Sign up for the free Missoula This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up Good morning. In this week’s edition, how the Griz can show up the Cats (and help their neighbors) and a look at Veterans Day events planned for next week. Also, this reporter’s recap of Election Day. But first, a weather preview ☀️ After a chilly week, Missoula will see some temperatures rise into the mid-to-upper 50s this weekend, according to the National Weather Service’s Missoula office. Friday’s forecast includes morning fog clearing to a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 49 degrees. Saturday will be the warmest day, with sun and a high near 58 degrees. Sunday will be a bit cooler with a high of 53 degrees. Election Day in Missoula While Election Day can be a stressful time in a newsroom, it’s also fun and exciting. With other Montana Free Press reporters in Missoula to cover the late-night shift, I spent much of Tuesday stopping by polling places and talking to voters and election workers.  My first stop was the Missoula Public Library, the polling place for several precincts. Election worker Kathi Olson started her shift there at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. She told me that she’d probably work until 10 p.m. Olson and many of the other election workers had been doing this for years, she said.  “We’re one big happy family,” she said.  Bradley Seaman, the county election administrator, said Tuesday afternoon that the office scheduled more than 700 shifts for Tuesday and Wednesday, with some people working more than one.  “It takes a whole village,” he said. “In Missoula County, we’re fortunate. The village shows up.”  As for Seaman, he told me Tuesday he planned to work until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. Wednesday before coming back later in the morning. Missoula County finished counting ballots at about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.  Tuesday was also a long night for some voters. When I stopped by the elections center around 7:30 p.m., the line of more than 100 people stretched down the side of the building. My colleague Lauren Miller photographed the last voter in Missoula County, Tina Nourmiev, who cast her ballot just after 10:30 p.m. after waiting in line for nearly three hours. Tina Nourmiev, the last voter in Missoula County, cast her ballot a little after in the midterm elections Nov. 3, 2026, at the Florence Building in Missoula. She got in line starting at 7:30 and waited nearly three hours to vote. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America Several voters I talked to Tuesday emphasized the importance of showing up, even if that meant waiting in line.  “Voting is one of the most important rights we have in the U.S.,” said Cameron Contreras, a University of Montana student who voted Tuesday morning at the polling place on campus. “It’s important that everyone does it.”  Seaman said in an email Thursday that the county saw more polling place voters than in the past few elections, but that exact numbers won’t be available until provisional ballots are counted Monday. Missoula County’s voter turnout of 64.8% topped the state average of about 60% and was the highest turnout among the state’s five largest counties. The county’s turnout was slightly higher this year than in the 2022 midterm election, according to the secretary of state’s office.  Another voter waiting in line Tuesday night told me she was excited to cast her vote for the three ballot initiatives up for consideration. The Missoula County ballot also included races for Montana’s Western District House seat and a U.S. Senate seat, state House and Senate and Public Service Commission seats. You can read more about the election results here. While multiple Missoula County officials are up for election this year, the only contested race was for one of the county’s two nonpartisan justice of the peace seats. Incumbent Landee Holloway received 61% of the vote and Kelli Sather received 39%, according to preliminary results.  Missoula County election workers will count provisional ballots Monday, conduct a post-election audit Thursday and hold the election canvass Nov. 17. Meeting Minutes 📝 City Council  The Missoula City Council Monday approved the annexation and rezoning of about 7 acres off England Boulevard to allow for the potential future redevelopment of the Missoula KOA campground.  While much of the KOA and adjacent mobile home park to the north are within city limits, the southwest portion of the campground and storage area were not previously annexed with the rest in 1980, said Dave DeGrandpre, a city land use supervisor. The landowner, Missoula Valley Partners LLC, requested annexation and expressed interest in redeveloping the RV park, but not the adjacent El Mar Trailer Village, DeGrandpre said.  The property would be zoned limited urban mixed-use, which allows for commercial, mixed-use and residential development. DeGrandpre said it’s hard to say what future development might look like as a variety of uses are allowed in that zoning. If the development would lead to an additional 200 vehicle trips per day, the city may require a traffic impact study, he said.  Ron Wetzsteon, the landowner’s representative, said it could be years before the property is redeveloped. At that time, nine mobile homes on the edge of the trailer park will have to move to make way for the expanded street. Wetzsteon said it’s important to the owner that those residents can stay as long as possible and that they will do their best to find vacant spaces in the trailer park to relocate those residents.  “I would really like to beg the developer to find a way to ensure that the folk who are long-term stays at that property will continue to have a place to stay,” said Council Member Kristen Jordan. The council unanimously approved the annexation and rezoning, along with seven conditions of approval that require the landowner to install a new fire hydrant and dedicate easements for future streets and utilities. Public Notice 🧐 Downtown SAM project work to impact traffic, parking ℹ️ Jackson Contractor Group crews will be locating utilities before construction begins next year on the city’s Downtown Safety Access Mobility (SAM) Project over the next two weeks, weather permitting. There may be temporary parking restrictions, sidewalk detours, localized traffic impacts, lane closures and minor delays. Access to businesses will be maintained throughout the work.  🗓️ Monday – Friday, Nov. 9 – 20 ⏰ 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.    📍 Higgins Avenue and Front Street and Main Street corridors    🔗 More information about the project is available online.  Missoula County data center study hearing Thursday ℹ️ County staff will present on the study assessing data center impacts on public health and the environment at the Missoula County commissioners’ regular Thursday meeting. The commissioners will take public comment and may give staff direction on what regulations or next steps to pursue. Despite at least one social media post to the contrary, the commissioners will not vote at this meeting to extend the moratorium, as that action would have to be specifically noticed ahead of time, Svein Newman, the county’s climate action manager, said in an email.  🗓️ Thursday, Nov. 12 ⏰ 2 p.m.  📍 Missoula County Courthouse, Sophie Moiese Room or virtually  🔗 Read our past coverage of the moratorium and the study. The full study is available online.  Applications open for septic system replacement program ℹ️ Missoula County is accepting applications for the program that helps low- and moderate-income homeowners outside city limits replace failing septic systems at no cost to the homeowner. Homeowners must make 80% or less of the area median income, which is $69,350 for two people.  🗓️ Funding is limited, and homeowners are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.  🔗 More information about the program, detailed eligibility criteria and the application are available on the county’s website. On Campus 🐻 Montana’s greatest rivalry kicks off this weekend, and no, I’m not talking about the Brawl of the Wild. The annual “Can the Cats” food drive starts Saturday, and the annual competition between the University of Montana and Montana State University continues through the end of the first quarter of the Griz-Cat football game in Bozeman Nov. 21. Local donations benefit the UM Food Pantry and the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center.  “The Brawl of the Wild is one of the great rivalries in American sports,” UM President Jeremiah Shinn said in a press release. “It’s about competing for something Montanans care deeply about. But our responsibility to one another goes beyond the game itself. If we can translate Montana’s passion and competitive drive into meals for families who need them, everyone wins.” Community members can donate nonperishable food items at the food bank and collection sites across Missoula or make financial contributions online at www.canthecats.com. Every dollar donated counts as one pound of food toward the competition total.  During a “Stuff the Bus” event Saturday, Nov. 14, volunteers will collect donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at several Missoula grocery stores. Additional events include Western Cider’s Grateful Glass nights Nov. 10 and  Nov. 17, Cambie’s Pint Night on Nov. 12 and donation collections at Griz athletics events throughout the drive. “One of the things we love most about Can the Cats is the incredible variety of food our community brings in,” said Amy Allison, executive director of Missoula Food Bank, in a press release. “People donate foods they enjoy in their own homes, and that gives our customers more choices when they shop with us. The food collected during these two weeks helps nourish our community well into the following year.” Last year, Missoula collected a record-breaking 209,847 pounds of food and $881,907 in monetary donations, for a total of 1,091,755 pounds. Bozeman also surpassed the one-million mark for the first time, raising 1,018,613, with 335,189 pounds of food and $683,425 donated for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Local Lineup 🚶 🎨 The Zootown Arts Community Center’s annual “Indigenizing the ZACC” event takes place Friday, Nov. 6. The event celebrating Indigenous artists, culture and community includes live music, visual art, an Indigenous art market and food. The event will begin with a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives awareness walk and smudging starting at the Missoula Public Library at 4:15 p.m. Performances at the ZACC will include hip-hop group Lil’ Mike and Funny Bone, as well as Nkʷusm Salish Language School students. 🇺🇸 Several Veterans Day events are scheduled for Wendesday, including: free breakfast for veterans at the American Legion Post 27, 825 Ronan St.; a ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Doughboy Statue in front of the Missoula County Courthouse; a Veterans Art Show at 5 p.m. at the Missoula Art Museum and a free potluck for veterans from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the VFW Post 209, 245 W. Main St. Donations are welcome to help support the breakfast, and potluck attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share. The post Missoula shows up, turns out for Election Day appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less