The federal government spends billions in Montana. Here’s where it goes, county by county.

Montana is on the threshold of becoming a major wind energy producer. The benefits are clear, but at what costs?

From vigilante days to the cyber age, the Montana Stockgrowers Association remains a big player in state politics, with a little help from Uncle Sam.

Twenty years ago, Bill Kittredge and Annick Smith completed their remarkable collection of Montana literature, a book they called The Last Best Place. And that title sure did sing to us, even if the tune was a little sad. It told us that we Montanans had something the rest of the country lacked, or had lost, something we hadn’t screwed up yet.
I wonder, sometimes. Would it still sing today?

 ”The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.”

Originally Aired: November 12, 2008

Introduction by Ray Suarez: “Twenty years ago, Montana offered sprawling landscapes and inexpensive living, but the economic meltdown is changing life in “the last best place.” Guest essayist Scott McMillion of the Montana Quarterly reflects on the changes, including job losses, poverty and tight budgets.”

Montana Quarterly

Spring 2007

Photography by Thomas Lee.

Based on muscle and stink, dirt and metal, are Montana’s timeworn industries a thing of the past?