Montana places near the bottom in new national ranking for childhood education – “The State With the Best Education Wins!”

WalletHub recently conducted a study on early education and ranked each state using 12 key metrics. Montana ranked 45th overall.

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Meagher County, Montana Thrives Through Education and Community Investment and Red Ants Pants

A University of Montana study highlights how coordinated investments in education, civic engagement, and local relationships have transformed Meagher County into a resilient entrepreneurial hub despite rural challenges.

Missoula, Montana Chamber of Commerce

• Apply for Leadership Missoula!

  Missoula is a dynamic and energetic community. Such vitality and growth present many opportunities and
  challenges for the citizens of Missoula. Keeping our community vibrant and healthy requires insightful leaders
  who have the ability to communicate and work effectively with others. LEADERSHIP MISSOULA is
  designed to facilitate the development and growth of tomorrow’s leaders, provide opportunities to interact with
  different community members while exploring issues relevant to our community.
  Leadership Missoula is a program of the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Quarter Index 2026Q2 Numbers to Celebrate

  Our Mission

  Grow diverse economic opportunities that enhance quality of life.

  GFDA is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a 501(c)3 charitable organization. High Plains Financial is a certified Community Development Corporation that offers SBA 504 loans statewide. GFDA and High Plains Financial are Equal Opportunity Employers, Lenders and Providers.

• Montana Sees Surge of Young Adults Moving to the State for Jobs

  Young adults aged 18 to 24 are leading in-migration to Montana, driven by strong economic growth and expanding job opportunities in areas like Great Falls. This influx could reshape local labor markets, though challenges remain with many youth still disengaged from work or education.

Montana’s Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority

• Mexico is building a modern high-speed passenger train network- Montana can too!

  The Mexican government has reversed a long downward trend by pushing new passenger rail projects. Recent efforts include restoring government control and launching key lines like the Tren Maya, signaling a major shift in transport policy.

Montana Business

• I’m the CEO of ClassPass and live in Missoula, Montana. I love CrossFit and fly-fishing meetings — here’s my routine.

  I moved to Missoula about eight years ago, after we opened a ClassPass office here. My wife and I bought a home thinking it’d be a vacation home, and then we moved here full-time.

• Federal Cuts Threaten Rural Maternal Healthcare Access and Safety

  Rural mothers face higher mortality rates and hospital closures worsen care access. Federal policies raising costs and cutting Medicaid risk deepening these critical healthcare disparities. Care will be in shorter supply, travel distances will stretch farther, and high-risk situations will more likely result in tragedy.

• Montana SMART Manufacturing Roadshow – 8/26 – Helena

  WHO should Participate? Manufacturing Leads, Supervisors, Managers, and Leaders who want to discover potential applications of advanced technologies and data integration across all aspects of manufacturing operations.

• 2026 MEDA Fall Conference – Sept. 22-24 – Sidney, Montana

  Join us in Sidney, Montana, for two days of networking, collaboration, professional development, and engaging discussions focused on strengthening economic development across Montana. Connect with colleagues, community leaders, and industry partners while exploring innovative ideas, sharing best practices, and building valuable relationships.

• MEDA is currently accepting speaker proposals for the Fall 2026 Conference Sept. 22-24, Sidney, Montana!

  We’re looking for speakers who can share real-world experiences, practical strategies, and ideas that can help strengthen community and economic development across Montana.

• Montana and Wyoming SBIR Discovery Webinar – Cost Proposals & Government Accounting – 8/4 – Online

  Join us next Tuesday August 4, 2026 to gain confidence in tackling your SBIR/STTR Cost Proposal! Jim Greenwood will lead an all-day workshop hosted by Montana Technology Innovation Partnership powered by MSU TechLink Center and Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network (the Montana and Wyoming FAST teams) to demystify budgets and government accounting principles for SBIR applicants and those pursuing other federal contracts/grants. Sound boring? Never! Jim has a way of making even the driest of topics interesting and fun and you will walk away with immediate skills to apply to your own proposals. You’ll learn: ✔️ The components of…

• What’s coming out of Silicon Valley that’s making doctors nervous? Is more data about your body always good?

  Doctors are being very wary that data can sometimes cause more harm than good, and folks on the tech side saying basically, how can more data ever be bad?

• When the AI Bubble Bursts What Industry Will Be San Francisco’s Next Great Economic Engine?

