Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so Missoula gets the whole weekend.

Downtown ghost walks run Thursday, Friday and Saturday at $25 — and Friday had just four tickets left when we checked Tuesday. Rocky Horror plays the Wilma Friday and Saturday, with an 8 p.m. and a midnight show each night.

Saturday morning the Clark Fork River Market hosts trick-or-treating at its last outdoor market of the year, with a free fanny pack for the first 75 people at the information booth. The Fall Fest corn maze closes out its season Sunday.

We've got the Halloween-night parties, the library's kids' events, two haunts worth the drive — and what the forecast says about wearing a coat over the costume.

The way customers discover local businesses is changing. From Google searches to AI-powered recommendations, business owners face new challenges—and new opportunities.

Missoula-based GoJo Agency is helping local businesses navigate that shift with better websites, improved search visibility, Google Business Profile optimization and practical AI-powered tools.

Whether it’s helping a contractor respond to customer inquiries after hours or making a retailer easier to find online, the agency’s focus is on making modern marketing more accessible.

The goal? Help local businesses spend less time wrestling with technology and more time serving their customers.

Meet the local agency working to bring AI-powered marketing to Main Street.

Missoula is planning upgrades to River Road from west of Russell Street to Bondurant Court, and it wants neighbors’ input before the design goes further.

Early concepts include sidewalks or a shared-use path, possible bike lanes, curb and gutter, and a new water main.

The public meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Garden City Harvest, 1657 River Road. The Missoula Redevelopment Agency is paying with existing tax increment funds, so property owners in the district won’t be directly assessed.

Construction is anticipated to begin in 2027. Here’s what’s on the table, who pays, when work could start and who to contact if you can’t make the meeting.

Missoula’s Downtown SAM project, which would make Front and Main two-way and reshape Higgins Avenue, now likely starts construction in spring 2027.

The city says several federal approvals are still under review and the phasing plan and costs are being finalized. Phasing details will be shared once they’re set.

In the meantime, watch for exploratory pre-construction work downtown in the coming weeks as crews check what’s underground.

The project also covers the riverfront trail and downtown traffic signals. Here’s what it would change, how the roughly $25 million is funded, why some council members pushed back and what to expect next.

Missoula County has mailed 2026 property tax bills, and the first half is due sooner than you think.

If you don't pay through a mortgage, your first-half payment has to be postmarked by Monday, Nov. 30. The second half is due June 1, 2027, and both halves are on the one invoice.

You can pay online, in person at the courthouse annex, in the blue drop box off Woody Street or by mail — but note that cards carry a service fee and eCheck doesn't. Miss the date and it's a 2% penalty plus 10% annualized interest.

We've got the full list of payment options, how to pull up your bill and see where the money goes, and which office to call when the number looks wrong.

The former Imagine Nation Brewing building is open again — as a coffeehouse, for now.

Missoula Beverage Collective opened at 1151 W. Broadway on Oct. 21 and is pouring coffee only, on a short schedule: closed Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Beer comes later this year, the business says, once equipment is installed, inspections are done and licenses are approved. The longer plan is a brewery, café and community space — plus what it says will be the only Montana brewery focused on a diverse line of non-alcoholic beers.

We checked what's confirmed and what isn't, including why its own website still says “Coming 2026.”

A downtown room that poured drinks for nearly 20 years is serving tacos now.

Atomic Tacos, out of Kalispell, has opened in the former James Bar space at 127 W. Alder St. Hours are reported as Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

James Bar closed July 25 after nearly two decades, and its owners said then that the doors would “reopen to the next chapter.” They did, three months later — though no Missoula menu, phone number or official page has been posted yet.

Here's what's confirmed, what isn't, and the three things about the space we're still trying to find out — including what happens to the bar.

Skadi grew up on a big property full of dogs and open space. The city has been a shock.

She's a 1-year-old Alaskan Malamute, 52 pounds, at the Humane Society of Western Montana — and her listing is refreshingly honest: she's wary of strangers, struggles when left alone, and needs a single-family home with a fenced yard.

Sit quietly, bring good treats, let her come to you. Once she trusts you, the shelter says, Skadi “loses to put her head against your chest”, does zoomies and collects toys.

Here's what she needs, what the shelter requires, and how to meet her this week.

Save Our Doggy is proudly sponsored by Aragon & Partners.

Montana didn't play Saturday, and the week off came at a useful time.

The Griz are 5-3 overall, 3-2 in the Big Sky and on a two-game skid after one-score losses to Northern Arizona (49-44) and Idaho (42-35). They sit fourth in the conference.

Next is Eastern Washington, Saturday at 2 p.m. Mountain in Cheney, on Scripps Sports and ESPN+. The Eagles are 2-6 and 12th of 13 in the Big Sky.

Then it's Portland State, Idaho State on Senior Day and the 125th Brawl of the Wild in Bozeman. Here's the full run-in and what the standings mean.

Two Missoula teams are still playing, and one of them is home Friday night.

Big Sky (7-2) hosts Billings Skyview (2-7) in the Class AA first round, Friday at 7 p.m. Win and the Eagles go to Great Falls CMR next week.

Sentinel (6-3) doesn't play at all this week — the Spartans host a quarterfinal on Nov. 6 against the Helena/Gallatin winner. Hellgate's season is over at 0-9.

Big Sky's last regular-season game was a 56-7 loss to No. 2 Kalispell Glacier, the team that would wait in the semifinals. Sentinel's side of the bracket avoids the Wolfpack until then.

We've got the full bracket through the Nov. 20 championship, the final Western standings, and the one score we couldn't confirm from a published source.

A long analysis of the University of Montana's athletics budget has been circulating among Griz fans this week.

It was written by Schuyler Watt and published Oct. 25 at Bobby Ball, an independent newsletter — not a university report or an audit. Its headline claim: UM gives athletics $10.4 million against a Big Sky median of $14.6 million.

Some figures come straight from the Knight-Newhouse database and UM's NCAA filings. Others — including the widely quoted “football brings in $13 to $15 million” — are the author's own estimates, built on an assumption he flags himself.

We've separated the two, added what the university has said about athletics and the local economy, and explained what we have not yet verified ourselves.

Thanksgiving is four weeks out, and there's one setting that decides whether customers find you open or guess.

Google has a field built for holidays — special hours — and most Missoula businesses never touch it. Google's own advice is to confirm your holiday hours even when they match your normal ones, because that's what clears the “hours might differ” warning next to your listing.

This week's tip walks the five-minute path: Edit profile → Hours → Special hours, the two settings that quietly break it, and the exact dates to enter in one sitting — Thanksgiving through New Year's.

Plus what seasonal businesses should do instead, and the three things to check while you're already in there.