Industry Forecasts and Charts for Northcentral Montana

OUTLOOK 2015 INDUSTRY FORECASTS AND CHARTS FOR NORTHCENTRAL MONTANA

CONSTRUCTION REBOUND: Boom for commercial construction in Great Falls expected to continue AIRPORT: Record passenger trafﬁ c trend may halt in 2015 with departure of Frontier Airlines HEALTH CARE: Changes coming for hospitals in northcentral Montana VOLATILE GAS PRICES: Impact on economy will be mixed PAGE 2 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

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TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER The U.S. flag in Overlook Park drapes the Great Falls landscape.

COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION Brisk building pace expected to continue in 2015...... Page 4 GREAT FALLS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Low passenger fares expected to remain stable...... Page 6 HIGHER EDUCATION Private industry investing in specific job-training programs...... Page 8 HEATH CARE Hospitals bracing for change...... Page 10 MILITARY Missions in flux...... Page 12 WORK FORCE Central Montana experiencing labor shortage...... Page 14 MANUFACTURING Great Falls Development Authority focuses on recruiting and expanding primary sector business...... Page 18 AGRICULTURE Industry leaders working to expand Asian markets...... Page 20 RURAL ENTREPRENEURS Former Valier bank now women’s boutique...... Page 24 RURAL ENTREPRENEURS Sunburst quilt shop bursting at the seams...... Page 25 FUEL PRICES Low oil prices have mixed impact on business...... Page 26 INDUSTRY LISTS Great Falls accounting firms...... Page 27 Great Falls attorneys...... Page 28 Great Falls ad/graphics firms ...... Page 27 Great Falls architectural firms ...... Page 27 Great Falls banks ...... Page 30 Great Falls credit unions ...... Page 30 Great Falls engineering firms...... Page 30 Great Falls lodging facilities...... Page 31 Great Falls printers...... Page 29 Great Falls real estate agencies ...... Page 32 Great Falls top employers ...... Page 29 Business resource guide ...... Page 33-34

SECTION STAFF Section editor...... Jo Dee Black Reporters.David Murray, Kristen Inbody, Kristen Cates, Jenn Rowell, Erin Madison, Peter Johnson and Briana Wipf Photographers ...... Larry Beckner and Rion Sanders MT-0000347063 PAGE 4 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION

TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER Mersady Foster is a server at the new $1.3 million Buffalo Wild Wings at 117 Northwest Bypass, which was among the commercial construction projects completed in Great Falls in 2014. ON THE RISE New development continues, more apartments planned this year

By Jenn Rowell | Tribune Staff Writer Several major projects are also in the works for 2015 but haven’t request- ed building permits for part or all of the construction. ommercial development was slow in 2013, but 2014 was “a great year,” “I think this year is going to be as big,” Raymond said. “This year, resi- said Craig Raymond, Great Falls City Planning Director. dential should be better than last year too.” C Permits for new construction, additions, remodels and multi-family Some of the new projects currently in the works are the Rocky Mountain apartments totaled $53.6 million in 2014, which includes about $35 million in Building renovation, the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center and it’s pos- new commercial construction. That’s up from $12.8 million in 2013 and $25.2 sible construction could start on the east end retail center on 10th Avenue million in 2012. South by the end of 2015. Those projects include Talus Apartments, which is being constructed in With all the commercial development going on, Raymond said people will phases; the ADF paint shop; tenant remodels at the Holiday Village Mall; a need housing and that will continue to drive apartment development and new Easter Seals-Goodwill store; the Great Falls Clinic hospital; Skyline other housing options. Apartments; among others. According to the Great Falls Development Authority, there has been a OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 5

TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER Renovation of the Rocky Mountain Building on Central Avenue, which was damaged TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER by a fire in 2009, is among the commercial construction projects anticipated to take Construction continues on the 216-unit Talus Apartment complex, scheduled to be place in Great Falls this year. completed in 2015 south of Benefis Health System.

TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER The Celtic Cowboy opened in the remodeled Arvon Block, in the 100-block of 1st Ave. The Great Falls Clinic is building a state-of-the-art, 19-bed hospital adjacent to the S., in 2014. A hotel will open this year. Specialty Center.

19.7 percent increase in Great Falls metro area manufacturing jobs over the TOP 10 LOCAL COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS last two years. That’s significantly more than the 1.8 percent national increase. Here are the major commercial projects in Great Falls for which building permits were GFDA also said that 432 new apartments are under construction or an- obtained in 2014. The dollar amount listed is the city’s valuation of expected building nounced in Great Falls, as of the fourth quarter of 2014. costs, but does not include land acquisitions or internal furnishings and equipment. Some of the apartment projects expected to begin leasing in 2015 or continue construction are: » Talus Apartments, 26th Street South, $19.94 million (over seven permits). » Talus Apartments, a 216-apartment complex by the Missoula-based » Voyager Apartments, 1630 Division Road, $4,635,000. Farran Group, in southeastern Great Falls. » Great Falls Clinic, 3010 15th Avenue South, $4,000,000. » Skyline Apartments, a 24-unit project by Damon Carroll, a Great Falls developer, near the intersection of 36th Avenue Northeast and Bootlegger » ADF Paint Shop, 1914 Great Bear Avenue, $3,949,502. Trail. » I-State Trucking, 3615 Ulm North Frontage Road, $2,598,136 Voyager Apartments, a 38-unit development for low-income seniors by » » City View Apartments, 36th Avenue Northeast, $1.4 million (over three permits). Accessible Space, Inc. on Division Street near the Albertsons. Pacific Steel and Recycling and Montana Specialty Mills are expected to » Buffalo Wild Wings, 117 Northwest Bypass, $1,300,000. break ground on new facilities in the Great Falls AgriTech Park, according » Skyline Apartments, 1424 36th Avenue Northeast, $1,209,732 to GFDA. » Arvon Hotel, 118 1st Avenue South, $1,000,000. During the third quarter for 2014, there were 31 downtown property ren- ovations and the Hotel Avron is expected to open in 2015 and Bennett Motors » Benefis Health System Senior Care Center remodel, 1101 26th Street South, is constructing new facilities downtown. $893,000. PAGE 6 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

GREAT FALLS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER Great Falls International Airport airport officials plan to market good deals, including the Alaska Air flight to Seattle. LOW FARES EXPECTED Frontier leaves void, but fares expected to stay stable

By Peter Johnson ver it had offered for three sum- air passengers since 2011. route, with a spokesman saying, Tribune Staff Writer mers. But over the last past four “Unfortunately service to Great Frontier’s market share was years, Frontier first changed how Falls is no longer compatible with assenger boardings at Great fairly small, making up about 4,000 it served its routes and then, after our existing network.” Falls International Airport of those 193,000 airline passneger being sold, changed its business Faulkner does not expect the Preached record levels in 2014 boardings last year. model, Faulkner said. other airlines to raise their fares for the third time in four years, But both Faulkner and Great It flew 50- and 99-passenger re- with low-cost Frontier leaving the with more than 193,000 passen- Falls Area Chamber of Commerce gional jets “just the right size for Great Falls market. gers. President Steve Malicott agree our community” when Great Falls “Those airlines stabilized their “We’ve definitely been on an up- that the lower fares that Frontier courted Frontier and landed fares at a lower level and generally swing,” said Airport Director John offered led the way to greater us- routes, Faulkner said. Two years found success by attracting more Faulkner, crediting increased Ca- age of the Great Falls airport by ago Frontier switched to larger customers and making revenue,” nadian use of commercial flights spurring the other airlines serving 138-seat aircraft that were more he said. “So I don’t expect fares to and economic conditions improv- Great Falls to lower their ticket difficult for the Great Falls market creep up. Airlines also are benefit- ing in Great Falls. prices. Eventually, the Great Falls to fill. Then Frontier was pur- ing now from lower fuel costs, so But commercial passenger airport had the lowest fares in the chased by an investment group we may have reached a good equi- numbers “could fall slightly in state, by one Federal Aviation Ad- and successfully emphasized larg- librium.” 2015 for a few reasons,” he said. ministration measurement. er metropolitan routes in the East The Airport Authority had The U.S. economy seems flat, The Airport Authority and local with multiple daily flights all year spent marketing dollars in Mid- more vacationers could drive rath- tourism groups promoted those long. “Great Falls isn’t big enough western markets such as Indian- er than fly because of low fuel lower fares in Canada and also in to support that type of flying,” apolis where Frontier had particu- prices, he said, and perhaps most the Midwest, where Frontier of- Faulkner said. larly well-scheduled flights and importantly, Frontier Airlines dis- fered good connections and rates, Frontier announced in Novem- rates, Faulkner said. It will shift continued the direct flights to Den- resulting in a 21 percent growth in ber it was dropping the Great Falls some of that marketing to promote OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 7 other good rates, such as Alaska Air’s Seattle flight, and continue promoting the airport in southern Canada, as well as area’s recreation opportunities. “We are confident we can continue to grow the regional economic impact of travel,” he said. Faulkner and Airport Authority are urging airlines to consider new routes to Great Falls. They think a direct flight to Chicago, and possi- bly one to Atlanta could work out and eventually would like to try another one between Great Falls and Los Angeles. Allegiant Airlines dropped its summer LA flight last fall after it failed to land as many passengers as hoped. Allegiant kept its year-round flights from Great Falls to Las Vegas and Phoe- nix-Mesa. The best chance to win such flights is by persuading airlines to TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER offer the routes initially on a sum- Large, 7 by 12-foot photographs depicting Montana scenery were installed late last year at Great Falls International Airport to mer seasonal basis, prove the complete the terminal renovation. Great Falls market can fill those planes and gradually get the airlines to extend the flights to year- planes regularly. and, say, Chicago or Atlanta. in pledges from area businesses round, Faulkner said. With help from the Great Falls Tentative plans call for the through its Low Cost Airlines Ini- That’s because most airlines are Area Chamber of Commerce, the chamber and its business sup- tiative a few years ago to help at- expected to drop all 50-seat pas- Airport Authority plans to apply porters to help provide grant tract Frontier. The money was nev- senger aircraft within five years, for an FAA Small Community De- matching funds to help cover an er tapped into because of Fron- so the Great Falls market must velopment Air Service Develop- airline’s potential first year losses. tier’s immediate success. show it can provide some 40 per- ment grant to help subsidize such The Great Falls chamber raised cent more passengers to fill bigger initial flights between Great Falls several hundred thousand dollars See AIRPORT, 11

KNIR MIRRSLC EC: every patient. And every provider. For nearly a century, Great Falls Clinic providers have supported patients with an exceptional network of care – maintaining the warmth and compassion of our original local clinic while helping us grow into the full service health center we are today. What matters is you.

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Great Falls Clinic Medical Center is partially owned by Physicians at the Great Falls Clinic, LLP.

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HIGHER EDUCATION

TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS Karissa Willems, left, holds a vial of simulated local anesthetic as fellow surgical technician student Tauna Grove practices drawing a syringe during class at Great Falls College-MSU. Colleges and industry are working together to develop job-training programs. INVESTMENTS PAYING OFF Industry contributing to specific job-training programs

By Kristen Cates In the fall 2013, Montana State Northern’s project because it be- Mary Heller, director of the ca- Tribune Staff Writer University Northern in Havre an- lieves in making investments in reer center on the Havre campus, nounced more than $3 million in good-paying jobs for Montanans. said students who graduate in the n the last couple of years huge contributions toward the new auto- “We cannot be competitive in a automotive and diesel technology investments have been made in motive and diesel technology global market place if we don’t fields have a 100 percent job place- IMontana’s universities through building the school is trying to con- have the graduates coming out of ment rate because jobs in welding, private individuals and state agen- struct to house the growing educa- institutions that are the top-of-the- diesel technology and other manu- cies for specific job-training pro- tion program. And in early 2015, line kids,” Halligan said. facturing fields are in high de- grams – proving that high-quality the college announced another The facility will cost between $8 mand. jobs are attainable for Montana $125,000 in contributions. to $10 million to construct, accord- “The Bakken has pretty much graduates. “It’s our honor to be part of a ing to MSU Northern Communica- made us scramble,” she said. The investment of more than $3 project that we think is going to put tions Director Jim Potter, and the The auto-diesel program is the million in private funds toward a Montana on the map for a long time college received almost $5 million most popular at the small college, public university’s automotive and to come,” said Mike Halligan, ex- from the Montana Legislature in but even with more students diesel technology facility is just ecutive director of the Dennis and 2013 to get started. trained in the field, they can’t quite one sign higher education in Mon- Phyllis Washington Foundation. “It’s amazing how many indus- keep up with the industry demand. tana is aiming its efforts toward a The Washington Foundation tries support MSU Northern,” Pot- The Bakken has even had a pull on prepared workforce. gave $1 million toward MSU ter said. MSU Northern’s other programs. OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 9

Nurses are in high demand in the Montana.” and Canadian standards. Charitable Trust to be used for developing communities in east- Colleges with programs that But the college is also a leader nursing program scholarships or ern Montana and western North are eligible are: Bitterroot College when it comes to health care job to be used for students studying in Dakota, and additional law en- of UM in Hamilton; City College of training. With a simulated hospital the healthcare fields. Nearly 20 forcement needs have meant more MSU Billings; Flathead Valley and 19 areas of study – from respi- percent of the university's under- criminal justice graduates finding Community College; MSU North- ratory care to nursing – Great graduate students are enrolled in jobs, too. ern; Highlands College of Montana Falls College MSU is aiming to some kind of science program. “It’s definitely a ripple effect,” Tech in Butte; Little Bighorn Col- make even more improvements in "These are the kind of gifts that Heller said. lege at Crow Agency; Fort Peck 2015. give great hope and spirit to the The two year colleges are also Community College in Poplar; In September 2014, Great Falls small, private colleges," McAllis- involved in leading the charge for Miles Community College; Daw- College MSU received $640,000 as ter said. "We know there is a lot of workforce development. son Community College; Great part of a $15 million grant from the need here. This is an extraordi- In late 2014, the Gianforte Fam- Falls College MSU; Helena College U.S. Department of Labor aimed at narily valuable gift for our stu- ily Foundation announced a sig- of UM; Missoula College of UM; enhancing rural health care dents." nificant investment in career op- and Gallatin CollegeMSU in Boze- through access and accelerated Great Falls College MSU is also portunities at the two-year col- man. career pathways for Montana’s continue to lead the $25 million leges. Great Falls College MSU has health care professionals. The Col- U.S. Department of Labor grant The foundation gifted $500,000 been leading the way in economic laborative Access for Rural Edu- given in 2013 to create cost-effec- to the Office of the Commissioner development efforts for years. In cation, or Montana HealthCARE tive training programs for low- of Higher Education to provide 2015, the two-year college plans to program creates skilled appren- skilled workers across Montana. scholarships for low-income and keep moving forward with those ticeship programs, speeds-up pro- The program is spread across mul- military veterans who seek out efforts. gress through multiple profes- tiple colleges in Montana and it manufacturing and industrial jobs The college is currently work- sional certifications, expands aca- aims to align curriculum with na- training via Montana’s two-year ing on an expansion of its trades demic support services, and en- tional industry-recognized cre- colleges. The investment will be and industries building, given the ables a more uniform common dentials and on-the-job training. made over the next two years. increased demand for welders in health care curriculum. All of these changes and en- “We don’t have enough high- Great Falls thanks to manufactur- The University of Great Falls hancements have been made with wage jobs in Montana, and manu- ers like ADF International and has also stepped up its game in the the input from people working in facturing jobs are some of the best Loenbro. The college received a healthcare field as well. The pri- these industries. in terms of pay scale,” Gianforte $325,000 state appropriation in vate Catholic university has in- “Employers are the subject said. “This program is designed to 2014 to help make this a reality as vested in a registered nursing to matter experts,” said Susan Wolff, help veterans and lower-income the needs for trained workers is bachelor’s degree in nursing pro- dean and CEO of Great Falls Col- Montanans get the training they rapidly increasing. That has also gram done predominantly online. lege MSU. “Therefore they must need to access these jobs, give meant adding a welding certifica- In 2013, UGF received a $1.4 drive curriculum development for them a leg up and simultaneously tion testing center on campus to be million donation from the Michael the programs from which they will grow the manufacturing sector in certified in the trade based on U.S. (Mike) and Kathleen (KB) Curran hire employees.” Not JUST a Hardware Store...

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HEALTH CARE HOSPITALS FACE CHANGE Small, rural facilities brace for major challenges

By Briana Wipf “I think it’s a Tribune Staff Writer pretty exciting he world of health care is changing, and hospitals need time for American Tto change with it. That’s something Benefis health care.” Health System CEO John Good- JOHN GOODNOW now welcomes. Benefis Health System CEO Some people paint the picture of American health care with a dark palette, but Goodnow, who over- shift in the insurance market to sees the operation of an inpatient people purchasing high-deduct- and outpatient facility that em- ible policies means that affordabil- ploys almost 3,000, does not. ity is, for many, still an issue, said “I think it’s a pretty exciting Bob Olsen, MHA’s vice president. time for American health care,” he As a result, hospitals wind up said. seeing bills going unpaid. Health care, according to Good- “One of the things we’re seeing now, needed to change. He’s work- is a real growth in unpaid bills being to make sure Benefis is on the cause people can’t afford those cusp of that change. high deductibles,” said Olsen. 2015 will see Benefis working to Along with the uninsured, “that implement more price transparen- puts a lot of pressure on a facility cy so patients can ask what a pro- to deliver care that they’re not go- cedure is going to cost and get, if ing to be paid for,” Olsen con- not a definite answer, one that will tinued. at least give them an idea of what But Brown said he doesn’t want their bill is going to be. people to think small hospitals are Goodnow hopes to roll out the doomed. Quite the opposite, actu- “common sense and rational pric- ally. ing” in early 2015. Inpatient prices Olsen said many small hospitals will be implemented first, fol- that have stable medical staff that lowed by outpatient. includes a good mix of physicians Coming up with a price for a and midlevel providers, along with procedure is admittedly compli- stable management and an “en- cated – the patients’ insurance sta- gaged” board of directors, are tus, deductible, coinsurance and poised to continue to serve their whether there are complications communities. all play into what price they see on The other aspect of hospital the bill. success is community support, but “Nothing else is like that,” Olsen said communities tend to Goodnow said. support stable facilities. Another initiative Goodnow is GETTY IMAGES/PURESTOCK “When you see all those things, excited about is one that will hope- Some of Montana’s 48 critical access hospitals, located in small, rural towns, will it tends to draw strong community fully “get the stupid out of health continue to face financial challenges in 2015. “I think most of the small rural hospitals support, and they’ll use the facility care.” One of the first projects to continue to be concerned about service they can provide,” said Dick Brown, president and have confidence in it,” Olsen accomplish that is redoing all the of the Montana Hospital Association. said. signage at Benefis so patients and Goodnow agrees, but he fore- visitors can navigate the sprawl- sees smaller hospitals entering ing facilities more easily. ments for people who need no as- about service they can provide,” into partnerships, or being bought Others projects include finish sistance. said Dick Brown, president of the outright, by larger hospitals. planning for the new Central Cam- While Benefis takes on new pro- Montana Hospital Association. Browns said small hospitals are pus – where Great Falls Clinic’s jects, Goodnow is acutely aware of Dwindling and aging popula- looking for “creative ways” to re- Medical Center is now located, the challenges facing smaller hos- tions, plus difficulty among hospi- main in business, which will likely break ground on a new expansion pitals in the region. Some of Mon- tals to hire and retain physicians, include stronger ties with large fa- of Cascade Ridge, a low- to moder- tana’s 48 critical access hospitals, nurse practitioners and physician cilities. ate-income housing project for located in small, rural towns, face assistants. What shakes out in the next five seniors, and decide on how to ap- financial difficulties. Montana’s relatively large unin- or so years will likely be a changed proach Phase II of the Grandview, “I think most of the small rural sured population – estimated to be health landscape not just in Mon- which would include senior apart- hospitals continue to be concerned about 17 percent – coupled with a tana but the entire nation. OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 11

