Colstrip Centennial Celebration Underway This Week/Weekend

Centennial celebrations are already underway in the great town of Colstrip, Montana. While most Montanans think about Colstrip really taking off thanks to the coal-fired power plant in the 1970's, we look back on Colstrip's founding 100 years ago- and how Colstrip saved the railroad.

Earlier this week we caught up with Glenn Logan who is helping to promote the Colstrip Centennial events already taking place. Events coming this week will include a parade, several FREE concerts, a classic car show, a brew fest, and more. Click here for the Colstrip Centennial Facebook page with more details.

We also talked Colstrip history with Glenn, who highlighted the importance of the coal resources in the area.

Glenn Logan: The coal in our area in southeastern Montana, it was in the Corp of Discovery. It's in their journals. As William Clark came down the Yellowstone River, he's making notes, looking- he's seeing exposed coal seams, it's right there in the early 1800s.

For those who have never been to Colstrip, the Centennial Celebration is a great excuse to make the road trip. It's amazing to see how many resources this little community has. Check out their golf course. Check out their schools. The reason they have these resources is because of, you guessed it, coal.

Glenn Logan: Through the early years we have mined 440 million tons- the original mining company for the Northern Pacific Railroad. And then by the time the power plants were built starting in the mid 70s through the through the early 80s when we built all four units, we've mined 575 million tons...

By the way, check out the full audio of our conversation with Glenn Logan from Colstrip. That interview starts about halfway through the following podcast: