In 1993, the phone company gave up constantly repainting the reflector. The effort had been costly. Now the reflector is obsolete, and Qwest plans to level it. Trouble is, the sign has become part of our local culture. Two neighborhoods have, in their joint community plan, labeled it a landmark.
Some people even claim to have moved here largely because of the sign.
A drawing of the symbol and its creators graces locally produced coffee mugs. School kids routinely capture the image in their artwork. And a recent informal survey of Missoulians, conducted by the Missoula Peace Project, showed that 65 percent of the respondents favored keeping the microwave reflector as it is. The sign is highly popular, but not universally so. Debate over it has swirled for years.