Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. 54 years!

"In May, for the first time, #solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%.... #Coal supplied 12.2%." @apnews.com @axios.com

Volunteer training today for water quality monitoring in Gallatin County this summer.

Americans among most dissatisfied with how democracy is working.

Price increases for common grociers since January 2025: Blue is Janaury to start of #IranWar‌. Red is since war began. Below: Overall #inflation and how it's eating up wages.

Wednesday Data: Share of global GDP controlled by top 0.0001%.

NEWS: Inflation up, real wages down. Details: Inflation was up 0.5% in May & was 4.2% for last 12 months. Real earings: Decreased 0.1% in May &were down 0.7% for last 12 months.

Op-Ed Today: "Voters are looking for a change. The Q facing #Montana Dems is whether we can seize this opportunity, stating clearly what we stand for & how our values & priorities—family, fairness, & freedom—translate into helping Montanans succeed." #mtnews flatheadbeacon.com/2026/06/04/d...

Jobs in cities across #Montana continue to fall, a trend continuing for past year. For employment in April 2025 compared to April 2026: -Billings: -1.8% -Bozeman: -2.1 -Great Falls: -3.4 -Helena: -0.4 -Missioula: -0.7 #mtnews

Stocks a record share of wealth. @axios.com

Corruption & upcoming election, A) Democrats will focus on Trump corruption. B) GOP will counter with govt programs corruption. C) Why not both? Presidents shouldn't be able to game system for personal gain AND govt programs should run well and be audited.

Saturday Data: Worldwide 25% of new car sales are electric vehicles or hybrids. In U.S. it's 10%.

Americans' view of moral values in the country hits historic low.

Five bridges and a beautiful meadow--the South Cottonwood Trail in the Hyalite Drainage south of Bozeman. #mttrails 1/2

Per @wsj.com today: A) Labor’s share of gross domestic income sank to 51%, the lowest since records began in 1947. Profits’ share climbed to 12.1%, the highest since 1950. B) Adjusted for inflation, hourly wages are up 3% since the end of 2019 while profits are up 50%.

Household income distribution in #Montana comparted to U.S., 2024. #mtnews Below: MT income sources and size of various economic sectors.

Disposable income drops. Real per capita disposable income--what Americans have after taxes and inflation--"declined 1.4% in April from a year ago. It also dropped 0.4% in March." @axios.com

Individual income sources in #Montana, 2024. Below: Size of various economic sectors in MT.

Bird numbers mirgrating across Gallatin County, Montana continue to be quite high. @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social Note: Below are mid-May figures.

Size of #Montana economic sectors by GDP, 2025.

Overall consumer sentiment at lowest point in at least 50 years.

Consumer long-term inflation expectations remain really high.

Fox Poll: Over time, more and more voters think #Trump policies will harm U.S. in the long run.

NEWS: @thedemocratsmv.bsky.social believe 2-1 that, to win next presidential election, the candidate should move to the center.

Many Qs about #Bozeman housing vacancy rate which is ~7.5% of units. In comparison, -Gallatin County: 12.9% -Billings: 5.9 -Great Falls: 7.2 -Helena: 4.9 -Missoula: 5.8 -Montana: 13.1 -U.S.: 10.1 #mtnews #Montana

How #Montana voters view candidates for western congressional district; @montanafreepress.org poll. Senate candidates are below. #mtnews #mtpol

Note to Congress: The White House continues to laugh at you. The legislative branch is the modern definition of irrelevant (or pick your own synonym).

Employment in #Montana cities continues to drop. Graphic shows March 2025-26: -Billings: -0.8% -Bozeman: -2.2 -Great Falls: -3.2 -Helena: 0.0 -Missioula: -0.3 See post below for statewide job figures through 2025. #mtnews

None of #montana U.S. Senate candidates are well-known to voters per @montanafreepress.org poll. Will they be able to define themselves before opposition spending does it for them? #mtpol 1/2

In #Bozeman, 55% of housing units are renter occupied (higher in college and tourism towns). In #Montana, 31% are renters In U.S., 35% are renters. See below for rate people moved in Bozeman & link to access any town or county in U.S. #mtnews

Americans spent $45 billion more on gasoline & diesel during #IranWar‌ than same period last year. That's ~$800 million/day (graph). Costs even higher from indirect price increases of more expensive transportation, manufacturing, goods, etc. @wsj.com

Mobility: In Bozeman, 27% live in different place than last year. College and tourism towns see much more movement. Bozeman rate is about double #Montana rate (13.5%) and U.S. (12.3%). Click image to enlarge #mtnews Learn about any U.S. city: censusreporter.org/profiles/160...

Poll: Americans strongly believe Trump is making the economy worse.

Sunday Data: Comparing income growth over 5 generations. Younger generations worth more than peers at similar age. @readdemography.bsky.social Link: read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

Dog search and rescue training today in Bozeman.

Job growth in #Montana came to a halt in 2025. Graphic below shows variety of ways to measure employment changes during last 10 yrs. #mtnews Source: MT Leg Fiscal Div.

Bozeman Symphony setting the auditorium on fire 🔥 tonight with Gershwin, Bernstein and more.

Friday Data: Declining support for eliminating separation of church and state.

Democrats lead Republicans on economic issues. Dems lead on: health care costs, helping middle class, income inequality, cost of living and inflation. Tied: The economy overall. GOP leads: Taxes and stock market.

Will it work? Sen. SteveDaines affiliated PAC (& other GOP leaning groups) bombarding #Montana Dems by mail and text w/"attacks" on @reillyneill.bsky.social that she's too liberal. Trying to make sure she wins #mtsen nomination by jujutsu? #mtpol #mtnews

Year-over-year inflation (CPI) overall and select items:

Strong opposition to new data centers extends across political parties. Below: Overall support/oppose numbers for new data centers.

Strong majority of Americans oppose new data centers in their area. #datacenters

Wednesday Data: Young people don't talk to their neighbors anymore. AEI report.

Education gap between men & women has grown. In 2024, 46% of women age 25 to 54 had bachelor’s degree versus 38% for men. That gap will grow. Women earning bachelor’s degrees in current academic year outnumber men by nearly 40%. @wsj.com Below: participation rate & job gains.

Share of men and women in labor market. The share of women working has always been lower than men’s, but has held up much better as men's share continues to fall. @wsj.com Below: recent job gains favor women.

The recent job market favors women. Grahpic shows change in jobs since Dec. 2024. Most net jobs in last 18 months has been in female-dominated & growing healthcare and social-assistance. Male-dominated sectors like manufacturing & transportation have lost jobs. @wsj.com

Young Americans now gloomier than western peers about finding a job--reversing a decades-long trend. Below: American job outlook by age.

The Big Switch: Younger Americans, historically more optimistic about finding a job, now more pessimistic than older peers.

Interested in birds? @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social has you covered. The screen shot below, for example, shows how many birds migrated across Gallatin County #Montana last night. Learn more: birdcast.org