Lace up your running shoes, and join us for the 15th Annual Race for Independence. This 1k, 5k, and 10k is set for Monday, July 4, 2022 at the Reach Work Center. Our enjoyable, family-friendly experience is one of Reach’s major fundraising events and raises important funds and awareness to support our clients. We will maintain the virtual option for our out-of-state friends and locals who are away for the holiday weekend.

Reach serves adults with developmental disabilities to live, work, and get around our community. This amounts to 365 days a year services to 93 clients based on their goals and desires for independence and inclusion in their community.

Come together with Reach staff, clients, and hundreds of family and friends for a scenic walk, jog, or sprint through the Cherry River fishing access and Glen Lake Rotary Park. We will distribute medals to top finishers in all age groups, have raffle prizes, and lots of fun! This celebration directly impacts our clients’ ability to live, work, and travel independently in their community. Register at https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Bozeman/ReachIncRaceforIndependence

On Friday, April 15, ballots for the 2022 school and special districts election on May 3 in Gallatin County are being mailed to active voters in districts that are holding elections.

Those districts include the following:

• Schools:
  • Belgrade
  • Big Sky
  • Bozeman
  • Gallatin Gateway
  • Lamotte
  • Manhattan
  • Monforton
  • Springhill
  • Three Forks
  • West Yellowstone
  • Willow Creek

• Special districts:
  • Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District
  • Logan County Water and Sewer District

In total, more than 70,000 ballots will be mailed. Voters can expect to start seeing their ballots in the mail by this weekend or early next week.

For questions on specific school district ballot measures or candidates, please see this information provided by the Gallatin County Superintendent of Schools, or contact your school district directly.

As with all mail ballot elections, there is always an option to vote in-person at the Gallatin County Elections office, located in the Courthouse at 311 W. Main St., room 210 in Bozeman. In-person voting for this election begins Friday, April 15. If your ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received, you may request a replacement ballot no later than 8 PM on Election Day.

Ballots must be received at the Gallatin County Elections office or a designated place of deposit by 8 PM on Election Day. Ballots may be returned by mail or in-person. If you’re mailing your ballot, mail it no later than Wednesday, April 27 to ensure it arrives at our office in time.

Places of deposit for this election are:

• Gallatin County Elections Department (311 W. Main St., room 210 in Bozeman)
• Monforton School District Office (6001 Monforton School Road, Bozeman).

Voters in any district can drop their ballots off at either location. Both locations are open during regular business hours Monday through Friday until May 2, and then from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day on May 3.

Voter registration

Gallatin County is currently in the late registration period for the May 3 election. In order to register to vote, you must appear in-person at the Gallatin County Elections office. Election Day voter registration is currently under legal review. The best way to ensure you’re able to vote in this election is to register by noon on Monday, May 2.

You can check your registration status at MyVoterPageMT.com.

If you have other questions, please contact our office at gallatin.elections@gallatin.mt.gov or 406-582-3060. For more information, you can also visit gallatinvotes.com.

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To better educate voters in upcoming school district elections, the Gallatin County Superintendent of Schools Office announced that it will serve as a clearinghouse for information on school district trustee candidates in the May 3 election.

Superintendent of Schools Matthew Henry sent a 10-question, voluntary questionnaire to all candidates running for seats on school boards in the 16 school districts across Gallatin County. The questionnaires collected from the trustee candidates will be posted on the Superintendent’s website.

“Residents of the county often contact my office seeking information about trustee candidates in their school districts,” Henry said. “My office devised this questionnaire to better serve the public and assist voters in making informed decisions.”

Responses from candidates were requested to be sent by April 14 to be posted on the Gallatin County website. Responses received after that will be posted when received up until Election Day on Tuesday, May 3.

Find candidate responses here.

Three Montana school districts — Power Public Schools, Hamilton School District and St. Ignatius School District — have been chosen for the first offering of the Montana Farm to School Institute, hosted by Montana Team Nutrition Program at Montana State University, the Montana Office of Public Instruction and program partners. This yearlong program intends to ignite, grow and sustain farm to school action within Montana schools and communities by providing training and support and by facilitating team building and action planning.

“The Montana Farm to School Institute is a great opportunity for our Montana school districts to grow their farm to school programs,” said Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen. “The continued partnership between MSU, my office and Montana school districts, with focus on our Montana agriculture producers, provides our students with a unique learning experience. Utilizing pathways to fresh locally grown foods benefits our Montana schools, students, farmers and ranchers.”

This program will kick off with a three-day Summer Retreat, where the three school district teams will develop one-year farm to school action plans to be implemented during the 2022-2023 school year. Action plans will encompass goals, activities, roles and timelines focused on the three core elements of farm to school: local procurement, education and school gardens/farms. Each team, ranging from four to eight members of the school community, will be assigned a Farm to School Coach who will support the team with development and implementation of the action plan.

For more information about the Montana Farm to School Institute, visit: https://www.montana.edu/mtfarmtoschool/institute.html

The Farm to School Institute model was developed by Vermont FEED using evidence-based best practices in professional learning. The Montana Farm to School Institute is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm to School Grant. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

BOZEMAN — Only about a third of people moving into and within Montana between 2016 and 2021 moved for work, according to a study released this week by Montana State University and MSU Extension. Better access to the outdoors, a less congested place to live and a slower pace of life were the most important reasons for moving, according to those surveyed. 

