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Articles written by Larry Swanson


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  • One state with three changing regions

    Larry Swanson|Updated Mar 21, 2019

    As described in the second article in this series examining growth and change in Montana, while many if not most Montanans view their state as being largely rural, most of the state's residents now live within 50 miles of the state's seven largest cities – Billings, Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Butte. In fact, 80 percent of Montana's residents live in or nearby these cities. The seven counties where these regional population centers are located account...

  • One state with three changing regions

    Larry Swanson|Updated Mar 14, 2019

    Most Montanans view their state as being largely rural in character because of its many open, sparsely populated spaces and the lack of any truly large cities. However, in reality Montana is steadily becoming a largely urban state, at least in terms of where most of the state's residents live and work. A key aspect of Montana's growth and change is the steady emergence of its small cities as growing centers of commerce and trade, as well as high quality places to live and...

  • One state with three changing regions

    Larry Swanson|Updated Feb 14, 2019

    Montana is a single state. But in reality, there are many Montanas – some defined by variations in terrain and vegetation, others by climate and still others by land use and population density. Area economies also vary considerably from one part of Montana to the next. From east to west, the state splits into two vastly different regions, one defined by rolling grasslands stretching across sprawling plains and the other defined by a large number of forested and interconnected...

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