Billings, Montana

Name

The city is named for Frederick H. Billings, a former president of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Woodstock, Vermont. An earlier name for the area was Clark's Fork Bottom.

The Crow people from the nearby Crow Indian Reservation call the city Ammalapáshkuua. It means 'where they cut wood', and is named as such because of a sawmill built in the area by early white settlers.^[19] The Cheyenne from the nearby Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation referred to the city as É'êxováhtóva, 'sawing place'^[20] and the Gros Ventre from the nearby Fort Belknap Indian Reservation referred to it as ʔóhuutébiθɔnɔ́ɔ́nh, 'where they saw lumber',^[21] both also named for the sawmill, or translations of the Crow name.

Prehistory

The downtown core and much of the rest of Billings is in the Yellowstone Valley, a canyon carved out by the Yellowstone River. Around 80 million years ago, the Billings area was on the shore of the Western Interior Seaway. The sea deposited sediment and sand around the shoreline. As the sea retreated, it left a deep layer of sand. Over millions of years, this sand was compressed into stone known as Eagle Sandstone. Over the last million years the river has carved its way down through this stone to form the canyon walls known as the Billings Rimrocks or the Rims.^[22]

The Pictograph Caves are about five miles south of downtown. These caves contain over 100 pictographs (rock paintings), the oldest of which is over 2,000 years old. Approximately 30,000 artifacts (including stone tools and weapons) have been excavated from the site.^[23] These excavations have proved the area has been occupied since at least 2600 BC until after 1800 AD.^[24]

The Crow Indians have called the Billings area home since about 1700. The present-day Crow Nation is just south of Billings.^[25]

Lewis and Clark Expedition

In July 1806, William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) passed through the Billings area. On July 25 he arrived at what is now known as Pompey's Pillar and wrote in his journal "... at 4 P M arrived at a remarkable rock, i ascended this rock and from its top had a most extensive view in every direction."^[26] Clark carved his name and the date into the rock, leaving the only remaining physical evidence of their expedition. He named the place Pompey's Tower, naming it after the son of his Shoshone interpreter and guide Sacajawea. In 1965, Pompey's Pillar was designated as a national historic landmark, and was proclaimed a national monument in January 2001. An interpretive center has been built next to the monument.^[27]

Coulson/Billings

Coulson, Montana

The area where Billings is today was known as Clark's Fork Bottom. Clark's Fork Bottom was to be the hub for hauling freight to Judith and Musselshell Basins. At the time these were some of the most productive areas of the Montana Territory. The plan was to run freight up Alkali Creek, now part of Billings Heights, to the basins and Fort Benton on the Hi-Line.

In 1877 settlers from the Gallatin Valley area of the Montana Territory formed Coulson the first town of the Yellowstone Valley.^[28] The town was started when John Alderson built a sawmill and convinced PW McAdow to open a general store and trading post on land Alderson owned on the bank of the Yellowstone River. The store went by the name of Headquarters, and soon other buildings and tents were being built as the town began to grow. At this time before the coming of the railroad, most goods coming to and going from the Montana Territory were carried on paddle riverboats. It is believed it was decided to name the new town Coulson in an attempt to attract the Coulson Packet Company that ran riverboats between St Louis and many points in the Montana Territory. In spite of their efforts the river was traversed only once by paddle riverboat to the point of the new town.

Coulson was a rough town of dance halls and saloons and not a single church. The town needed a sheriff and the famous mountain man John "Liver-Eating" Johnson took the job. Many disagreements were settled with a gun in the coarse Wild West town. Soon a graveyard was needed and Boothill Cemetery was created. It was called Boothill because most of the people in it were said to have died with their boots on. Today, Boothill Cemetery sits within Billings' city limits and is the only remaining physical evidence of Coulson's existence.

When the railroad came to the area, Coulson residents were sure the town would become the railroads hub and Coulson would soon be the Territories largest city. The railroad only had claim to odd sections and it had two sections side-by-side about two miles west of Coulson. Being able to make far more money by creating a new town on these two sections the railroad decided to create the new town of Billings, the two towns existed side by side for a short time with a trolley even running between them. However, most of Coulson's residents moved to the new booming town of Billings. In the end Coulson faded away with the last remains of the town disappearing in the 1930s. Today Coulson Park, a Billings city park, sits on the river bank where Coulson once was.^[29]

Early railroad town

Named after Northern Pacific Railway president Frederick H. Billings, the city was founded in 1882.^[30][31] The Railroad formed the city as a western railhead for its further westward expansion. At first the new town had only three buildings but within just a few months it had grown to over 2,000. This spurred Billings' nickname of the Magic City because, like magic, it seemed to appear overnight.^[28][32]

Panoramic view of downtown Billings 1915. View is to the east and south from a high point at the intersection of North 28th Street (street extending away in the right half of the photo) and 3rd Avenue North (street extending away in the left half of the photo).

The nearby town of Coulson appeared a far more likely site. Coulson was a rough-and-tumble town where arguments were often followed by gunplay. Liver-Eating Johnson was a lawman in Coulson.^[33] Perhaps the most famous person to be buried in Coulson's Boothill cemetery is H.M. "Muggins" Taylor,^[34] the scout who carried the news of Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn to the world. Most buried here were said to have died with their boots on. The town of Coulson had been on the Yellowstone River, which made it ideal for the commerce steamboats brought up the river. However, when the Montana & Minnesota Land Company oversaw the development of potential railroad land, they ignored Coulson, and platted the new town of Billings just a couple of miles to the northwest. Coulson quickly faded away; most of her residents were absorbed into Billings. Yet, for a short time, the two towns coexisted; a trolley even ran between them. But ultimately there was no future for Coulson as Billings grew. Though it stood on the banks of the Yellowstone River only a couple of miles from the heart of present-day downtown Billings, the city of Billings never built on the land where Coulson once stood. Today Coulson Park sits along the banks of the Yellowstone where the valley's first town once stood.^[28]

20th century

By the 1910 census, Billings' population had risen to 10,031 ranking it the sixth fastest-growing community in the nation.^[28] Billings became an energy center in the early years of the twentieth century with the discovery of oil fields in Montana and Wyoming. Then the discovery of large natural gas and coal reserves secured the city's rank as first in energy.^[28] In the early 20th century, its served as regional trading center and energy hub for eastern Montana and northern Wyoming, an area then known as the Midland Empire.

Built in 1985 and standing at 272 feet (83 m), First Interstate Center is the tallest building in Montana.^[35]

After World War II, Billings became the region's major financial, medical and cultural center. Billings has had rapid growth from its founding; in its first 50 years growth was, at times, as high as 200 to 300 percent per decade.^[36]

Billings growth has remained robust throughout the years, and in the 1950s, it had a growth rate of 66 percent.^[37] The 1973 oil embargo by OPEC spurred an oil boom in eastern Montana, northern Wyoming and western North Dakota. With this increase in oil production, Billings became the headquarters for energy sector companies. In 1975 and 1976, the Colstrip coal-fire generation plants 1 and 2 were completed; plants 3 and 4 started operating in 1984 and 1986.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Billings saw major growth in its downtown core; the first high-rise buildings to be built in Montana were erected. In 1980, the 22-floor Sheraton Hotel was completed. Upon its completion, it was declared "the tallest load-bearing brick masonry building in the world" by the Brick Institute of America.^[38] During the 1970s and 1980s, other major buildings were constructed in the downtown core;^[39] the Norwest Building (now Wells Fargo), Granite Tower, Sage Tower, the MetraPark arena, the TransWestern Center, many new city-owned parking garages, and the First Interstate Center, the tallest building in a five-state area.^[40]

With the completion of large sections of the interstate system in Montana in the 1970s, Billings became a shopping destination for an ever-larger area. The 1970s and 1980s saw new shopping districts and shopping centers developed in the Billings area. In addition to the other shopping centers, two new malls were developed, and Rimrock Mall was redeveloped and enlarged, on what was then the city's west end. Cross Roads Mall was built in Billings Heights, and West Park Plaza mall in midtown. Several new business parks were also developed on the city's west end during this period.