City, Seattle, Las Vegas and Phoe- Airport nix-Mesa. The Airport Authority is seek- Continued from 7 ing to market for commercial use some 400 acres of land paralleling Malicott said he’s begun con- Interstate 15. Construction of a $2 tacting those fund investors and so million, 22,000-square-foot facility far all have agreed to redeploy the for the I-State Trucking truck deal- fund toward matching the FAA ership and maintenance shop will grant. be completed early this year on “People feel Faulkner and the part of that property. Airport Authority have done a The airport also is home to the great job improving the airport Montana Air National Guard, and flights and want to see the pro- which converted recently from gress continued,” Malicott said. fighter jets to C-130 transport In late 2013 the Airport Author- planes. ity completed an 18-month, $6.5 Since 2000, the airport added a million expansion and moderniz- big FedEx regional hub facility ing of its terminal building that with about 100 employees and re- makes security clearance quicker furbished two hangars to house and gives passengers access to full Avmax, a regional company that bathrooms, food, drink and a gift services, paints and rebuilds jets. shop while they wait for their TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER The Great Falls branch of the planes. Passengers line up for an Allegiant Air flight to Las Vegas at the Great Falls U.S. Customs and Border Protec- The single, larger checkpoint International Airport. tion’s Northern Border Air Wing runs far more efficiently, Faulk- was activated in 2006 to provide ner said, and food and gift sales homeland security in an eight- have increased 40 percent. The this year will be a projected $2 mil- Another project involves con- state region. Some 35 law-enforce- mountain and wheat field themed lion repaving of the airport’s entry struction on a new taxi lane to pro- ment officers, pilots, air crew and flooring, large windows overlook- and exit roads, with the parking vide better access to the airport’s support personnel protect the ing the runway, fireplace lounge toll plaza and the exit road shifted, alternative, crosswind Runway 16/ northern border against smug- and huge photos of Montana scen- and a new parking area built a bit 34. gling and terror activities. ery have stirred significant praise farther from the terminal build- Great Falls is served by United Two fixed-base operators, Hol- from residents and visitors alike, ing. When it’s ready to open this Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Air man Aviation and Front Range he added. fall, the ValuPark will offer lower and Allegiant, with nonstop flights Aviation, provide fuel and aircraft The main construction project rates. to Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake maintenance and repair.

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MILITARY MISSIONS IN FLUX Changes continue at Malmstrom; MANG adjusts to C-130s

By Jenn Rowell only one C-130 cargo plane will fit. nounced in January 2014. Tribune Staff Writer A nearby building was demolished to More than 90 officers were investigat- make room for a new corrosion control/fu- ed and of those, two-thirds are back on du- he two major military installations in els building that will be large enough to ty at Malmstrom or have moved to other Great Falls are both facing changes house a C-130. Once that facility is built, assignments. Fifteen officers could be Twith the shadow of continued budget MANG will keep a cargo plane there, discharged in the wake of the cheating uncertainty under sequestration. while remolding the existing hangar. In and related drug investigations. One offi- The 120th Airlift Wing of the Montana the interim, MANG will spend $1.7 million cer was court-martialed and dismissed Air National Guard is continuing its con- to lengthen the existing hangar for a from the Air Force in January for drug version to C-130s cargo-carrying aircraft C-130, according to base engineers. use. from fighter jets and is scheduled to Construction on the new hangar is ex- In November, outgoing Secretary of reach full operational capacity in 2016. pected to be completed this fall and then Defense Chuck Hagel released findings Construction on a new hangar is under- the renovation of the existing hangar will of two nuclear reviews and his plans for way and once that is finished, an existing begin. fixing the issues. hangar will be renovated to accommodate The 120th is also slated to receive fed- Key findings related to personnel is- the C-130, which are significantly larger eral funding through a provision in the de- sues found problems with accountability, than the F-15s previously flown by the fense authorization bill for fiscal year manning and skills mix, career develop- unit. 2015 to upgrade their avionics. The eight ment, morale and recognition, the person- The 120th Airlift Wing received $22 C-130H models flown by the 120th need nel reliability program, and security million in federal funding for the con- the upgrades by 2020 to comply with Fed- forces. In the Air Force, there was a "blur- struction. eral Aviation Administration and Interna- ring of the lines between accountability James Talcott Construction Co. of tional Civil Aviation Organizing Commu- and perfection," a lack of promotion op- Great Falls was awarded a contract for nication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air portunities generally in the nuclear ca- $20.25 million in September for construc- Traffic Management mandates. reer field and a lack of a defined, sustain- tion of the new hangar and renovation of The C-130s have been used in local able career path for nuclear officers. the existing hangar. training missions, transporting Army Na- The reviews included about 100 recom- The unit is currently using the existing tional Guard troops to training sites and mendations, many of which were similar hangar, which was modified to fit one other joint training missions. to those identified through the Air Force's C-130 plane, for maintenance and train- This year, officials at Malmstrom Air Force Improvement Program, or FIP, ing. Force Base and across the nuclear force which was established after the cheating A temporary door was added to the ex- will continue implementing changes that investigation at Malmstrom. isting hangar to accommodate a C-130. were deemed necessary following the Hagel said there are plans to replace The hangar housed five fighter jets, but cheating investigation that was an- the aging UH-1N helicopters, such as

Members from the 341st Security Forces Group Tactical Response Force practice combat maneuvers during a training session at the Warrior Launch Facility trainer.

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS COLLIN SCHMIDT OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 13 those operated by Air Force Global filling them with earth and gravel. Strike Command at Malmstrom. Gravel fill is a more effective and AFGSC said in October that if a re- environmentally friendly method placement was funded, the new he- of elimination that's also faster and licopter platform would be provid- more economical than those used ed to Malmstrom, F.E. Warren and under the original START treaty. Minot Air Force bases. The work doesn't pose any threat In October, AFGSC said there to public safety or the environ- was a need to replace the helicop- ment, according to Malmstrom of- ters, which date to 1969, to increase ficials. range, airspeed and lift. The second phase began July 21 It's not required that the Air when concrete caps were poured Force transition to a single heli- over the first 40 launchers that had copter platform, but officials said completed the first phase, accord- there are potential savings in ing to Rick Bialczak, 341st treaty training, logistics and personnel compliance office chief. costs if the service moves to a sin- The sites will remain in caretak- gle type of helicopter. er status by the 341st Civil Engi- The Air Force vice chief of staff neer Squadron until the final dis- in July approved the system re- position of the properties is deter- quirements to replace the UH-1N, mined. and courses of action are under re- New START also limits de- view, according to AFGSC. U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/SENIOR AIRMAN KATRINA HEIKKINEN ployed launchers to 700 across The Air Force reallocated $161 A construction worker fills earth and gravel into the launcher tube at Launch Facility ICBM fields, submarines and bom- million to the ICBM force in fiscal R-29 in Pondera County. ber aircraft. year 2014 and identified $150 mil- The Pentagon announced in lion for fiscal year 2015 to address at Malmstrom, by February 2018. door and fill the launch tube with April 2014 it would retain all 450 shortfalls in equipment, facilities The final 10 silos that were elim- dirt, rendering it unusable as a ICBM silos operated by the Air and personnel. inated entered a 60-day observa- missile launch site, according to Force, including the 150 at Malm- Malmstrom is receiving an ad- tion period to allow Russia to ver- Malmstrom. strom. ditional 216 positions and nuclear ify their elimination. The U.S. Army Corps of Engi- The Air Force will remove mis- airmen are now eligible for incen- The last silo to be eliminated neers and the Air Force Civil Engi- siles from 50 silos, but keep them tive pay and medals, the first of was Launch Facility T-49, located neering Center selected Bryan in a warm status, meaning they can which were awarded in November. about 25 miles west of Conrad, ac- Construction Inc. of Colorado be rearmed at any time. Malm- To address missileer com- cording to Malmstrom. Contrac- Springs, Colo., as the demolition strom is expected to remove 17 plaints about the lack of career ad- tors used heavy machinery to bury contractor. missiles and Minot and F.E. War- vancement, AFGSC has imple- the site's 110-ton launcher closure The silos were eliminated by ren AFBs will remove 16 each. mented the "3 plus 3" program. The program means missileers will spend their first three-year assignment as a deputy crew commander before upgrading to crew commander and their next three- year assignment as an instructor, evaluator or flight commander. Cascade The program will affect all officers in the 13N, or nuclear and mis- ELECTRIC CO. sile operations, career field. As officials were dealing with fallout from the cheating investigation, the Air Force was also Electrical Contractors since 1917 working to implement New START, a nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, those empty si- Complete Electrical los counted as non deployed mis- Service For All sile launchers. Your Needs The last of the deactivated in- tercontinental ballistic missile silos operated by Malmstrom Air Cascade Force Base were eliminated in Au- Communications gust. The silos were previously activated by the 564th Missile Squad- 903 10th Ave. North ron, which was deactivated in 2008. 453-3285 Under New START, which was ratified in 2011, those empty silos www.cascadelectric.com counted as non deployed missile launchers and the treaty limits the Fast, Dependable U.S. and Russia to 800 non deployed launchers. Competitive Prices To meet that, the U.S. was required to eliminate 103 deacti- We do the job right! MT-0000346628 vated ICBM silos, including the 50 MT-0000347304 PAGE 14 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM MONTANA INDUSTRY

TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER Joe Bristol, left, and Jeremy Long form metal in a press at HCR. One of the biggest challenges for the company, which moved to Lewistown in 1991, is finding workers.

Recruiting LEWISTOWN A HOTBED skilled workers is OF MANUFACTURERS a challenge

By Erin Madison “We thought that’s pretty high While Guinn was doubtful that In his 25 years in Lewistown, Tribune Staff Writer propaganda,” Guinn said. Montana had the best work force Guinn has been impressed by the Guinn started the business, in the world, he did expect to find quality of work force there. It n 1989, Charlie Guinn read a which manufactures electric heat- hard workers there. turns out the pamphlet may not pamphlet from the state’s De- ing elements for industrial appli- “We knew that moving to a rural have been exaggerating. Ipartment of Commerce boast- cations, in Missouri in 1981. area was more than likely the best “Essentially, we have found that ing that Montana had the best work Guinn’s wife is from Geraldine and place for us to be able to find em- to be true,” he said. “It is very, very force in the world. wanted to move back to her home ployees to be competitive,” Guinn simple that the success of this Guinn was already considering state. said. company is built on the quality of moving his business, Hi-Heat In- “Geraldine was too small to In 1990, Hi-Heat moved to Lew- the work force we have here.” dustries, to Montana, and he was have a workforce for us,” he said, istown and has been manufactur- Hi-Heat has about 75 employ- dubious of the Montana Depart- but Lewistown looked like it would ing heating elements there ever ees. ment of Commerce’s claims. be a good fit. since. With a population of 6,000, Lew- OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 15 istown has a surprising number of manufacturing companies. “I just kind of happened that way,” Guinn said. “It’s not because some great founding father fig- ured out how to attract businesses here.” Like himself, Guinn thinks most of Lewistown’s manufacturing firms ended up in the central Mon- tana town because they like the lifestyle there. Guinn could operate his business from almost anywhere. “We moved to where we wanted to be,” he said. “That’s really the TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER crux of most businesses that move Nathan Avey measures a piece of to Montana.” aluminum at Spika Welding and HCR, Inc., which manufactures Manufacturing in Lewistown. cooler and freezer doors that use TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER an air curtain rather than a door to Lewistown manufacturers have a difficult time recruiting skilled labor due, in part, to keep cool air in and hot air out, competition from higher-paying jobs in the Bakken oil field. moved to Lewistown in 1991. “I guess I’m probably the rea- son it’s here,” said Becky Jackson, square-foot building in Lewistown. the workers it hires. HCR’s bookkeeper, office man- She meant it as a joke, but her par- “We do have a difficult time, I ager and human resources special- ents jumped at the chance to move would say, finding skilled labor,” ist. to Montana. Jackson said. “You don’t necessar- HCR was founded by Jackson’s “That’s how the business got to ily find the skill set, but you find father in Maryland. Lewistown,” she said. the aptitude and that person is Jackson met and married a One of HCR’s biggest chal- trainable.” Lewistown rancher and ended up lenges is finding workers, Jackson Hiring has been particularly moving to central Montana. said. The company currently has hard recently because HCR is When her parents’ lease was up 31 employees. competing with the Bakken oil TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER on the building they rented in HCR usually needs employees field where workers can make Daryl Butler TIG welds stainless steel to Maryland, Jackson sent them a who have basic mechanical skills. be used as part of a cooler door at HCR real estate listing for a 10,000- The company typically has to train See LEWISTOWN, 16 in Lewistown.

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Continued from 15

three of four time as much money. While hiring is difficult, HCR has never considered moving. “I’d never consider living anywhere else,” Jackson said. In 2003, HCR sold to Jamison Door Company, which is now its parent company. Jamison is based in Maryland, not far from where HCR originally started. “They’ve got human resource problems that we’d never even imagine,” she said. Jackson has been impressed by the quality of workers they’ve been able to recruit. “We’ve got a lot of guys that ranch,” she said. “They’ve got a good work eth- ic.” “We might have trouble hiring, but we’ve had some really good hires,” she added. Tom Spika worked for HCR before opening Spika Welding. He started the company on his ranch near Moccasin, initially doing wood work and then transitioning into aluminum work. When Spika Welding got a large contract with the National Guard, Tom Spi- ka moved the business to Lewistown. “That’s when the shop down at the farm got too small,” said Katie Spika, COO of Spika Welding and Tom Spika’s daughter. Spika Welding makes platforms that are used while working on aircraft or manufacturing equipment. All the design and manufacturing of the products is done in Lewistown. The company has 45 employees. “We’ve got a lot of really good employees,” Katie Spika said. However, finding those employees can be difficult. “That’s definitely one of our biggest TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER struggles,” she said. Bill Berg MIG welds on a piece of aluminum that will be used to manufacture a maintenance work stand for aircraft at Spika Moving the company has been dis- Welding and Manufacturing in Lewistown. cussed but isn’t the route the business wants to take. “One of the biggest reasons they Stephanie Tuss started the company was to provide jobs tightens bolts for the area,” Katie Spika said. “Moving on a staircase it, of course, would take that away.’ to be used on a If Spika Welding grew large enough, maintenance the company may add a second location work stand somewhere else, she said. made by Spika Manufacturers in Lewistown do com- Welding and pete somewhat with one another for Manufacturing workers. Employees do move around in Lewistown. “but we don’t actively look to take any- TRIBUNE body’s employees,” Katie Spika said. PHOTO/LARRY “(Recruiting) is hard for everyone BECKNER and no one wants to hurt anybody else’s business,” she added.

Reach Tribune staff writer Erin Madison at TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER 406-791-1466 or Andrew Porter makes a quality control [email protected]. Follow check at Spika Welding and Manufacturing. her on Twitter @GFTrib_EMadison. OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 17

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MANUFACTURING SECTOR FOCUS ON MAKING THINGS New post designed to recruit and grow primary sector business

By Erin Madison NEED HELP WITH MANUFACTURING? Tribune Staff Writer Rebecca Engum, manufacturing partnership director at the Great Falls Develop- ebecca Engum worked for ment Authority, would love to hear from anybody wanting to start a new manu- nine years as the director of facturing business or expand or relocate an existing one. Rthe Small Business Develop- “It’s a great time to start a manufacturing company,” Engum said. ment Center in Great Falls, Contact her at 406-771-9032 or [email protected]. housed in the Great Falls Develop- ment Authority. On Oct. 1 she took over a new manufactured here and sent up to the pressing issues they’re facing. position as the manufacturing the oil sands or over to North Da- They’re big companies and little partnership director. kota where the labor shortages companies and they’re just talk- The new post is funded by a make those efforts difficult. ing about how to solve those things grant from the Economic Devel- On the ag processing side, it’s so they can continue to move for- opment Agency. The Great Falls adding that additional value to the ward. Development Authority wrote the product that comes out of the field That came out of visits with grant to give the GFDA a greater before it gets shipped on. area food manufacturers. We capacity to work with primary E.M.: What types of manufac- heard some of the same things sector businesses. turing are you looking at? from a lot of them. Primary sector businesses are R.E.: Any really. One of the ef- E.M.: What is the process like those that get the majority of their forts I’ve been working on since I for recruiting manufacturing revenue from outside the trade took over in October is to get out to companies to the area? area, and are often manufactur- all the manufacturers in our mar- R.E.: There is no one process. ers. ket place and find out what’s hap- We use a couple of different proc- “Some retail businesses can be COURTESY PHOTO pening. esses. considered primary sector, but a Rebecca Engum is Manufacturing Our best way of knowing what’s One is exhibiting at trade lot of manufacturing businesses Partnership Director for the Great Falls going on in the business world is to shows. When we exhibit at a trade are,” Engum explained. Development Authority. talk to business owners. So we show it’s not just go stand in a Primary sector manufacturers schedule visits to go ask them booth. We take a team and take already in the area include ADF Rebecca Engum: There are a lot what’s happening, what problems shifts in the booth but we also and Loenbro. Those businesses of factors that make manufactur- they’re having, what opportuni- work the trade show by going to are working on projects that don’t ing a good fit for northcentral ties they’ve got that they need to visit everybody else’s booth. Be- rely on local businesses purchas- Montana — the labor availability, take advantage of and what hur- fore we go we make a prospect list ing products. the land availability and our loca- dles might be in the way for that. of the people we want to talk to. “It’s new money into our mar- tion to hot markets. And then we try to figure out if While we’re there, we visit with ket,” Engum said. The two areas of manufactur- there’s a way to help them. them. We go to these booths and Tribune staff writer Erin Madi- ing that we have really large comp We don’t necessarily solve the talk to them about what’s happen- son and Engum sat down recently advantages for are agricultural problems, but we can bring in re- ing within in their business, what to discuss her new position and processing and energy. sources that can help. the future looks like, what hurdles her goals. Energy can include energy One example is the Food Manu- they have and get them to engage Erin Madison: What makes support, such as modules for the factures Network. It’s a group of in a conversation. Our objective is manufacturing a good fit for oil fields or structural steel that area food manufactures that meet northcentral Montana? goes to the oil fields and can be quarterly and talk about some of See MANUFACTURING, 19