“This study shows that quality of life reasons, rather than financial reasons, were the most important factors for deciding where to move,” said Tara Mastel, principal investigator on the study and associate specialist for community development at MSU Extension.   

About a third of respondents said financial factors, such as finding a better or higher paying job or lower cost of living, were important to their decision to move, said Mastel.

Only about half of respondents moved to Montana communities from out of state. The other half moved from one community to another in Montana. For those who moved from another state, most came from California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Idaho.

This study was first conducted in Minnesota in 2019 and was replicated in Montana in 2021 after participants in MSU Extension’s Reimagining Rural program asked if similar data about newcomers held true for Montana. The Reimagining Rural program shares positive data and stories about successful rural communities to inspire rural leaders.

“Rural communities have relied on newcomers for decades to sustain the population. They replace those who move away or die and are a key part of the workforce, school enrollment and community volunteers,” said Mastel. “We hope this survey data can help local leaders understand who these newcomers are and the value they bring to rural communities.”

The survey was sent to an equal number of people in Montana’s rural communities and larger cities who had moved between 2016 and 2021. Results for Montana’s study were similar to Minnesota’s with some exceptions. For example, Montana respondents expressed a significantly lower perceived availability of affordable housing in in the state, while Minnesota respondents cited a perception that schools in the region were high quality.

The researchers mailed the survey to 9,000 addresses and received 1,765 responses. The research was conducted by Mastel; Sarah Schmitt-Wilson in the MSU Department of Education; Sabre Moore, student researcher and executive director of the Carter County Museum; and Eric Austin in the MSU Department of Political Science.

Support for the study came from the Montana Community Foundation and the Montana Farm Bureau Foundation.

To read the report of the study findings, visit msuextension.org/communitydevelopment/newcomerresearch.html. For more information, contact Mastel at tara.mastel@montana.edu.

The Gallatin County Commission has established a C-PACE program in Gallatin County, which will provide financial help to small business owners who wish to invest in energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects.

On Tuesday, April 12, commissioners approved a resolution to establish Gallatin County as a Commercial Property Assessed Capital Enhancement (C-PACE) district.

Commercial building owners evaluate and select qualified projects that fall under the categories of energy conservation measures or renewable energy systems. The building owners then secure financing from a bank or other financial institution. Gallatin County would then add an assessment to the building owner’s property tax bill, allowing the assessment to pay off the loan over 20 years as the project realizes energy savings from the improvements.

This program uniquely allows commercial property owners to invest in energy efficiency projects and solar or renewable energy upgrades with no down payment.

Qualified projects require utility savings to exceed payment obligations, making investments cash positive for commercial property owners and tenants.

The program is administered statewide by the Montana Facility Finance Authority. The program is tax neutral with no financial exposure to the county or to taxpayers.

Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown praised the district as a benefit to the county’s business community. It will ultimately lower the cost of doing business in Gallatin County, while also driving down energy consumption, he said.

“I’m glad Montana is finally getting on board, following the many other states who already have a C-PACE program on the books. This will be a great financing program for Gallatin County businesses looking to invest in energy saving projects,” Brown said.

For more information on eligible projects, program guidelines, applications, and any other questions, visit the Montana C-PACE Financing website at lastbestpace.com.

BOZEMAN — Montana State University will play a leading role in improving medical care and public health across the Northwest through collaborative research as part of a partnership with one of the nation’s top medical schools that is backed by a new $63 million grant.

The funding, from the National Institutes of Health, will support the Institute of Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington for an additional five years. Similar to the WWAMI Medical Education Program that allows students from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho to pay in-state tuition at MSU while earning medical degrees from UW's top-ranking School of Medicine, ITHS runs cooperative programs that facilitate and apply medical research across the multi-state region.

"This is about building partnerships among scientists, clinicians and communities to tackle some of the most complex health issues of our time,” said Jason Carter, MSU's vice president of research, economic development and graduate education. “It's a big win for MSU students, faculty and ultimately the citizens of Montana and the whole region."

Although this is the fourth such grant supporting ITHS since its inception in 2007, this newest round of funding is designed to widen the institute's regional impact. In particular, six out of the 18 doctoral students funded by the grant will be at MSU, whereas previously all were at UW. Additionally, in a first among the WWAMI universities, MSU’s Carter will serve as co-leader on the grant and sit on the ITHS executive committee. 

“This is going to allow us to really accelerate the partnership with UW and expand our capabilities in this area of translational medical research, which includes anything from new drug development to public health research with our tribal partners," Carter said. “We’ve worked hard to build a level of trust and cooperation with UW that will take this to the next level.”

"We are truly excited to have Jason join our executive committee,” said Tong Sun, ITHS’s executive director. “His leadership is instrumental for us to continue to expand our collaborations in the WWAMI region."

