What would you rather be doing now if you knew you couldn’t fail? 

More than 20 cryptomines have popped up in Montana along Bakken’s edges

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top 10 for 9/27/26

  Don’t miss Jon Schallert’s FREE Destination Creation Workshop! We’re less than two weeks away from this hands-on workshop designed for businesses of all types, as well as downtown, tourism, city and county leaders.

• Don’t Miss These FREE Destination Creation Workshops! 10/6 Shelby and 10/7 Great Falls

  This FREE workshop is designed for businesses of all types, from retail, restaurants and hospitality to professional services, agriculture and other industries. It’s also a great opportunity for downtown organizations, tourism professionals, chambers, economic development partners, and city and county officials.

Montana Career Opportunities

• Montana Career Opportunity – Loan Assistant / Junior Loan Specialist – Montana Business Assistance Connection’s (MBAC)
  The Loan Assistant / Junior Loan Specialist provides day-to-day lending, loan servicing, documentation, and portfolio support necessary for the effective administration of Montana Business Assistance Connection’s (MBAC) lending programs. The position serves as a primary operational resource for borrowers and the lending team and supports consistent, responsive, and compliant lending practices across the organization. A significant component of the position is loan processing and servicing administration, including borrower intake, application and documentation collection, loan file preparation, closing coordination, loan system maintenance, payment and servicing activities, portfolio tracking, collateral documentation, compliance monitoring, and maintenance of complete and audit-ready loan records.
• Montana Career Opportunity – Operations & Finance Manager – Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC)
  The Operations & Finance Manager provides day-to-day administrative, financial, facilities, customer service, and human resource support necessary for the effective operation of Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC).  This position serves as a central operational resource for board, staff, leadership, vendors, funders, and community partners and is responsible for maintaining consistent administrative and financial workflows across the organization. A significant component of the position is daily financial administration and transaction management, including oversight of accounts payable and receivable, banking and cash activity, financial documentation, reconciliations, payroll coordination, loan-related financial transactions, fund tracking support, and preparation of information necessary for month-end
• Montana Career Opportunity – Senior Loan Officer – Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC)
  The Senior Loan Officer provides leadership and day-to-day management of lending activities necessary to advance the mission and economic development objectives of Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC). This position serves as a primary lending resource for borrowers, staff, leadership, financial institutions, funders, and community partners and is responsible for maintaining consistent, responsive, and compliant lending practices across the organization. A significant component of the position is loan origination, underwriting, and portfolio management, including borrower intake and eligibility assessment, financial and credit analysis, loan structuring, preparation of credit recommendations, coordination of loan approvals and closings, portfolio monitoring, servicing oversight, delinquency management

Montana Business

• More than 20 cryptomines have popped up in Montana along Bakken’s edges

  “We’re going to be doing that with noise-canceling headphones now.”

• Trump Is Considering More Data Centers on Public Lands Than Previously Known

  The data center proposals cover at least 17,600 acres of public lands across six Western states.

• Institutional Investors Control Billions in U.S. Farmland Sparking Widespread Protests – Farmland for Farmers Act

  Farmers and rural communities are pushing back against corporate encroachment on agricultural land, highlighting threats to family farms and rural economies. The Farmland for Farmers Act seeks to curb speculation and preserve working farms amid rising absentee ownership and land values.

• Wyoming’s Wellness Tourism Booms with Luxury and Nature Experiences Like Goat Yoga

  Wyoming’s wellness sector offers everything from $45 recovery circuits to $400 million luxury clubs, blending nature with modern health practices. This growth signals a shift in travel preferences that Montana businesses could learn from.

• Think You’re Too Old to Start a Company? The Most Successful Founders Average 45

  Older founders have three advantages that younger entrepreneurs can’t build quickly.

• Montana Department of Commerce Weekly Roundup – Volume 3, Issue 38

  The Weekly Roundup is a summary of events, news and information important to Commerce’s constituents this week. Click on any topic for more information.

Regional Economic Development

• Visiting Crazy Horse Memorial: Larger Than Mount Rushmore And Still Under Construction

  Crazy Horse Memorial, about 40 miles from the Wyoming border, is larger than Mount Rushmore and after nearly 80 years of blasting, drilling, carving and hauling untold tons of granite off a Black Hills mountainside, still isn’t finished. It’s worth a visit.

• North Dakota leads the nation in per capita qualifying corporate facility projects

  “North Dakota continues to see steady growth and attract new residents as one of the best places to live, work and raise a family,” said Governor Kelly Armstrong in January in announcing the state’s official population had grown for the fourth consecutive year and was nearing 800,000.

YOUR MONTANA CAREER

• Stop training kids for a one-job career

  Education was built for a world of specialists, lifelong jobs, and four-year degrees. This world no longer exists.

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

• Carroll College expands tuition promise (cut undergraduate tuition by 40%) to Pell-eligible students nationwide

  Carroll College will reduce undergraduate tuition from $43,260 to $26,800 and expand its Pell Promise program nationwide for Pell-eligible students. This shift aims to make college more affordable and accessible beyond Montana, reshaping recruitment and financial aid competition.

2025 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Montana County No. 57? Northeastern Missoula Residents Push to Form New County

  Communities in northeastern Missoula County are organizing to create County No. 57, aiming for a leaner government that better serves rural needs. The movement seeks to establish local jobs and improve representation while working cooperatively with current county officials.

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