MT-0000347095 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 19

“Our competitive advantage happens to for our community, because if it Manufacturing did it would look a lot more like be in agriculture and energy, but that Detroit and Detroit’s not doing so Continued from 18 well. From our standpoint it’s a doesn’t mean that other manufacturers nice problem to have, but we need to find out if there is any growth more options because when a potential that might lead to a pro- don’t work here.” prospect is looking at our market ject in the Great Falls market or looking to expand they need to area. have that stock available. The second way we do attrac- here. capital intensive than other types There is just not a lot of empty tion is responding to site selector E.M.: How do you do that? of businesses like service or re- space available in Great Falls be- requests. We’ve spent consider- R.E.: One of our strategies is tail but the long-term benefits for cause we have a strong economy, able time in the last year building really focused on marketing manufacturing companies that which is a great thing to see. relationships with site selectors Great Falls. A couple years ago are economic drivers are really E.M.: Why manufacturing? for them to understand what ex- the community invested in a big. They usually pay higher than Why is the Great Falls Develop- ists here. We’ll get what we call a brand strategy that helps us iden- minimum wage as a starting sala- ment Authority choosing to fo- proposal and then we work on tify what the brand of the Great ry and they usually offer benefits. cus on that area? submitting the proposal with the Falls area is. To support that Their revenue is not dependent R.E.: Manufacturing is a nice information they want to the site brand, we’re looking at doing on the local market. They’re usu- stable business. When we look at selector who is picking sites for a some social media efforts to at- ally a better opportunity for em- the manufacturers that exist in potential company. tract people to either come back ployment and supporting your our market, they provide high Those proposals could be any- or get people really excited to be family. wages, and they can diversify where from what land do you in Great Falls. Our best option is E.M.: Are there any zoning or into a lot of different markets. have available to what capacity to get people who are from either other issues Great Falls and the Our competitive advantage do you have for workforce to the Montana or Great Falls to come surrounding area could work on happens to be in agriculture and lifestyle situation, what churches back and that means letting them to make itself more attractive to energy, but that doesn’t mean that are here, what schools are here? know what opportunities are manufacturing businesses? other manufacturers don’t work We provide them the information available. R.E.: Not necessarily zoning, here. There’s enough workforce they need. Great Falls is really awesome but shovel-ready sites are an is- to make it happen. The third way that we do at- and anybody who lives here can sue. The AgriTech park has some Manufacturers are a stronger traction, which is something we look at all the great things that ex- shovel-ready sites but we need segment of the economic makeup wanted to do for a long time but ist in our town. We want people to more of them. We need more of our community. When we look until I took over as manufactur- be able to share that on Facebook spaces that are ready to build. at diversifying our community ing partnership director weren’t or Twitter or Instagram with peo- We don’t have a large stock of we want to do it in the manufac- able to, is market driven business ple who aren’t here to let them abandoned 100,000-square-foot turing area because it has more of cases. What we will do is basically know hey, Great Falls got cool buildings, which is a great thing a stable, higher income. take a proposal to our prospects, while you weren’t looking, you people we have identified are a should probably come back. good fit for our market. We will E.M. Are you looking at all siz- bring them a proposal that tells es of manufacturers? them why great fall is a good fit R.E.: Yes. We meet with entre- for the company — this is the preneurs who are just staring workforce we have, these are the their manufacturing process ... locations we have, this is the area and then we also look at ADM, businesses that can support you. which is a large grain miller that Then, we will do targeted market- has operations all over the world. ing to those companies to get One of the things we’re looking them interested in our market at is supply chain studies and cor- and potentially expand or relo- porate operations. Marubeni, cate into our market. which is a really large company, E.M.: Do we have a qualified has tons of subsidiary that exist workforce in Great Falls for man- here in our market but they all ufacturing? have different names. Marubeni R.E.: We do, but let me just owns Gavilon, which used to be preface that with we need more. Peavey Elevator, and has facili- We have a fantastically skilled ties in the Moore and Moccasin Where you can work and unwind workforce for manufacturing. areas. They’ve got milling opera- your own way. However, there are just not tions under a different name and enough people. international operations under a That’s one of the big things that different name. We want to be Staybridge Suites Great Falls we’re focused on for 2015 and be- able to figure out what all these 201 3rd St. NW ▪ Great Falls, MT yond is increasing the workforce companies own and who is cur- Reservations: 406.761.4903 capacity here in Great Falls. rently in our market to figure out There are a lot of analytical that what other operations we could or 800.238.8000 project Great Falls is going to lag attract here. Extended Stay Rates ▪ Business Center ▪ Complimentary behind economically from other Those are the bigger compa- Laundry Room ▪ Full Kitchens ▪ Free Wireless Anywhere ▪ metro areas simply based on the nies and we also want to find these Studio, One and Two Bedroom Suites ▪ Complimentary Hot fact that we aren’t growing in smaller companies that have the Breakfast Buffet ▪ Pet Friendly ▪ Fitness Room ▪ The Social population size. That’s one of the opportunities to grow. Evening Receptions ▪ The Pantry Convenience Store ▪ I H G R e w a r d s ▪ Complimentary Airport Shuttle focuses for the next couple years We’d love to see more start-up is to increase the workforce that’s manufacturing. It’s a little more staybridgesuites.com/greatfallsmt PAGE 20 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

AGRICULTURE EXPANDING ASIAN MARKETS Producers seek new customers for Montana grain and cattle

By David Murray Tribune Staff Writer

2014 began as a year of high ex- pectations for Montana’s agriculture economy, but ended with them only partially realized. Spurred by the smallest national herd size since the 1950s, cattle prices reached historic highs in 2014. Late season prices for a 700- pound steer briefly flirted with the $2.50 per pound mark — more than double what they were 10 years earlier during the height of the Mad Cow Disease scare. According to the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, the value of Montana cattle sales has risen more than 56 percent since 2008 alone, and could exceed $2 billion for the 2014 production season. “Cattle prices peaked out at a perfect time for weaning this fall,” said Montana Stockgrowers Asso- ciation President Gene Curry. “A lot of producers have taken the opportunity to pay down debt, replace some equipment or add on to infrastructure — buy a new trac- tor or replacing a pick-up.” Grain prices, by comparison, have been trending in the opposite direction. The price received by farmers for all wheat peaked at $8.02 a bushel in 2008. Under pressure from a global wheat glut, that TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY price dropped to $4.74 by August A combine empties grain during winter wheat harvest between Choteau and Dutton. 2014. But timely spring rains and favorable growing conditions had many producers expecting at least Over the last six years, Pacific a marginally profitable year was in “With more beef on the market you’re Rim mega-corporations in Japan the making. going to need more consumers or the and Korea have invested hundreds That changed for many during of millions of dollars into Mon- the third week in August, when price will start to soften.” tana’s grain growing regions. drenching rains devastated many Asian corporations like Mitsui & grain fields just as harvest was GENE CURRY Co., Marubeni Corp. and EGT now about to begin. Large segments of Montana Stockgrowers Association President own 11 of the 17 high-speed grain the state’s standing crop of barley shuttle loaders in operation in and winter wheat began to sprout guys who still had grain standing, “We’ve got some of the best Montana. from the head, stripping away its but it’s been very fortunate to seed stands we’ve had for a long time, Historically, the largest desti- value. Baled hay sitting in the back into for this year’s winter and we’ve got a lot of good mois- nations for U.S. wheat have been fields was soaked, with an estimat- wheat crop.” ture underneath it,” he said. “For Mexico and sub-Saharan Africa, ed 10,000 tons ruined by the flood- Bumgarner noted that Montana next year, what we’re looking at is where about a quarter of the na- ing. farmers are currently enjoying pretty positive.” tion’s total wheat exports were de- “A lot of the state had some real some of the best soil moisture con- Underpinning Bumgarner’s op- livered prior to 2011. However, serious issues with the rain event ditions the state has seen in dec- timism is the growing demand for over the past decade the Asian na- we had in August,” said Charlie ades. Barring some other unfore- Montana wheat along the Pacific tions of Japan, South Korea, the Bumgarner, president of the Mon- seen adverse weather event or Rim. Philippines and Taiwan have gob- tana Grain Growers Association. market upheaval, conditions seem “Asian countries are very big “It was very unfortunate for the ripe for a good harvest in 2015. for Montana,” he said. See AGRICULTURE, 21 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 21 Agriculture

