Bozeman Build #57

Welcome to the Bozeman Build Report discovering Montana trade content. Today in the 57th edition of the Build we cover 406 day, Helena’s Frontier Town purchased, Treasure State Internet is down, limiting parking space requirements for developers, Spring pesticide disposal events, backing data centers, Union Restaurant, Montana distillery closed, Montana highest startup score, block management apps are open, Big Sky rail account gets $2M annually, beer and wine door delivery approved, bison popularity increasing, Montana Skateparks, Brain balloon, Bozeman water projects, $800k for Gallatin College options program, BZN airport being resurfaced, Gallatin County home average cost, Cementing America dissertation, golf course openings, Best Buy/Costco, March volcanic update, and old pipelines.

Happy Monday!

Daniel

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_{When and what is the Bozeman Build? The BB is a 1x/week free email newsletter delivered Monday mornings focused on Montana trade content and news. We are not a financial or building advisors.}

Montana and Bozeman Trade Pulse

Montana trade pulse

Sunday 4/06 was 406 Day.

Mar 31, 2025 The doors to Frontier Town have been closed to the public for decades, but that could soon change. The site of the once-bustling tourist attraction atop the Continental Divide near Helena has new owners. The Hays family recently bought the Frontier Town property and has a new vision for the replica Old West town. (KTVH)

March 31, 2025 - Treasure State Internet will discontinue service effective May 15, 2025 (reddit)

March 31, 2025 House Bill 492 caps city zoning requirements at one parking space per unit — and bans parking requirements entirely for projects with smaller dwellings. Sponsored by Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, House Bill 492 would limit city parking requirements to one space per dwelling unit in new construction. It would also ban parking requirements entirely for existing buildings undergoing renovations, licensed child care facilities and projects with housing units smaller than 1,200 square feet. (Montana Free Press)

April 02 2025 Montana farmers who bought state hail insurance in 2024 will receive a 10% refund of the premiums they paid. In 2024, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) issued 262 hail insurance policies covering 308,635 acres in 37 counties. (MDA News)

Apr 03, 2025 The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is facilitating spring pesticide disposal events during the week of April 1st – 3rd, 2025, in Kalispell, Plains, and Drummond. Summer disposal events are set for June 30th – July 2nd, 2025, in Polson, Hamilton, and Butte. (MDA News)

April 3, 2025 Legislators propose bills to back data centers, legislate blockchain technology (Daily Montanan)

Apr 04, 2025 The Union Restaurant in Helena has made it to the finalists round for the James Beard Foundation's 2025 Best New Restaurant award. It is the only Montana restaurant to be named a finalist in that category this year. (KBZK)

Apr 04, 2025 Montana Distillery permanently closed its doors last month on Saturday 15 March 2025 after more than a decade in operation, citing issues over supply and equipment. Located in Stevensville, Montana been around since 2012. (Spirits Business)

April 04 2025 According to data reported by Entrepreneur Media, Montana was ranked number one with the highest score for the total number of startups in the state, the number of startups per 100,000 people, and the 10-year survival rate of startups. With over 4,800 startups, the report gave the state a startup opportunity score of 9.55, the highest on the list, and a 10-year survival rate of 41 percent. (MT Commerce)

Apr 4, 2025 FWP accepting applications from landowners for Block Management Program (FWP)

April 4, 2025 Montana has enacted House Bill 848, a legislative measure that creates a dedicated funding stream for regional rail infrastructure through the Big Sky Rail Account. The bill, which goes into effect on July 1, 2025, allocates up to $2 million annually from railroad car taxes to support the operation and expansion of rail services across the state. (E+E Leader)

April 4, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s administration acted to roll back environmental safeguards around future logging projects on more than half of U.S. national forests under an emergency designation announced Friday that cites dangers from wildfires. (AP News)

April 5, 2025 Beer and wine delivery soon to be legal in Montana as Governor signs HB 211. Wine and beer will be available for delivery on Jan. 1, 2026 following legislation brought by Rep. Katie Zolnikov. (Daily Montanan)

Apr 06, 2025 Bright future for bison ranchers. Around 80,000 bison were harvested in all of 2023 in the United States. That’s less than the approximately 125,000 cattle that the U.S. beef industry slaughters every single day. It is still a relatively small industry, but one that these producers believe has a lot of room for growth. (Montana Ag Network)

MDT News

Issued last week at mdtnews.mt.gov/news/

• 3/31/2025 Proposed resurfacing for multiple roads in Great Falls

• 3/31/2025 Proposed safety enhancement for Russell Street in Missoula

• 3/31/2025 Proposed resurfacing for multiple streets in Missoula

• 4/1/2025 Bridge rehabilitation to begin south of Huntley on S 522

• 4/1/2025 Bridge rehabilitation to begin west of Joliet on US 212

• 4/1/2025 Paving to resume on Malta-South

• 4/1/2025 Construction set to resume on US 2 between Zurich and Harlem.

• 4/1/2025 Project site prep begins on US 191 - Mobridge Slide Repairs

• 4/3/2025 MT 200 bridge preservation activities to begin

Red Ants Pants and other music fests

Noticed flyers advertising the Red Ants Pants while stopping through White Sulphur last week. A list of other Music Festivals can be found at musicfestivalwizard.com/festival-guide/montana/

Montana Skateparks

I watched a TV commercial advertising a Philipsburg Skatepark planning to open September 2025, they are seeking donations.

In Bozeman Build #49 we covered how Ennis is raising funds for the Lions Club Skatepark, as of As of 4/2/2025 we have raised $60,000.