Billings was affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in May; the city received about an inch of ash on the ground.^[41] The Yellowstone fires of 1988 blanketed Billings in smoke for weeks.^[42]

In the 1990s, the service sector in the city increased with the development of new shopping centers built around big box stores such as Target, Walmart and Office Depot, all of which built multiple outlets in the Billings area. With the addition of more interchange exits along I-90, additional hotel chains and service industry outlets are being built in Billings. Development of business parks and large residential developments on the city's west end, South Hills area, Lockwood, and the Billings Heights were all part of the 1990s. Billings received the All-America City Award in 1992.

21st century

4th Ave. N., and N. 28th St. Intersection, Downtown

In the 21st century, Billings saw the development of operations centers in the city's business parks and downtown core by such national companies as GE, Wells Fargo and First Interstate Bank. It also saw renewed growth in the downtown core with the addition of many new buildings, new parking garages and a new MET Transit Center, and in 2002 Skypoint was completed. Downtown also saw a renaissance of the historic areas within the downtown core as building after building was restored. In 2007, Billings was designated a Preserve America Community.^[43]

With the completion of the Shiloh interchange exit off Interstate 90, the TransTech Center was developed^[44] and more hotel development occurred as well. In 2010 the Shiloh corridor was open for business with the completion of the Shiloh parkway, a 4.8-mile (7.7 km) multi-lane street with eight roundabouts.^[45] More shopping centers were developed in the 21st century. One of the newest is Shiloh Crossing, which brought the first Kohl's^[46] department store to Montana. Other new centers include Billings Town Square with Montana's first Cabela's,^[47] and West Park Promenade, Montana's first open-air shopping mall. In 2009, Fortune Small Business magazine named Billings the best small city in which to start a business.^[6][48] Billings saw continued growth with the largest actual growth of any city in Montana. On June 20, 2010 (Father's Day), a tornado touched down in the downtown core and Heights sections of Billings. The MetraPark Arena and area businesses suffered major damage.

In the 2010s, Eastern Montana and North Dakota have experienced an energy boom due to the Bakken formation, the largest oil discovery in U.S. history.^[13][14] In August 2016, a 324-foot (99 m) high-rise complex called the One Big Sky Center was proposed for downtown Billings. If built, it would be the tallest building in Montana and Montana's first building to meet or exceed the 300-foot (91 m) mark.^[49]

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Frederick H. Billings

Frederick H. Billings

Frederick H. Billings was an American lawyer, financier, and politician. He is best known for his legal work on land claims during the early years of California's statehood and his presidency of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1879 to 1881.

Crow language

Crow language

Crow is a Missouri Valley Siouan language spoken primarily by the Crow Nation in present-day southeastern Montana. The word, Apsáalooke, translates to "children of the raven." It is one of the larger populations of American Indian languages with 2,480 speakers according to the 1990 US Census.

Crow Indian Reservation

Crow Indian Reservation

The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe. Established 1868, the reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana in the United States. The Crow Tribe has an enrolled membership of approximately 11,000, of whom 7,900 reside in the reservation. 20% speak Crow as their first language.

Cheyenne language

Cheyenne language

The Cheyenne language, is the Native American language spoken by the Cheyenne people, predominantly in present-day Montana and Oklahoma, in the United States. It is part of the Algonquian language family. Like all other Algonquian languages, it has complex agglutinative polysynthetic morphology. This language is considered endangered, at different levels, in both states.

Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately 690 square miles (1,800 km2) in size and home to approximately 6,000 Cheyenne people. The tribal and government headquarters are located in Lame Deer, also the home of the annual Northern Cheyenne pow wow.

Gros Ventre language

Gros Ventre language

Atsina, or Gros Ventre, was the ancestral language of the Gros Ventre people of Montana. The last fluent speaker died in 2007, though revitalization efforts are underway.

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is shared by two Native American tribes, the A'aninin and the Nakoda (Assiniboine). The reservation covers 1,014 sq mi (2,630 km2), and is located in north-central Montana. The total area includes the main portion of their homeland and off-reservation trust land. The tribes reported 2,851 enrolled members in 2010. The capital and largest community is Fort Belknap Agency, at the reservation's north end, just south of the city of Harlem, Montana, across the Milk River.

Eagle Sandstone

Eagle Sandstone

The Eagle Sandstone, originally the Eagle Formation, is a geological formation in Montana whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. It is a light to brownish gray to pale yellow-orange, fine-grained sandstone. It contains areas of crossbedding and local shale members. It contains large sandy calcareous concretions. Its thickness varies from 100 to 350 feet due to the lens nature of the individual sandstone layers and local interbedded sandy shale layers.

Rimrocks

Rimrocks

The Rimrocks are geological rimrock sandstone formations that outcrop in sections of Billings, Montana.

Pictograph Cave (Billings, Montana)

Pictograph Cave (Billings, Montana)

Pictograph Cave is an area of three caves located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Billings, Montana, United States, preserved and protected in the 23-acre (9.3 ha) Pictograph Cave State Park.

Pictogram

Pictogram

A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to a considerable extent pictorial in appearance. A pictogram may also be used in subjects such as leisure, tourism, and geography.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. Clark and 30 members set out from Camp Dubois, Illinois, on May 14, 1804, met Lewis and ten other members of the group in St. Charles, Missouri, then went up the Missouri River. The expedition crossed the Continental Divide of the Americas near the Lemhi Pass, eventually coming to the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean in 1805. The return voyage began on March 23, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon, and ended on September 23 of the same year.

The Rims border the northern and eastern edges of the downtown core.

Feral horses - Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range - Montana

Two-thirds of the city is in the Yellowstone Valley and the South Hills area and one-third in the Heights-Lockwood area. The city is divided by the Rims, long cliffs, also called the Rimrocks. The Rims run to the north and east of the downtown core, separating it from the Heights to the north and Lockwood to the east, with the cliffs to the north being 500 feet (150 m) tall and to the east of downtown, the face rises 800 feet (240 m). The elevation of Billings is 3,126 feet (953 m) above sea level. The Yellowstone River runs through the southeast portion of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 43.52 square miles (112.72 km²), of which 43.41 square miles (112.43 km²) is land and 0.11 square miles (0.28 km²) is water.^[50]

Around Billings, seven mountain ranges can be viewed. The Bighorn Mountains have over 200 lakes and two peaks that rise to over 13,000 feet (4,000 m): Cloud Peak, at 13,167 ft (4,013 m) and Black Tooth Mountain, at 13,005 ft (3,964 m).^[51] The Pryor Mountains directly south of Billings rise to a height of 8,822 feet (2,689 m) and are unlike any other landscape in Montana. They are also home the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.^[52] The Beartooth Mountains are the location of Granite Peak, which at 12,807 feet (3,904 m) is the highest point in the state of Montana. The Beartooth Highway, a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks along the Montana–Wyoming border, rises to 10,947 feet (3,337 m). It was called "the most beautiful drive in America" by Charles Kuralt.^[53] The Beartooth Mountains are just northeast of Yellowstone National Park. The Crazy Mountains to the west rise to a height of 11,209 feet (3,417 m) at Crazy Peak, the tallest peak in the range.^[54] Big Snowy Mountains, with peaks of 8,600 feet (2,600 m), are home to Crystal Lake.^[55] The Bull Mountains are a low-lying heavily forested range north of Billings Heights. The Absaroka Range^[56] stretches about 150 mi (240 km) across the Montana–Wyoming border, and 75 miles (121 km) at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park.

Climate

Downtown Billings has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa) depending on the isotherm used, closely bordering on semi-arid (Köppen: BSk),^[57] with dry, hot summers, and cold, dry winters. However, areas outside of downtown can have a hot-summer continental climate, even with the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm, due to the urban heat island effect, as exemplified by the Billings Logan International Airport. In the summer, the temperature can rise to over 100 °F (37.8 °C) on an average of 1 to 3 days per year, while the winter will bring temperatures below 0 °F or −17.8 °C on an average of 12.9 days per year. The snowfall averages 57.4 inches (146 cm) a year, but because of warm chinook winds that pass through the region during the winter, snow does not usually accumulate heavily or remain on the ground for long: the greatest depth has been 33 inches (84 cm) on April 5, 1955, after a huge storm which dumped 4.22 inches (107 mm) of water equivalent precipitation as snow in the previous three days under temperatures averaging 26.7 °F (−2.9 °C).

The snowiest year on record was 2017–18, with 106.1 inches (269 cm), topping the 2013–14 previous record of 103.5 inches (263 cm). The first freeze of the season on average arrives by October 6 and the last is May 5. Spring and autumn in Billings are usually mild, but brief. Winds, while strong at times, are considered light compared with the rest of Montana and the Rocky Mountain Front.

Due to its location, Billings is susceptible to severe summer weather as well. On June 20, 2010, a tornado touched down in the Billings Heights and Downtown sections of the city. The tornado was accompanied by hail up to golf ball size, dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning, and heavy winds. The tornado destroyed a number of businesses and severely damaged the 12,000-seat MetraPark Arena.^[58]

Sections

Billings has many sections that comprise the whole of the city. The sections are often defined by Billings unique physical characteristics. For example, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff known as the "Rims" separates the Heights from downtown Billings.

There are 11 boroughs called "sections" within Billings' city limits.

Neighborhoods and zones

The south side of Billings is probably the oldest residential area in the city, and it is the city's most culturally diverse neighborhood. South Park is an old growth City park, host to several food fairs and festivals in the summer months. The Bottom Westend Historic District is home to many of Billings' first mansions. Midtown, the most densely populated portion of the city is in the midst of gentrification on a level few, if any, areas in Montana have ever seen. New growth is mainly concentrated on Billings West End, where Shiloh Crossing is a new commercial development, anchored by Scheels, Montana's largest retail store. Residentially, the West End is characterized by upper income households. Denser, more urban growth is occurring in Josephine Crossing, one of Billings' many new contemporary neighborhoods. Downtown is a blend of small businesses and office space, together with restaurants and a walkable brewery district.^[62] The Heights, defined as the area of the city northeast of the Metra, is predominantly residential, and a new school was recently constructed to accommodate growth in the neighborhood.^[63]

Surrounding areas

Billings is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area. The metropolitan area consists of three counties: Yellowstone, Stillwater, and Carbon.^[64] The population of the entire metropolitan area was at 184,167 in the 2020 Census.^[65]

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Bighorn Mountains

Bighorn Mountains

The Bighorn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately 200 mi (320 km) northward on the Great Plains. They are separated from the Absaroka Range, which lie on the main branch of the Rockies to the west, by the Bighorn Basin. Much of the land is contained within the Bighorn National Forest.

Beartooth Mountains

Beartooth Mountains

The Beartooth Mountains are located in south central Montana and northwest Wyoming, U.S. and are part of the 944,000 acres (382,000 ha) Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, within Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests. The Beartooths are the location of Granite Peak, which at 12,807 feet (3,904 m) is the highest point in the state of Montana. The mountains are just northeast of Yellowstone National Park and are part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The mountains are traversed by road via the Beartooth Highway with the highest elevation at Beartooth Pass 10,947 ft (3,337 m)). The name of the mountain range is attributed to a rugged peak found in the range, Beartooth Peak, that has the appearance of a bear's tooth.

Beartooth Highway

Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road in the western United States on a section of U.S. Route 212 in Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It crests at Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10,947 feet (3,337 m) above sea level, and was called "the most beautiful drive in America," by late CBS News correspondent Charles Kuralt. Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open for about five months per year, from mid-May to mid-October, weather conditions permitting.

Charles Kuralt

Charles Kuralt

Charles Bishop Kuralt was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years. In 1996, Kuralt was inducted into Television Hall of Fame of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Crazy Mountains

Crazy Mountains

The Crazy Mountains, often called the Crazies, is a mountain range in the Central Montana Alkalic Province in the U.S. state of Montana. They are a part of the northern Rocky Mountains.

Big Snowy Mountains

Big Snowy Mountains

The Big Snowy Mountains are a small mountain range south of Lewistown in Fergus County, Montana. Considerably east of and isolated from the main crest of the Northern Rockies, they are one of the few points of significant elevation in the immediate area and are considered one of Montana's island ranges. The range's highest elevation is 8,681 feet (2,646 m). The smaller Little Snowy Mountains are a contiguous range immediately to the east.

Bull Mountains

Bull Mountains

The Bull Mountains, el. 3,845 feet (1,172 m), are a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains located in Yellowstone and Musselshell Counties in the U.S. state of Montana, lying northeast of Billings and south of Roundup.They are a lower elevation mountain range compared to other ranges in the same geographic region. Vegetation consists primarily of grassy meadows, tracts of sagebrush, and ponderosa pine forests, with the western half of the range being slightly more forested than the eastern half of the range. While the Bull Mountains are decent habitat for mule deer, Merriam's turkeys, bobcats, mountain lions, and elk, hunting and other recreational activities are limited unless an outfitter is hired, as there is little public land in the range.

Absaroka Range

Absaroka Range

The Absaroka Range is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about 150 mi (240 km) across the Montana–Wyoming border, and 75 mi (120 km) at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Valley, and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains to the north and the Wind River Range to the south. The northern edge of the range rests along I-90 and Livingston, Montana. The highest peak in the range is Francs Peak, located in Wyoming at 13,153 ft (4,009 m). There are 46 other peaks over 12,000 ft (3,700 m).

Continental climate

Continental climate

Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature. They tend to occur in the middle latitudes, within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing some precipitation, and temperatures are not moderated by oceans. Continental climates occur mostly in the Northern Hemisphere due to the large landmasses found there. Most of northern and northeastern China, eastern and southeastern Europe, Western and north western Iran, central and southeastern Canada, and the central and northeastern United States have this type of climate. Continentality is a measure of the degree to which a region experiences this type of climate.

Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification.

2010 Billings tornado

2010 Billings tornado

A destructive EF2 tornado hit Billings, Montana on Sunday, June 20, 2010. Known as the 2010 Father's Day tornado, the strong tornado was on the ground for about 12 minutes and took the roof off the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark, a 10,000 seat arena, and heavily damaged numerous businesses. The storm was accompanied by high winds and a major hail storm that caused severe damage and flash flooding in the Heights section of the city. It was the first time since 1958 that a significant tornado struck the Downtown Billings area.

Billings Logan International Airport

Billings Logan International Airport

Billings Logan International Airport is in the western United States, two miles northwest of downtown Billings, in Yellowstone County, Montana. It is the second largest airport in Montana, having been surpassed in recent years by Bozeman in both number of gates as well as annual enplanements. Owned by the city of Billings, the airport is on top of the Rims, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff overlooking the downtown core, and covers 2,300 acres of land.

2010 census

As of the census^[67] of 2010, there were 104,170 people, 43,945 households, and 26,194 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,399.7 inhabitants per square mile (926.5/km²). There were 46,317 housing units at an average density of 1,067.0 per square mile (412.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.6% White, 4.4% Native American, 0.8% Black, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.2% of the population.

There were 43,945 households, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.4% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.6% of residents under the age of 18; 9.8% between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% from 25 to 44; 26.3% from 45 to 64; and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in the city was 37.5 years. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

Income

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $35,147, and the median income for a family was $45,032. Males had a median income of $32,525 versus $21,824 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,207. About 9.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. 29.4% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher.

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1870 United States census

1870 United States census

The United States census of 1870 was the ninth United States census. It was conducted by the Census Bureau from June 1, 1870, to August 23, 1871. The 1870 census was the first census to provide detailed information on the African American population, only five years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The total population was 38,925,598 with a resident population of 38,558,371 individuals, a 22.6% increase from 1860.

1880 United States census

1880 United States census

The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerators. The Superintendent of the Census was Francis Amasa Walker. This was the first census in which a city—New York City—recorded a population of over one million.

1890 United States census

1890 United States census

The United States census of 1890 was taken beginning June 2, 1890, but most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in 1921 when a building caught fire and in the subsequent disposal of the remaining damaged records. It determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766—an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 census. The data reported that the distribution of the population had resulted in the disappearance of the American frontier.

