Some of the best-known American brands began with a cheaper plan B. Ben & Jerry's is one of them. The details below come from the company's Wikipedia history and its cited sources.

The bagel plan that didn't happen

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield had been friends since childhood in Merrick, N.Y. In 1977 they incorporated a business intending to open a bagel shop, but the equipment cost too much. They took a correspondence course in ice cream making from Penn State's creamery instead.

Cohen has severe anosmia and leans on texture more than smell. That is often cited as the reason for the brand's big chunks of mix-ins.

May 5, 1978

With a $12,000 investment, the two opened an ice cream parlor in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, Vt. A year later they marked the anniversary with the first Free Cone Day, which became an annual event.

Small steps, in order

• 1980: rented space in an old spool and bobbin mill in Burlington and began packing pints.
• 1981: first franchise, on Route 7 in Shelburne, Vt.
• 1984: a Vermont-only public stock offering raised $750,000 for expansion.
• 1985: the Ben & Jerry's Foundation was set up and given 7.5% of annual pre-tax profits.
• 2000: the company was sold to Unilever and kept operating as an independent subsidiary.

The lesson for small operators

Two details stand out for anyone starting a food business in a small market, including in Montana. The founders matched the concept to the money they had, and they raised early expansion money from Vermont residents through a state-only offering. Neither move required a big city or outside investors at the start.

On Oct. 20 the Montana Board of Housing awarded $40,326,720 in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to five apartment projects that would add 136 rent-restricted homes. Divide one number by the other and the award works out to about $296,520 in credits per home.

That average hides a real spread. Using the board's list of awarded projects, here is how each project pencils out:

What the numbers do and don't mean

These are credit awards, not construction budgets. Developers sell the credits to investors, and that cash covers a large share of building costs, which is what keeps rents within reach of lower-income tenants for decades. A project's total cost also includes loans and other sources not shown here.

Two projects could grow. Franklin Crossing in Missoula and Granite Peak in Butte are also seeking tax-exempt bonds paired with the separate 4% credit. If approved, that would finance another 181 homes at Franklin Crossing and 24 more at Granite Peak.

Who it serves

Three of the five are senior buildings: Butte, Columbia Falls and Havre. Majestic Landing, planned next to the Billings VA clinic, gives preference to veterans and their families. Franklin Crossing serves families and individuals.

The Department of Commerce announcement estimated 343 jobs and more than $22 million in local wages. Those are construction-related estimates, not permanent jobs.

Demand again exceeded supply. Projects in Roundup and Deer Lodge applied and were not funded, and a Libby application was ruled ineligible.

Full reporting: Montana Board of Housing tax credits to fund 136 homes, The Montana Statesman.

Most Montanans have bought gas, coffee or a road-trip snack at a Town Pump. Fewer know the company started as a single full-service station in Butte. The account below draws on the company's own history page.

1953: one station and a watch

Tom and Mary Kenneally started Town Pump in Butte in 1953. The company says Tom Kenneally Sr. would hand customers his wristwatch to time an oil change. If it took more than three minutes, the oil change was free.

The stations were unbranded and placed in separate towns and markets. The company says that spread gave it some protection from local price wars.

1966: the self-serve gamble

In 1966, Town Pump says it became the first gas station in Montana to offer self-service gasoline, and the first to put bill acceptors directly in the pumps. Critics at the time warned that untrained drivers handling fuel would be dangerous. The bet was volume: lower prices, more gallons. The company now says about 97% of gasoline sold in Montana is self-service.

1973: the near miss

The 1973 oil crisis hit independents hard. Town Pump says it cut hours to stretch supply, and that its survival was in doubt. The family went to Washington, D.C., to petition the Department of Energy for permission to import fuel, and won an import quota that let it bring in oil from Canada.

The 1980s and 1990s: more than gas

In the 1980s the company rebuilt older sites into larger convenience stores and stopped selling gas at 14 of its pre-1980 locations that no longer made sense. In the 1990s it moved into truck stops, car washes, laundromats, hotels, delis and gaming.

Today Town Pump describes itself as a privately held Montana company with more than 200 gas station, convenience store, casino, hotel and car wash properties in Montana and Idaho. Its stated goals include reinvesting net income in Montana communities and giving through the Town Pump Charitable Foundation.

The pattern is a familiar one for durable family businesses: take a risk early, survive the bad year, then keep reinvesting in the same territory.

Montana's temporary permission for farm and timber trucks to run untaxed, red-dyed diesel on public roads has an end date: Nov. 23. Here is what the state has said about the wind-down, based on the Montana Department of Transportation's Executive Order 11-2026 FAQ.

Why it stops on Nov. 23

Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras signed the order on Oct. 9. Under Montana law, an order of this kind can run for 45 days, with an option to extend it later. As of MDT's Oct. 19 FAQ, no extension had been announced.

Who was covered

Only commercial motor vehicles directly engaged in agricultural or timber work. That generally means a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, certain passenger vehicles, or placarded hazardous materials loads. MDT's examples include livestock, feed, seed and fertilizer, plus logs, wood chips, biomass and forestry equipment. Pickups and cars below the commercial threshold were never included.

