Montana Economic Development

While Missoula was mentioned at the Airport Authority meeting as the backup – other Montana cities would also be very interested, Mercer said – Hoffman said he has not given much thought to alternative locations. He did not rank Missoula as his second choice although he declined to discuss other sites.

Whitefish is now the headquarters of yet another innovative and bold company.

"Montanans have an amazing ability to come together to get a job done," the Governor added, "and I’m looking forward to seeing the collaboration and opportunities for moving our state forward that Innovate Montana will generate."

A robust economy that is growing at twice the national rate, a favorable tax climate, a highly educated work force and wages that are lower than the national average are all looked on favorably by expansion-minded companies

Tester’s 13th workshop will connect national tourism industry leaders with Montana businesses to expand economic opportunities and create jobs in the Big Sky State.

One example includes working on the physical appearance and community image of Great Falls, another objective Haynes says was successful: "Go out to Benefis and look at the quality of the buildings they’re doing, the development on West Bank, I mean there’s some real high quality development from folks who really know that what these buildings look like are really representative of the image of those business."

We are looking for speakers who will engage, enrage and empower our community leaders, legislators and area partners. We want topics that decision makers need to be made aware of and want discussions to be had that build awareness of the needs of our rural communities.

The EDA grant will be combined with city resources to finance a $1.35 million infrastructure improvement to the industrial park.

The Illinois company working to buy a portion of Blue Cross Blue Shield Montana says it must move forward with a separate business move to add 100 employees to its call center operations and is no longer considering Great Falls as a site.

In October of last year, the county port authority filed a lawsuit alleging Stinger failed to comply with a 2009 economic development agreement.