1900 United States census

1900 United States census

The United States census of 1900, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census.

1910 United States census

1910 United States census

The United States census of 1910, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census. The 1910 census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation.

1920 United States census

1920 United States census

The United States census of 1920, conducted by the Census Bureau during one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated during the 1910 census.

1930 United States census

1930 United States census

The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 census.

1940 United States census

1940 United States census

The United States census of 1940, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1930 population of 122,775,046 people. The census date of record was April 1, 1940.

1950 United States census

1950 United States census

The United States census of 1950, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 150,697,361, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.

1960 United States census

1960 United States census

The United States census of 1960, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 179,323,175, an increase of 19 percent over the 151,325,798 persons enumerated during the 1950 census. This was the first census in which all states recorded a population of over 200,000. This census's data determined the electoral votes for the 1964 and 1968 presidential elections. This was also the last census in which New York was the most populous state.

1970 United States census

1970 United States census

The United States census of 1970, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 203,392,031, an increase of 13.4 percent over the 179,323,175 persons enumerated during the 1960 census.

1980 United States census

1980 United States census

The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was the first census in which a state—California—recorded a population of 20 million people, as well as the first in which all states recorded populations of over 400,000.

Billings' location was essential to its economic success. Billings future as a major trade and distribution center was basically assured from its founding as a railroad hub due to its geographic location. As Billings quickly became the region's economic hub, it outgrew the other cities in the region. The Billings trade area serves over a half million people.^[6] A major trade and distribution center, the city is home to many regional headquarters and corporate headquarters. With Montana having no sales tax, Billings is a retail destination for much of Wyoming, North and South Dakota as well as much of Montana east of the Continental Divide. $1 out of every $7 spent on retail purchases in Montana is being spent in Billings. The percentage of wholesale business transactions done in Billings is even stronger: Billings accounts for more than a quarter of the wholesale business for the entire state (these figures do not include Billings portion of sales for Wyoming and the Dakotas).^[68] Billings is an energy center; Billings sits amidst the largest coal reserves in the United States as well as large oil and natural gas fields.

Wells Fargo Center

In 2009, Fortune Small Business magazine named Billings the best small city in which to start a business.^[48] Billings has a diverse economy including a large and rapidly growing medical corridor that includes inpatient and outpatient health care. Billings has a large service sector including retail, hospitality and entertainment. The metro area is also home to 3 oil refineries, a sugar beet refining plant, commercial and residential construction, building materials manufacturing and distribution, professional services, financial services, banking, trucking, higher education (4 campuses, 19 others have a physical presence/classes), auto parts wholesaling and repair services, passenger and cargo air, cattle, media, printing, wheat and barley farming, milk processing, heavy equipment sales and service, business services, consumer services, food distribution, agricultural chemical manufacturing and distribution, energy exploration and production, surface and underground mining, metal fabrication, and many others providing a diverse and robust economy.

Corporate headquarters include Stillwater Mining Company, Kampgrounds of America, First Interstate Bank, and others.^[9]

The Strawberry Festival is held every year here.^[69]

Museums

• Yellowstone Art Museum
• The Moss Mansion Historic House Museum
• Western Heritage Center

Historic Areas

• Billings Depot
• Downtown Historic District
• Boothill Cemetery
• Black Otter Trail
• Yellowstone Kelly's Grave

Siberian tiger at ZooMontana

Zoos

• ZooMontana

Venues

MetraPark Arena (currently called "First Interstate Arena at MetraPark" due to sponsorship)

MetraPark

MetraPark hosts a wide variety of events. The facilities in this venue include:

• MetraPark Arena, currently called "First Interstate Arena at MetraPark" due to sponsorship: Originally called the METRA, for "Montana Entertainment Trade and Recreation Arena", this 12,000-seat multi-purpose building was completed in 1975. Today, it is still owned by the City of Billings and Yellowstone County. It is the largest indoor venue in Montana and is used for concerts, rodeos, ice shows, motor sports events, and more.^[70] On June 20, 2010, the building was heavily damaged by the Father's Day Tornado.^[71] According to Metra officials, "the tornado also lifted most of the roof off the arena and collapsed walls." This required extensive repair work and parts of the building were redesigned to improve energy efficiency, parking lot access, acoustics and seating and add restrooms and concession areas. On April 10, 2011, the building reopened with an Elton John concert.^[72][73]
• In September 2022, Billings attorney, Gene Jarussi, filed a lawsuit against MetraPark and the Yellowstone County Commissioners (who own the premises) in which he claimed that public meeting law requirements were violated in the process of searching for a private company to manage MetraPark.^[74] Jarussi claimed in the original complaint that two of the three commissioners engaged in unauthorized communication with one of the bidders, Oak View Group (OVG), and generally did not allow for adequate public involvement in decision making. Yellowstone County decided to cancel the Request for Proposals (RFP) in light of the lawsuit, but Jarussi persisted with his allegations.^[75]
• The Grandstand: a canopied outdoor venue that seats 6,500 for horse racing, rodeos, and other events including outdoor concerts, demolished in 2020.
• The Expo Center: a 77,400-square-foot (7,190 m²) multi-purpose arena.^[76]
• The Montana Pavilion: a 28,800-square-foot (2,680 m²) multi-purpose arena.^[77]

Alberta Bair Theater

Alberta Bair Theater

The Alberta Bair Theater is a 1,400-seat performing arts venue noted for its 20-ton capacity hydraulic lift that raises and lowers the stage apron.^[78] Opened in 1931 and originally called the Fox Theater, it was renamed in 1987 in honor of Alberta Bair and her substantial donations that helped fund the building's renovation. Her father, Charles M. Bair, homesteaded the land the theater now occupies and she was born in a nearby house that still stands today.^[79]

Shrine Auditorium

Built in 1950, the Shrine Auditorium is a smaller, cost-effective venue that hosts national shows. It seats 2,340 for concerts and offers 550 off-street parking spots.

Dehler Park

Dehler Park is the new multi-use stadium that replaced Cobb Field and Athletic Park swimming pool in the summer of 2008. Cobb Field was a baseball stadium that was the home of the Billings Mustangs, the Pioneer League Rookie Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, from 1948 through 2007. Cobb Field was named after Bob Cobb, who was responsible for bringing professional baseball with the Mustangs to Billings. Cobb Field also hosted home games for local American Legion baseball teams. In 2006, Billings voters approved $12 million to be spent on constructing a new multi-use sports facility. Cobb Field was demolished in 2007 and construction of Dehler Park began at the end of the 2007 baseball season. The park debuted on June 29, 2008, when the Billings Scarlets faced the Bozeman Bucks in American Legion regular-season play. The new Dehler Park has a capacity of 3,500 to over 6,000.

Wendy's Field

Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium is a local stadium used for high school games. It is next to Billings Senior High.

Centennial Ice Arena

Centennial Ice Arena is home to the Billings Amateur Hockey League, Figure Skating Clubs and Adult Hockey.

Babcock Theater

The historic Babcock Theater

The Babcock Theater is a 750-seat performing arts theater in Billings, Montana. It was built in 1907 and at the time was considered the largest theater between Minneapolis and Seattle. Today, after extensive renovations, it hosts a variety of national acts.

Alterowitz Arena MSU-Billings

This 4,000-seat venue primarily hosts Yellowjacket sports, local events and some national touring events. This facility has gyms and racket ball courts as well as an Olympic-size pool with bleachers for aquatic events.

Fortin Center

Fortin Center is a 3,000-seat arena on the campus of Rocky Mountain College it is primarily used for the Rocky Mountain sports events.

