MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Want to get smarter? Here are 20+ research-backed tips

  Neuroscientists have studied ways to learn more quickly and retain what you learn. Meanwhile, Yale researcher and Fast Company contributor Zorana Ivcevic Pringle explains knowing how to harness your emotions can fuel creativity.

• Butte Local Development Corporation is helping spread the word about the activities of the Local Government Study Commission.

  The Local Government Study Commission is hosting open houses, and they want to hear from Butte-Silver Bow residents!

• Helena event lets voters “Speed Date” mayoral, city commission candidates

  The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of the Helena Area co-hosted “Speed Date Your Candidates.” All but two of the candidates running for city offices this year were able to take part.

Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority

• Build Northwest Economic Forum in conjunction with the fourth annual Pacific Northwest Rail Summit. 10/14-17 – Portland, Oregon

   This unique gathering is an opportunity to highlight the role of multi-jurisdictional strategy and cooperation in developing and expanding our regional transportation infrastructure network.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

• Dorsey Energy Law: Month in Review – July 2025

  Welcome to Dorsey’s Energy Law: Month in Review. We provide this update to our clients to identify significant developments in the previous month. Please reach out to any of the authors, listed above, to discuss these issues.

Montana Photonics & Quantum Alliance

• QCORE Launch Week including Co-Hosting MPQA Social!

  Join QCORE & MPQA for the Launch Social at EngineWorks

  Please join us Wednesday, August 20th 5 -7 pm

Great Falls Development Alliance

• Weissman Hood Institute interns present research in Great Falls, Montana

  “We’re interested in studying Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, ALS, schizophrenia,” a researcher said.

• ‘Great Walls’ is returning to Great Falls

  Now in its seventh year, the mural program has brought artists from around globe to Great Falls. This year’s lineup includes a mix of national, international, and Montana-based artists, all contributing to the art gallery hidden in the city’s alleyways.

• GFDA Top Ten for 8-10-25

  Our Great Falls Regional APEX is excited to be hosting the Montana APEX GovMatch event this week on August 13th.

Montana Business

• Free Press Fest – 9/16-18 – Montana State University Bozeman

  This year the festival will take place at Montana State University in Bozeman, September 16–18, and looks to tackle conversations on public vs. private land conservation, shifting media landscapes and the intersection of tech and politics.

Regional Economic Development

• Wyoming’s Emerging Nuclear Hubs Don’t Qualify For ‘Nuclear Communities’ Tax Break

  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a tax credit for “nuclear communities” with significant nuclear-related employment. But, this doesn’t include Wyoming nuclear hubs like Kemmerer and Gillette because the act says the credit is for urban areas.

American Prairie

• Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom – Returning Bison to the Great Plains – The American Prairie Foundation

  “Bison are maybe the most important species in this ecosystem in terms of being an ecosystem engineer,” said Dr. Daniel Kinka, director of rewilding at the American Prairie Foundation. “And even though there are a lot of bison in this country, they’re all behind fences. They take up a very, very small fragment of their historic range and this is a significant loss.”

Tell Us Something

• Tell Us Something presents live storytelling on the theme “Walk on the Wild Side” – 10/7 – Missoula

  Eight storytellers will share their true personal stories without notes on the theme: “Walk on the Wild Side”

• TED – 5 ways to connect with people

  This 11-episode course will teach you how to identify, develop, and share your best ideas, while mastering essential communication skills along the way.

Energy and Transportation

• Got ‘range anxiety’? Trump halts massive EV charger project

  “Electric and hybrid vehicles are no longer the technology of the future. They’re here now, and this technology is only becoming more important to our families and businesses.”

• EPA Planning To Rescind $7 Billion In Federal Solar Grants, Including $30M For Wyoming

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is drafting termination letters that would claw back $7 billion in Solar for All funding nationwide, including about $30 million designated for Wyoming.

• In US Autonomous Robotaxi Wars, It’s Zoox 1, Tesla 0

  In June, Zoox opened a robotaxi production facility in California that will be capable of manufacturing up to 10,000 purpose-built robotaxis a year. CNBC reports that Las Vegas may be the first city to see Zoox robotaxis on its streets, perhaps before the end of this year.

• Rural Roads: Exploring the Frontier of EV Adoption

  And they drive a wide variety of EVs—Tesla Model Y, Chevy Bolt, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian, the list goes on. What they share is a love of their EVs—especially the cost savings. Collectively, they’re saving over $38,000 per year in fuel costs.

21st Century Education Initiative – “You Should Care…”

• University of Montana research center convenes first meeting of local health care leaders

  Any entity interested in participating in a statewide Practice-Based Research Network — a collaborative community of clinicians, researchers and public health practitioners who work together on specific research — can connect with Ward to join the growing research partnership.

• Montana State key player on $7 million contract for cybersecurity research

  Funded by DARPA’s Intelligent Generation of Tools for Security, or INGOTS, program, Revelle said the award boosts MSU’s reputation and opens doors for students to be on the cutting edge of new research.

2025 Legislature and Politics

• The government is literally telling firefighters “help is not on the way”

  the Forest Service and National Park Service continue to face mass layoffs and resignations during their busiest season. According to a Forest Service employee, the agency lost 4,800 people, including at least 1,800 red-carded employees who would be able to respond to wildfires.

VR/AR, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Artificial Intelligence and The Internet of Things

• OpenAI unveils Chat GPT-5 model with ‘Ph.D level intelligence’

  “GPT-5 can write an entire computer program from scratch,” he said. “This is an incredible super power on demand that would’ve been unimaginable in any previous time in history.”

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