Montana Milestone: Millionth resident coming soon

MISSOULA — Montanans like to call their state "Big Sky Country," or "The last, best place." Nowhere in these descriptions are there hints of crowds.

AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios

This photo shows downtown Kalispell,. Montana is set to reach a major milestone later this year when the state tops one million residents for the first time, according to projections by the U.S. Census.

Yet Montana is set to reach a major milestone later this year when the state tops one million residents for the first time, according to projections by the U.S. Census.

The slowest-growing state in one of the nation's fastest-growing regions, Montana will remain a vast and largely empty place. Don't expect to wait in line at fly-fishing streams. And morning commutes will still average 17 minutes, enough to make big city dwellers cry.

Even so, some Montanans are treating the advancing milestone with a sense of dread. Said Mary Craigle, Census director for the state, "They don't want more neighbors."