By Martin Kidston, Missoula Current; August 9, 2020
Late last year, Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier sat in a coffee shop with a view of the downtown rail yard to contemplate the task he had before him.
It would involve uniting more than a dozen Montana counties behind a common vision to restore passenger rail service along the North Coast Hiawatha route vacated by Amtrack more than 40 years ago. It would also require support from the state’s congressional delegation and a review of state laws guiding the creation of an authority that doesn’t exist.