Wolf Point, Montana

"Wolf Point" redirects here. For other uses, see Wolf Point (disambiguation).
Wolf Point, Montana
City

Roosevelt County Courthouse in Wolf Point

Location of Wolf Point, Montana
Coordinates: 48°5′29″N 105°38′33″W / 48.09139°N 105.64250°WCoordinates: 48°5′29″N 105°38′33″W / 48.09139°N 105.64250°W
Country United States
State Montana
County Roosevelt
Incorporated (city) 1915
Government
 • Type Mayor-council
 • Mayor Dewayne Jager
Area[1]
 • City 0.88 sq mi (2.28 km2)
 • Land 0.88 sq mi (2.28 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 2,000 ft (609 m)
Population (2010)[2]
 • City 2,621
 • Estimate (2012[3]) 2,733
 • Density 2,978.4/sq mi (1,150.0/km2)
 • Urban 3,427
 • Urban density 3,909.6/sq mi (1,509.5/km2)
Time zone Mountain Standard Time (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) (UTC-6)
ZIP code 59201
Area code(s) 406
FIPS code 30-81475
GNIS feature ID 0778652
Website http://ci.wolf-point.mt.us/

Wolf Point is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, Montana, United States.[4] The population was 2,621 at the 2010 census.[5] It is the largest community on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Wolf Point is the home of the annual Wild Horse Stampede, held every year during the second weekend of July. Wolf Point's Wild Horse Stampede is the oldest rodeo in Montana, and has been called the "Grandaddy of Montana Rodeos".[6][7][8]

Geography

Topography

Wolf Point is located in north-eastern Montana at 48°5′29″N 105°38′33″W / 48.09139°N 105.64250°W (48.091303, −105.642538),[9] in the wide, shallow valley of the Missouri River, just below its confluence with Wolf Creek. Wolf Point is situated on the High Plains of eastern Montana. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.88 square miles (2.28 km2), all of it land.[1]

The city is located on the north bank of the Missouri River, the southern part occupying the ancestral floodplain of that river. The northern part occupies south facing, low-lying hills overlooking a terrace.[10] The central business district is located in the described southern portion.

Climate

Wolf Point experiences a semi-arid steppe climate (BSkw),[11] with generally cold, dry winters and hot summers. Late spring and early summer is on average the wettest period of the year. During the summer warm, humid air masses more typical of a warm summer continental climate (Dfb) may move into the area from the south or east. Summertime thunderstorms commonly occur and sometimes can be severe featuring hail and, infrequently, funnel clouds or tornados.

Cold waves may cover the area 6 to 12 times per winter, with temperatures well below 0 °F (−17.8 °C). Between cold waves there are sometimes periods of longer than 10 days of mild, but often windy weather caused by chinook winds.[12] These winds cause temperatures to rise rapidly, often giving relief in the form of mild temperatures in the coldest months of the year.

Climate data for Wolf Point
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 60
(16)		 71
(22)		 81
(27)		 95
(35)		 102
(39)		 112
(44)		 107
(42)		 109
(43)		 105
(41)		 93
(34)		 74
(23)		 60
(16)		 112
(44)
Average high °F (°C) 23.1
(−4.9)		 31.9
(−0.1)		 44.7
(7.1)		 60.6
(15.9)		 72.2
(22.3)		 81.2
(27.3)		 88.0
(31.1)		 87.4
(30.8)		 74.9
(23.8)		 61.1
(16.2)		 41.4
(5.2)		 27.7
(−2.4)		 57.85
(14.36)
Daily mean °F (°C) 11.4
(−11.4)		 19.9
(−6.7)		 32.0
(0)		 46.0
(7.8)		 57.7
(14.3)		 66.4
(19.1)		 72.2
(22.3)		 71.4
(21.9)		 58.8
(14.9)		 46.6
(8.1)		 29.4
(−1.4)		 15.9
(−8.9)		 43.98
(6.67)
Average low °F (°C) −0.4
(−18)		 7.8
(−13.4)		 19.3
(−7.1)		 31.4
(−0.3)		 43.1
(6.2)		 51.6
(10.9)		 56.4
(13.6)		 55.3
(12.9)		 42.6
(5.9)		 32.0
(0)		 17.3
(−8.2)		 4.1
(−15.5)		 30.04
(−1.08)
Record low °F (°C) −42
(−41)		 −38
(−39)		 −31
(−35)		 0
(−18)		 19
(−7)		 — 35
(2)		 34
(1)		 14
(−10)		 −10
(−23)		 −21
(−29)		 −44
(−42)		 −44
(−42)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.45
(11.4)		 0.25
(6.4)		 0.50
(12.7)		 0.79
(20.1)		 1.69
(42.9)		 2.55
(64.8)		 1.87
(47.5)		 1.21
(30.7)		 1.23
(31.2)		 0.70
(17.8)		 0.40
(10.2)		 0.34
(8.6)		 11.98
(304.3)
Source #1: NOAA (normals, 1971–2000)[13]
Source #2: The Weather Channel (Records)[14]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
19202,098—
19301,539−26.6%
19401,96027.4%
19502,55730.5%
19603,58540.2%
19703,095−13.7%
19803,074−0.7%
19902,880−6.3%
20002,663−7.5%
20102,621−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 2,621 people, 952 households, and 635 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,978.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,150.0/km2). There were 1,080 housing units at an average density of 1,227.3 per square mile (473.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 42.5% White, 0.2% African American, 50.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, and 5.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.

