Mullan, Montana?
Courtesy photo The newly remodeled sign welcoming visitors to the city of Mullan, Mont.
MULLAN, Mont. — The Silver Valley just got a little bit smaller.
Mullan Mayor Don Kotchavar and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced Saturday morning the former Idaho city will officially be part of the state of Montana effective immediately.
“We have been looking forward to this day for a long time,” Kotchavar said in his address to the city, “ this opens up a whole new wealth of possibilities for our town!”
Kotchavar and Montana state officials have been meeting for months now, hashing out the detail of merger.
“We wanted to make sure it was a deal that both sides were happy with before we broke the news,” Kotchavar explained.
Detailed in the agreement between the city and the state, Montana will take possession of all the land 5 miles in every direction from Interstate 90 between Mullan and the former state line, ending at the city’s westernmost boundary (just shy of Milepost 67 on I-90).
Most Mullan residents were overjoyed when they heard the news, even forming a spontaneous “Montana Day” celebration in the streets.
“This is fantastic,” Mullan resident Cory Foster exclaimed during the celebration, “I can’t wait to try my luck at the slot machines!”
Foster brings up one of the many changes that Mullan will experience by becoming part of Montana.
In addition to relaxed speed limits, the ease of acquiring strong alcohol, and a unique law about transporting unattended sheep; Mullan will also inherit Montana’s relaxed statues on gambling.
Mullan Outlaw Bar & Grill owner Karla Zufelt says the change will improve business tremendously.
“I can’t wait to get the old card tables and slot machines out from the basement!”
The last time Mullan (and the Silver Valley as a whole) had gambling machines and games was 1991, before the FBI raided the area and shut them all down.
Zufelt is also excited about being able to pour harder alcohols at the Outlaw such as Everclear and moonshine, bragging that she has a “secret huckleberry recipe” that she has been wanting to serve for a long time.
In his address to the city, Kotchavar also highlighted the many economic opportunities that the change will bring to Mullan.
“Mullan will become a vacation destination,” Kotchavar explained, “tourists from all around will come to this city for the many attractions we will offer.”
In addition to being the mayor, Kotchavar is also a part-owner of the town’s only gas station; a building he vows to renovate and turn into a casino/ spa collectively called “the Mullan Madhouse.”
Despite the abrupt nature of such a major announcement and sudden land grab by a neighboring state, Idaho state legislators and politicians had very little to say about the incident when the Shoshone News-Press reached out to them for comment.
“We honestly thought Montana already owned that property,” a spokesperson from the state said, “ The State of Idaho will not be halting this transition in any way, but we will be looking into acquiring some of Montana’s land in the southern part of the state.”