Missoula, Montana

Missoula is a city located in Missoula County, Montana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 57,053, making it the second-largest city in Montana. It is the birthplace of Jeannette Rankin (1880 - 1973). The state flower of Montana, the bitterroot, grows only near Missoula. It is the county seat of Missoula County{{GR|6}}. The local newspapers are the Missoulian and the Missoula Independent.

Other points & pieces of interest

• Local ski areas: Montana Snowbowl & Marshall Ski Area (closed)
• Higher Education: Home of the University of Montana and the Grizzlies
• Other Famous People: Mike and Maureen Mansfield, former US Senator and US Ambassador to Japan and his wife called Missoula home for many years and the University of Montana's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Memorial Library is named after them.
• The largest animal-themed film festival in the world, The International Wildlife Film Festival is held annually in Missoula.
• Missoula and the nearby Blackfoot River are the subject of the autobiographical novel "A River Runs Through It" by Norman McLean, which was brought to the silver screen in 1992 by director Robert Redford.
• Local breweries include: Big Sky Brewing, Bayern Brewing and Kettle House Brewing.
• Underground rock legend Steve Albini is from Missoula, as is movie director David Lynch, comedian Dana Carvey, and Pearl Jam bass guitarist Jeff Ament.
• Missoula is home to the largest of the U.S. Forest Service's smokejumper bases. Free tours of the base are popular with tourists during the summer wildfire season.
• A walking bridge over the downtown railroad yards of the Montana RailLink railroad is a popular destination of railfans.
• The city is said to appear in every novel written by Chuck Palahniuk.
• Robert Jordan, the fictional main character in Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, was a Spanish professor at the University of Montana, and lived in Missoula.
• Missoula is home to an expansive indie rock community, headlined by Volumen, The Oblio Joes, and The International Playboys. Because of the number of individuals who started in Missoula who later moved to Seattle, Missoula is regarded by many as being the true birthplace of the Grunge movement.
• Missoula is also home to the Missoula Children's Theatre, an international touring program which visits just under 1000 communities per year. The Children's Theatre routinely has residencies in all 50 states, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, and many other countries.