City Desk
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Big Sky Connection Housing prices are rising in Montana, leading to an affordability crisis, but help is available, especially for people facing eviction. Comments from Andrea (on-DRAY-uh) Davis, executive director, Homeword in Missoula; and Amy Hall, attorney, Montana Legal Services Association.
Click on the image above for the audio. With the pandemic inspiring people to move to Montana, the state can't build fast enough to keep up. (Jim/Adobe Stock)
Eric Tegethoff
June 7, 2022
Montanans across the state are facing a housing crisis. Prices both to rent and buy a place to live have skyrocketed, leaving vacancy rates extremely low in cities big and small.
Homeword in Missoula is a housing organization which has built affordable properties for about 2,000 people since 1994. It is also a housing counseling agency and provides education for first-time homebuyers.
Andrea Davis, the group's executive director said the housing market is making it hard, even for businesses.
"We have a lot of businesses that are either expanding or new businesses that are relocating here," Davis pointed out. "But they are absolutely stymied by the ability for their workers to find homes."
Montana saw an influx of people at the beginning of the pandemic, inspiring "Zoom towns" where people could work remotely and be near the state's many outdoor activities.
Amy Hall, housing services attorney for the Montana Legal Services Association, said the lack of housing also means a rise in evictions. Her organization partnered with the Montana Department of Commerce to create the Montana Eviction Intervention Project, which uses federal CARES Act funding.
"We assist renters by defending them in eviction-court actions filed by landlords," Hall explained. "And in helping those tenants by providing what we call housing-stability services."
Hall noted there is assistance available immediately for people facing an eminent eviction through Montana Emergency Rental Assistance (MERA) dollars, which can also help landlords.
"The MERA funds are a good deal for tenants because it helps them avoid eviction," Hall emphasized. "And it's a good deal for landlords because they're able to recoup the funds that the tenant's not able to pay themselves."
Hall added unfortunately, there are barriers to stopping an eviction, and once a person or family is evicted, it can make it harder to find a new place to live.
Davis stressed there are ways Montana can help in this crisis, such as ensuring more housing density rather than single-family homes in cities. She also pointed out the federal government has proved it can provide emergency funding and should continue it by providing more in rental subsidies.
"When people have rental assistance, and they're able to make their rents, then they're able to do all the other things in their lives, including contribute to society economically, right?" Davis asked. "They can afford their job, they can afford to get their kiddos to child care, to school, all of the above."
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PNS - Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - The Jan. 6 Committee will soon release new details of its investigation, the House will vote on a gun-control package, tariffs are suspended on some solar panels, and the Summit of the Americas is underway in L.A.
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photo by Jim Larson, Corry Heaney, and Lisa Sanchez
by Jim Larson
Lisa Sanchez began bartending at a small “local pub” when she was 28. She then moved to bartend at a “dive bar” called the Berkeley Inn where she stayed for 30 years, eventually buying the place in 2012, she said during an interview at her restaurant on Utah street.
She kept her dive until November 2021 when she decided “That my adventure needed to be in Butte, Montana.”
She sold everything and moved to Butte where she opened the Miner’s Pub & Grub. After years in the hospitality industry, she still loves her work.
“Hospitality is my thing. I love people,” she said during an interview in her restaurant
Sanchez is looking forward to the looming nice weather. “I’m gearing up for a great spring and summer season. I have that big patio out in the back. I’ve got a couple of gazebos coming next week. I’ve got tables and chairs coming next week.” She understands that more snow could come to Butte, but she’s optimistic. She purchased a small food cart so that she can serve at the Montana Folk Festival, Lunch in the Park, and Brawls and Kick Start Days.
Sanchez said that November and December were phenomenal for her business, but noted also that they were quite warm. She said that the restaurant struggled through the winter. She attributes that to the cold and to her winter hours. “They were weird,” she said.
At the time of the interview, Sanchez was about to close on a full-beverage liquor license, and she will have new hours. She’ll be open seven days a week until 9, and possibly later on Friday and Saturday depending on the crowd.
Sanchez also plans to remove the pool table in the restaurant’s back room and replace it with “a few casino machines.”
When asked why she chose Butte, she said that they actually looked at Red Lodge first, and she noted that it was a nice tourist town. She also looked at Big Fork, Kalispell, and Polson. She then looked at Butte and again at Red Lodge. She looked for roughly six to eight months during the pandemic, coming to Montana six or seven times, she noted.
Prices in Red Lodge “skyrocketed,” she said. Also, a year-round population of 2,000 seemed less attractive that a population of 35,000. Before she bought her house and her building, she came to Butte eight times.
She’s served “pretty much” the same menu over the years, she said, and it’s done well for her. She comes from a Hispanic family. Her grandmother taught her how to make chili and enchilada sauce. Her husband taught her how to make beans. I’ve pretty much stuck to the basic Mexican fare, which is more Mexican-American than Mexico-Mexican.”
On the topic of hamburgers, Sanchez said, “If you have a good hamburger, people will come and eat.” She added that a good hamburger was hard to find. She noted that she had a good hamburger.
“My story’s simple,” Sanchez said. I’ve been working since I was 14. That’s what I know. I know how to work.”
During the interview, she gave a shout-out to Bill Fisher of Butte Depot. She said that he had been “super kind” to her and had helped her get into local events. She had kind words as well regarding local promoter Monte Klistoff who had helped her as well.
Find the Miner’s Pub & Grub at 1107 Utah. Call them at 406.565.5261.
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Big Sky Connection - Conservation groups are recommending Wyoming phase out its artificial elk feeding grounds near Yellowstone National Park. The grounds have raised concerns about the spread of disease among the population that could spread beyond Wyoming. Comments from Clinton Nagel (NAY-gull), president, Gallatin Wildlife Association.
Click on the image for the audio. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department manages 22 elk feeding grounds in the northwest part of the state. (Wyoming Game & Fish Department)
Eric Tegethoff
Conservation groups hope artificial elk feeding grounds near Yellowstone National Park are on their last legs.
Six groups have sent recommendations to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department suggesting the agency phase out 22 state-run elk feed grounds by 2028. The groups have raised concerns that the gatherings are a breeding ground for disease, especially chronic wasting disease.
Clinton Nagel is president of Gallatin Wildlife Association in Bozeman, which helped craft the recommendations.
"What happens in the southern part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem could very well move northward into Montana," said Nagel. "In fact, Montana already has some reports of CWD in this state."
Wyoming Game and Fish is expected to release a draft management plan for the feed grounds early next year.
The agency says they started feeding the elk to prevent die-offs during harsh winters. The department says it's also kept the elk out of ranchers' hay, preventing disease spread to cattle.
Back in 2017, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission asked Wyoming to stop feeding elk.
Nagel said the natural process should be restored, and not just for elk.
"Restore their natural feeding capability without reliance on man," said Nagel. "The natural food chain in wild lands, and that includes wolves as being part of that process as an apex predator."
Nagel said an intricate web of wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is affected by these feed grounds.
"We're just trying to bring harmony back to the local ecology," said Nagel.
The conservation groups are calling on Wyoming to begin phasing out the artificial feeding next winter.