Continued from 20 bled up an ever greater percentage of U.S. wheat exports. Today, nearly 90 percent of Montana’s hard red winter and spring wheat is loaded onto cargo ships bound for these hungry Asian populations. That trend is expected to continue, with high hopes that wheat markets in China will soon welcome Montana exports. The U.S. Department of Agri- Imagination culture lists China as the single largest producer of wheat in the always world, harvesting close to 118 million metric tons of hard red winter TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER wheat in 2012. But a poor harvest in Cattle graze in the Highwood Mountains near Great Falls. While ranchers enjoyed provides the 2013 forced China to increase record prices in 2014, many look toward expanding into Asian markets to keep beef wheat imports by more than 500 prices high. best yields. percent, and many analysts be- lieve the Asian giant will struggle to remain self-sufficient in wheat supplies start catching up with de- rent U.S. Ambassador to China has production in the years ahead. mand — it will take care of a lot of a special affinity for Big Sky Coun- Montana cattle producers also any excess supply.” try. The former senior U.S. senator are looking toward the future in Asian markets have the added from Montana, Max Baucus, was China. As the Chinese become attraction of adding to carcass val- sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to more affluent, their hunger for ues. Secondary markets for beef China last February. beef has grown with it. tongue, heart and liver are well es- “Max has always been a champi- According to the North Ameri- tablished in many Asian countries. on of Montana and what Montana can Meat Association (NAMA), Montana grain growers and produces,” Curry observed. “We Chinese imports of beef have more livestock producers have the add- all feel fairly confident with the than quadrupled over the past sev- ed confidence of knowing the cur- ambassador we have right now.” eral years, up from about 43,000 metric tons in 2010 to more than 193,000 metric tons in 2013. Thus far Australia, Uruguay For life insurance, and New Zealand have been the call a good neighbor. primary beneficiaries of the surge, but U.S. beef producers are hoping A co-op where YOU thrive. to cash in as well. Almost 100 years ago the “I’m pretty excited about our co-op was developed around Chinese market,” Curry said. “We’re at a low point now in terms For all of your health the idea that working of cattle numbers, but everybody together equals results that expects that at some point the cat- and natural food tle herd is going to start growing needs! matter... for you, for us and again. With more beef on the mar- for our communities. After ket you’re going to need more con- all, success for you means sumers or the price will start to soften. If the Chinese market success for the co-op, which starts to open up about the time helps everyone. Family-Owned Since 1938 Great Time, Pam Hansen Alfred, Agent Great Taste! 2817 10th Avenue South Great Falls, MT 59405 Bus: 406-453-6010 www.pamalfred.com

For the ﬁ nest in American Call me and I’ll help you choose the right and Italian food! life insurance for you and your family. Restaurant • Lounge • Banquets We put the life back in life insurance.™ Locally Owned & Operated Take-Out • Dinner Service mountainviewcoop.com | Where friends meet & become our friends too! 105 Smelter Ave NE 877.953.5900 | 406.453.5900 5pm Mon-Fri • 4pm Sat & Sun Great Falls, MT 59404 1800 Smelter Avenue in Black Eagle State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI), 406-761-0134 State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI), AGRONOMY · GRAIN ENERGY · RETAIL 406-761-0300 MT-0000346910 MT-0000346664 MT-0000347062 Bloomington, IL www.2jsfreshmaket.com MT-0000346985 PAGE 22 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM STRENGTHENING SECURITY CREDIT CARDS WILL USE MICROCHIPS

By Mark Davis as a chip card,” Breshears said. The Kansas City Star (TNS) That’s because credit card makers are still adding the mag- KANSAS CITY, Mo. — American netic stripe on the back of chip shoppers, adept at swiping the cards. It allows one card to work stripe, soon will learn to dip the at merchants ready to handle chip in malls and strip centers chip-cards as well as those still across the land. stuck on swiping. We’re talking about credit Merchants will want chip read- cards, specifically high-tech ones ers come October. with microchips inside to make That’s when a new rule im- plastic money more secure. Chip posed by credit card companies cards are everywhere overseas, Visa and MasterCard hits. It has in Canada and finally emerging to do with who’s liable when here in response to massive cred- thieves get away with fraudulent it card data breaches such as the transactions using a counterfeit one at Target in 2013. card. Expect to find chip cards in Visa has declared that banks your wallet by year-end as card that fail to get chips into custom- issuers roll them out, if one’s not DAVID EULITT/KANSAS CITY STAR/TNS ers’ cards by Oct. 1 will be on the there already. Chip cards have a A customer uses her microchip-embedded credit card in a card reader at the Wal-Mart hook for fraudulent transactions small gold or silver rectangle on Neighborhood Market in Kansas City, Kan. The microchipped cards provide that involve using a counterfeit the front of the card just above additional security protection against fraud. stripe card. Similarly, merchants the first four digits of the card’s who let customers swipe the number. It’s not the hologram of a stripe of a chip card after Oct. 1 dove found on many stripe cards. account information, in contrast As of Nov. 1 last year, every will be stuck for those transac- It will help if someone shows to normal credit cards. register at all 46,000 U.S. Wal- tions that turn out to be counter- you how to use them. Shoppers “America got a big wake-up Mart and Sam’s Club stores ac- feit frauds. shouldn’t slide a chip card call with Target, and everybody cepted chip credit cards. And Currently, banks generally are through the machine at checkout in the industry is very keen on every Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club on the hook for fraud when lines. They should insert, or dip, fixing this problem,” said Carl brand credit card has a chip in it. counterfeit cards are presented the chip card into a slot — and let Bradbury, director of consumer Target has set the goal of hav- to merchants and merchants it sit. cards at Commerce Bank. ing chips in all its Target-branded generally are on the hook for “When you put it in there, it And if a chip card is lost or RED cards this year. online credit card fraud, which kind of clicks. You can feel it,” stolen, a second security measure Some smaller retailers are means no card is physically pre- said Bobbie Kuhns, who used her can render it useless. Few Amer- ready now. sented to the merchant. chip card last recently at a Wal- ican-issued cards, however, are Bob Jones Shoes in Kansas The chip is only half the secu- Mart grocery store. set to deploy this second safety City has had chip card readers at rity. And many say it’s not More of us would be dipping step, and that has some security its registers for more than a enough. chip cards already if this seem- advocates howling. month. Overseas, for example, con- ingly simple change weren’t so “We’re just not taking advan- Cashier Sharon Breshears sumers who dip the chip typically disruptive, and it certainly cre- tage of the technology given to admits she crumpled under the enter a four-digit number to con- ates potential pitfalls such as us,” said John MacAllister, a pressure of repeated calls from firm the charge. This PIN, or leaving your card behind. semi-retired consultant to the the company that sells the read- personal identification number, Experts, however, say retrain- payments industry. ers. Each day, a few customers adds a second layer of security. ing consumers will be worth it. Big-store chains, notably Wal- with chip cards come into the A lost or stolen card becomes Chip cards are nearly impossible Mart, are leading the retail indus- store. useless because the finder or to counterfeit even with stolen try toward chip cards. “Very few of them have used it thief won’t have the PIN to enter.

Noble’sNoble’s If you know someone suffering from

WestsideWestside you’ll be glad to know scientists at McLaughlin Research Institute are working on research that may lead to treatments or a cure. LiquorLiquor Consider funding research and education on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and related brain disorders through: For all your alcohol o Current gifts of stock o Life insurance policies or needs, stop by other assets o Memorial Designations o Your Will Noble’s Westside Liquor McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences MT-0000346667 1520 23 St. So., Great Falls, MT 59405 623 1st Avenue N.W. • Phone 454-3612 mclaughlinresearch.org 406-454-6024406-454-6009 MT-0000346627 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 23

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ENTREPRENEURS FROM BANK TO BOUTIQUE Women’s clothing store cashes in with historic building

By Kristen Inbody Tribune Staff Writer

VALIER — A crumbling ruin of a bank built in 1909 has been reborn as Pony Expressions, with ladies fash- ion, embroidery, screen printing, gifts and a coffee shop. “We tried to keep the building as original as we could,” owner Holly Stoltz said. “Twenty years it was boarded up.” The renovation began in 2006, with the business opening on Valier’s Montana Street in 2009. “The basement had four feet of water. The floors were ruined; the roof leaked,” Stoltz said. “We had to tear up all the original floors, but we found materials to put back in.” The original oak window trim- mings were added back in like puzzle pieces. The bank (then post office) had 12-foot ceiling and huge windows making up most of the street-facing wall. “It got hot so they painted half- way down the windows in salmon pink,” she said. Those windows have been re- stored to their former glory. The bank vault is now a changing room. Stoltz also owns the Choteau Trad- ing Post and Windy Creek Casuals in Cut Bank and rotates merchandise among the stores. “It’s really hard in a small town,” she said. “You don’t want to see the same sweater you’re wearing walk- ing down the street.” The screen printing and embroidery is the “main attribute” of the business, with high school sports teams and businesses ordering up custom apparel. “Our customer base is the whole Golden Triangle,” she said. “We always want something new.” Stoltz married a farmer/rancher, and the Livingston native found her- self in Valier. “You move to a small town, and you have to create your own job,” she said.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at 791-1490 or by email at [email protected]. Follow TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody. Holly Stoltz founded Pony Expressions after extensively remodeling a historic Valier bank. The vault is now a changing room. OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 25

