Missoula has a Mayoral and City Council form of government. Missoula native John Engen was elected as Mayor in November of 2005.
Local ski areas include Montana Snowbowl and Marshall Mountain (closed). A new resort to be located near Lolo is being considered.
Missoula was founded in 1860 as the Hellgate Trading Post.
Notable Missoulians include underground rock legend Steve Albini, comedian Dana Carvey, Pearl Jam bass guitarist Jeff Ament, and filmmaker David Lynch. Actor Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) attended the University of Montana.Mike Mansfield, former US Senator and US Ambassador to Japan, and his wife Maureen called Missoula home for many years. The University of Montana's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Memorial Library is named in their honor.
Missoula's elevation is 3,210 feet above sea level and is in the Mountain Time Zone. The peak of Mount Sentinel is 5,158 feet above sea level.
Because it is located in a valley, Missoula experiences occasional fog inversions during the winter months. There have been emissions restrictions placed on various industries, and the burning of wood in woodstoves is now prohibited within the city limits.
The "Garden City" has won various arbor awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
The International Wildlife Film Festival, the largest animal-themed film festival in the world, is held annually in Missoula at the historic Wilma Theatre.
Missoula and the nearby Blackfoot River are the setting for Norman MacLean's autobiographical novel "A River Runs Through It".
Local breweries include Big Sky Brewing, Bayern Brewing and Kettle House Brewing.
Missoula is home to the largest of the U.S. Forest Service's Smokejumper bases. Free tours of the base are popular with tourists during the summer wildfire season.
A walking bridge over the downtown railroad yards of the Montana RailLink railroad is a popular destination for rail fans.
The city appears or is mentioned in every novel written by author Chuck Palahniuk, who penned the cult favorite Fight Club.
Robert Jordan, the fictional main character in Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, was a Spanish professor at the University of Montana, and lived in Missoula.
UM's Numerical Terradynamic Research Group provided the MODIS software for the $1 billion Terra environmental satellite.
Missoula Children's Theatre is an international touring program which visits nearly 1000 communities per year. The Children's Theatre routinely has residencies in all fifty states, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, and many other countries.
Missoula is the headquarters of the Northern Region of the United States Forest Service, which manages the National Forests and Grasslands in northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota. It is also the headquarters of the Lolo National Forest and the Missoula Ranger District.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has its headquarters in Missoula.
Missoula was the home town of Captain Robert McDonough, a fighter pilot in an episode of the science fiction TV show, The X-Files (episode "Dreamland"). In real life, a crater on the planet Mars is named "Missoula Crater". The crater was recently explored by the Mars Exploration Rovers.
The Washington Post wrote: "Missoula, home of the University of Montana, is the state's second-largest city, a mountain-ringed hub of collegiate culture -- and, as it turns out, an oasis in a coffee addict's desert. ... Missoula teems with proudly independent java joints, all of them at least very good, some serving locally roasted coffee." (Sept. 4, 2005)
In 1998, Missoula was one of the first cities in the country to enact a law which prohibited smoking in all public buildings. In 2005, the state of Montana enacted a law banning smoking in restaurants and all public buildings.
Missoula is the sixth-best city in the country, according to Men's Journal. The magazine's "50 Best Places to Live" rankings also kept Missoula in first place for cities with populations under 100,000. Missoula ranks in fourth place among best adventure towns.
Forbes magazine called Missoula the No. 11 small place for business and careers. (May 2003)
Named “Best Community in the West” by Sunset magazine. (1999)
Paul Teutul, Sr, owner of Orange County Choppers, wore a Missoula Harley Davidson tee-shirt in an episode of the popular television series "American Chopper", which airs weekly on the The Learning Channel (TLC).
Missoula sits on the bottom of an ancient lake bed. If the lake still existed, Missoula's tallest buildings would be 1800 feet below the surface of the water. To this day, the shorelines of Glacial Lake Missoula are still visible on the hills surrounding the city.
October 2006, the Rolling Stones performed at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on a perfect fall evening under a full moon. The "Bigger Bang" concert was the largest concert ever performed in Montana. 
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