The checklist after Nov. 23

1. Expect warnings first. For 30 days after the order expires, Motor Carrier Services officers will issue only warnings to agricultural and timber vehicles found with dyed fuel.
2. Know the seven-day clock. A warning comes with notice that the fuel must burn out, or the tank must be drained and purged, within seven days of the inspection.
3. Know the threshold. Under state law, more than 2 parts per million of dye in a propulsion tank on a public road counts as running on untaxed fuel.
4. Plan your IFTA return. Carriers filing under the International Fuel Tax Agreement will need to report dyed fuel used during the suspension. MDT says it will post guidance before the end of the fourth quarter.

Who to call

MDT lists Motor Carrier Services Col. Chris Williams (406-444-0454) and Maj. Bob Andress (406-444-7629) for vehicle questions, and Grace Alexander (406-444-7664) or Kacy Garrett (406-444-0806) for IFTA reporting.

The relief was uneven from the start. One trucking owner told NBC Montana that many fuel stops selling dyed diesel have only one pump for it, which limits its use for larger fleets.

Full reporting: Dyed Diesel on Montana Roads: What the Temporary Order Allows for Farm and Timber Trucks, The Montana Statesman.

The Montana Department of Transportation has awarded the contract to rebuild the Johnson Lane exit on Interstate 90 in Lockwood as a diverging diamond interchange, the first in the state. Riverside Contracting Inc. has the job. Here is what drivers can expect, in order.

How a diverging diamond moves traffic

On Johnson Lane, between two signalized crossovers, drivers will briefly travel on the left side of the road. That swap is the whole idea. A driver turning left onto an I-90 ramp can make the turn without crossing in front of oncoming traffic, because oncoming traffic is already on the other side.

Fewer points where paths cross generally means fewer serious crashes and shorter waits at signals. Signs, signals and pavement markings guide drivers through, and MDT has posted a video simulation on its Billings Bypass project page so people can see the pattern before they drive it.

"The Johnson Lane DDI will help improve current traffic operations while accommodating future demand and supporting continued growth in the greater Billings area," MDT Billings District Administrator Mike Taylor said in the department's announcement.

The build, season by season

• Now: utility relocation.
• Spring 2027: interchange construction begins. The first two seasons focus on widening the I-90 bridges over Johnson Lane and the roadwork around them, with work south of the interstate finished first and work north of I-90 in season two.
• Summer 2029: final paving wraps up the third season.

More than ramps

Crews will also rebuild parts of North Frontage Road, Old Hardin Road, Cole Street and Becraft Lane, add signals at Cole Street and Old Hardin Road and at Johnson Lane and North Frontage Road, and build a shared-use path with sidewalk and ADA upgrades nearby.

Why it matters for the Billings Bypass

The interchange is the fourth of six segments in the Billings Bypass, which links I-90 east of Billings with the Heights north of the Yellowstone River. Three segments are done. Johnson Lane is the piece that ties the route into the interstate.

Questions go to the project team at billingsbypass@dowl.com or 406-294-9668.

Full reporting: Johnson Lane in Lockwood will get Montana's first diverging diamond interchange, The Montana Statesman.

When Missoula County paused new and expanded data centers outside city limits in July, a lot of residents hoped the pause would end in a ban. The county's own draft study, released Oct. 21, says that outcome is probably off the table, and the reason is a law passed in Helena in 2025.

The law in the middle

Montana's Right to Compute Act limits how far state and local governments can restrict the use of computing resources. County staff concluded that an outright prohibition on data centers likely would not hold up under it.

"A lot of people will say 'why not just ban them,' but one of our findings is that it's likely not permissible under Montana's Right to Compute Act," Svein Newman, the county's Climate Action Program manager, told Montana Public Radio.

So the study points the county toward zoning: where large facilities can go, how far they sit from homes, and limits on noise, lighting, waste heat and backup generators.

What the county is worried about

The impact list in the draft is long. It covers electricity demand and the risk that grid costs land on other ratepayers, water for cooling, emissions from diesel backup generators, constant equipment noise, hazardous materials on site, night lighting and effects on wildlife.

Commissioner Josh Slotnick has noted that the county's current rules were written when "data center" meant something much smaller, as he told NBC Montana.

Beyond county code

Two recommendations reach past the county's own authority. Staff suggest the county intervene in NorthWestern Energy's large new load tariff case at the Montana Public Service Commission, which will help decide who pays when one customer adds a large block of demand to the grid. They also suggest working with the 2027 Legislature on state-level protections.

The study expects commissioners may extend the moratorium, now set to run through July 8, 2027, into a second year so zoning work can finish. An extension would need another public hearing.

Dates to know

• Nov. 4, 6 p.m.: overview for the Consolidated Land Use Board.
• Nov. 12, 2 p.m.: Board of County Commissioners hearing, where next steps and any extension are expected to come up.

The proposal that started the debate was a 7-megawatt AI data center in Bonner, east of Missoula. The study, though, is written for all of the unincorporated county.

Full reporting: Missoula County's data center study recommends zoning rules, not a ban, The Montana Statesman.