Jersey Mike’s serves up subs to support Special Olympics of Montana at the West Bank Landing location on Wednesday during their Grand Opening.

1) Congratulations to the Airmen of the 12th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom AFB on winning the 2021 Omaha Trophy for best ICBM unit! See TheElectric.

2) The cost of living in Great Falls was 89.1% of the national average in 2021, according to the Cost of Living Annual report released by the Council for Community and Economic Research.  We are well below the national average – let’s work to keep it that way! To see a cost of living comparison of Great Falls to other US cities, check out our Cost of Living Calculator.

3) Networked with companies at the Future Food-Tech, World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, and Animal AgTech Innovation Summit in San Francisco. Released the defense industry findings of our strategic planning consultants to GFDA investors and partners, part of our deep-dive strategic planning effort to develop a new regional economic development strategy.

4) United Airlines will offer direct flights connecting Great Falls with Chicago this summer; see KRTV. The IND Hemp processing operation in Ft. Benton is benefiting farmers throughout the region who have been diversifying into hemp production; see Shelby Promoter. The new Jimmy John's west side location opened, Mountain Berry Bowls food truck coming to Great Falls, Vintage Nana's is opening a cafe, and more in The Electric's Business Bites.

5) Great Falls College MSU is working with partners to create a CDL Truck Driving program in Great Falls. They need full-time and part-time instructors -- download job description -- and employers to support this important workforce development effort with funds, equipment, and commitments to recruit participants and hire successful graduates. Contact Tammie Hickey at 406-771-5104 or tammie.hickey@gfcmsu.edu.

6) The Montana Department of Agriculture sent out letters to the ARPA Ag Infrastructure Grant award winners.  $7.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated to strengthen and diversify Montana's industry through targeted investments in value added agriculture projects across the state, including some excellent businesses in our region. To learn more about this grant or to view award list after April 1st, visit the Montana Department of Agriculture website. Contact Justin at Justin@GrowGreatFalls.org 1-406-590-1301 for help with starting or expanding your food, ag or bio processing company in north central Montana.

7) 22 Great Falls Public Schools high school students have qualified to compete at the National Business Professional of America competition in Dallas May 3-6, setting a record for the highest number of local students to qualify. Sponsor a Future Business Leader and perhaps your future great employee! Contact Beck Nelson at becky_nelson@gfps.k12.mt.us

8) The Cascade County Commission authorized C-Pace energy efficiency financing throughout the county; see TheElectric and Great Falls Tribune. We supported bringing this new financing tool to Montana through several legislative sessions. It offers a way to finance energy retrofits and energy efficient construction that reduces your operating costs without tying up your working capital. Contact our financing guru, Jill Kohles, for innovative ways to get what you need done financed; JKohles@GrowGreatFalls.org or 406-590-1056.

9) Construction started on the Aim High Big Sky Aquatics & Recreation Center, see KRTV. A new interstate meat shipment cooperative agreement will expand market opportunities for meat processors throughout the state, see KRTV. The Lofts @ The Station downtown apartment development was previewed by KRTV. Team Kaizen Games of Great Falls has been awarded a $27,000 grant from the Montana Film Office for development of Burst!, the first video game to be supported by a Big Sky Film Grant; see MATR.net.

10) If you’ve been Central Avenue this week, you’ve seen work has started on the former Greystone Inn which is in the process of becoming a high-end boutique hotel, The Gibson. Guy Tobacco Construction has been selected as the General Contractor for the project. We have many Downtown Tools to help make your project happen, from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) grants to Bridge/Gap financing. Let’s discuss how to make your Downtown project happen. Call Christian 406.231.8064 or CLeinhauser@GrowGreatFalls.org

11) We approved two more hazardous material assessments for potential Great Falls redevelopment projects. We can help with assessments on properties throughout Cascade County. Many building and properties contain environmental contaminants that, if not discovered and documented properly before purchase, eliminate the possibility of cleanup funding for future redevelopment. If you are looking at redeveloping a building or property, contact us to get the process started. Contact Lillian at LSunwall@GrowGreatFalls.org.

12) We worked on two new business attraction leads for the Great Falls area, a manufacturing firm and a technology company. Both have their eye on expanding in Great Falls because of potential savings in the cost of doing business and our strategic location within the state. If you are interested in expanding to Montana and the Great Falls region, please reach out to Jake Clark at Jake@GrowGreatFalls.org. If you have an available commercial or industrial lot or building, or great land sites for housing construction, please let Jake know. We highly recommend getting your property listed with a great local broker and up on LoopNet. 

