Tourism has given Philipsburg new life — but it’s brought few permanent families.
Economy
Posted inArticles
Nonprofits make rural home ownership more plausible
In the final part of a series on Boulder, Montana, a pathway for solutions for affordable housing woes.
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How to turn a struggling small town around
In the first part of a series on Boulder, Montana, a well-rounded economic development effort.
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The future of small-town Montana rides on public lands
From Dupuyer to Columbia Falls, a look at the growing recreation economy.
Posted inFebruary 19, 2018: Unfrozen North
Why some young professionals settle in small-town Montana
As rural areas struggle to hold onto youth, a look at a few young professionals who returned.
Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind
Hemp is one town’s way out of a uranium mining past
A former mining region embraces a trade with a ‘hippie’ reputation.
Posted inFebruary 5, 2018: Caught Between Crises
How Trump’s tax bill pits the rich against the poor
We are witnessing a government restructuring and a cultural divide widening.
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What does a gentrifying city look like? Talk to the man who delivers the mail.
Tracing Tucson’s changes with a longtime postal service worker.
Posted inFebruary 5, 2018: Caught Between Crises
How NAFTA built a bustling border city
In southern New Mexico, a dream of a bi-national community, not a concrete wall.
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The federal land at stake in Trump’s rush for more drilling
Where national parks, monuments and other protective areas overlay resources.
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How to make sense of Trump’s changes to Bears Ears
The drastically reduced boundaries don’t line up with what the public wants.
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In rural Colorado, can art provide an economic engine?
A small town invests in affordable housing for the creative sector.
Posted inDecember 25, 2017: Bear Essentials
A map of $1.1 billion in natural gas pipeline leaks
In seven years, pipeline incidents have killed nearly 100 people nationwide.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
How states generate money from the land they own
From Arizona to Oregon, states have different tactics to make money off their state trust lands.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
Latest: Grand Canyon ‘mega-development’ voted down
Navajo council rejects plans for Escalade’s tram, shops, restaurants.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
In Utah, public access to state lands comes at a cost
Public access to trust lands varies widely from state to state.
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Advice from Moab’s mayor: Be careful what you wish for
As his final term ends, Dave Sakrison weighs the cost of decades of transformation.
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Don’t trim Grand Staircase. If anything, expand it.
The Utah monument is sustaining small town tourism, a good substitute for extractive industry.
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Keystone XL Pipeline gets a step closer to completion
An already-built section of the pipeline spilled 210,000 gallons of oil last week.
Posted inArticles
A Wyoming county pursues a private immigration jail
A rural town hopes incarceration will boost its local economy.