MISSOULA — Annually, the State of the Community gives a temperature check on how Missoula and the greater county are doing. The 2025 gathering took place on April 21, where the theme was "local action, local impact."
“It is our time here locally to lead with vision, focus and our values," Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said.
For this year and beyond, Mayor Davis has three key priorities for the Garden City:
First, being a responsive local government.
“What we're aiming for is solutions-oriented governance," Davis said.
The city government wants to use feedback as a way to shape the future, like through the recent community survey, where many noted the increasing cost of living and access to housing as major challenges.
“The rising cost of everyday living in Missoula is putting strain on many of us, making it harder for families to make ends meet," Davis said.
To address affordability, Davis is launching a task force hoping to create more housing and commercial development.
“That will help develop a comprehensive strategy for approximately 45 acres of city-owned land. I really do believe that this shows the city's commitment to turning our assets into opportunity and meeting the moment," Davis detailed.
Commissioner Juanita Vero also spoke on a multitude of focuses for Missoula County, including climate change and energy costs.
“This landscape requires fire in order for it to be healthy," Vero said. "With fire comes smoke, which means that we must achieve smoke tolerance. We need to ensure the community has indoor places with cool, clean air. The homes are equipped with air filters."
Vero said that Missoula County is partnering with the city, intending to bring 100% clean electricity to the urban center by 2030.
“A utility-scale 50 megawatt renewable energy project with Northwestern Energy, and that'd be enough new clean energy to power 10,000 homes. For reference in 2023, there were 58,360 homes in Missoula County," Vero said.
Another key aspect of Missoula’s community, the University of Montana, said that it's seeing lots of positive growth with larger freshman classes and more opportunities.
“Our law school, our med school acceptance rates are about 20% points higher than the national average. We established and revamped an Office of Military and Veteran Services," UM President Bodnar said..
However, Bodnar did note that the university is tracking nationwide declines in higher education.
“The percentage of American high school graduates that go on to education, either 2-year or 4-year, has declined by nearly 10% since 2016," Bodnar said.
With many Grizzlies heading on to supply Missoula’s workforce, Bodnar emphasized the impact of UM on the city as a whole.