  The ingredients are already here. The talent. The institutions. The innovation. The leadership. Now is the time to turn those strengths into San Francisco’s next great economic engine.

• Be very careful what you say and do at the next company retreat.

  A company retreat built around openness just cost one Netflix executive his job.

• Bogotá Transforms Housing and Transit for 34,000 Families By Putting Housing, Transit and Public Space First

  In addition to a Department of Transportation or a Department of Housing, the Colombian capital of eight million people has a Sector Habitát, or Habitat Department, that combines urban renewal, transit-oriented development, civic works, and affordable housing into community-first development that centers public transit. Nearly 4,000 housing subsidies are linked to transit stations, supporting a comprehensive urban development strategy.

• The U.S. Government is “Starving the Seed Corn” of research and development of our future.

  Last year, the Secretary of Health and Human Services cancelled half a billion dollars of mRNA research and called it savings. To understand what he actually cancelled, you need to hear about a physicist who never once thought about medicine.

• Fight Forest Fires with Heat Pumps

  Switch out your gas furnace and you save 4 to 8 tons of heat-trapping, wildfire-causing CO2 a year. Switch out your water heater and you save another one to two. Electrify your transportation and you are keeping another 5+ tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Put solar panels on your house or buy community solar and you’re ensuring that all of your electric appliances are as clean as possible.

• Montana takes next step on experimental therapies

  After more than a year of anticipation, Montana’s most closely watched longevity law has moved from legislation to implementation.

• Montana Secures $781,000 to Increase International Sales for Local Small Businesses- Attend the webinar on August 12 to learn more

  These federal grants will help small exporters in Montana increase international sales by reimbursing marketing activities.

• Global Flights Hit Record Despite Falling Passenger Demand

  On July 23, commercial aviation reached a historic peak with 153,359 flights, even as passenger demand declined earlier in the year. This contrast highlights a complex aviation landscape that Montana businesses should monitor closely for potential impacts on tourism and supply chains.

• Meagher County, Montana Thrives Through Education and Community Investment and Red Ants Pants

  A University of Montana study highlights how coordinated investments in education, civic engagement, and local relationships have transformed Meagher County into a resilient entrepreneurial hub despite rural challenges.

Montana Housing

• Montana Cuts Primary Residence Taxes but Raises Second Home Rates. She Inherited the Family Cabin. Montana Now Taxes It Like a Second Home

  Starting in 2026, Montana will lower property taxes on primary homes by 18% while increasing taxes on second homes by 68%. This change impacts heirs and seasonal residents who do not meet occupancy or rental requirements for exemptions.

Funding and Building your Montana Business

• A Stanford Business School Professor Just Gave the Best Definition of Leadership I’ve Ever Heard

  It has nothing to do with strategy, charisma, or vision. It’s about something much simpler.

Montana’s American Prairie

• Bison need better treatment from Montana

  The persecution of bison continues—nowhere more so than in Montana. Governor Greg Gianforte’s administration has opposed any expansion of wild buffalo populations and has relentlessly pressured the federal Bureau of Land Management to reverse earlier, positive bison decisions.

YOUR MONTANA CAREER

• UC Berkeley Studies Psilocybin’s Impact on Older Adults’ Brain Health

  Previous work has shown that psychedelics can reduce negative mental states like depression, anxiety, stress and rumination, and that these negative mental states may be linked with accelerated aging. This research could reshape approaches to cognitive health in aging populations.

• What does Starbucks have to do with our loneliness epidemic?

  No conversation—just caffeine.

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

• Montana places near the bottom in new national ranking for childhood education – “The State With the Best Education Wins!”

  WalletHub recently conducted a study on early education and ranked each state using 12 key metrics. Montana ranked 45th overall.

University of Montana & Montana State University Tech Transfer

• OnlyMarms – Marmots striking suggestive poses on Onlyfans to help fund researchers

  OnlyMarms,  –  “Unfiltered yellow-bellied marmot content from the Rockies”

2025 Montana Legislature and Politics

• First US Case Charges American Citizen with Phone Data Wipe Using Duress Passcode While Entering the US

  Samuel Tunick faces prosecution for allegedly erasing his phone at a border inspection using a duress passcode. This case raises important questions about digital privacy and legal rights at the border. With the number of border searches of electronic devices increasing every year, how can travelers keep their digital data safe?

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