cars that go by and we’re at least 12 miles from the closest stores. And it’s a busy intersection, so we saw it as an opportunity to do something that people could really enjoy,” Hammerquist said.

Kiowa Junction is the area where Montana 49 (or Looking Glass Highway) meets U.S. 89 just west of Browning. The land was on the market for several years before Hammerquist purchased it after the start of the pandemic. There was a year of demo work, tearing down the dilapidated buildings that used to be a pit stop for many at the junction. The area was developed around the 70s or 80s and included a store where the current mercantile sits and a now defunct small amusement park across the street.

The store is now selling fried chicken, in addition to other deli items, to pay homage to the former store — cheekily referred to as Kiowa Fried Chicken on shirts and stickers at the mercantile.

Currently, Hammerquist and his team are building cabin rentals across from the mercantile, but remnants of the amusement park are still there, like a bumper boats pond where a beaver has now made a home.

Living with the flora and fauna at the Kiowa Junction is a goal for Hammerquist, and he doesn’t plan to develop the sites larger than what the original footprint encompassed. It’s one reason why he chose the name Kyiyo, because bears, along with moose, foxes, elk and deer frequent the area. He’s also heard wolves howling nearby.

The developed area of the property is around three acres, but the wild land of the property is over 100 acres. Eventually, he said nature trails will be created for people to enjoy.

“There’s an incredible diversity of wildflowers too, so it’s a really special place. This is definitely a wildlife corridor. The wildlife comes up off Two Medicine Ridge, out of Glacier Park, and they use this little area here to work their way out into the river bottoms,” Hammerquist said.

Working with members of the Blackfeet Nation was also a top priority, as the property is on the reservation and has historically served the community in and outside of Browning. The mercantile is selling Blackfeet made products, like bison jerky made from the tribe’s herd and jewelry made by local artisans.

The tribe’s cultural preservation office gave Hammerquist the go ahead to use the name Kyiyo — as a way to honor the bear and also the history of the Blackfeet people in the area.

“Working with the Blackfeet Nation on this project has been a real honor and having the support that they’ve given us has really been special,” Hammerquist said. “Hundreds of Montanans made this project happen. We had a lot of workers coming from Great Falls, we had a lot of guys come in from Kalispell. And so that’s really just been a neat thing to see, so many Montanans come together to make this project happen.”

Despite its distance from town, Kyiyo isn’t nearly as remote as Polebridge located on the west side of Glacier National Park. So, there are many aspects of running the east side business that Hammerquist said is much easier to contend with — like paved roads, easy connection to electricity and garbage service.

Hiring for the location has been a bit different from Polebridge, too. Hammerquist said since the mercantile is close to Browning and its surrounding communities, it has a local workforce to pull from. This differs from the North Fork, where Polebridge hires mostly seasonal workers from other places. He said some seasonal staff was still hired for Kyiyo, and he was able to offer housing by renovating an old motel on the property.

“It’s gonna be a good mix. I think part of the fun is that exchange of someone who might be in college who’s never been to Montana here, working with a cashier who’s lived on the Blackfeet Nation their whole life, you know, that’s a cultural exchange,” Hammerquist said. “We’re having a lot of laughs and we’re learning a lot. We’re making some mistakes, but we’re having fun while we’re doing it.”

Still, Hammerquist sees a lot in common with his two stores. Both are surrounded by wilderness and aim to make their visitors appreciate a slower pace of life, he said.

“I always tell my employees at Polebridge that our customers are having the best day of their life and you’re a part of that experience, right?” Hammerquist said. “To have a bakery where you don’t have a rush of people who are late for work at 7 a.m. is a very unique thing. So, none of this would be possible without our customers and their support.”

The long-term vision for Kyiyo Mercantile is to have it become a destination for families, he said. Eventually, he wants to build a playground and put in picnic tables around the store, creating a place where both visitors and locals know they can make an enjoyable pit stop.

“I kind of feel it’s a special area, when you look down you see the aspen grove, and it’s always just been its very shaded spot. It’s pretty protected from the wind, it’s still windy, but it’s not as windy as it can be in other places. So, it just sort of came to me that this could be a great place for people to come again,” Hammerquist said.

Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is now open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find more information at www.kyiyomerc.com.

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

2 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

14 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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