Our educational system is rooted in the industrial age. It values punctuality, attendance, and silence above all else.   “The bottom line is, if you’re not the one controlling your learning, you’re not going to learn as well.”

Joel Voss, neuroscientist and education researcher

How a School in Mexico is Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses….“Potential”

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top Ten for 7/26/26

  Registrations are pouring in for our September 10-11 developer tour of opportunities for new projects in Great Falls in conjunction with the Urban land Institute. This event is focused on developers interested in the Great Falls market for housing and commercial development. We will tour available sites, meet the local building and permitting staff, visit demand drivers in the market, and more! If you have a potential project that you would like represented reach out to Jake at [email protected] or 1-406-403-4937.

University of Montana College of Business

• University of Montana’s College of Business Helps Grow Northwest Montana’s Entertainment Economy to a Near $300 Million Impact

  The University of Montana’s expanded Entertainment, Events and Sports Management major is doubling enrollment and aligning workforce training with the region’s booming entertainment sector. Local venues and year-round live music are key drivers of this economic growth.

• Startup World Cup – 10/21 – University of Montana – Missoula

  Startup World Cup is a series of global startup conferences and competitions, powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures. It consists of 100+ regional startup competitions in more than 20 different countries around the world, leading up to the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley. The top startups from each regional event will fly out to the USA to compete for a $1,000,000 prize. The Grand Finale for Startup World Cup 2026 will be held on October 17 in San Francisco, California at the Hilton Union Square.

• University of Montana Launches Workshop and Coworking Space in Downtown Missoula to Boost Startups

  The VBX Entrepreneurship Workshop Series offers mentorship and practical training to local entrepreneurs. A new downtown coworking space provides a hub for startups to collaborate and grow.

Montana Business

• French railway develops automated system to reduce animal collisions.

  French rail operator SNCF is trialling the “Blue Sentinel” system featuring solar-powered light and sound beacons along a 5.5km stretch of the Rouen-Caen line in Normandy.

• How to Make Your Old John Deere an Automated Time Saver

  Sabanto Tractors retrofits old machines to make them futuristic automated devices, helping farmers overcome staffing shortages.

• Atlassian Central Sets New Height Record of 580 feet for Glued-Laminated and Cross-Laminated Timber Towers

  The 39-story building uses 10,000 cubic meters of engineered timber combined with concrete and steel to cut embodied carbon by 50 percent. Its innovative design and prefabrication methods highlight the growing trend toward sustainable high-rise construction.

• Missoula Marathon Has A Record $5.26 Million Economic Impact On The Community

  The 2026 Missoula Marathon saw a 20% rise in participants, boosting visitor spending and hotel occupancy. Local businesses thrived as the event solidified its role as a key economic driver for the city.

• JADEPUFFER — the first publicly documented ransomware operation executed end-to-end by an AI agent.

  According to Sysdig Threat Research, the AI drove the whole intrusion: reconnaissance, exploitation, lateral movement, and extortion. It fixed its own failed attacks in 31 seconds, fired off 600+ payloads, and encrypted 1,342 database records — yet it also narrated its crimes in plain English and demanded ransom to a hallucinated Bitcoin address. Fast AND flawed: an amateur hacker operating at machine speed.

• The End of Reading Is Here – Things are about to get worse, and fast.

  Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history.

• Proposed Calif. law prioritizes human customer service agents over AI

  Assembly Bill 1609, authored by Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur, would require companies that earn at least $500 million in revenue annually to make sure that people calling customer service have the option to talk with a human rather than an automated chatbot.

• Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC) – Why do we do what we do? It’s not because every challenge is easy.

  The businesses we support are just a small sample of the entrepreneurs and organizations helping shape our region every day. Their success strengthens our communities, creates opportunities for others, and reminds us why this work matters.

• What if your next customer was the U.S. government?

  Making connections. Creating opportunities. Growing Montana businesses.

• DOE Announces $10M in SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity Supporting the Genesis Mission

  American small businesses are invited to develop breakthrough technologies that advance the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission.

Visit Montana

• Why are some Canadians skipping Glacier Park this year?

  “How much is political? How much of it is cost?”

Funding and Building your Montana Business

• What are the only 3 jobs a CEO should have?

  A CEO has exactly three jobs. Everything else should be delegated.

Regional Economic Development

• Edinburgh, Scotland Imposes 5 Percent Tourist Tax on Overnight Stays

  Edinburgh’s new tax targets all overnight accommodations to fund city services like street cleaning and heritage restoration. This move aims to manage tourism’s impact on public infrastructure and could inspire similar measures elsewhere.

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

• How a School in Mexico is Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses….“Potential”

  “In 1970 the top three skills required by the Fortune 500 were the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 1999 the top three skills in demand were teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. We need schools that are developing these skills.”

• Stop Saying Kids Can’t Read

  Everyone is talking about the reading crisis. But inside the “Mississippi Miracle,” it’s all about comprehension.

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