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Articles written by Katie Fairbanks


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  • Explosive growth, tourism weigh heavy on western Montana's aging roads 

    Katie Fairbanks, Montana Free Press|Updated May 8, 2024

    Growing populations and tourism in western Montana are straining aging roads, leaving state and local governments to fix problems or make improvements with limited funding, according to transportation officials. While development-driven infrastructure upgrades are nothing new, the Montana Department of Transportation is trying to keep afloat amid "explosive" growth around Missoula and Kalispell, said Joel Boucher, a state engineer for a nine-county district that includes...

  • Missoula-area wood industry closures mean ripple effects for workers, tax base, forest management

    Katie Fairbanks, Montana Free Press|Updated Apr 1, 2024

    The pending closures of Missoula County's two largest wood products employers, announced separately this month, will have effects beyond the local economy, limiting options for landowners and other mills throughout the region and making forest management projects more expensive, according to local and industry officials. "It's not just the facilities and jobs that are impacted at those facilities," said Todd Morgan, director of the University of Montana's Forest Industry...

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