The most current washingtonpost.com articles can be found on our homepage.Our site index is also available for sections and features on washingtonpost.com. Search NewsJobsAPShoppingArchivesEntertain. Search our paid Archives for articles from 14 days ago back to 1977 For incorrectly linked articles or features, please send e-mail to our Customer Care team. We appreciate your help! © Copyright 2002 The Washington Post Company

MONTANA : At large

Montana's Big Sky country has long been a place where pioneers travel to strike it rich. Once explored by Lewis and Clark and later mined by fur trappers and gold seekers, Montana is now a prime destination for celebrities and telecommuters who want to own their own small piece of the frontier.

After the 1990 census, Montana lost one of its two congressional seats. The resulting district combines the state's politically independent halves into one unpredictable voting bloc. The western, mountainous half of the state leans Democratic, with a union tradition in mining and lumber mills. It's also home to the state's university community in Missoula. The eastern half, a flat plain used to raise wheat and cattle, follows a tradition of rural Republicanism.

Despite these differences, both halves can be conservative and independent. The state elected Jeanette Rankin, the first woman in Congress, in 1916. Ross Perot had some of his best showings in the nation here in both 1992 and '96. Now that the western side of the state is becoming a destination for folks heading west, it's expected that the state will regain its lost seat after the 2000 census.

With an economy based on natural resources, Montana finds itself exploiting its terrain while also striving to protect it. In ballot initiatives, voters have rejected some environmental regulations. Yet Butte, the site of years of invasive mining, is the center of a massive superfund clean-up effort. Forestry and agriculture dominate the economy, but the same land supports numerous national parks, forests and a growing tourism industry.

Major Industry
Agriculture, tourism, forestry

Military Bases
Malmstrom Air Force Base, 3,523 military, 468 civilian (1997)

Population
879,372 (1998 est.)

Cities
Billings, 91,195; Great Falls, 57,758; Missoula, 51,204 (1996)

People
47% rural; 13% age 65+ (ranks middle third nationally); 58% married couples, 28% married couples with children; 20% college educated (ranks middle third nationally); 52% white collar (ranks bottom third nationally), 23% blue collar (ranks bottom third nationally) (1990)

Race
93% white, 0% black, 1% Asian, 6% American Indian; 2% Hispanic origin (1996)

Median Household Income
$29,277 (ranks bottom third nationally) (1997)

Unusual Features
Yellowstone National Park; Jordan, site of a standoff in 1996 between federal authorities and an anti-tax group called The Freemen.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company