Arts

• Alberta Bair Theater
• Art House Cinema and Pub^[80]
• Babcock Theatre
• Backyard Theatre
• Billings Public Library^[81]
• Billings Studio Theater
• Billings Symphony Orchestra
• Billings Youth Orchestra
• NOVA: Performing Arts Center
• Sacrifice Cliff Theatre CO.
• Yellowstone Art Museum
• Yellowstone Chamber Players
• Yellowstone County Museum
• Yellowstone Repertory Theatre
• Western Heritage Center

Events

• Gay Pride Weekend (some years)^[82] (2022)^[83]
• MontanaFair (August) at the MetraPark fairgrounds^[84]
• Billings Artwalk: First Friday of every other month at downtown businesses.^[85]

Breweries

With eight microbreweries in the metropolitan area, Billings has more breweries than any community in Montana. The downtown breweries are, Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co., Thirsty Street Tap Room, Angry Hank's Tap Room, Carters Brewery, and Überbrew. Another nearby brewery, Red Lodge Ales Brewing Co., is in Red Lodge.^[86] Downtown Billings also has a distillery that makes a variety of handcrafted spirits. Trailhead Spirits is in the former train depot complex.^[87] Canyon Creek Brewery opened at the end of 2013 on Billings' west end.^[88] Another offering, the Last Chance Pub, opened downtown in 2016.^[89]

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Moss Mansion

Moss Mansion

The Moss Mansion Historic House Museum is located at 914 Division Street in Billings, Montana, United States. It is a red-stoned mansion built in 1903 by Preston Boyd Moss and his wife, Martha Ursula Woodson Moss, (Mattie). Mr. and Mrs. Moss moved to Billings from Paris, Missouri where, "There was more happening at midnight than at noon in Paris Missouri"

2010 Billings tornado

2010 Billings tornado

A destructive EF2 tornado hit Billings, Montana on Sunday, June 20, 2010. Known as the 2010 Father's Day tornado, the strong tornado was on the ground for about 12 minutes and took the roof off the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark, a 10,000 seat arena, and heavily damaged numerous businesses. The storm was accompanied by high winds and a major hail storm that caused severe damage and flash flooding in the Heights section of the city. It was the first time since 1958 that a significant tornado struck the Downtown Billings area.

Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John is a British singer, pianist and composer. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He is the most successful solo artist in the history of the U.S. Billboard charts. Acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s and for his lasting impact on the music industry, his music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John has more than fifty Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number ones in the UK and US, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US. His tribute single to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997", a rewritten version of his 1974 single, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time. In 2021, he became the first solo artist with UK Top 10 singles across six decades.

Charles M. Bair

Charles M. Bair

Charles M. Bair (1857–1943) was an early railroading businessman who also became one of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States. He had two daughters, Alberta (1895-1993) and Marguerite (1889-1976).

Dehler Park

Dehler Park

Dehler Park is a multi-use stadium in Billings, Montana. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home of the Billings Mustangs of the independent Pioneer League. It is also the home field of the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets. The ballpark opened on June 29, 2008 and has a capacity of 3,071 people. It replaced Cobb Field which was a fixture in Billings since the 1930s. The groundbreaking ceremony took place March 22, 2007.

Cobb Field

Cobb Field

Cobb Field was a baseball park located in Billings, Montana from 1932 to 2007. It was originally named Athletic Park and opened as Cobb Field on May 4, 1948 after renovations. It was the home of the Billings Mustangs, the Pioneer League Rookie Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, from 1948-2007. Cobb Field was named after Bob Cobb, who was responsible for bringing the Mustangs to Billings. It also hosted home games for local American Legion baseball teams. In 2006, the stadium welcomed the re-formed NCAA baseball team from nearby Montana State University Billings. From March to May, home games were played at the field.

Billings Mustangs

Billings Mustangs

The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler Park since 2008. The team previously played at Cobb Field.

Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division and were a charter member of the American Association in 1881 before joining the NL in 1890.

American Legion

American Legion

The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of local posts. The organization was formed on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces, and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the United States Congress.

Centennial Ice Arena

Centennial Ice Arena

Centennial Ice Arena is a 550-seat ice arena in Billings, Montana, USA. From 2006 to 2017, the arena played host to the city's only junior league hockey club, the Billings Bulls. It also hosts youth hockey and has been the home ice for the Montana Thunderblades, a USA Hockey Select youth team that won the 14U Tier II National Championship in 2014.

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College is a private college in Billings, Montana. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. In fall 2013, the college had 1069 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

Billings Studio Theater

Billings Studio Theater

Billings Studio Theatre is a not-for-profit community theatre company located at 1500 Rimrock Road in Billings, Montana.

• Billings Mustangs, an independent Pioneer League baseball team that was formerly (up through 2020) affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds
• Billings Outlaws, a CIF indoor football team that played at First Interstate Arena.
• The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) Rodeo at MetraPark Arena
• Great American Championship Motorcycle Hill Climb – billed as "The Oldest, Richest and Biggest Motorcycle Hill Climb in the United States"

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Billings Mustangs

Billings Mustangs

The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler Park since 2008. The team previously played at Cobb Field.

Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division and were a charter member of the American Association in 1881 before joining the NL in 1890.

Billings Outlaws

Billings Outlaws

The Billings Outlaws were a professional league indoor football team based in Billings, Montana. They were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), of which they were the 2-time defending champions. They played their home games at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark. Their games were broadcast live locally on News Talk 910 KBLG AM and online through Teamline.

Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from the Indoor Football League and two expansion teams.

First Interstate Arena

First Interstate Arena

First Interstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at MetraPark, the fairgrounds of Billings, Montana. The arena has a capacity of 8,700 for ice hockey and indoor football games, 10,500 for basketball, and up to 12,000 for concerts. The arena hosts a variety of local sporting, musical, and other events. It has also hosted professional sporting competitions. In 2005, MetraPark Arena marked its 30th anniversary. The arena was renovated in 2010 and 2011 at a cost of $27 million.

• Lake Elmo State Park
• Skypoint
• The Rims (also known as "The Rimrocks"), a set of rock and boulder formations that parallel Hwy MT-3 / East Airport Road which includes the following parks/trails
• Yellowstone Kelly Interpretive Site^[90]

James F. Battin Federal Courthouse

Billings is the county seat of Yellowstone County, the most populous county in Montana.^[92] It is also the location of the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, one of five federal courthouses for the District of Montana.^[93]

Billings is governed via the mayor council system. There are ten members of the city council who are elected from one of five wards with each ward electing two members. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. Both the mayor and council members are officially nonpartisan. The city charter, also called the Billings, Montana City Code (BMCC) was established 1977.

Unlike some other cities in Montana, Billings' city ordinances do not contain provisions that forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.^[94] An effort to pass a non-discrimination ordinance in Billings failed in 2014, after then-mayor Tom Hanel cast a tie-breaking vote against it at the conclusion of a meeting that lasted 8.5 hours.^[95] An effort to introduce an NDO measure to the City Council was briefly floated in September 2019 by a city council member,^[96] but was abandoned approximately a month later.^[94]

Primary and secondary

Public

Billings has five school districts: Billings Public Schools, District 3, Elder Grove School District, Independent School District, and Canyon Creek School District. Billings Public Schools consists of 22 elementary schools, six middle schools, and three high schools (Senior High, Skyview High, and West High) that have approximately 15,715 students and 1,850 full-time employees.^[97] District 3, Independent, and Elder Grove School Districts each have one elementary school, those being Blue Creek Elementary,^[98] Elder Grove Elementary,^[99] and Independent Elementary, respectively. Canyon Creek School District operates Canyon Creek School, which serves grades K-8.

Private

• The Billings Catholic Schools operates Billings Central Catholic High School (grades 9–12), St. Francis Catholic School (grades K-8) and St Francis Daycare
• Trinity Lutheran Church operates Trinity Lutheran School, serving grades K-8
• Billings Christian Schools serves grades Pre-12
• Adelphi Christian Academy served grades K-12 (Closed at the end of the 2009 School Year)
• Billings Educational Academy serves grades K-12
• Grace Montessori Academy serves Pre-8^[100]
• Sunrise Montessori serves 3 years to 5th grade

Colleges and universities

Petro Hall at Montana State University Billings

Billings has three institutions of higher learning. Montana State University Billings (MSU Billings) is part of the state university system, while Rocky Mountain College and Yellowstone Baptist College are private.