There were 952 households of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.25.

The median age in the city was 33.7 years. 29.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 12.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 2,663 people, 981 households, and 685 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,024.8 people per square mile (1,168.4/km²). There were 1,091 housing units at an average density of 1,239.2 per square mile (478.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.73% White, 0.04% African American, 40.52% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.

There were 981 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,962, and the median income for a family was $33,681. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,605. About 17.0% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city of Wolf Point has a mayor-council form of government with a city council consisting of eight elected council members—two members from each of four wards. The mayor is elected at-large for a four-year term. The city council determines the policy direction and administers the daily affairs of city government. The mayor appoints, with advice and consent of the council, the city attorney, the hybrid position of city clerk-treasurer, and the police chief. The position of city judge is shared with the Justice of the Peace of Roosevelt County.[16]

Mayors

Mathew Golik (November 4, 1948 – March 1, 2008) was the mayor between 1999 and 2008. He was appointed mayor in 1999 when the mayor at the time resigned. Golik was elected mayor in his own right in 2001 and re-elected in 2005; he held the post until his death. On March 1 his three-wheeler went through the ice on Fort Peck Lake where he had been ice fishing and he drowned.[17][18]

The current mayor, DeWayne W. Jager, assumed the duties of the mayor's office following Golik's death as the then city council president and was appointed to the post on March 17, 2008.[19][20] Mayor Jager was elected to the position in the November 2009 general election.[21]

Education

K-12

The Wolf Point Public Schools, District No. 45/45A operates an elementary, a middle, and a junior/senior high school with a total student enrollment of more than 860 students.[22] Nearby, Frontier Elementary School, District No. 3, serves some rural areas of Roosevelt County and northern McCone County in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and had an enrollment of more than 100 in the 2010 - 2011 school year.[22]

College

Fort Peck Community College expanded to Wolf Point. The new brick facility is located one block south of the center of Main Street. FPCC is a tribal community college that offers affordable Applied Science Programs, Associate Degree Programs, Transfer Programs, and GEDs. In 2009, FPCC initiated men's and women's collegiate basketball teams.[23]

Culture

Street in Wolf Point, 1941. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott.

Media

Wolf Point is served by two weekly newspapers, the Wolf Point Herald-News, and the Poplar, Montana, based Fort Peck Journal. A third paper funded by Fort Peck tribal government, the Wotanin Wowapi, ceased publication on January 28, 2008.[24]

Locally owned radio stations are KVCK (AM) 1450 and KVCK-FM 92.7.

Wolf Point and Roosevelt County are part of the Minot-Bismark-Dickinson local television media market (DMA).[25] Broadcast television can be received, either directly or via translator, from KWSE 4 (PBS), KUMV 8 (NBC), and KXMD 11 (CBS) all based in Williston, North Dakota; and KFBB 5 (ABC/FOX) based in Great Falls, Montana.

Attractions and recreation

Park in Wolf Point

The Wolf Point Area Museum provides a glimpse into local history. Open seasonally from May to September, the museum is located in a renovated farm implement sales building on U.S. Highway 2 which allows for extensive display of the museum's collections. The Wolf Point Area Historical Society purchased the Hansen Implement building in July, 2007, and after a fund raising campaign opened in the new location in June, 2010.[26][27]

The historic Lewis and Clark Bridge (Wolf Point Bridge) crosses the Missouri River six miles southeast of the city on Montana Highway 13. The adjacent 40-acre (16 ha) Lewis and Clark Fishing Access Site also known as Bridge Park provides access to fishing, boating, rafting, wildlife viewing, and picnicking on the Missouri River.[28] The boat access ramp, damaged during the 2011 Missouri River floods, was replaced during the summer of 2012.[29]

Notable people

References in literature

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air

Scheduled air service at Wolf Point's L. M. Clayton Airport is provided by Cape Air, the designated United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Essential Air Service (EAS) operator, with direct daily flights to Billings and Glasgow, Montana.[39][40] The Essential Air Service contract had formerly been held by now-defunct Big Sky Airlines and Great Lakes Airlines.[41]

Highways

U.S. Route 2, a major east-west route in the northern tier of states connects Wolf Point with other Hi-Line communities from Washington state to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Montana Highway 25 provides a connection to Montana Highway 13 six miles east of the city. Montana Highway 13 extends from the Port of Scobey on the Canada-United States border in the north to Circle, Montana in the south.

