There was a $224 million shortfall in the Montana budget in 2017, enough to force a special session of the legislature, but where did all the tax monies go to bring the problem about?
The mountain pine beetle has devastated forests throughout the west, and specifically Montana, and has also affected the desirability of the dead and dying trees by timber producers.
A recent survey of 250 Montana manufacturing companies by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research shows that plants of all sizes gave 2016 mixed reviews, but according to Economist Paul Polzin expectations are different for 2017.