13) It’s the Final Count Down! On April 4th the D-U-N-S number goes away permanently, and the SAM-generated Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) becomes the official authoritative identifier within System of Award Management (SAM) and all federal Integrated Award Environment Systems (IAE). Beginning April 1, 2022, at 8:00 PM (ET), SAM.gov will be down for maintenance to complete the transition and no later than 9:00 AM (ET) on April 4th will be back online. Get the latest news on this transition from your Great Falls PTAC by connecting with Shannon Clancy at SClancy@GrowGreatFalls.org  

14) The Great Falls chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is hosting “The Generations Unmasked,” a one hour seminar designed to help employers understand generational conflict in the workplace. For more information, please contact Marisa Jacobs at MarisaJacobs@Logan.org and RSVP by Friday, April 8th.

15) The Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) is offering a Cybersecurity Challenge to Montana manufacturers. They are also offering Lean 101 workshops in May. Sign up here to get email notice of all of MMEC's services and trainings.

16) Jersey Mike’s celebrated their grand opening Wednesday in the West Bank Landing. Great Falls is a great place to locate a new franchise because it’s such an underserved market with pent up demand. If you are interested in launching a franchise in the Great Falls region, call Jolene Schalper at 406-750-4481.

17) The US Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Montana District Office featured one of our success stories in their recent Treasure State Tuesday Spotlight. Check out how GFDA’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and the Glacier County Port Authority were able to add value to Los Tacos De Montana of Cut Bank, by clicking here.

18) Jake and Jolene are gearing up for ICSC Las Vegas 2022 (formerly RECON), a gathering of dealmakers and industry experts, who are driving innovation and evolution in the Marketplaces Industry. We are expanding our target list of businesses to approach for attraction to the Great Falls area. If you know of any national or regional brands you think would be successful in our market, please reach out to Jake Clark Jake@GrowGreatFalls.org.  

19) The US Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) notified us that Jason Nitschke has been selected as one of six national Boots to Business Instructors of the Year for 2021! Congratulations Jason!! Our Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has supported this national effort since 2013, primarily delivering the Boots to Business: An Introduction to Entrepreneurship curriculum at Malmstrom Air Force Base as part of the Transition Assistance Program.

20) The new Housing Production Task Force will kick-off on March 29 at 4:00 PM. If you would like to participate in the task force, email me at BDoney@GrowGreatFalls.org even if you can't make this meeting so I can add you to distribution list. The task force is going to brainstorm creative ways we can make more housing development happen in our market, then work to implement the best ideas.

21) The Montana International Trade & Investment Day will be held May 4th in Missoula.

22) Nominations are open for the 2022 The Fire Within – a celebration of women entrepreneurs! We are seeking nominations of female entrepreneurs from throughout the Golden Triangle for Aspire Candidates, women who have been in business under five years, and Inspire Candidates, who have been in business over five years. The awards are achieved by showing strong business acumen and a track record of business success. Nominate your candidates here.

23) A Q&A session on How & Why to Hire and Attorney For Your Business is being offered this Wednesday, March 30, 12:00 PM by Accelerate Montana's Rural Innovation Initiative.

24) Pat Woodall of Montana Credit Union has been appointed to our GFDA Board of Directors, replacing Steve King of Montana Credit Union. Thank you for your service and support Steve and welcome Pat!

25) Heidi Gibson started work as our new Resource Director. We have a new GFDA Career Opportunity for a Small Business Navigator. Download a description of our great career opportunities.

26) Employers, a statewide Job Fair will be held at the Montana State Prison on April 27. Contact Beth Schmidt, Manager of the Montana Job Service Great Falls and all-around great resource for workforce recruitment and training; beschmidt@mt.gov or 406-791-5869.

27) Our region is seeing growth like never before thanks in part to the support from our investors & public partners. Recent investments include: Pacesetter Division—Douglas Wilson & Company, P.C.. Because of their generosity & continued support, we can keep working to Grow Great Falls! If you want to join our team of investors, reach out to Investment Director Jenn Gallmeier at 406-781-9499 or Jenn@GrowGreatFalls.org.

Great to be back in Great Falls after three weeks traveling across the country. Congratulations to the Great Falls Association of Homebuilders for the Great Falls Home & Garden Show this weekend!

Brett Doney

President & CEO

Connect with me on LinkedIn to network with the Great Falls Montana region. Forward the GFDA Top 10 to friends and colleagues. You can join our distribution list HERE or text GFDA to 22828.

Subscribe to the Grow Great Falls Montana YouTube channel!

"Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new."

Bob Parsons

Here is an updated Growth Highlights for the Great Falls Montana Trade Area. Our Menu of Services and Staff Team handout. Here is our our Quarterly Investor Letter and our GFDA 2021Q4 Quarter Index. In case you missed it at Ignite, we unveiled our new Great Falls Promo Video! We are Great Falls Montana! Click here to check it out and please SHARE! 