Montana State University Billings was founded in 1927 as Eastern Montana Normal College to train teachers. The name was shortened to Eastern Montana College in 1949, and it was given its present name when the Montana State University System reorganized in 1994.^[101] The university offers associate/bachelor's/master's degrees and certificates in fields such as business, education, and medicine.^[102] Around 5,000 students attend MSU Billings.^[103]

City College at MSU Billings was established in 1969 as the Billings Vocational-Technical Education Center. Its governance was passed to the Montana University System Board of Regents in 1987, when it became known as the College of Technology. It was officially merged with MSU Billings (then known as Eastern Montana College) in 1994.^[104] The name was changed to the present name in 2012.^[105] Known as the "comprehensive two-year college arm" of MSU Billings,^[106] the college offers degrees and programs in a variety of fields, including automotive, business, computer technology, and nursing.^[107]

Through the marriage of three institutions of higher learning Rocky Mountain College is Montana's oldest college. Rocky Mountain College (or RMC) was founded in 1878.^[108] The campus that became RMC was known as the Billings Polytechnic Institute until 1947, when it joined the Montana Collegiate Institute in Deer Lodge (Montana's first institution of higher learning) and Intermountain Union College in Helena to form to Rocky Mountain College.^[109] During the 2013 fall semester, there were 1,068 students attending Rocky Mountain College.^[110] The college offers 50 majors offered in 24 different fields including art, education, music, psychology, and theater.^[111] RMC is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).^[112]

Yellowstone Baptist College is a small private Christian college in western Billings. It offers one degree: Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies/Leadership.^[113] The YBC is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and has close ties with Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma.^[114] The YBC also plans to open a nondenominational branch called the Yellowstone Bible Institute in early 2013.^[114]

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Billings Senior High School

Billings Senior High School

Billings Senior High School, located in Billings, Montana, and part of the Billings Public Schools District, opened in 1940. Billings Senior High School is a comprehensive public institution.

Skyview High School (Montana)

Skyview High School (Montana)

Billings Skyview High School, also known as Billings Skyview or Skyview, is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Billings, Montana. The school serves approximately 1,600 students with 92.5 certified staff, 36 support staff and 10 custodians under principal Deb Black, associate principal Danette Cerise, and Deans Scott Lynch and Jay Wahl. Skyview sits on 46 acres (190,000 m2) and is 258,000 square feet (24,000 m2) in size. It was built in 1987, making it the newest of three public high schools in Billings. Skyview's school colors are Royal Blue, Silver, and White and its mascot is a falcon.

Billings West High School

Billings West High School

Billings West High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Billings, Montana. The school serves 1,973 students with over 100 certified staff under principal Kelly Hornby. Billings West's school colors are gold and black, and its mascot is the Golden Bear.

Billings Central Catholic High School

Billings Central Catholic High School

Billings Central Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Billings, Montana, United States. It is one of three Catholic high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings.

Montana State University Billings

Montana State University Billings

Montana State University Billings is a public university in Billings, Montana. It is the state's third largest university. Its campus is located on 110 acres in downtown Billings. Formerly Eastern Montana Normal School at its founding in 1927, the Normal School changed its name to Eastern Montana College of Education in 1949. It was again renamed in 1965 as Eastern Montana College (EMC). It merged into the Montana University System in 1994 under its present name. Currently, the university offers over 100 specialized programs for certificates, associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees through the university's five colleges. The five colleges of Montana State University Billings are Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Health Professions and Science, Education, and City College.

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College is a private college in Billings, Montana. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. In fall 2013, the college had 1069 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

College of Montana

College of Montana

The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute", the school was the first institution of higher learning in Montana. The College of Montana name was adopted in 1883. For much of its existence, the college was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

United Church of Christ

United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,700 churches and 745,230 members. The United Church of Christ is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Pilgrims and Puritans. Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united on June 25, 1957, to form the UCC. These two denominations, which were themselves the result of earlier unions, had their roots in Congregational, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCC's 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, primarily in the U.S. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of the U.S. population self-identify with the United Church of Christ.

United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.

Southern Baptist Convention

Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) or Great Commission Baptists (GCB) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. Organized in 1845, the denomination advocated for slavery in the United States. During the 19th and most of the 20th century, it played a central role in the culture and ethics of the South, supporting racial segregation and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy; it denounced interracial marriage as an "abomination", citing the Bible. In 1995, the organization apologized for its initial history. Since the 1940s, it has spread across the states, having member churches across the country and 41 affiliated state conventions, while keeping its original name.

Oklahoma Baptist University

Oklahoma Baptist University

Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

Shawnee, Oklahoma

Shawnee, Oklahoma

Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The largest media market in Montana and Wyoming, Billings is serviced by a variety of print media. Newspaper service includes the Billings Gazette, a daily morning broadsheet newspaper printed in Billings, Montana, and owned by Lee Enterprises. It is the largest daily newspaper in Montana, with a Sunday circulation of 52,000 and a weekday circulation of 47,000. It publishes three editions: the state edition, which circulates in most of Eastern Montana and all of South Central Montana; the Wyoming edition, which circulates in Northern Wyoming; and the city edition, which circulates in Yellowstone County. Yellowstone County News is the next leading print newspaper, owned by Jonathan & Tana McNiven.^[115] It is published on a weekly basis and provides news and columns for "Yellowstone County and the communities of Lockwood, Shepherd, Huntley, Worden, Ballanatine, Pompey's Pillar, Custer and Billings."^[116] It is also recognized as the Publication of Record for both the City of Billings and Yellowstone County.^[117] Other publications include other more specialized weekly and monthly publications. Billings also has several community magazines including Magic City Magazine^[118] and Yellowstone Valley Woman.^[119] The Billings Beet also provides the region with satirical news. The Billings area has four major non-news television stations, two major news television stations, one community television station, four PBS channels^[120] and several Low-Power Television (LPTV) channels. It is also served by twenty-two commercial radio stations and Yellowstone Public Radio (NPR).^[121]

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Media in Billings, Montana

Media in Billings, Montana

The Billings Metropolitan Area is served by two major news television stations, four major non-news television stations, one community television station, 25 commercial radio stations and one major daily newspaper. Note: Community 7 is only available through cable or satellite.

Billings Gazette

Billings Gazette

The Billings Gazette is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana and is geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation.

Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

PBS

PBS

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Frontline, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Arthur, Sesame Street, and This Old House.

NPR

NPR

National Public Radio is an American nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of over 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.

The Billings Canal (aka, The Big Ditch), used for irrigation, runs through Billings.

Transportation

Airports

Billings Logan International Airport is close to downtown; it sits on top of the Rims, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff that overlooks the downtown core. Scheduled passenger service and air cargo flights operate from this airfield.

The Laurel Municipal Airport is a publicly owned public-use airport in Laurel, Montana, eleven miles (18 km) southwest of downtown Billings. It has three runways exclusively serving privately operated general aviation aircraft and helicopters.^[122]

Public transportation

Downtown MET transit center

The Billings METropolitan Transit is Billings' public transit system. MET Transit provides fixed-route and paratransit bus service to the City of Billings. All MET buses are accessible by citizens who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. They are wheelchair lift-equipped and accessible to all citizens who are unable to use the stairs. MET buses are equipped with bike racks for their bike-riding passengers. There are Westend and Downtown transit centers allowing passengers to connect with all routes.^[123] The Billings Bus Terminal is served by Express Arrow, Greyhound and Jefferson Lines which also provide regional and interstate bus service.^[124]

Trail system

Billings, Montana-Swords Park Trail

Billings has an extensive trail system running throughout the metro area. The rapidly expanding trail system, known as the Heritage trail system, has a large variety of well-maintained trails and pathways.^[125]

Bicycling magazine ranked Billings among the nation's 50 most bike-friendly communities.^[126] In 2012, the Swords Park Trail was named the Montana State Trail of the Year and received an Environmental and Wildlife Compatibility award from the Coalition for Recreational Parks.^[127]

Highways

US-87 in Billings Heights

Interstate 90 runs east–west through the southern portion of Billings, serving as a corridor between Billings Heights, Lockwood, Downtown, South Hills, Westend, Shiloh, and Laurel. East of Downtown, between Billings Heights and Lockwood, Interstate 90 connects with Interstate 94, which serves as an east–west corridor between Shepherd, Huntley, Lockwood, Downtown, South Hills, Westend, Shiloh, and Laurel via its connection with I-90.

