MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Artificial Intelligence of a Thousand Faces 

  Hundreds of millions of people use it. Trillions of dollars fuel it. In 2025, the conversation around AI turned from what it could be to what it is: Large language models are now everywhere, in our schools and our homes, on therapist couches and government computers. We feed it our data, and tell it our secrets.

• As homelessness among seniors grows, Montanans have few places to turn

  Roughly one in five Montanans seeking shelter or other housing support are age 55 or older, according to state data.

• Big Ideas in Small-Town Makerspaces

  Common spaces for creative and entrepreneurial community members can serve as great idea and business incubators for rural America.

• Bringing trains back: Rail’s surprising role in a sustainable future

  The prestigious science journal Nature is also now arguing for a global rail revival – not as a nostalgic nod to the past, but as a pragmatic cornerstone of climate strategy.

• Downtown Helena grows and evolves with new businesses

  “Come down. I guess, go to the movies, walk around here. You can get some food on the corner and I’m down here too. It’s beautiful. Whoever developed this did an amazing job,” says Ostrem.

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Bear Paw Development

• RuralStrong visits with Paul Tuss, Executive Director of Bear Paw Development Corporation in Havre, Montana.

  In addition to being an economic development professional, Paul serves as a representative in the Montana legislature and brings a unique perspective on how government plays a vital role in rural economic development.

Flathead Valley Community College

• Flathead Valley Community College enrollment on the rebound since Covid-19 pandemic

  There were about 3,409 total students registered at the community college for the 2025 academic year. An academic year encompasses the fall and spring semesters, and enrollment includes full-time and part-time students registered within a degree program in addition to high school students taking Running Start classes.

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top Ten for 10-26-25

  On the Montana Business Attraction Mission we pitched the Great Falls region with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the Federation of Korean Industries, the South Korean World Class 300 business leaders, and the Keidanren Japanese business association. We participated in Montana business attraction seminars in Seoul and Tokyo co-hosted with leading business associations, participated in Korean and Japanese flour miller association luncheons, networked at special receptions with targeted company leaders, and met one-on-one with executives of targeted companies.

Prospera Business Network

• Prospera Navigator – Upcoming Events and Business Trainings

  Member Meetups and Business Tours are always free for current Prospera members to attend. Starting in 2026, non-members will be charged $20 to attend.

Montana Business

• “They Prey in the Night” – Missoula, Montana filmmaker brings local story to the big screen

  Coffey recalled her father’s adventure, saying, “I remember being about ten years old at the time, and he just went out hunting, didn’t come back until like the next afternoon. And he came back with a wild story of what had happened. And so I finally sat down and just got it all written out,” said Coffey.

Funding and Building your Business

• Accidental Billionaires: How Seven College Professors Who Didn’t Want To Make A Cent Are Now Worth Billions

  Databricks, the $100 billion-valued AI data storage and analytics company, wants to help nurture fledgling companies. On Thursday, the company said it’s launching an accelerator program for seed and pre-seed stage AI startups that use Databricks’ tools and platform.

• Return-to-office mandates are about to backfire

  Why companies demanding office returns are setting themselves up for failure.

• Why Referrals Are the Secret Weapon of Small-Business Growth

  In our new Metrics That Matter series, we kick off with a look at customer referral rate: how to measure it, how to boost it.

Regional Business News

• Tesla profits plunge nearly 40 percent in third quarter, and it gets worse

  Tesla’s bad year continues, even during a quarter where EV sales are up.

American Prairie

• Montana Governor Gianforte, Senator Daines, Senator Sheehy, Rep. Zinke, and Rep. Downey send letter to Interior targeting American Prairie – 60 Minutes American Prairie: Creating a huge new nature reserve in Montana

  “We got a feeling that the APR, when they moved in here, they were at war with our culture, I guess, our communities and our cultures,” Stockton said. “But the fact of the matter is that in terms of actual impact, say, for me, personally, I’ve got more trouble with my billionaire neighbors.”

YOUR CAREER

• How Trump’s charitable tax deduction laws may influence when you give

  Itemizers should hit fast forward and give their gifts this year, but non-itemizers may want to pause until 2026 to maximize deductions, experts said.

• Want deeper travel experiences? Start by learning these 10 words

  The most respectful thing you can do when traveling abroad.  We’re not asking everyone to be bilingual—we’re asking ourselves to make the minimum effort to integrate.

• Want AI to make you more productive? Here’s the right way to use it

  AI often gets you 90% of the way there. Here’s how to make sure the last 10% doesn’t eat up as much time as you saved.

Energy and Transportation

• Electrify America Real-Time Charger Info Now On Google Maps

  Electrify America is now porting its real-time charging station data into Google Maps, so that if you are checking Google Maps for an EV charger, you can see real-time availability.

• Risk of Atlantic Current Collapsing Much Higher Than Previously Expected

  “Scientists have warned previously that AMOC collapse must be avoided ‘at all costs’. It would shift the tropical rainfall belt on which many millions of people rely to grow their food, plunge western Europe into extreme cold winters and summer droughts, and add 50cm to already rising sea levels,” the Guardian writes.

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

• TEDx event at Montana State University set for Nov. 5

  This year’s event theme is “Forging New Paths.”

2025 Legislature and Politics

• Wave of bills pushed by Kennedy allies hits statehouses, endangering health protections

  The effort would strip away protections that have been built over a century and are integral to American lives and society.

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

• How Data Centers Actually Work

  In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we discuss the economics and environmental impacts of energy-hungry data centers and whether these facilities are sustainable in the age of AI.

• AI Shows Evidence Of Self-Preservation Behavior – “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that”

  “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that” is the iconic line spoken by the sentient HAL 9000 computer in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the scene, the computer refuses to open the pod bay doors for astronaut Dave Bowman, because it views him as a threat to the mission and knows Bowman and another astronaut planned to disconnect it.

• Google’s Quantum Computer Makes a Big Technical Leap – 13,000× faster than the world’s fastest supercomputers.

  Google’s Quantum Chip Just Broke Physics – Scientists Are Freaking Out

• Swedish Death Cleaning, but for Your Digital Life

  The art of ordering and culling your possessions before you die should extend to your documents, photos, and digital accounts.

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