Northwestern Energy

• Northwestern Energy May Have Your Future Career Opportunity – Check Them Out.

  Is you best career opportunity here?

Montana Business

• Big Sky, Montana Breaks Ground on Major Workforce Housing Project

  The Cold Smoke development will offer 389 units exclusively for full-time Big Sky workers, aiming to reduce long commutes and improve housing stability. Funded by $55 million in resort tax bonds and a $39.7 million land purchase, the project targets occupancy by early 2028.

• Big for its britches: Montana’s Red Ants Pants turns 20

  Sarah Calhoun didn’t consider herself a feminist when she launched her women’s workwear brand 20 years ago. She was just filling a need. Before Red Ants Pants, there were no work pants built specifically to fit women well.

• The $2 trillion growth opportunity hiding in small rural communities

  With a more coordinated approach, smaller cities in the middle of the country could generate trillions of dollars in added economic output.

• This Researcher Has a Warning About Bitcoin Security: It’s Time to Plan for ‘Bunker Mode’

  As artificial intelligence makes astounding mathematical breakthroughs, what happens if it cracks Bitcoin’s digital signature system?

• Tonix Pharmaceuticals Begins Building Lyme Disease Drug Facility in Hamilton, Montana

  Tonix Pharmaceuticals has started construction on a 44-acre site in Hamilton to produce TNX 4800, a Lyme disease prophylactic. This project aims to boost the Bitterroot biotech corridor and strengthen Montana’s biotech infrastructure.

• Nearly Half of Americans Fear They May Never Be Able To Fully Retire

  A 2026 survey reveals widespread doubts about retirement security amid inflation and economic pressures. Many workers feel behind in savings and anxious about their financial future.

• A practical look at federal funding that doesn’t cost you equity. – 10/28 – Missoula

  The workshop is interactive and in person, and it sticks to the practical side: how to identify opportunities, what federal agencies are looking for, how proposals are evaluated, what goes into a competitive application and why the right collaborators matter.

• Submittable Launches Sub*stance – A corner of the internet just for grantmakers

  Sub*stance is a space for you to swap ideas with other grantmakers, get real advice, and dig deeper. It’s a place for you to find the creative spark you need, whenever you need it. Whether that be a fresh approach to a particular challenge, or an existential boost to help remember why you got into this work in the first place.

• A solution to climate change? Dressing better in Missoula, Montana

  “She is wearing a breezy white flutter top inspired by ’70s trends made from a repurposed tablecloth, paired with shorts made from a collection of denim scraps” Russell said. “A look that is casual, practical, and keeps her cool as the earth burns to the ground around us!”

• Fish and Wildlife Service Limits Endangered Species Act Protections – could allow widespread development

  The agency redefined ‘take’ to exclude habitat harm, narrowing federal protections for endangered species. This change has sparked multiple lawsuits and could impact Montana’s land use and conservation efforts.

• What Is the Daughter Effect? The Surprising Reason Male Bosses Are Hiring More Women—and Paying Them Better

  “The main takeaway is that managers’ attitudes toward women can shape women’s opportunities at work—and that those attitudes may change quite quickly.”

• Montana is one of the 10 weakest economies by real GDP growth in Q2

  Montana’s real GDP grew by an annualized rate of 0.1% in Q2 2026, down from 1.1% in Q1 2026, placing it among the 10 weakest state economies in the country according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) via the St. Louis Fed (FRED)

• California Closes “Montana” Loophole That Has Cost It $20 Million in Sales Taxes

  California’s new law targets wealthy residents using out-of-state shell companies to avoid sales taxes on luxury vehicles. This reform aims to restore fairness and fund essential services like road repairs.

Montana Housing

• HUD Unveils Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan to Modernize 50-Year-Old Code

  The elimination of the permanent chassis requirement represents a significant change to the federal manufactured housing framework. HUD officials said it could allow manufacturers and builders to explore housing designs that more closely resemble other forms of residential construction while retaining the advantages of factory production.

Visit Montana

• Glacier National Park Conservancy Wants to Raise $4.6 Million for 2027 Projects

  The Conservancy plans to fund 35 projects addressing trail maintenance, research, and emergency response amid rising visitation and staffing cuts. Their efforts aim to sustain safe and accessible wilderness experiences despite operational challenges as staffing reductions have removed nearly a quarter of the park’s workforce, while visitation continues to surge, creating pressure on resources and infrastructure.

City Club Missoula, Montana

• October News for Montana Nonprofits

  Together we are a force for good.

YOUR MONTANA CAREER

• The Phone-Based Retirement Is Here. Do your parents and old people in general have a screen-time problem?

  Adult children are worried about their parents slipping into screen addiction as they age.

• How to get a job in this ‘low-hire, low-fire’ market

  Emphasizing skills like creativity and judgment, making job applications highly targeted and customized, and not slowing down even as we approach year’s end are just a few tactics savvy jobseekers can implement in this stagnant hiring environment.

Montana Energy and Transportation

• Summer 2026 heatwaves cost France €16 billion, parliamentary report says

  As the budget debate approaches, La France Insoumise MP Eric Coquerel presents a strikingly high assessment of the consequences of the summer’s extreme temperatures, aiming to build a stronger case for increasing funds allocated to adapting the country to climate change.

• U.S. Household Water Bills Jump 62 Percent in Ten Years

  Water costs have risen faster than grocery prices and median incomes, making water unaffordable for many low-income households. The report urges federal and local action to address these rising costs and infrastructure challenges.

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

• The Jeanette Rankin Foundation – Transformation Futures Through Education
  Education can mean the difference between minimum wage and a living salary, between a life of poverty and a promising future.

• Teaching kids to code used to be a path to good jobs. AI has changed that.

  Launchpad Philly is revising its curriculum to equip youth with AI and project management skills while offering paid work opportunities. Despite these efforts, participants still face challenges securing full-time tech roles in a competitive market.

2025 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Where Every Tree Hides ‘an Enemy’: How I Watched China’s Paranoia Grow – Is America Headed There Too?

  Returning to China after decades away, a correspondent finds bullet trains, dazzling skylines — and a surveillance state more paranoid and pervasive than ever.

MATR Newsletter Supporters: