Air Force selects site for Blaine County range

Fighter pilots will soon have a shorter distance to fly for training exercises.

The U.S. Air Force has selected a location in Blaine County to build a air-to-ground training range for pilots in the Montana Air National Guard 120th Fighting Wing, based in Great Falls.

"It's going to be a boost. We're going to benefit from it," Blaine County Commissioner Don Swenson said today.

The range, which will be a 3-by-5-mile area in the southeast corner of the county, will be a mix of Fort Belknap Indian Community land, Bureau of Land Management land and private land. Swenson said most of the jobs create...