As part of the ITHS initiative called the TL1 Training Program, the roughly $1.5 million designated for MSU doctoral students will fund those graduate student researchers completing their degrees in a wide range of fields, including microbiology, health and human development, psychology, chemistry and biological engineering. “One of the most exciting programs to come with this new funding period is the new cohort of doctoral students at MSU,” said Nora Disis, director of ITHS and associate dean for translational science at UW’s School of Medicine. “We can't wait to see the new research projects that will come out of this.”

“This program is designed to integrate students with very different expertise into groups that have a common interest in addressing the most pressing health care challenges," said Blake Wiedenheft, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology in MSU's College of Agriculture and a co-director of the MSU portion of the grant. "These are the future leaders who will discover new treatments, establish health care policy and bring improved care to our citizens."

The funded doctoral students, as well as other researchers across MSU, will be encouraged to tap into UW's resources and expertise — made available through the ITHS partnership — to enhance the quality and impact of their research, Carter said. MSU researchers will have access to valuable biostatistics databases as well as physicians, biostatisticians, epidemiologists and other medical experts. Liz Shanahan, MSU's associate vice president for research development, will help MSU researchers connect with the ITHS assets.

Besides the $1.5 million directly allotted to MSU for doctoral research, MSU and other WWAMI universities will be better positioned because of Carter's role on the executive committee to tap into a variety of existing and new programs funded with portions of the remainder of the $63 million grant. "As we strengthen this relationship, these resources will become a more prominent part of how we approach the whole research process," Carter said.

Rather than simply develop a new medical diagnostic technology in a laboratory, for instance, MSU researchers could partner with UW medical staff to clinically test and refine the tool, cutting down the time it takes to help patients. Across a wide range of fields, integrating MSU's research enterprise with applications in medicine and public health is the kind of multidisciplinary approach necessary to meet the four "grand challenges" outlined in MSU's strategic plan, Choosing Promise, according to Carter. One of those goals is promoting community wellness, which includes access and equity in education and health outcomes, community-based participatory research, and biomedical sciences and entrepreneurship.

“The long-term impact will be stronger science and stronger partnerships that can better improve health and wellness in our communities," Carter said. “We think this can become a model for how university consortia can expand their reach and impact, not just in the medical field but in other areas as well."

Thanks to many valuable local partnerships, Gallatin County is in the process of awarding the MT Highway 64 TIGER Grant project to the low bidder. Pending approval from the Federal Highway Administration, the project is likely to begin in 2022.

In 2017, the community of Big Sky was awarded a TIGER grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the amount of $10.2 million dollars for major infrastructure improvements along the Lone Mountain Trail/MT Highway 64 corridor. Once the agreement was signed in June 2019 between Gallatin County and FHWA, Sanderson Stewart was awarded the contract to oversee design and construction for the improvements in September 2019. In partnership with Stahly Engineering, the team has worked diligently with Gallatin County, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and FHWA to work through the design, acquisition of land (right-of-way) for the expanded roadway, and the required permitting for the project.

After multiple rounds of bidding and amendments to the TIGER agreement with FHWA, Gallatin County has made a recommendation to award the project to the current low bidder. This was made possible by contributions from MDT, Gallatin County, Madison County, and Big Sky Resort Area District (Resort Tax) to close the funding gap and allow the project to move forward.  FHWA is currently reviewing the award recommendation and it is anticipated that we will receive their approval in time to start construction in 2022.

The amount of work to be completed in 2022 will be somewhat dependent on the timing of the notice to proceed, but public notice will be issued once the start date and sequence of projects have been determined.  MDT will be donating the time of one of the public involvement firms to the project in order to provide regular updates to the Big Sky community.  In the meantime, construction on the Powder Light turn lanes will continue this spring, as will the utility relocations that are needed ahead of the TIGER grant project.

HELENA – Montana’s spring male turkey season opens April 15. Turkey hunters can purchase a turkey license for a general area at FWP offices, license providers or online.

The 2022 turkey regulations are included in the 2022 Upland Game Bird Regulations Booklet. Regulations are available at FWP offices, license providers and online at fwp.mt.gov.

BOZEMAN – Registration is now open for Montana State University’s Peaks and Potentials program, a weeklong enrichment camp for high-potential students entering grades 5-7 in the fall, offered June 12-17 on the MSU campus in Bozeman. 

Peaks and Potentials offers students the opportunity to explore special topics of interest and work with experts in various subject areas. 

Sessions for this summer's camp include a variety of topics in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. There will also be topics in the arts and humanities, including ceramics, drawing, sign language and more. 

Students have the option of staying on campus or commuting to and from camp each day. Evening activities include a trip to the Museum of the Rockies, movie night, bowling and more. 

Instructors are MSU faculty, graduate students and experienced professionals from the area. University students and professionals act as director and counselors throughout the week. All classes emphasize personal instruction and small group interaction, as well as a hands-on approach. The academic, recreational and social activities offer students a chance to interact with their peers and sample campus life. 

Enrollment is limited, and the camp generally fills to capacity. For more information and to register, visit https://ato.montana.edu/peaks/. 

Peaks and Potentials is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach at Montana State University. ATO works across MSU and the state to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.