‘Yellowstone’ Popularity Brings Challenges to Bozeman, Montana, Police Chief Says
The Dish on the Duttons
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Yellowstone is one of the reasons the population of Bozeman, Montana, has risen by 50 percent in the last decade, according to Bozeman Police Chief Jim Velkamp, who says the small city has struggled to handle the influx.
“Everyone seems to have this view Bozeman is changing more rapidly than they’d like,” Velkamp told DailyMail.com in a new interview, pointing out locals’ “Montana Is Full” bumper stickers.
He added: “I think overall for us, specifically with the city of Bozeman, it’s just the growth and the challenges related to growth … that is our biggest challenge.”
Velkamp remembers not finding Bozeman in a world atlas as a kid. But now, thanks in part to Yellowstone, Montana’s fourth-largest city is becoming famous. “Our city has grown so fast,” he continued. “Bozeman wasn’t literally on the map; now it’s a well-known place.”
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In addition to the Western series — a Paramount Network smash hit starring Kevin Costner, pictured above — COVID-19 and remote work have spurred Bozeman’s population boom, Velkamp said.
“I can’t blame one single factor,” the police chief added. “I certainly can’t attribute it all to the show Yellowstone, but we hear it routinely. … People say, ‘Oh Bozeman, I’ve watched Yellowstone.’ … We even hear it from candidates for the police department. They looked up Bozeman after watching the show Yellowstone and thought, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty cool place’ … and so they inquire about working here.”
Velkamp also said the number of crimes is “going up fast” in Bozeman, even though residents complain mostly about fellow drivers. “They can’t see the increased human trafficking going on in town,” he said. “A lot of them don’t see the increased fentanyl available in town. But they do see people running red lights, so that becomes their biggest issue.”
Yellowstone, Season 5 Part 2 Premiere, Sunday, November 10, 8/7c, Paramount Network
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