Montana 2011: Economic outlook gauged by new normal

OK, so you’ve always thought of Montana as a beautiful state to visit and explore but perhaps you hadn’t thought of us as a place to build a business -maybe you should look again.

***

* Up and up: Missoula airfares keep getting more pricey http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_b713136a-0b34-11e0-9ee6-001cc4c03286.html

***

* Billings economy not an illusion http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_46ed8913-601a-58b8-ad39-036786d870bd.html

***

* Mining money flows into Billings http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_a2c9575e-6613-5f75-8e58-1f81db71095d.html

***

* Bozeman turning to high-tech – Manufacturing in Bozeman may seem invisible, but it’s very much alive

"There are 22 optical companies here," said Bloomer, who has seen laser equipment manufacturers flourish in the past decade.

Bloomer works for TechRanch http://www.techranch.org , a nonprofit business incubator that specializes in helping businesses with their first steps. Bridger Photonics, a company using laser technology to identify pollution sources, is a TechRanch alum. Bone graft manufacturer Bacterin is another. He sees tremendous potential for local high-tech and manufacturing. So do economists looking for Bozeman’s climb out of a deep recession.

http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_baaa07b6-3009-5dbf-80e0-1ce3ad8c95b0.html

***

* Bacterin http://www.bacterin.com a bright spot in Belgrade

This bare-bones business could turn the economy around.

"You want to talk about accelerated medicine? This is accelerated medicine," said Jesus Hernandez, a very proud vice president of Belgrade-based Bacterin International.

http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_9f9dbb98-2563-54d2-bb9c-b602c89341cf.html

***

* Senator Baucus’ Economic summit http://baucus.senate.gov/ raises Butte’s hopes http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_a2c1772e-6afa-583f-94ca-2f59624c9fdc.html

***

* Uptown Butte attracting attention http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_3fd0de38-364d-5248-8534-b45a7adca285.html

***

Great Falls looking up http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_3984775f-455c-5038-bdf4-135bbec74692.html

***

Helena paving way for growth http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_f656c31d-9a3b-5671-bfdf-83878adda576.html

***

Kalispell stays afloat on allure http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_e6507323-74db-54dd-847b-2e71cba40e23.html

***

Missoula economy stands on many legs http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_8c115bf2-8332-54d6-8738-e40680578f70.html

***

Boeing http://www.boeing.com buying into Helena http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_af1e5770-6077-588d-8522-41514d29210d.html

***

Contractor retools business http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_31dee25d-00f8-5f1e-9e12-39196e713d69.html

***

Quality, service are first steps http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/article_2a5b2e82-f262-50be-a88d-7297ea033627.html

By Betsy Cohen, Tom Lutey, Tim Trainor, John Harrington, and Tristan Scott

Full Special Report: http://missoulian.com/special-section/montana-economy/

*********************

OK, so you’ve always thought of Montana as a beautiful state to visit and explore but perhaps you hadn’t thought of us as a place to build a business -maybe you should look again.

Invite from Gov. Schweitzer: http://www.innovatemontana.com/working-here/

Montana – You Should Be Here Building Your Business and Living Your Dream http://matr.net/article-31753.html

Montana Governor Schweitzer to Fellow Governors: ‘Arrest Me’ – "Innovate Montana" http://matr.net/article-42133.html

Working Here – Innovate Montana http://matr.net/article-41864.html

Montana economy and budget may be the "envy of the nation" http://matr.net/article-41777.html