ENTREPRENEURS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS Innovative Sunburst quilt shop a labor of love

By Kristen Inbody Tribune Staff Writer

SUNBURST — The fabric store is cheer- ful, neighborly and filled with beautiful fabric and quilts, but PM Quilting was born in Alaska in difficult days. Gary Darwin, a longshoreman, said his wife became sick and treatment re- sulted in $300,000 of medical debt. She said she needed to go back to work to less- en the financial burden. “I said what do you love to do, and she wanted to start this,” he said. “We started picking bright colored fabric. She had the business to where we had full-time jobs plus a full-time business.” Before she died, she woke Darwin to tell him that she was going to pick his next wife. Without her, the business was filled with too many memories and too much work. All Darwin could see was his wife. He had to decide whether to end the business or find an employee. Enter Jan. “Jan was my first employee. She loved to sew, and that was a good start,” Darwin said. Darwin moved the shop into his ga- rage and made it his own. His family began commenting on how nice Jan was and how he should ask her out. “My house went from sad to happy,” he said. They decided four years ago to bring the business to Sunburst to be near Jan’s mother. They started with fabric in the family room and then built a shop. “Jan said we’d never fill it, and now we’re bursting at the seams,” he said. The store has a large Laurel Burch fabric collection, kits, panels and a wide variety of patterns, textures and colors, but among the most interesting fabrics is batiks that Darwin dyed himself. Darwin does long-arm quilting and invents quilting tools as well. He recently debuted a new rack set for quilt shops that holds rows of batting with a platform for cutting, and he came up with a special ruler for cutting stacks of jelly-roll strips into pieces. He’s left handed and Jan’s a righty so his tools are made to work for both. The ruler has been such a hit that quilters have asked him to autograph theirs. “When it’s no longer fun, we’ll retire,” he said. Visit PM Quilting at 305 2nd Ave. W. TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY The shop also sells online via pmquilting- Gary Darwin of PM Quilting in Sunburst develops quilting patterns, long-arm quilts, dyes material and invents quilting tools. .com. He draws silhouettes for unusual applique designs. PAGE 26 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM LOW FUEL PRICES IMPACT OF CHEAP OIL MIXED By Peter Johnson production in the Bakken oil field of eastern boost the U.S. economy and made America more Tribune Staff Writer Montana and North Dakota if crude oil prices energy independent, but the state and nation’s don’t start to rise. economic recoveries were somewhat threat- he greatly reduced fuel prices and the un- The average price of Montana gasoline fell ened by the big drop in crude oil prices because derlying drop in crude oil prices starting from about $3.60 a gallon in July 2014 to under $3 of the surplus. One said Continental Resources, Tlast fall caused a lot of discussion among in November 2014, according to AAA Mountain Montana’s largest oil producer, planned to cut its central Montana businesses in early 2015. West records, and below $2 in early January – production in the Bakken by 40 percent, which Hotel managers were pleased at the in- the first time the price dropped that low since officials said could greatly slow economic creases in recreational travel that began in cold March of 2009. growth in eastern Montana and even affect com- weather and the earlier and more frequent sum- The travel organization forecast continued panies 400 miles away in Great Falls that pro- mer reservations already being made because low prices in 2015 so long as crude prices remain duce goods or services supporting that oil pro- of the large fuel drop, which one called “fabu- low because of a surplus of oil, with U.S. compa- duction. lous news for the hospitality industry.” nies using fracturing methods to produce more Dan Rooney, plant manager of the burgeon- A state tourism official said his agency might oil and natural gas and OPEC countries such as ing ADF International metal fabricating plant in promote 2015 as a good year to visit beautiful Saudi Arabia not cutting back on their produc- Great Falls, told the Tribune in mid-January his Montana by showing out-of-state residents the tion. company has enough contracts in place with oth- reduced cost of driving to Montana. Such low fuel prices benefits consumers and er, non-oilfield work, to continue plans to hire an A farmer filled his storage tanks with fuel at shippers, Galt said, but low fuel prices hurt the additional 130 skilled workers, doubling its almost half the price paid last summer. oil and gas industry, which might reduce capital workforce to 250, by the end of the year. Not everybody is experiencing positive im- expenditures – including drilling – by 50 percent At about the same time, independent gas sta- pacts from lower gas prices. or more in the Bakken. tion owner David Keith said some stations were Shelby trucking executive Mike Irvin said his “The guys who drill wells and transport oil to doing well despite the sharp cut in fuel prices be- drivers are paying lower diesel prices, but he’s refineries are struggling,” he said, predicting cause motorists were using their fuel savings to fearful about the impacts of low crude oil prices major cuts in oil field and support jobs and tax spend more in station convenience stores as well on some of his good customers, oil producers ex- revenue going to counties and the state. as other retail stores. Keith said the price he pected to cut production in Wyoming and Cana- His comments were reinforced in late Janu- pays for fuel is adjusted based on national fac- da. ary by speakers at the Montana Bureau of Busi- tors. Irvin’s comments echoed those of Montana ness and Economic Research’s annual Economic Rich Chadwick, owner of Everyday IGA, said Petroleum Association Executive Director Outlook Seminar. groceries are paying less in freight costs to get Dave Galt, who forecasts sharply-reduced oil They said the fracking technique had helped products.

MORE RECENT REACTIONS FROM BUSINESS PEOPLE AND TRAVEL OFFICIALS INTERVIEWED IN LATE JANUARY: president of the Montana Grain Growers Association » Sandra Johnson-Thares, co-owner and manager of O’Haire Motor Inn, said her downtown hotel has seen a who farms east of Great Falls. “The savings for farmers “two-fold trickle down benefit” from lower fuel prices. will be significant, because this is the first time fuel prices She said the hotel already has experienced more have been this low in nearly six years.” in-state and Canadian recreational travel in the last few Bumgarner said he bought some fuel in September at months of 2014 and early 2015. $3.20 a gallon, but is buying tanker loads now at $1.70-a- “We’re seeing everything from more girls’ long week- gallon bulk, filling up all his fuel storage tanks. ends of shopping and dining from Canada to men’s “Cutting the price of a major expense like fuel nearly groups from Montana enjoying recreation from late in half will be great news when we start to plant this season hunting to snowmobiling and skiing,” Johnson- spring,” he said, adding he’d like to buy enough fuel to Thares said. “And they’re not even waiting until it’s nice cover farm operations for a year or more. outside to travel.” » Jim Taylor Jr. of Taylor’s Auto Max Nissan Volks- Regular business travel hasn’t increased much, she wagen said that Montanans long have purchased more said, but business people are telling her lower fuel costs trucks and sports utility vehicles than cars, at about a 60 make it easier for them to stay under budget. TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO/RION SANDERS to 40 percent ratio, “and we haven’t seen a resurgence in In addition, she said, summer reservations by out of Great Falls area farmer Charlie Bumgarner is filling the number of folks who are purchasing large vehicles state travelers are up about 7 percent compared with last storage tanks to take advantage of prices that dropped since fuel prices started dropping so much a few months year at this point. nearly in half since last fall. ago.” “Many of them seem to think that this is a good year “Few motorists are confident that fuel prices will to visit Montana, with lower fuel prices,” Johnson-Thares campaigns, Iverson said. remain this low for a year or longer,” said Taylor. said. “The favorable fuel price news could be the tipping “They’re still buying roughly the same percentage of trucks and SUVs to smaller cars as they have been al- » Increases and decreases in fuel prices usually don’t point that makes some decide to visit Montana,” he said. impact Montana tourism numbers much, but good tim- Tourism office employees are brainstorming ideas to though smaller, crossover SUVs have become popular the ing could help this year, said Montana Office of Tourism encourage such Montana area visitors, “by mitigating last 24 months.” spokesman Dan Iverson. the impression that it’s expensive get here,” Iverson said. Consumers also benefit from manufacturers making When the big hike to $4 a gallon gasoline came fairly “If we show people from Minneapolis that they can all sizes of vehicles more fuel efficient each year to meet abruptly in the summer of 2008, many out-of-state trav- drive round trip to Yellowstone National Park or some federal regulations, he added. elers had already booked reservations, although they cut other Montana attractions and back home for less than His father, Jim Taylor Sr., CEO of Taylor’s Auto Group, discretionary spending when they were here. $150 – almost half the cost of a few years ago, they might said the company’s own Taylor Transportation arm that But the large drop in fuel prices that started late last realize their dream vacation to Montana is within transports vehicles around the U.S. and Canada is bene- fall and continuing over the winter comes at a good time reach,” he said. fiting from lower diesel fuel costs, but also having to reduce the shipping fees it charges in the highly compet- when out-of-state travelers are still planning their trips » “Low fuel prices will really help farmers and much and the state of Montana is preparing its marketing of the rest of the economy out,” said Charlie Bumgarner, itive business. OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 27

