Congratulations to Jolene Schalper, GFDA’s Executive Vice President, on being chosen for the 2025 Athena Leadership Award! The Athena Leadership Award is given to a female community leader who has acheived the highest level of professional excellence, contributes time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and actively assists others, particularly women, in realizing their full leadership potential. Well deserved!! Thank you to the Athena leadership of the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.
1) Congratulations to Great Falls icon Norma Ashby Smith on being honored with the Governor’s Spirit of Montana award! See KRTV.
2) Jolene and Kristen hosted a prospect visit from a company evaluating expansion into the Montana market. The company was referred to GFDA by a trusted partner organization and moved from initial introduction to an on the ground site visit in less than two weeks, actively exploring locations and operational variables in North Central Montana. This rapid response reflects the strength of regional collaboration combined with GFDA’s internal agility and execution discipline. Together, these elements continue to position North Central Montana as a competitive, responsive, and investment ready destination for industrial growth. If you are a site selector, developer, or partner organization with companies exploring expansion opportunities, connect with GFDA to see how quickly opportunity can turn into action in North Central Montana. Contact Jolene at JSchalper@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-750-4481.
3) KRTV ran a great story, Updates on Restaurants and Businesses in Great Falls.
4) Great Falls Ice is back in production, and GFDA recently completed a successful site visit to the company’s new, state-of-the-art automated ice manufacturing facility. We were able to see firsthand how the ice is produced and packaged before being delivered and sold throughout the region. GFDA was pleased to provide financial support to this local business last spring, and we extend our sincere thanks to our banking partner, Erin Townsend at Bravera Bank, for her collaboration. We are excited to see the results of completed construction, permitting, and operations now fully in place. If you are considering a project that could benefit from gap funding to reach its next stage, we encourage you to explore your options with GFDA. Contact Shandi Gebhardt Jones at 1-406-590-9037 or Shandi@GrowGreatFalls.org to start the conversation.
5) Congress announced a federal investment of $788,000 for the roadway extension and future major expansion of Great Falls AgriTech Park in Cascade County. See Office of Troy Downing Press Release. This funding, secured through federal appropriations, will support expanding and paving 18th Avenue North within the active Great Falls AgriTech Park, a 422-acre BNSF certified industrial park with 8 existing businesses, full utility infrastructure, and direct rail access. It will extend the existing road to open 611 additional acres for major future expansion. This removes a key barrier to future development. Thank you Troy! If you’re looking for a site for your next project, contact Christian Leinhauser at 1-406-836-0136 or CLeinhauser@GrowGreatFalls.org.
6) We gave a presentation to the Great Falls City Commission on the Great Falls AgriTech Park. We received 10 bids on the water and sewer improvements and 3 bids on the road improvements to serve lots 7-10. The bids came in under budget!
7) We are excited to share that Carter Commons has successfully repaid its bridge loan from GFDA in full, marking an important milestone for this much-needed new 24-unit affordable senior apartment community in Great Falls. The financing provided critical support during a key stage of development as the project advanced using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. This achievement reflects the value of timely, flexible funding in helping housing projects move from planning to delivery. To learn how GFDA can help support your next community-impact project, contact Jill Kohles at 1-406-590-1056 or JKohles@GrowGreatFalls.org.
8) 34 new businesses chose Downtown Great Falls in 2025! Read the full array of downtown success in 2025 in the Downtown Development Partnership’s 2025 Results Press Release.
9) Our Great Falls Regional APEX assisted 18 businesses this week as companies across the region continued to build momentum and make strong moves in the government marketplace. From strengthening contract readiness to navigating key requirements, businesses are actively positioning themselves to compete for and win government opportunities. If you’re ready to join the momentum, grow your business through government contracting, and expand your access to government buyers, contact Mariah Liebing at Mariah@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-217-2174.
10) Malmstrom AFB leaders presented an excellent briefing to the GFDA Board and Council; see TheElectric.
11) Sara Niccum visited with producers and agricultural service providers at the Next Generation Conference in Shelby. The annual conference provides a valuable opportunity to network with individual producers while learning about trends in markets, funding, and innovative agricultural practices. A highlight from this year’s conference was the continued strength of the livestock market, drawing attention to improved genetics and elevated sell weights for cattle. A session on grain marketing advocated for the localized potential for co-ops to obtain fair pricing from merchandisers. To discuss your ideas and opportunities in Food, Ag, and Bio Processing, reach out to Sara Niccum at (406) 590-1301 or Sara@GrowGreatFalls.org.
12) Fort Benton, Great Falls, White Sulphur Springs and Glacier National Park were noted as Best Places to Visit in Montana by Travel and Leisure Magazine.
13) GFDA is responding to another request for information (RFI) as we advance an active business attraction lead seeking specific industrial facilities. The prospect is looking for existing buildings in the 50,000–80,000 square foot range with available land for future expansion and access to 480V power, making site readiness and utility capacity critical to the submission. Identifying qualifying properties now will strengthen GFDA’s response to the State and improve the region’s competitiveness as the project advances. Owners and brokers with facilities that meet these criteria are encouraged to share details promptly so they can be included in the RFI. Reach out to Christian Leinhauser, CLeinhauser@GrowGreatFalls.org or +1-406-836-0136 to provide site information.
14) The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released county-level economic data for 2024. The Cascade County economy GDP grew by 3.5% in 2024 to reach $4.4 billion, a bit better than the 3.3% growth we had in 2023. Personal Income grew in Cascade County in 2024 by 5.8%, better than 4.5% growth in 2023. Personal Income in Cascade County increased by $297 million in 2024!
15) The first two catalyst site business cases as part of our Brownfield Catalyst Redevelopment Project are under way. One is a riverfront redevelopment on one in downtown Great Falls both will make great redevelopment projects and spark more! We are looking for three other sites. Think of the West Bank Landing site before the development happened. We are seeking sites like this anywhere in Cascade County that would make great redevelopment projects. If you have a site you think might work, please reach out to Christian Nichols, CNichols@GrowGreatFalls.org.
16) The Great Falls Business Community gathered to review the draft City Growth Policy. This is our opportunity to review and edit the draft policy before it is adopted by the City Commission. Thank you to the 84 community leaders who came together to work through the draft policy’s recommendations. We highly recommend businesses review the policy. In the session this week we all paid particular attention to Chapters 5 and 8. You can review the draft plan here.
17) WestTEC is a coordinated, data driven analysis of Western electricity transmission needs. WestTEC released a first of its kind 10 year horizon report this week. The report offers a clear, actionable blueprint for advancing transmission projects by identifying solutions that can strengthen grid reliability and efficiency for decades to come. The report informs local and regional planning, drives development, and supports sustained investment in critical infrastructure. A copy of the report can be found here. To discuss energy transmission or generation opportunities in North Central Montana, contact Kristen Blue at Kristen@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-788-4989.
18) About a dozen entrepreneurs from across the state tuned in this week for our monthly Small Business Webinar. Email marketing expert Leslie Venetz shared practical, tips on how to actually make email marketing work for your business. If you couldn’t attend live, the recording of the 30-minute presentation along with Leslie’s slides will be posted soon on the Montana State University Extension past webinars page. Anyone doing email marketing check it out. Looking ahead, our next Small Business Webinar will feature Seth Lutter from the Montana Department of Commerce. Seth will walk through the C-PACE financing program and explain how it can support building upgrades and energy improvement projects for Montana businesses. Click here to register.
19) Jamie has relaunched our talent attraction website, LiveInGreatFalls.com with a full website rework, strengthening GFDA’s talent attraction efforts with a refreshed design, clearer navigation, and updated content. The rebuild modernizes how the community tells its story to prospective workers and families, while making it easier to explore lifestyle, career, and relocation resources in one place. Alongside the new site, core resources have been updated, the Hot Jobs feature is active again, and trailing partner support has been restarted to better serve relocating households. Together, these improvements position Great Falls more competitively as a place to live, work, and build a future. Learn more or share feedback at Jamie@GrowGreatFalls.org or +1-406-217-9210.
