September 17, 2024 — Chinook, Montana

Chinook is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, Montana, United States.[3] The population was 1,185 at the 2020 census.[4] Points of interest are the Bear Paw Battlefield Museum located in the small town's center and the Bear Paw Battlefield, located 20 miles (32 km) south of Chinook.

The city is named for the Chinook wind, a warm wind on eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.[5] Its Gros Ventre name is ʔaasíccóóútaanʔɔ, meaning 'thinker town'. It is said to be named after Thinker, a half-Assiniboine, half-white man and general store manager whose English name was Thomas O'Hanlon. O'Hanlon founded the town in 1871.

Chinook High School experienced national notoriety when a USA today contest was held to discover the nation's oddest mascot. Chinook's mascot, the Sugarbeeter, finished third in the voting and has since been the topic of multiple articles.

Chinook has been home to the Sugarbeeters ever since the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, which had a factory in the town, helped purchase the jerseys for the boys' basketball team in 1929. Ever since the team made their debut in the jerseys, which presented a Sugarbeet logo on the front, the nickname has been fully adopted.