Montana
Viewpoint: Montana Board of Housing celebrates 50 years
Cheryl Cohen
Many of us can vividly recall our first apartment rental experiences. For me, it was a single-family home shared with three college roommates, then an upper floor in a triplex where the kitchen fan spun itself off the ceiling and crash landed on the dining room table, followed by a non-conforming daylight basement unit with mold growing on every window. These were not glamourous experiences, but they were what I could afford and what was available on the market.
Some of us have been blessed, through hard work, luck and favorable market conditions, to become first-time homebuyers. For me, it was a sweat equity short sale under the third runway easement of a large international airport necessitating over 60 cubic yards of debris removal in the first weekend. But it was our home, our garden, our sanctuary and we took pride in our amateur DIY renovation efforts.
Those of us who work in the affordable housing space have the privilege of supporting individuals and families with their first ventures in apartment leasing, transitioning to a rental home they can better afford and even witnessing the American Dream in action at the closing table as a family receives the keys to their first home.
Over the last 50 years, the Montana Board of Housing, which is administratively attached to the Montana Department of Commerce, has partnered with organizations statewide who regularly experience these inspiring moments. Imagine assisting an individual moving inside after experiencing homelessness for a decade or more, or supporting a single mom regaining custody of her little boy with a safe, affordable apartment on Christmas Eve, or helping seniors stay in their homes with a fair and reputable Reverse Annuity Mortgage loan or providing first-time homebuyer counseling to a family who works and saves for a down payment to close on their first home.
I’ve been fortunate to experience many such moments throughout my career, as have all members of the MBOH team. Each time, these moments remind me of a childhood memory. My parents, an electrician and a nurse, worked to build a new construction home for our family. My brothers and I would hang out at the job site after school (safely) while my dad ran the electrical. My mom, a music lover, asked my dad to wire surround sound speakers in various rooms of the house. The day we moved in, mom cranked the stereo with Kenny G’s saxophone music and ran through the house crying. My parents both came from humble backgrounds; it had been a long journey of saving and sacrificing to build our new home. I credit this memory and their hard work for my chosen career path.
The MBOH certainly tracks all manner of data, but it’s the human impact on Montana families and communities – which cannot be easily summed up in loan production volume or affordable rental unit counts – that drives our mission. With a safe and affordable home, families can thrive and flourish, communities become convening places for neighbors and new friendships and children retain stability in school.
With a safe and affordable home, individuals have more flexibility to take risks and pursue entrepreneurial ventures, educational attainment in children improves and overall health and well-being are enhanced. A safe, affordable home is foundational to our ability to reach our full potential; without it, the stress of stacked-up bills and difficult decisions whether to purchase food, medicine or those desperately needed new shoes for our kids monopolize our minds every minute of every day.
The MBOH’s cumulative support of first-time homebuyers includes 47,700 low-interest rate primary mortgage and down payment assistance loans, equating to nearly $3.8 billion dollars statewide. In addition to its support of Montana homebuyers, the MBOH portfolio includes over 9,500 affordable apartments and resident-owned mobile homes with long-term periods of affordability (30 to 50 years) and an in-house mortgage servicing portfolio with over 6,200 active loans. You can learn more about our history and impact on our website, which includes a slideshow video and timeline.
Perhaps you or a person you know has benefited from an MBOH loan, or you might live in an affordable apartment constructed with Housing Tax Credits allocated by our agency. And even if you don’t, you might recall a time in your life that you experienced housing instability due to a spousal separation, loss of a job or a health diagnosis that upended your entire life and finances.
Individuals and families supported by MBOH programs have experienced these and other struggles. We all need a hand up sometimes, and I’m tremendously proud that the MBOH – including our Board, staff, partners, investors, participating lenders, developers and others – could be this hand up for so many Montanans.
On June 19, 2025, Governor Gianforte signed HB 924 into law, establishing a new Montana housing trust within the broader Growth and Opportunity Trust. This legislation will provide statutory appropriations for affordable housing for the first time in Montana state history – but we won’t rest on our laurels; with your continued support, we’re rolling up our sleeves for another 50 years and beyond!
– Cheryl Cohen, MBOH Executive Director and Housing Division Administrator at the Montana Department of Commerce
HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.
“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.
(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)
Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina
Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.
All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.
“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”
Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.
“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”
Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.
“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.
In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.
“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”
Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”
“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.
Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.
“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”
Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.
WESTERN MONTANA — Here’s a look at Western Montana’s top news stories for Wednesday.
The University of Montana removed Business Professor Anthony Richard Pawlisz from faculty after he was charged with criminal endangerment in Ravalli County court. Pawlisz allegedly pulled a gun on a man and fired a shot into the air after a fight outside of a bar in Florence on Aug. 17, according to court documents. His former class will continue under Professor Udo Fluck. (Read the full story)
Nathaniel Luke Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Monday after posing a threat to Mission High School on Oct. 8, which prompted increased police presence while classes continued. Smith is also serving a three-year deferred sentence for intimidation from an incident in November 2024. (Read the full story)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he will not be using state funds to temporarily cover SNAP benefits for nearly 78,000 enrolled Montanans if federal funding runs out on Nov. 1. Amidst a government shutdown, he said it’s a federal responsibility — despite calls from Democrats and food banks to use leftover state money. (Read the full story)
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