Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/lisa-harmon/)
Katy Easton, now working for Big Sky Economic Development, will take over as the CEO of the Downtown Billings Alliance on Feb. 1. Easton, 39, was chosen to replace Lisa Harmon, who was the DBA’s executive director for 12 years before leaving at the end of last year. (more…) Continue Reading →
Lisa Harmon says there is no intrigue attached to her decision to step down as director of the Downtown Billings Alliance. “No scandal, no crisis,” she said. Just math. “I’m in my 50s and I’ve probably only got one career move left,” she said. (more…) Continue Reading →
Downtown Billings business owner Sharli Kiner is back to where she started—running her Limber Tree Yoga Studio at 212 N. 29th St. On Monday, she pulled the plug on her second location, at 2710 First Ave. N., just about a year after she opened it. Since announcing the closure, she said, a lot of people have approached her to say how sorry they were to hear the news, more or less offering their condolences. (more…) Continue Reading →
My name is Travis Mateer and for the past seven years I’ve worked at the Poverello Center, an emergency shelter and soup kitchen in Missoula. When I started at “the Pov” in 2008, our nation’s economy wasn’t doing so well. The unsound lending practices of the big banks resulted in a housing bubble that caused significant economic misery when it burst. Ripple effects, like a decreased demand for timber, closed local mills and put people out of work. Shelters across the country struggled to meet the increased need. Continue Reading →
A long-dormant proposal to develop a bicycle and pedestrian trail on a railroad corridor through downtown Billings will be the subject of a study later this year. The study, which will be commissioned by the Department of Planning and Community Services, will look at the possibility of making use of what is known as the Fifth Avenue North Corridor, stretching all the way from the YMCA at 402 N. 32nd St. to the entrance to MetraPark. (more…) Continue Reading →
A new video celebrating the virtues of downtown Billings received its premiere Friday night and was posted to YouTube on Saturday. “Believe in Downtown Billings” was produced by Jonathan Allison of Visual Lens Productions for the Downtown Billings Alliance. It was premiered Friday night at the Pub Station during the annual meeting of the alliance. (more…) Continue Reading →
Like a lot of people born and raised in Billings, Matt Blakeslee was used to looking to other cities for arts, culture and entertainment generally. Billings was a good place to make money and it was the biggest city in Montana, “but it had never felt like the most cultural or vibrant community,” he said. (more…) Continue Reading →
People trying to alleviate homelessness and find a solution to problems with transients in downtown Billings are making plans to hear about models that seem to be working in other cities. (more…) Continue Reading →
Mike and Alex Gregory have been running Oxford Antiques at 2411 Montana Ave. for 33 years, dating back to the days when the avenue was studded with empty storefronts and an abandoned train depot overrun with pigeons and transients. (more…) Continue Reading →
Nearly 13 years after it was proposed, a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks in downtown Billings might finally be built this summer. Chris Hertz, an engineer with the city’s Public Works Department, expects to call for construction bids by mid-May, which would mean beginning construction in mid-June. (more…) Continue Reading →
