Steve Lozar, a board trustee for the Montana Historical Society, kicked off the Montana Heritage Center ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.

“This is a momentous day,” he told the crowd.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal member blessed the museum’s construction site back in 2020.

“Many of us old timers that have worked on this project tried to sum it up today, and the only thing I could think of was, this day, today, I’m 76-year-old, but I’m giddy.”

The historical society began planning a museum expansion 20 years ago. The $100 million project was funded with lodging tax revenue and private donations. Gov. Greg Gianforte said he called all of the state’s largest businesses seeking funds when the project ran out of money in 2021.

“Generation after generation will be able to explo

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