We have new Business Development Officer and Small Business Navigator positions to boost our efforts to grow the food, ag and bio-processing industries in the Great Falls region. We are still looking for a Competitive Improvements Director to lead efforts to address key challenges in Great Falls including housing production, industrial space, logistics costs, and talent attraction. Here is a PDF of our GFDA Career Opportunities. GFDA has a year-round College Intern Program with five paid internship opportunities. Download application. Help us spread the word!

If your company needs a rail-served, BNSF-Certified, shovel-ready site with all municipal services at your door, we have lots available for immediate construction in the Great Falls AgriTech Park. Contact Jolene Schalper at 1.406.750.4481 or JSchalper@GrowGreatFalls.org

The 25-year loan effective rate (including all fees) came in at 3.925%; 20-year at 3.761%; 10-year equipment loan at 3.807%; and, 20-year refinance 3.775%; 25-year refinance 3.939%. These rates are FIXED for the life of the loan and are inclusive of all fees. If you would like to find out how to get financing for commercial real estate and equipment at potentially lower rates than you're paying for your home mortgage, please contact Jill Kohles at 406-590-1056 or JKohles@GrowGreatFalls.org.

Contact Jenn Gallmeier at 406-781-9499 or Jenn@GrowGreatFalls.org. Here is a current list of our great investors.

Sweetgrass Development is offering a free Digital Marketing Workshop on March 28 in Conrad from 8 AM - Noon and an Advanced Marketing Small Business Workshop in Shelby on March 31.

Nine new micro-courses have been launched by our partners at the new Women’s Business Center at the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab of the University of Montana. Check out the nine new offerings here or contact our newest business advisor Marguerite Thordarson at marguerite.thordarson@mso.umt.edu.

Mission West Community Development Partners, part of the Montana Food & Ag Development Center network, is offering HACCP - Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point training on April 4-5 and Better Process Control Schools (BPCS) training on April 6-7.

The Community Food & Agriculture Coalition is offering a Certified Farm Startup Program through Farm Link Montana. This is a certification program for aspiring farmers that will utilize performance based teaching methods to deliver the skills and tools needed to access farmland and start a farm business.

USDA Rural Housing Service opened the application process for 514 rural off-farm labor housing loans and 516 off-farm labor housing grants, due April 25. The Rural Housing Service has several programs designed to help build or improve community housing or essential community facilities. USDA also has the Value-Added Producer Grants round open, also due April 25. These grants help producers generate new products, create marketing opportunities, and increase incomes through value-added activities. If you are interested in additional information, reach out to Justin Loch at Justin@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-590-1301. 

Structuring Effective and Efficient Meetings is the next topic for our monthly Small Business Webinar Series presentation, produced in collaboration with the University of Montana and MSU-Extension. Marguerite Thordarson, a Women’s Business Center business advisor embedded with our team will deliver the presentation April 7 from 11:00-11:30 AM. For more information or to register, click here.

We have firmed up the dates for our first cohort of Accelerate: Your Startup. This four module intensive business course designed for pre-venture and early stage startups will run from May 6 through June 3, with a graduation pitch event tentatively scheduled for June 8. If you are (or know of) an entrepreneur in the beginning stages of launching or planning to launch and are asking foundational questions about business, this course is for you. For more information or to register, click here or contact Jason at JNitschke@GrowGreatFalls.org.

USDA is offering a virtual USDA Small Business 201 Workshop on April 13 and April 14 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM EST both days. This workshop is the second in the series of USDA’s efforts to support and showcase procurement opportunities to rural, minority, women, veteran, and other small businesses. The workshop will serve as an opportunity to network with USDA programs and contract officers, other small businesses, partners, stakeholders, and other organizations focused on supporting and growing businesses across the country. Part I on April 13 will focus on the contracting and procurement tools and resources, as well as mission area overviews.  Part II on April 14 will focus on USDA programs, contracts, and procurement opportunities. Register by April 8 or until they reach capacity.

We have migrated our pre-business workshop for early stage and pre-venture startups to a self-paced, video-facilitated, online format. Business Basics for Startups is now live and ready for beta testing. If you’d like to check out the content and provide feedback, we’d appreciate it. Click here to check out the new modules and resources. Please direct feedback to Rich at RGannon@GrowGreatFalls.org.

Montana Rapid Retraining funds are available to help more people enroll in workforce training programs and expand industry-driven accelerated workforce training courses. The Great Falls Job Service can assist with Rapid Retaining Efforts. Contact Beth Schmidt at 406-791-5869 or beschmidt@mt.gov. For business strategy/planning help to take advantage of this one-time opportunity, contact our Small Business Development Center (SBDC) regional director, Jason Nitschke at JNitschke@GrowGreatFalls.org

The Montana Downtown & Main Street annual conference will be in Billings April 6-8. The Montana Governor's Conference on Tourism and Recreation will be in Billings April 17-19

What if you could step back for a couple hours a month, discuss issues with similar size companies and work on your business growth? We invite CEOs to join PeerSpectives, a CEO roundtable system with structured, facilitate protocols. When companies reach the second stage (typically 10+ employees, $1m + in revenue) they have unique challenges and this model is designed to maximize your opportunities. Call Jason Nitschke to discuss, 750.0314. Participation is limited by size and industry. Learn more about this proven system here.

Save the date for four new trainings we’ve added to our business education calendar. Rich will deliver Website Bootcamps in Browning on April 8th and in Great Falls on May 11th. We’re also partnering with Snowy Mountain Development and the Lewistown Chamber to deliver two QuickBooks Desktop classes May 19th and May 20th. Follow the hyperlinks for more detail or contact Jason at JNitschke@GrowGreatFalls.org.

The White House published a guide to the infrastructure bill to help communities, counties and tribes figure out how to access and compete for funds. 495 ages of exciting reading, if you're into infrastructure!

Did you know that the D-U-N-S number is going away in SAM.gov permanently on April 4th? How does this effect your existing SAM profile or registering in SAM for the first time? A new Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) generated by the System for Award Management (SAM) will replace the proprietary D-U-N-S® (DUNS) number as the official identifier for entities doing business with the federal government. Get the latest updates on this transition in SAM.gov by contacting your Great Falls PTAC and connecting with Shannon Clancy at SClancy@GrowGreatFalls.org

Attention Veteran-Owned Businesses! In less than a year the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) will transfer to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). As of January 1, 2023, all functions of VA’s CVE will be handled by the SBA. To help make this a seamless transition, we encourage all self-certified SDVOSBs to complete the verification process through the VA now before the transfer becomes effective. Please start the verification process at https://vetbiz.va.gov/vip/. For more information on starting the verification process, contact Lillian Sunwall at LSunwall@GrowGreatFalls.org. 

The best resource we scan daily to stay abreast of business and community innovation is MATR.net (Montana Associated Technology Roundtables) which we are proud to help sponsor. Sign up for their free newsletter.

The Montana Department of Commerce launched an investment matchmaking website for Montana business projects. The Opportunity Exchange’s - Montana Investment Portal is a website where investors can easily view and connect to projects in the state. Click here to view listed projects. Click here to get your investment project listed on the portal. For help posting your project or property on the Montana Investment Portal, contact Kristian Richardson at 406-841-2032 or Kristian.Richardson@mt.gov.

We've released the Great Falls Childcare Demand Assessment that shows a need for additional childcare facilities to serve 580 children in Great Falls. For assistance with childcare facility business planning, contact Jason Nitschke at JNitschke@GrowGreatFalls.org.

Join the Trailing Partner Email Group specifically for employers to share resumes of trailing spouses/partners across the Great Falls region with other employers looking to hire. “Your (Live in Great Falls) website is very impressive and helpful! Great Falls looks amazing, and we love what we've seen real estate-wise, and business-wise.” This quote was from an email sent to us from a couple considering relocation to Great Falls. We will be sharing their resumes (with their permission) on the Trailing Partner Email Group.

Looking to take control of your business’s financials, increase profit, and improve your bottom line? We have had interest from businesses in scheduling a Profit Mastery course. These courses are scheduled by demand. If you are interested in taking this two-day workshop, contact Jason Nitschke at JNitschke@GrowGreatFalls.org or call (406) 750-0314.

Visit our relocation website LiveInGreatFalls.com. This website was the #1 request we got from local recruiters and HR professionals for aiding in attracting talented workers to Great Falls. The Great Falls At-A-Glance two-pager is a great complementary resource that highlights Great Falls for people unfamiliar with our community.

We have Brownfield Clean-Up money that we want to put to work! Our low interest Brownfield Loans can be used to clean up hazardous materials including but not limited to lead paint, asbestos, etc. Are you working on a project that could use some clean up? Call Lillian today to discuss eligibility 406.750.1253 or LSunwall@GrowGreatFalls.org.

Manufacturers, if you're not engaged with the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center hosted by MSU, you're missing out on powerful resources, services, and networking. MMEC clients report cost savings of $160.3 million, new investment of $328.4 million, $1.3 billion in new and retained sales, and 6,186 new and retained jobs since 2000. We're proud to host an MMEC business adviser who covers the Golden Triangle region. Contact Doug Roberts at richard.roberts4@montana.edu or (937) 489-3985.

Of our online business planning tool, LivePlan, one said: "LivePlan is Awesome!" The LivePlan tool is helping her streamline her strategy in preparation for presenting to bank partners. We offer LivePlan licenses for free to active clients. Learn more about LivePlan on our website.

All of our recorded monthly business strategy webinars are available online for viewing anytime, click them out here.

Grow diverse economic opportunities that enhance quality of life.

For more info, click to our website.