Gallatin County

Starting in 2020, Lewis and Clark County will no longer have partisan elections for leadership offices, an idea that voters from a different southwest Montana county are opposed to.

New population numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday show that Gallatin County’s population has grown 25 percent since the 2010 census.

That’s far ahead of Madison County which had the next highest growth rate at 14 percent.

Housing prices in Montana continue to rise, but how affordable housing looks depends a lot on where you stand. Economists from the University of Montana are focusing on affordable housing in their annual series of economic outlook seminars. The first was in Helena Tuesday, nine more are scheduled across the state between now and mid-March.

Gallatin County election officials say long lines and delays in ballot delivery are putting a wrench in plans to count ballots this evening. At around 9:45 Tuesday night, Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder Charlotte Mills talked with Montana Public Radio’s Nick Mott about some of the challenges they’re facing.

The Trump administration and family are paying attention to Gallatin County, Montana, as they rally support for conservative candidates in this year’s midterm election. Gallatin is a fast growing swing county unique to Montana, and rare in the country.

Donald Trump Jr. packed an exhibit hall with Trump-agenda supporters in Bozeman last night to rally conservative support in Montana’s U.S. Senate Race.

“You have to realize that Donald Trump is on the ticket in six weeks," Trump Jr. said.  "I want to keep winning for another six years.”

Real estate markets in much of Montana are booming, according to University of Montana researchers. But the strong rise in housing prices since the great recession is creating an issue of affordability.

In recent years, Montana’s fastest-growing city, Bozeman, has also seen a rise in the number of people who are homeless. Expensive housing and stagnant wages may be to blame.