Schools to be named after female Montana U.S. representative

MISSOULA – Two new elementary schools will be named after Montana native Jeannette Rankin a century after she made history as the first woman elected to Congress.

The two schools currently under construction in Kalispell and Missoula, where Rankin was born, will be the first schools in Montana to bare her name.

Rankin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916 as a progressive Republican.

Kalispell trustees decided on the name for their new school earlier this month.

Missoula trustees voted on Rankin’s name Tuesday.

Both schools are expected to open by next fall.