The 2012 Billings area I-90 corridor planning study recommends many improvements to the corridor from Laurel through Lockwood. Among the improvements recommended are construction of new east and west bound bridges over the Yellowstone River, each bridge having three to four traffic lanes. Also recommended are construction of additional east and west bound traffic lanes from Shiloh to Johnson Lane and reconstruction of many of the bridges, interchanges and on-off ramps along the corridor at a cost of $114 million.^[128]

The Billings Bypass is a project designed to offer an alternative route into Billings Heights, to create a new and more direct connection between Billings and Lockwood and to connect I-90 with Montana Highway 87 and Old Highway 312. The study portion of the project is nearing its completion. Right of way acquisition should begin in 2013 along with final design followed by construction.^[129]

Montana Highway 3 is a north–south highway that runs along the edge of the North Rims connecting Downtown and the Westend with the Rehberg Ranch, Indian Cliffs and Billings Heights. U.S. Highway 87 runs through the center of Billings Heights and is known as Main Street within the city limits. This is the busiest section of roadway in the state of Montana.^[130] It connects to U.S. Highway 87 East, which runs through Lockwood as Old Hardin Road.^[131]

Rail

There is currently no service, though until 1979 Amtrak's North Coast Hiawatha stopped at the Billings Depot, serving a Chicago to Seattle route. Before Amtrak, Billings was well-served by Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroads with direct routes to Kansas City, Denver, Chicago, Great Falls, and the West Coast. (Billings was the northern and western terminus for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad).

Healthcare

The city's rapidly growing health care sector employed nearly 13,000 people in 2012; they earned $641 million in wages, or about 20 percent of all wages in the city. Employment doubled in 25 years and wage rates in constant dollars grew by 162 percent.^[132]

The city has two Level II trauma hospitals, St. Vincent Healthcare and Billings Clinic.^[133]

St. Vincent Healthcare was founded in 1898 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth as St. Vincent Hospital. The name was changed to the present name in 2000.^[134] The hospital and its 30 clinics employ approximately 2,100 people and receive more than 400,000 patient visits each year.^[135] St. Vincent Healthcare is run by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, which operates health care facilities in Colorado, Kansas, and Montana.^[136]

Billings Clinic started in 1911 as the general practice of Dr. Arthur J. Movius. By 1939, three new general practitioners had joined Dr. Movius's practice and the name was changed to The Billings Clinic. Billings Deaconess Hospital (founded in 1907) merged with Billings Clinic in 1990 to form the current hospital.^[137] Billings Clinic now employs around 3,400 people and is one of the largest employers in Montana.^[138] In July 2012, Billings Clinic received a score of 72/100 for patient safety from Consumer Reports, making it the safest hospital of the 1,159 hospitals rated.^[139] Additionally, in January 2013, Billings Clinic was added to the Mayo Clinic Care Network, only the 12th hospital nationally to be added to the network and the only such health system in Montana.^[140]

Other medical facilities include the Northern Rockies Radiation Oncology Center, Rimrock Foundation (addiction treatment both inpatient and outpatient), Advanced Care Hospital of Montana (a 40-bed long-term acute-care hospital), South Central Montana Mental Health Center, Billings VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, Billings Clinic Research Center (pharmaceutical field trials, osteoporosis are two long-time focuses), Billings MRI, City/County Public Health's Riverstone Health, HealthSouth Surgery Center and Physical Therapy offices, Baxter/Travenol BioLife plasma collection center, and many independent practices.

Public safety

The Billings Police Department is the main law enforcement agency in Billings. It is the largest city police force in Montana, with about 136 sworn officers and 80 civilian employees. There are nine police beats.

The Billings Fire Department was founded in 1883 as a volunteer fire company named the Billings Fire Brigade. The Yellowstone Hook and Ladder Company was founded in 1886; that company was disbanded in 1888 after the mayor criticized the group for how that handled a fire, leaving the town without a fire department for almost six months.^[141] The last volunteer fire company, Maverick Hose Company, served as the city's fire department until 1918.^[142] The modern fire department has seven stations, employs 114 people, and received a class three rating by ISO.^[143]

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Billings Logan International Airport

Billings Logan International Airport

Billings Logan International Airport is in the western United States, two miles northwest of downtown Billings, in Yellowstone County, Montana. It is the second largest airport in Montana, having been surpassed in recent years by Bozeman in both number of gates as well as annual enplanements. Owned by the city of Billings, the airport is on top of the Rims, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff overlooking the downtown core, and covers 2,300 acres of land.

Laurel Municipal Airport

Laurel Municipal Airport

Laurel Municipal Airport is two miles north of Laurel, in Yellowstone County, Montana, and eleven miles (18 km) southwest of Billings, Montana, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility. It sees no airlines.

Laurel, Montana

Laurel, Montana

Laurel is a city in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is the third largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is located in the Yellowstone Valley, as an east–west terminal division point of the Burlington-Northern Railroad. The population was 7,222 at the 2020 census.

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines, Inc. (Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America. Services include Greyhound Mexico, charter bus services, and Amtrak Thruway services. Greyhound operates 1,700 coach buses produced mainly by Motor Coach Industries and Prevost serving 230 stations and 1,700 destinations. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1914 and the company adopted the Greyhound name in 1929. The company is owned by Flix North America, Inc., an affiliate of Flixbus, and is based in Downtown Dallas.

Jefferson Lines

Jefferson Lines

Jefferson Lines is a regional intercity bus company operating in the United States. Their operations serve 14 states in the Midwest and West.

Bicycling (magazine)

Bicycling (magazine)

Bicycling is a cycling magazine published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Interstate 90 in Montana

Interstate 90 in Montana

Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway across the northern United States, linking Seattle to Boston. The portion in the state of Montana is 552.46 miles (889.10 km) in length, passing through fourteen counties in central and southern Montana. Due to the large size of Montana, it is the longest segment of I-90 within a single state.

Interstate 94 in Montana

Interstate 94 in Montana

Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway, which links Billings, Montana, to the Canada–US border in Port Huron, Michigan. The portion in the US state of Montana is 219.38 miles (353.06 km) long, linking seven counties through the central part of the state.

Lockwood, Montana

Lockwood, Montana

Lockwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is not an organized city or town. Lockwood had the largest growth rate in the state of Montana with 57.8% growth since 2000. The 2010 census put Lockwood's population at 6,797. Lockwood is a suburb of Billings and is the second largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Area. Annexation of Lockwood to Billings has been studied; however, the June 2009 Billings City Council Annexation Plan states that the city has no plans to annex Lockwood in the foreseeable future. Lockwood is the site of a major Exxon refinery.

Montana Highway 3

Montana Highway 3

Montana Highway 3 (MT 3) is a highway in central Montana extending north from Billings to Great Falls.

Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track.

Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

The Great Northern Railway was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad. The Great Northern's route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the U.S.

