Montana Economic Development

"There may be some other changes, but in the long run MAEDC will be in the loan business and helping business in Missoula and around the state," he said. "With the new economic development group, we see ourselves continuing in the role as a lender to startups and other kinds of business."

Expanding trade and investment and fostering Montana’s growth and prosperity, will continue long into the future, thanks to this effort by Montana Sen. Max Baucus.

"As we strengthen Montana’s small businesses by empowering them with tools needed to create more jobs, we also need to expand opportunities for the thousands of Montana women looking to start or jumpstart their own companies," Tester said. "Women business owners face some unique challenges and opportunities. And this workshop will provide resources and ideas from folks who have a strong record of creating jobs through successful small businesses."

"This is design and permitting money," said Susan LeVan-Green, biomass project manager at the Forest Service’s forest products laboratory in Madison, Wis. "They’ve done their feasibility studies, they’ve got their resources, and now they need construction details. The next stage is project financing."

Senator Encourages Qualified Montana Businesses to Take Advantage of Opportunity to Expand Business, Create Jobs

"They are going to be a large purchaser of things we do well in Montana for a long time to come."

"We are in the middle of Montana’s most iconic natural places. We’re a mix of proximity, comfort and discovery."

Montana residents lack high speed internet access at a rate more than three times the national average, affecting about 276,000 people.

Geotourism is a type of tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.

The Montana Legislature authorized $195,000 per year to fund four Food and Agricultural Development Centers to provide technical assistance to increase the capacity of Montana’s farmers, ranchers and other Montana entrepreneurs to produce food and value-added agricultural products, including farm-derived renewable energy.