Feds pull $24M East Missoula highway grant

by Arren Kimbel-Sannit

By the time President Donald Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill” last week, federal spending cuts had already hit Missoula — grants rescinded, expenditures unreimbursed, hours and services reduced. 

Now, Trump’s signature spending and policy bill promises even more cuts across a broad array of government services. And the effects are already apparent: the Missoulian’s Griffen Smith reported Wednesday that the federal government had “clawed back” a $24 million grant for long-awaited infrastructure improvements on Highway 200 in east Missoula. 

"It is extremely disappointing when not only did we apply, but we were awarded $24 million to do this work," Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier told the Missoulian. "Then to see it in a matter of a short period of time basically evaporate is somewhat demoralizing for both us in local government and our constituents alike." 

The loss of funds comes despite entreaties by the county commissioners to Montana’s federal delegation to preserve the funding. 

“Without your intervention, years of local investment and progress will be lost,” the commissioners wrote. 

It’s been lost, and all four Montana representatives in Washington, D.C. — Republican U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy and Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing — voted for the budget reconciliation bill, which finances tax cuts and increased military and border spending by making cuts to welfare programs (while still inflating the deficit). 

“The Big Beautiful Bill will benefit Montana for generations to come and ensure that we remain The Last Best Place,” Daines said in a press release following the bill’s passage. “I’m thrilled we delivered the largest tax cut in American history and tax certainty for families and small businesses, as well as funding for the border and for our great military, and I cannot wait to see the president sign this bill into law,”

The plan to improve the East Missoula Highway 200 Corridor, long a danger zone for pedestrians and drivers alike, has been in the works for years. But ambitions to build sidewalks, improve roads and build out a railway trestle along the corridor got a boost last year in the form of $24 million from the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The money, though, had not been allocated by the time the Trump administration stripped the program under which the funding was authorized from the budget. Some money the state has already spent on the railroad project with the expectation of receiving the grant money won’t be reimbursed, the Missoulian reported. 

Strohmaier told the Missoulian that the county would push for new forms of funding for the project.

Death by 1,000 cuts

The budget cuts contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act also mean the loss of most funding for Missoula's Lifelong Learning Center, leading to layoffs and reduced programming, KPAX reported this week. 

The center, which has offered adult education, career development and other classes in Missoula for decades, has not had access to its funding since the Trump administration took office and began freezing federal spending pending review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. 

“When you eliminate the number of positions that are going to be eliminated, you're basically saying these are throwaway people — these people don't matter to our workforce,” the center’s Academic Success Program department chair, Renee Bentham, told KPAX. 

Cuts to local programs have gone on for months, long before the passage of Trump’s spending bill, thanks to executive orders and the slash-and-burn approach of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. (It’s cliche, at this point, to draw comparisons to dystopian literature).

In March, the University of Montana’s Mansfield Center lost $6 million for its Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. The Missoula Food Bank lost almost $200,000 in federal emergency food assistance funding later in the spring.

Around the same time, the SpectrUM science museum at the Missoula Public Library lost two federal grants, leading to a reduction in hours that began in June. The library has also ceased its internet hotspot lending program. 

“Our educators lead experiments and activities, facilitate visitor experiences at exhibits, and ensure that everyone who steps through our doors feels welcome,” SpectrUM director Alex Sobin wrote in May. “We cannot operate without them, and with this reduction in federal grants, we can no longer support 40 hours a week of free museum programming.”

Missoula County has already lost two other $1 million grants, one for Partnership Health Center and another for home efficiency upgrades. 

At a higher level, the bill also contains cuts to SNAP and other federal welfare programs, all of which affect Missoulians in need and the organizations that serve them. And while Montana’s cost-sharing structure with the feds means it won’t feel the brunt of Medicaid cuts in the bill, analysts still estimate that more than 30,000 Montanans could lose coverage because of what healthcare policy types call enrollment churn — new work requirements, extra paperwork and so on.

The ledger #️⃣

90%

Portion of Missoula County experiencing extreme drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. 

Similarly parched conditions have settled over the rest of the state as well — about 60 percent is in moderate to extreme drought, according to the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

“Many regions in Montana are entering the fifth consecutive summer with abnormally dry or drought conditions,” department staff wrote in the recent summer 2025 drought outlook report. “Exceptionally dry and hot conditions last fall greatly depleted soil moisture, leaving many areas with a significant moisture deficit entering the spring and early summer months.”

Additionally, low snowpack and below-average precipitation have led to low streamflow levels in much of the state, especially in western Montana, according to the report.

The week ahead 🗓️

• Thursday, July 17 is housing night at Ogren Park. Half of ticket revenue from the Paddleheads game will be donated to Homeword, Missoula Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity of Missoula, NeighborWorks Montana and North Missoula Community Development Corporation. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Find a list of all upcoming city meetings here and county meetings here.

The feed 🗞️

Montana Food Bank sounds the alarm over SNAP cuts (Montana Public Radio)

Homeless shelter leaders call for state support as need increases (Montana Free Press)

Body cam video shows Helena man’s immigration arrest (Montana Free Press)

Closed-door hearings on Missoula police misconduct claims spark transparency concerns (Missoulian)

With permit in hand, new owner of Holland Lake Lodge looks to the future (Montana Free Press)

CSKT researchers chart safer paths for turtles crossing Highway 93 (Montana Public Radio)

City postpones Missoula's Old Post Hospital demolition hearing (Missoulian)

Mass layoffs can move forward, with devastating impacts for conservation and science (High Country News)

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