20) Annual cost of living data for 2025 was released by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The 2025 cost of living in the Great Falls MSA (Cascade County) was 96.5% of the national average, slightly lower than the Billings MSA at 97.1%. Our housing cost has climbed to 96% of the national average which is why we are working so hard to get more apartments and houses built. Thank you to Tracy who painstakingly conducts the data research we submit each quarter and to community members who help.
21) Jake was on the road working with one of our rural communities that would like to increase housing production to meet new market demands. Our more remote communities struggle to attract development in housing and are looking to create business cases for developers to consider. Ready to dig into rural housing or bring your next project to an inviting community? Reach out to Jake 1-406-403-4937 or Jake@GrowGreatFalls.org.
22) Snowy Mountain Development Corporation won a $50,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerce’s Opportunities in Rural Economies planning grant program to commission a preliminary engineering report for creation of a business incubator in Lewistown. Snowy Mountain has chosen BSpark Architecture to do the work. See Lewistown News.
23) According to the Montana Economic Outlook 2026, Montana hosted 13.3 million nonresident visitors in 2025, 4% fewer than in 2024, yet total spending still rose to roughly $5.6 billion, up from $5 billion the year before. Visitor spending shifted toward food and beverages (24%), transportation (11%), and shopping (12%), while lodging fell 11%, and spending on outfitters and guides more than doubled from $313 million to about $689 million. The report highlights the growing use of AI for trip planning, and continued interest in festivals and detour destinations beyond the national parks, signaling new opportunities for businesses that serve experiential travel, dining, and visitor-focused services.
24) Three cities in our region won Main Street Program awards from the Montana Department of Commerce. Fort Benton won $67,000 to renovate the historic Levee Trail system along the Missouri River — one of my favorite walks! Havre won $15,000 to complete a Havre Beneath the Streets sidewalk restoration project. Lewistown won $40,000 to create a downtown master plan. See HiLine Today. Congratulations all!
25) The Montana Infrastructure Coalition has started a monthly Infrastructure Hour webinar. The first Infrastructure Hour topic will be the Montana Housing Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund, featuring Dan Villa, Executive Director of the Montana Board of Investments, this Tuesday, February 10, 12:00-1:00 PM. Participate via Zoom, Meeting ID 843 1536 0399; passcode 027769.
26) Shauni is currently completing the Economic Development Finance 101 (ED101) course to strengthen her ability to support business growth and investment projects across the region. Through the program’s 22 lessons, practical exercises, and final exam, she is building core skills in economic development finance, business credit analysis, and deal structuring. As a result, she will be better equipped to support projects that lead to business expansion, job creation, and long-term investment in the community.
27) We held our annual Economic Development Ethics training. This training of the GFDA staff team was a great opportunity for our team to consider the ethics of our industry and how we can play a role in maintaining an ethical approach to our work. Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the new Xochitl Cocina restaurant in Downtown Great Falls.
28) Zac Griffin, CEO of the Great Falls Association of Realtors, was appointed to the GFDA Council. Welcome Zac!
29) If you missed our Quarterly Investor Letter that I emailed out last Sunday, here is a link to it.
30) GFDA’s work moves forward because of partners who think long term. Businesses need land, talent, and capital to grow. Workers need jobs and pathways to advance. Communities need a tax base to support services and quality of life. None of this happens in isolation. It takes investors and partners working together. Learn more about the people behind this work by watching this video. Investing in economic development means creating communities that draw people in, create opportunity, and strengthen quality of life. Learn how you can invest in the future of our region, reach out to Jenn at 1-406-781-9499 or Jenn@GrowGreatFalls.org.
Enjoy the Super Bowl!