Rail

Wolf Point is located on the Hi-Line of the BNSF Railway and has developed as a major shipment point for grain to West Coast and Great Lakes ports. Wolf Point is served daily westbound and eastbound by Amtrak's Empire Builder, and is the first station stop west of Williston, North Dakota.

Medical facilities

Trinity Hospital offers inpatient care, and emergency care in addition to a wide range of other services, and is operated by Northeast Montana Health Services (NEMHS). NEMHS also operates the Faith Lutheran Home, a 60 bed skilled nursing facility; and the Listerud Rural Health Clinic in Wolf Point.[42] The Chief Redstone Clinic is a facility operated by the Indian Health Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It supports a wide range of health needs for the Native American population in the Wolf Point area on an outpatient basis.[43]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  3. ↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Wolf Point "Wild Horse" Stampede". Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Old West Adventure Calendar". Winnipeg Free Press. April 5, 1986. p. 190. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  8. ↑ McCoy, Michael (2007). Montana Off The Beaten Path (7th ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780762744237. OCLC 145747595.
  9. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  10. ↑ "Public Facilities – City of Wolf Point, Montana". City of Wolf Point. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
  11. ↑ "World Climates after Köppen-Geiger" (JPG). Retrieved August 26, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Climate of Montana". National Climatic Data Center (Western Region), National Weather Service. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Climatography of the United States NO.81" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Monthly Averages for Wolf Point, MT". The Weather Channel. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  16. ↑ "City Government – City of Wolf Point". City of Wolf Point. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
  17. ↑ Wolf Point mayor dies after driving ATV into open water Montana's News Station, March 3, 2008. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  18. ↑ Wolf Point Mayor Dies When ATV Goes Through Ice Beacon, March 3, 2008. Retrieved on March 5, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Elected Officials – City of Wolf Point". City of Wolf Point. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Special Meeting of the Wolf Point City Counsel - Meeting Minutes" (PDF). City of Wolf Point. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Election Results". Billings Gazette. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Directory of Montana Schools, 2011-2012" (PDF). Montana Office of Public Instruction. October 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  23. ↑ "About FPCC". Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  24. ↑ Abourezk, Kevin (February 7, 2008). "Tribes shut down long-lived paper". Billings Gazette. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Nielsen Media Research Local Market Universe Estimates (2006–2007 DMA Rankings)". Nielsen Media Research. September 23, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  26. ↑ "Tax Bill Looms Over Museum Opening". Wolf Point Herald-News. April 21, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Wolf Point Area Historical Society". Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  28. ↑ "Lewis and Clark Fishing Access Site on the Missouri River". Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Lewis And Clark Fishing Access Site Boat Ramp Undergoing Repairs". Wolf Point Herald-News. July 25, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  30. ↑ ProRodeo Hall of Fame welcomes six new inductees
  31. ↑ "John Lowenstein". Retrosheet.org. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Kameron Mickolio". Retrosheet.org. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  33. ↑ "選手プロフィール 57　K. ミコライオ" [Player Profile, No. 57 - K. Mickolio] (in Japanese). Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Montie Montana, Contract Personnel, Inducted 1994". ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Biography for Montie Montana". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  36. ↑ Chaney, Rob (1999). "The 100 Most Influential Montanans of the Century". Missoulian. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  37. ↑ William, Least Heat Moon (1999). Blue Highways: A Journey Into America. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-35329-9.
  38. ↑ "Red Wolf (William Talltrees) - Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios". Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  39. ↑ . Silver Airways = Time table for Wolf Point (OLF) http://www.capeair.com = Time table for Wolf Point (OLF). Retrieved September 3, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ↑ "Montana route map". Silver Airways. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  41. ↑ "Airlines Says Montana Routes Won’t Change, Planes Larger; Gulfstream Renamed Silver Airways". Wolf Point Herald-News (Montana). December 22, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  42. ↑ "Northwest Montana Health Services". NEMHS. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  43. ↑ "Fort Peck Service Unit". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service. Archived from the original on September 26, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2007.

Further reading

External links

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