Montana Pool Service is the contractor that is aligned to construct the Philipsburg Skatepark, they do some pretty sweet work. Their mission is to build world-class skateparks and connect the youth communities in Montana through skateboarding and the arts. Montana Pool Service is a non-profit organization founded by Montana native Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.

Evergreen Skateparks of Oregon has also been a major skatepark contributor having built over 25 skateparks across the State or Montana. We mentioned them in BB #41.

Bozeman trade pulse

"Intelligent Design" is the newest addition to the Endeavor Shapes fleet! Built by Aerostar Int'l for a Neurosurgeon (imagine that!) that wanted a fully anatomically correct brain. It is considered to be one of the most complex special shapes ever built and weighs in at a whopping 1,100 pounds! (Montana Balloon)

Mar 29, 2025 City of Bozeman (City) is requesting qualifications from engineering consulting firms (Consultant) to provide engineering predesign phase services for the Lyman Reservoir Project and Lyman Transmission Rehabilitation Project. (Bozeman Classifieds)

April 1, 2025 Gallatin College Montana State University has entered a $800,000 sub-contract from the American Center for Optics Manufacturing to expand the college’s photonics and laser technology program. (MSU News)

Apr 01, 2025 - The Gallatin Valley Mall has announced that Arhaus, a high-end furniture and home décor retailer will be opening its first Montana location as part of the Gallatin Crossing redevelopment plans. (Bozeman Real Estate Group)

April 2nd 2025 Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport is adding more construction plans with a temporary, periodic closure of the main runway. The project will extend the main runway by 328 feet and install a new navigation system to improve air safety. (NBC Montana)

Apr 3, 2025 Gallatin County is donating land behind the Gallatin Rest Home on Durston Road for the Hidden Creek Project, which would feature 182 income-restricted units and future sites that could be used for a childcare facility and for-sale townhomes. Last week, county commissioners voted to approve submitting the site plans to the city for the project, and last week, Bozeman city commissioners voted to approve routing $2 million in community housing funds to the project through the Gallatin Housing Impact Fund. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Apr 3, 2025 - The City of Belgrade is requesting proposals for the Belgrade Police Department Towing and Recovery Contract. (Bozeman Chronicle Classifieds)

Apr 03, 2025 After more than six hours of debate on Tuesday night, the Bozeman City Commission voted unanimously to push the Guthrie vote to April 15. (KBZK)

Apr 04, 2025 How Much Do Homes Cost in Three Forks, Montana as of March 2025 (Bozeman Real Estate Group)

• Three Forks - $541,500

• Manhattan - $540,000

• Belgrade - $600,000

April 05, 2025 - Downtown Bozeman protest about capitalism, privatization, tariffs, DOGE, a variety of things, part of the Hands Off campaign.

April 8, 2025 Kirke D.A. Elsass, History PhD Candidate will be defending his dissertation on “"Cementing America" on April 8th 9:30am - 12:00pm Plant Biosciences Building, 108. (MSU Events)

Ski to Golf

In the previous edition of the Bozeman Build #56 we covered ski area season closure dates. Now were jumping into golf course openings!

• Bridger Creek Golf Course - Bozeman - opened Saturday April 5th

• Cottonwood Hills Golf Club - Four Corners - March 25th

• Headwaters Public Golf Course - Three Forks - opened March 15th

Retail Fun at Costco and Best Buy

November 15th 2024 - Best Buy opened its 4th Montana location in Bozeman. I stepped in for the first time and was amazed with their appliance selection along with its new branding, black ceiling, etc.

Weekend Costco run - its always interesting to see the seasonal items they stock. When it gets cold its gloves and snow scrapers. When Spring rolls around its fly rods, Orvis sun hats, flagstone, firepits, outdoor lighting, and apple trees?

Northern ROckies

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY MONTHLY UPDATE - During March 2025, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 70 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a micro earthquake of magnitude 2.2 located about 6 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana, on March 20 at 3:26 AM MST. (USGS)

Montana Weather

History

A History of Bozeman’s Water System, Part II

By 1905 nearly 23 miles of wooden and cast iron pipes delivered water from Lyman Springs, in the foothills of the Bridger Mountains, to Bozeman as far south as College Street and as far west as South 10th Avenue.

Bozeman’s population grew by half in the first decade of the twentieth century, from 3,400 in 1900 to 5,100 in 1910. Seed pea canneries, the Lehrkind Brewery and the Story Milling Company offered jobs which created demand for new housing. Bozeman’s Main Street grew an entire block of new brick commercial buildings between Black and Tracy Avenues. Known as the Progressive Era, government services and infrastructure expanded during this period as well.

The water system depended on gravity to force piped water from the Lyman Reservoir (elevation 5,030) under the East Gallatin River and uphill to Main Street (elevation 4,820), and then to sinks and bathtubs in the Bozeman Hotel, another 80 feet in the air. The Bozeman Hotel’s elevator was also hydro-powered, leaving late summer visitors with an unpleasant four floor hike when a dry spell reduced water pressure.

Installation of a cast iron water main from Mystic Lake along Sourdough Road and into Bozeman began in 1917 and was part of an overall water distribution system upgrade in the late 19teens and early 1920’s. The project included replacement of the wooden water main from Lyman Creek into Bozeman and other improvements.

The August article will focus on Bozeman’s continued demand for water and expansion into the Middle Creek/ Hyalite drainage beginning in the 1930’s. (Bozeman Magazine Cortney Kramer)

Get er done!

Daniel

bozemanbuild.com & blockbiome.com