Montana Economic Development

"The name Montana has an incredible mystique," Schweitzer told the group, adding that the state has products that can be "marketed around the world using the mystique of the Big Sky."

"Good ideas are the backbone of
good government," said Governor-Elect Schweitzer. "It is a new day, and I am
looking for good ideas from across the state."

"It’s not necessarily to change the course, but to enhance the opportunities available to people in Montana, particularly the young people who want to stay in Montana but can’t find gainful employment," Preite said in an interview today.

By building roads to new developments and letting taxpayers foot the bill for the impact on schools and other services, local governments often encourage sprawl, he said.

Helena’s losing its Wild West appeal, one local couple says. "They (visitors) don’t come to Montana to see a small, cosmopolitan town," says Melony Bruhn. "They come to Montana to see the Wild West."

"Montana Invests," a 23-page booklet intended to highlight the university system’s contribution to the state economy, shows more than half a billion dollars circulated from two main revenue streams this fiscal year.

If your company or organization has an upcoming event, simply go to the Events list on the MATR home page and click on "Add an Event" http://www.matr.net/addevents.phtml

The alliance will hold its first conference next spring in Bozeman to recruit members. Companies, university researchers, "facilitator" agencies — like Bozeman’s TechRanch business incubator and the McLaughlin Research Center in Great Falls — will be invited to participate.

The report also cited the robust health services industry, Missoula’s "college-town lifestyle" and access to nearby Bitterroot National Forest as major contributors to the area’s economic growth.

The session is the first step in a new public-private effort called Butte on the Move. It focuses on moving the local economy forward through citizen action while joining the other, larger Montana cities — called Montana on the Move — as a political force to lobby the upcoming Legislature.