More widely famous people who have lived in Billings include:

Historical

• Frank Borman, astronaut
• Albert D. Cooley, aviator and Lieutenant general, USMC; Navy Cross
• Will James, artist and author
• Calamity Jane, frontierswoman
• Terry C. Johnston, western novelist
• Charles Lindbergh, aviator

Sports

• Gary Albright, wrestler
• Carolin Babcock, tennis player
• Jeff Ballard, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Ed Breding, former NFL player
• Julie Brown, distance runner
• Kurt Burris, former NFL player
• Mike Burton, Olympic gold medalist in swimming
• Ruben Castillo, boxer
• Jim Creighton, former NBA player
• Mitch Donahue, former NFL player
• Dwan Edwards, NFL player
• Brad Holland, former NBA player
• Chris Horn, former AFL and NFL player
• Dave McNally, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Roy McPipe, former ABA player
• Andy Moog, former NHL player
• Brent Musburger, sportscaster
• Nich Pertuit, football player
• Kirk Scrafford, former NFL player
• Greg Smith, former NHL player
• Leslie Spalding, LPGA golfer
• Keith Wortman, former NFL player

Arts and entertainment

• Carson Allen, singer and musician
• Phil Amato, television host
• Stanley Anderson, actor
• Katie Blair, Miss Montana Teen USA 2006, Miss Teen USA 2006
• John Dahl, movie director
• Annie Duke, professional poker player and author
• Bob Enevoldsen, jazz multi-instrumentalist
• Andrea Fraser, artist
• Arlo Guthrie, folk singer
• Ethel Hays, cartoonist and illustrator
• Will James, western artist
• Brandon Jovanovich, opera singer
• Wesley Kimler, artist
• Jeff Kober, actor
• Leo Kottke, musician
• Wally Kurth, actor
• Joyce La Mers, author of light poetry
• Bud Luckey, Academy Award Nominee, famed Pixar animator for Toy Story 1–3
• Helen Lynch, actress
• T. J. Lynch, screenwriter
• Stan Lynde, creator of the comic strip Rick O'Shay, painter, and novelist
• Chase McBride, singer, musician, and visual artist
• Ralph McQuarrie, Academy Award-winning designer for Cocoon, the original Star Wars trilogy, the original Battlestar Galactica, and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
• Marlene Morrow, former Playboy Playmate of the Month
• J. K. Ralston, Western painter
• Chan Romero, pioneer of rock and roll was born in Billings
• Rick Rydell, talk radio host
• Pete Simpson, musician and television performer in the 1950s in Billings; later member of the Wyoming House of Representatives; Republican nominee for governor of Wyoming in 1986.^[144]
• Auggie Smith, comedian
• Carol Thurston, actress
• Chuck Tingle, two-time Hugo Award nominee
• David Yost, actor and producer, most notably the Blue Power Ranger on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
• Timothy DeLaGhetto, internet and television personality

Political

• James F. Battin, former Congressman from Montana
• Jim Battin, California State Senator
• Shane Bemis, Mayor of Gresham, Oregon
• John Bohlinger, former Lieutenant Governor of Montana
• Roy Brown, former Montana State Senator for District 25 and former gubernatorial candidate
• Conrad Burns, served in the U.S. Senate from 1988 to 2007
• Amanda Curtis, Montana State Representative for District 76 and U.S. Senate Democratic Candidate
• Mike Mansfield, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator for Montana, longest-serving Senate majority leader for Democratic Party, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan
• Jonathan McNiven, former Montana State Representative
• Ray Metcalfe, member of the Alaska House of Representatives
• Henry L. Myers, U.S. Senator and justice of the Supreme Court of Montana
• Denny Rehberg, former Congressman from Montana and former Lieutenant Governor of Montana
• Tom Stout, former Congressman from Montana and editorial writer for the Billings Gazette
• Burt L. Talcott, former Congressman from California

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Frank Borman

Frank Borman

Frank Frederick Borman II is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman. He was the commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon, and together with crewmates Jim Lovell and William Anders, became the first of 24 humans to do so, for which he was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. As of 2023, he is the oldest living former American astronaut, eleven days older than Lovell.

Albert D. Cooley

Albert D. Cooley

Albert Dustin Cooley was a highly decorated Naval aviator of the United States Marine Corps, who reached the rank of lieutenant general. For his actions during the Battle of Guadalcanal, he received the Navy Cross, the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat. Cooley completed his 33-year Marine Corps career as commanding general of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane

Martha Jane Cannary, better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late in her life, she appeared in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. She is said to have exhibited compassion to others, especially to the sick and needy. This facet of her character contrasted with her daredevil ways and helped to make her a noted frontier figure. She was also known for her habit of wearing men's attire.

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for 33.5 hours. His aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, was designed and built by the Ryan Airline Company specifically to compete for the Orteig Prize for the first flight between the two cities. Although not the first transatlantic flight, it was the first solo transatlantic flight, the first nonstop transatlantic flight between two major city hubs, and the longest by over 1,900 miles (3,000 km). It is known as one of the most consequential flights in history and ushered in a new era of air transportation between parts of the globe.

Gary Albright

Gary Albright

Gary Mitchell Albright was an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Japan, first with UWF International (UWFi), and later All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, Albright was a two-time World Tag Team Champion. Albright was also known for his work with Stampede Wrestling in Canada, under his birth name as well as the ring name Vokhan Singh.

Carolin Babcock

Carolin Babcock

Carolin Babcock Stark was a tennis player from the United States. She won the women's doubles title with Marjorie Van Ryn at the 1936 U.S. Championships. Babcock was the runner-up in singles at the 1932 U.S. Championships, losing to Helen Hull Jacobs in straight sets. Stark also was the runner-up in women's doubles at the 1934, 1935, and 1937 editions of that tournament.

Ed Breding

Ed Breding

Edward Vincent Breding is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Texas A&M University and was drafted in the 15th round of the 1967 NFL Draft. Breding spent the 1967 and 1968 seasons with the Redskins, appearing in 28 games as a middle linebacker.

Julie Brown (athlete)

Julie Brown (athlete)

Julie Ann Brown is an American retired distance runner. She won the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in 1975 and represented the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics in the women's marathon, placing 36th.

Kurt Burris

Kurt Burris

Kurt Burris was an American gridiron football center. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he was an All-American and finished second in the 1954 Heisman Trophy balloting. In 2000, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jim Creighton (basketball)

Jim Creighton (basketball)

Jim Creighton is an American former professional basketball player.

Dwan Edwards

Dwan Edwards

Dwan Sedaine Edwards is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State.

Brad Holland

Brad Holland

John Bradley Holland is a retired American professional basketball player. He played for four years at UCLA. He was a member of the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers championship team. He was the University of San Diego head basketball coach until March 2007. On April 25, 2007, he was named as one of three finalists to become the new head coach of UC Riverside's men's basketball program, but lost out to Jim Wooldridge. Holland served as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara during the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 seasons.

The tallest building in Billings and Montana as well as a five-state region is the First Interstate Center, which stands at 272 feet (83 m) and 20 floors above ground level.^[145] Billings is also home to the world's tallest load-bearing brick building, the DoubleTree Tower, which stands 256 feet (78 m). With a floor count of 22 floors above ground level, the Crowne Plaza is the tallest hotel in the city and state. It was the tallest from 1980 to 1985. The Wells Fargo Building, formerly the Norwest Bank Building, was the tallest building in Montana from 1977 until 1980.^[146]

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List of tallest buildings in Billings

List of tallest buildings in Billings

First Interstate Center

First Interstate Center

First Interstate Center is a signature commercial office building located in the Transwestern Plaza, a complex consisting of four office towers with a total of 20 floors in the downtown core of Billings, Montana, United States. It is the tallest building in the northern Rockies, and the tallest in the state of Montana. It was built in 1985 and rises to 272 feet. It is used primarily for office space.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Billings

Crowne Plaza Hotel Billings

The Doubletree by Hilton, formerly known as The Crowne Plaza and before that, the Sheraton Billings Hotel, is a high-rise located in the Downtown Business District of Billings, Montana, United States. It is the second-tallest building in the northern Rocky Mountain region and was the tallest from 1980 - 1985 until the completion of the First Interstate Center, also in Billings. Construction started on the building in 1979 and was completed in 1980; it rises 245 feet (75 m) in height. It is used primarily for hotel space, and is the tallest hotel building in Montana.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and internationally. The company has operations in 35 countries with over 70 million customers globally. It is considered a systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Board. Wells Fargo, in its present form, is a result of a merger between the original Wells Fargo & Company and Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation in 1998. While Norwest was the nominal survivor, the merged company took the better-known Wells Fargo name and moved to Wells Fargo's hub in San Francisco. At the same time, its banking subsidiary merged with Wells Fargo's Sioux Falls-based banking subsidiary. Wells Fargo became a coast-to-coast bank with the 2008 acquisition of Charlotte-based Wachovia.

• Billings, Hessen, Germany
• Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan