MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Montana’s first Rivian electric car dealership opens in Belgrade, spotlighting city’s growth

  Belgrade is growing — and fast. The city is seeing a surge of new businesses, from Rivian, an electric vehicle company, to new hotels, and even a mysterious new building next to Mackenzie River Pizza.

• Missoula, Montana’s Story House Partners Sets Debut Feature ‘St. George’ Amid Investment in Montana Film Industry

  The film will be shot on-location in Missoula, Mont., bringing production to the Mountain West in accordance with Story House Partners’ investment in the region’s film industry.

• Montana Department of Commerce awards $18M to southeastern counties

  This funding aims to support infrastructure improvements and community development across these counties.

• Two Rivers Partners With Montana Department of Commerce To Boost Rural Business Loans In Valley County, Montana

  The ORE LPP is a flexible, state-funded revolving loan program designed to sustain and grow rural businesses. By partnering with local lenders and economic development organizations like Two Rivers, the Montana Department of Commerce shares the risk on eligible loans, making it more attainable to finance impactful projects.

• Film Crew Highlights Glasgow, Fort Peck in Montana Tourism Campaign

  The project is part of a statewide initiative to promote travel and business in Montana, with a focus this year on highlighting the charm and appeal of rural communities. Footage gathered during the visit will be featured on VisitMT.com and used in advertising campaigns across the state, as well as nationally and internationally.

• A company is known by the company it employs and how it handles silos of information.

  Every one of your employees or anyone who interacts with them about your company is, by default, a major element of your marketing, sales, PR, recruiting, community relations, production, fulfillment and other departments.   Does everyone in your company have a business card along with a current understanding of the goals and precepts of the company?  These all help them better understand how important they are to the success of the company. If they are proud or frustrated by their jobs these feelings will be communicated to anyone they communicate with if your business comes up.  Trying to ensure that this…

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

• Dorsey – DOJ Creates New “Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch” to Enforce “Federal Policies”

  The Administration’s muscular, policy-driven enforcement efforts will now get a new branch within the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, likely forecasting more civil litigation against those organizations misaligned with “Federal policies.”

• Labor & Employment Group Briefing: Six Before ‘26: Six Policy Changes Employers with California Operations Must Make by January 2026

  This forward-looking program will cover key workplace developments in California, ranging from artificial intelligence considerations to wage and hour laws, and will provide an overview of statutory developments following the 2025 California Legislative session for legal counsel, Human Resources, and Compliance departments.

Missoula Chamber of Commerce

• Missoula, Montana’s Big Dipper Ice Cream turns 30

  Its back story is about hard work, a love of what you do, and a dedication to local community. Big Dipper Ice Cream is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Not far from downtown, the University of Montana campus and Hellgate High School, it’s been a draw for ice cream lovers for generations.

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top Ten for 10-5-25

  Congratulations to Brenteson Fire LLC on securing multiple contract awards with the U.S. Forest Service! Randy shared, “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my Great Falls Regional APEX Advisors.”

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Something Bold is Coming! Prepare for a completely different experience that puts YOU at the center of the excitement. Nov. 6 – Kalispell

  The Kalispell Chamber’s biggest night of the year is about to take a daring new turn. We’re reimagining everything you thought you knew about our Grand Event.

Montana Business

• In an art world drunk on theory and spectacle, a Montana painter Theodore Waddell insists on snow, cattle, and weather—and on the discipline of seeing.

  Waddell is blunt: “Montana has caused me to be who I am, and I love this place. I have to be where I am to paint what I paint.” And more radically: “I can’t paint anything I can’t see.”

• Fishing contributed over $1 billion to Montana’s economy in 2024

  “I do think it is very positive for sure, but it also induces a sense of responsibility,” Israel says. “Montana is not creating any more lakes, rivers, streams, or reservoirs, and so it needs to be balanced and it needs to be effectively managed.”

• Hot springs resort on Montana’s Hi-Line hits market for $10.7M

  It’s not too often that one of Montana’s few privately-owned hot springs goes up for sale, but a big one just came on the market.

Visit Montana

• Forest Service furloughs Montana recreation, trails staff as shutdown continues

  And it comes on top of mass firings, hiring freezes and pressure to retire early that had already reduced the agency’s workforce by about 30% since President Donald Trump took office in January. The administration has defended those prior moves as cost-cutting measures to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.

• As Glacier National Park Reduces Visitor Services Amid Government Shutdown, Parks Advocates Push for Full Closure

  Although most national parks remain “as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown,” visitor services in Glacier National Park will be limited or unavailable as officials await guidance and business leaders are left “flying blind”

• BobFest to Celebrate Wild Places, Wilderness Stewardship – 10/6 – Kalispell

  Don’t miss this rip-roaring good time to help us raise essential funds for hands-on stewardship in the spectacular Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex!

• Park visitors find open gates at Yellowstone on first day of government shutdown – Overfilled pit toilets can become a natural resource issue when visitors start defecating outside. 

  A park gateway community wrestles with economic and employment uncertainty as government officials offer scant information about park operations.

Funding and Building your Business

• Wyoming Siblings And Their Daylight Computer Get Huge Boost From Joe Rogan

  “One of the main benefits of the device is it has a reflective display, so you can see it outside in the sun, and a really long battery life.” The company is developing what it calls “Sol OS” — software designed for productivity with no pinging notifications and the ability to shut off social media entirely.

Regional Economic Development

• ‘Communities will not survive’: Insurance nightmares could empty small California towns

  If insurance prices continue to rise, residents may face an impossible choice: abandon their livelihoods and seek housing in more affordable areas, or go without coverage.

Regional Business News

• Rural Health Transformation Program Won’t Make Up for Federal Budget Cuts, Experts Agree

  Healthcare experts and practitioners alike worry that explicit language preventing the use of the program funds to prevent rural hospitals from closing is a death sentence to many of the facilities already struggling to stay open.

YOUR CAREER

• As more couples are seeking to protect their assets, tech startup Hello Prenup is capturing a slice of that growing market.

  The website allows couples to draft and sign a prenup in around 90 minutes without a lawyer—charging $599 per couple for its standard service and just under $2,000 if they want to add attorney representation.

• How To Make It To 100 Years Old? “Don’t Even Think About Retirement”

  Toews tried retirement, sure, at the age of 71, but she was back to work within a year. Now, at 100, the Billings woman still works full-time because she doesn’t like to stand still for even a minute.

• ‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice

  A major new study questions the common wisdom about how we should choose our careers.

• Government News & Events

  60 Minutes: Vaccine court is where Americans who suffer rare injury after vaccination can take their claims

  Founded in the 1980s, the court has, with little fanfare, paid out billions of dollars to Americans who have claimed injury after getting a vaccine. Today, with vaccine skepticism rising and given voice in the highest ranks of government, we wondered: can this singular court block out the noise, withstand the political winds, and stay true to its mission?

Energy and Transportation

• Montana pushes forward on 2026 Freight Plan

  Federal regulations require the document, which helps illustrates Montana’s economy. “It outlines general trends in goods movements and how those goods are moved at the state level,” Kuklo wrote. “It allows an opportunity to formally engage with external freight stakeholders to hear about concerns and challenges that they may face, or on the other side, what they think works well.”

• For the first time in human history, Calif.’s glaciers will soon disappear

  ‘We’re entering uncharted territory.’

• Why Fossil Fuels Are Having Such A Hard Time Competing With Renewables

  Its getting harder to find oil, gas, and coal since we already got the easy stuff.

• The Advantages of Robotic Parking Systems

  Robotic Parking Systems Inc. pioneered high-speed robotic technology, in most cases cutting the space required for parking in half, creating more room for people, green spaces and architectural design.

• Federal funding pulled for Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, St. Regis, Montana impacted

  “President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” he said. “Today’s cancellation[s] deliver on that commitment.” A job training center in St. Regis was hoping to bring jobs back to Mineral County after the area’s mill closed in 2021.

• Per capita energy-related CO2 emissions decreased in every state between 2005 and 2023

  CO2 emissions across the country primarily declined because less coal was burned in the electric power sector.

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

• How to Get Your Kids Into STE(A)M Even When Its Future Is Uncertain

  Thinking about science and technology in terms of return on investment misses the point. Here’s what kids really need to know.

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

• AI Triples Stroke Recovery Rates

  Time is crucial. Patients with strokes caused by blood clots lose 1.9 million neurons, 14 billion synapses, and 7.5 miles (12km) of brain signal-transmitting nerve fibers each minute a stroke is left untreated.

  Fortunately, speed is the AI program’s superpower. It reads the scans and produces a “profusion map” report, which shows clinicians the areas of the brain that are receiving little to no blood—in only a minute.

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