Check out the progress being made on The Station Districtmixed-use riverfront development in downtown Great Falls!

GFDA's Top 10

Here is our Top 17 for this week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy -- Montana's Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success.

1) Cost of Living in the Great Falls metro in 2022 was 87.4% of the national average, according to C2ER (Council for Community and Economic Research). Compare our local rate to San Francisco 178.6%, Los Angeles 150.6%, Seattle 149.9%, Portland, OR 124.3%, Bozeman 122.1%, Denver 110.5%, Salt Lake City 108.3%, Boise 107.7%, Spokane's 103.1%, or Bismarck 100.3%. Use our Cost of Living Calculator when recruiting new employees from out of town. We recently used this tool to help a business considering Great Falls see how much further their employees' salaries could go in our market versus another. If you could use this type of information to inform your next business decision, reach out to Jake Clark at Jake@GrowGreatFalls.org.

2) We approved a free Brownfields Phase I Assessment for Robyn's Nest Daycare. They are looking to expand their daycare facility to make more spaces available for families on the waiting list and hire additional employees. For more information on how we can help with moving your project forward, contact Lillian Sunwall at LSunwall@GrowGreatFalls.org or (406) 750-1253.

3) Montana Specialty Mills is expanding operations at their manufacturing facility in the Great Falls Agri-Tech Park. Montana Specialty Mills processes agricultural commodities including Non-GMO and Organic Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Linseed Oil, Meal, among others. Learn more in our Announcement of the Week.

4) Published the GFDA Quarter Index 2022Q4.

5) Once again Montana was ranked the #1 state for starting a business. KRTV featured a successful Great Falls startup Life in Bloom this week. Are you ready to take your business idea to the next level with free help from a business advisor? Contact Rich Gannon at RGannon@GrowGreatFalls.org.

6) DOD and SBA have teamed up to strengthen and expand small business development across the country. Our Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which helps entrepreneurs and businesses across the region to become more competitive in winning government contracts, will be upgraded to an APEX Accelerator. APEX Accelerators will serve as the axis for existing and new business to strengthen the defense industrial base by accelerating innovation, fostering ingenuity, and establishing resilient and diverse supply chains. We're proud that the Great Falls region is the national defense base of Montana and are excited and eager to roll out new services to help area businesses become more competitive and expand contracting with all federal agencies, as well as local and state agencies. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, contact Shannon Clancy for free assistance with government contracting, SClancy@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-590-1184.

7) Want a loan product that is under the prime interest rate? How about locking in that low rate? For business purchases, real estate, and some equipment needs the SBA 504 may be the best option. We partner with your banker to make the deal work for you. If you or your organization would like more information on our loan programs, please reach out to Tony Peres at 406-750-2099 or Tony@GrowGreatFalls.org.

8) Four new businesses opened in Downtown Great Falls in 2022Q4. Volunteers donated 8,278 hours during the quarter to downtown organizations. Building permits for downtown permits totaled $393,761 during the quarter, bringing the 2022 total to a record $13,134,399.

9) Are you looking for another way to market your value-added product, created and produced in Montana? Then maybe you should consider the Made in Montana program which helps market products that are authentically Montana both in and out of Montana. Contact Justin at 406-590-1301 to learn more or see how he can help you.

10) The historic Grand Union Hotel plans to renovate and expand in time for the summer season. The hotel has purchased the Banque Club building as part of its expansion; see KRTV.

11) Lillian presented to the Great Falls Association of Realtors to share the opportunities afforded by our Brownfield redevelopment tools. She highlighted how these tools work to address potentially contaminated sites and shared successes in Great Falls that have helped lead to redeveloping properties, as well as future redevelopments in the works.

12) The 2023 Montana Manufacturing & International Trade Day will be held March 16th in Helena. A Startup Bootcamp for Life Science Entrepreneurs will be offered on March 6th at MSU Bozeman.

13) Are you in the planning and development phase of expanding your agricultural product? Or adding value to Montana agriculture by expanding your product into new markets? Montana's GTA Business Acceleration Program (BAP) and Market Development Program (MDP) grants could help! Funds are available; click here for more information or contact Katesha at Katesha@GrowGreatFalls.org.

14) The Montana World Trade Center and Bureau of Business and Economic Research are collecting economic data relating to international trade and investment in Montana. If your firm has been involved in exporting, importing, or foreign direct investment, would you consider taking a few minutes to respond to the survey? Your experience and perspective are essential in helping to glean a more complete understanding of Montana's international trade portfolio and the economic impact of firms like yours engaged in international trade. Click here to take the survey, due February 25th.

15) Jolene and I were speakers at the International Economic Development Council's (IEDC) annual Leadership Summit in Tucson. We learned from colleagues and speakers, and networked with some key site selection consultants. IEDC's Economic Development Research Partners (of which GFDA is a proud member) released a new report on "Growing Your Workforce: Strategies to Raise Local Labor Force Participation." This report follows the recent "Effective Economic Development Roles in Workforce Partnerships." As the only IEDC research partner in Montana, we advocated for these topics which we think are particularly important to the Great Falls region.

16) GFDA is governed by a large and diverse Board of Directors. The board is made up of Investor Members and representatives of public and private partners. We are pleased to welcome our newest board member, Toby Malsam, Owner/President of Culligan Water Conditioning. Toby has been a key member of our community for years and we are looking forward to having his expertise & insights on our board. Welcome to the team Toby!

17) Investing in economic development is crucial for positive growth & sustainability of our local economy. Because of the support from our INVESTORS and public partners, we can keep working toward our mission of bringing more high wage opportunities to our region. Recent investments include: Executive Division-KYSO Corporation; Community Division: Liberty Electric; First Liberty Federal Credit Union. With help from them and our other supporters, we are achieving wonderful things in the community. Learn more about our team of investors HERE, and contact Investment Director Jenn Gallmeier at 406-781-9499 or Jenn@GrowGreatFalls.org to join the team that is growing Great Falls!

Make it a prosperous week!

Brett

Brett Doney

President & CEO