ACCOUNTING FIRMS

NAME ADDRESS PHONE MANAG. PARTNER CPAs SPECIALTIES Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. 21 10th St. S. 727-0888 Bob Bronson 17 Auto dealers, farm/ranch, estates, trusts, business valuation, tax preparation JCCS (Junkermier Clark Campenella 501 Park Drive S. 761-2820 Loran Stenslant 14 Tax, business advisory, wealth management, auditing Stevens) Douglas Wilson & Co. 1000 1st Ave. S. 761-4645 Randy Boysun 12 General auditing, tax accounting Joseph Eve 410 Central Ave., Suite 414 727-1798 Joseph Eve 22 Tribal auditing/consulting Loucks & Glassley PLLP 720 River Dr. S. 761-8265 Troy Lindquist, Robert 9 Small business, taxation, nonprofits, auditing Mau, Debra Corn Houston Helseth & Myers CPAs 704 1st Ave. N. 727-7691 Jim Helseth 4 Financial statements, income tax Grabofsky Van Heel & Funderburk Milwaukee Station, Suite 727-0322 Allen Funderburk and 2 Tax accounting 100 Dale Grabofsky Bloomgren Rivera & Co. 225 2nd St. S., Suite 1 727-4004 Allen Bloomgren and 4 Tax and real estate taxation Denise Rivera Darrell Watkins CPA 1601 2nd Ave. N., Suite 222727-4348 Darrell Watkins 2 Taxation, bookkeeping, payroll and school accounting Nicholas Bourdeau P.O. Box 6363 727-8365 Nicholas Bourdeau 1 Forensic accounting Donald L. Keith 600 Central Ave., Suite 211 453-2727 Donald Keith 1 Farm/Ranch tax preparation, bookkeeping, accounting for businesses, payroll Dwyer & Co. 300 4th St. North 453-2463 Michael Dwyer 1 Payroll, bookkeeping, tax preparation Arlyn Johnson busy 3214 4th Ave. N. 727-3930 Arlyn Johnson 1 Tax preparation, estate planning David Deffinbaugh, CPA PC 1219 13th St. S. 454-8888 David Deffinbaugh 2 Tax preparations, accounting and consulting, payroll services Jordan and Associates 1219 Central Ave., Suite B 268-8610 Ryan Jordan 1 Individual and business accounting and Quickbooks Swensen & Co. 825 Central Ave. W.; 33 761-8852 Richard Swensen 2 Taxes, payroll, bookkeeping, payroll services Main Ave. N., Choteau Wendy Weissman 1015 1st Ave. N., Suite 102 454-8988 Wendy Weissman 1 Financial statements, payroll and accounting, Quickbooks in- struction Raymond Young 3300 7th St. N.E. 761-6604 Raymond Young 1 Individual taxation, planning & financial transactions GR Tax Services 1015 1st Ave. N., Suite 102 454-8988 Deidre Magee 1 Income tax preparation

ARCHITECTS

NAME ADDRESS PHONE TOP EXECUTIVE ARCHITECTS* KEY ACCOUNTS/SPECIALITES L’Heureux Page Werner 15 5th St. S. 771-0770 Stephen L’Heureux 5 Health care, education, correction, military, commercial, education CTA Architects & Engineers 219 2nd Ave. S. 452-3321 Martin Byrnes 4 Commercial, government, education, medical and retail

Davidson Architecture 117 2nd Ave. N. 761-3334 Bruce Davidson 1 Laboratory, technology design, music facilities, university planning Nelson Architects 621 2nd Ave. N. 727-3286 Dale Nelson, Ryan Smith 2 Commercial, medical, residential, government Fox Architects 320 1/2 Central 727-7676 Robert Fox 1 Medical, commercial, schools, residential Ave. Suite 3 Davidson & Kuhr Architects 761-2277 Gene Davidson 1 Light commercial, residential PC Fusion Architecture and 304 37th Ave. NE 406-315- Bill R. Stuff 1 Commercial, housing, health care, industrial, religious, and senior living Design 3618 *Licensed professionals

ADVERTISING FIRMS

NAME ADDRESS PHONE TOP EXECUTIVE EMP. KEY ACCOUNTS/SPECIALTIES The Wendt Agency 105 Park Drive S.454-8500 Brenda Peterson 13 Town Pump Hotel Group, Glacier Country, Farm Credit Services, New West Medicare, Montana Lottery, Central Montana, Easter Seals-Goodwill Banik Communications 121 4th St. N. 454-3422 Heather Burcham 12 Taco Johns, Travel Time RV, Moodie Implement, Montana and North Dakota Departments of Transportation, Pasta Montana, Celtic Cowboy Walker Design Group 421 Central Ave. 727-8115 Duane Walker 2 Print and Internet advertising and marketing, corporate identity and branding

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ATTORNEYS

NAME ADDRESS PHONE MANAG. PART- ATTYS. SPECIALTIES NER

Jardine, Stephenson, Blewett, & Weaver 300 Central Ave., 7th floor 727-5000 Gary W. Bjelland 9 Full service Ugrin, Alexander, Zadick, & Higgins 2 Railroad Square, Suite B 771-0007 12 Litigation Church, Harris, Johnson & Williams 114 3rd St. South 761-3000 Ron Nelson 10 Full service Smith, Walsh, Clarke, & Gregoire 104 2nd St. South, Suite 727-4100 Dennis Clarke 7 Insurance defense 400

Davis, Hatley, Haffeman, & Tighe 101 River Drive N., Mil- 761-5243 Maxon R. Davis 6 Defendant litigation waukee Station 3rd floor

Marra, Evenson & Bell 2 Railroad Square, Suite C 268-1000 Barbara Bell 5 General civil litigation, trials Linnell, Newhall, Martin & Schulke/Fair 120 1st Ave. North 453-4500 Norm Newhall 6 Workers compensation, personal injury Claim

Lewis, Slovak and Kovachich 725 3rd Ave. North 761-5595 Tom Lewis 5 Environmental claims, workers compensation, product liability, personal injury

Hoyt & Blewett 501 2nd Ave. North 761-1960 Zander Blewett 5 Trial work Lanning, Harris and Conklin PC 300 Central Ave, Suite 400 727-9270 Allen P. Lanning 2 Civil trial litigation Hartelius, Durocher & Winter 118 6th St. South 727-4020 Channing Harteli- 3 Personal injury us

Scott, Tokerud, & McCarty 8 3rd St. North, Suite 507 727-2200 Keith Tokerud 2 Business, estate planning Falcon, Lester & Schaff 25 5th St. North, Suite 202 727-5740 Randall C. Lester 3 Family, business law Faure Holden Attorneys at Law 1314 Central Ave. 452-6500 Jean Faure 3 Civil trial work with emphasis on labor and employment Smith Oblander 104 2nd St. South, Suite 453-8144 Gregg Smith 3 Litigation, personal injury, business law 101

Thompson Law PC 615 2nd Ave. North, Suite 727-0500 Curtis G. Thomp- 1 General practice 201 son

Luinstra & Young PLLC 219 2nd Ave. South, Suite 761-4800 Greg Luinstra 2 Estate planning, business, real estate, construction 302

Conner and Marr 520 3rd Ave. North 727-3550 Dennis Conner 2 Personal injury, insurance, product liability Larsen Law Firm 121 4th St. North, Suite 2J 727-2220 Dirk Larsen 2 General practice Best Law Offices 425 3rd Ave. North 452-2933 Michael Best 2 Trial work Lucero & George 615 2nd Ave. North, Suite 771-1515 Michael George 2 Trial attorneys with emphasis on personal injury 200

McKittrick Law Firm PC 410 Central Ave., Suite 622 727-4041 Timothy McKittrick2 Employment law, personal injury Sutton, DuBois & Mills 1 5th St. North 771-7477 Megan Sutton 3 General practice Deschenes & Associates 309 1st Ave North 761-6112 Gary Deschenes 1 Bankruptcy Graybill Law Firm 300 4th St. North 452-8566 Benjamin Graybill 1 Trial attorney with emphasis on personal injury Tremper Law Firm 300 River Drive North 761-9400 Glenn Tremper 1 Civil trials, construction disputes Taleff Law Firm 300 River Drive North 761-9400 Ward “Mick” 2 Taleff

Seidlitz Law Firm 21 3rd St. North, Suite 412 727-1431 John Seidlitz 1 Social Security, personal injury, medical malpractice Olson Law Office 417 Central Ave., 4th floor 727-6263 Ken Olson 1 Criminal defense Hoines Law Office 401 3rd Ave. North 761-0996 Nathan Hoines 1 Criminal defense

Lawrence A. Anderson 300 4th St. North 727-8466 Lawrence An- 1 Medical negligence, personal injuries, employment-labor, consumer derson protection

Marcia Birkenbuel 410 Central Ave., Suite 613 761-1932 Marcia Birkenbuel 1 Family Law Jeffrey S. Ferguson Law Offices 410 Central Ave., Suite 515 453-3275 Jeff Ferguson 1 Family Law Barer Law Offices 300 4th St. North 771-8800 Michael Barer 1 Personal injury, medical negligence OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 29

TOP PRIVATE EMPLOYERS

RANK EMPLOYER ADDRESS BUSINESS TYPE EMPLOYEES 1 Benefis Health System 1101 26th St. S. Health care 2,955 2 Great Falls Clinic 1400 29th St. S. Health care 472 3 Wal-Mart 702 Smelter Ave. N.E. Retailer 413 4 Asurion 321 Central Ave. Service plan center 370 5 Centene Corp. 2000 26th St. S. Insurance services 319 6 Easter Seals – Goodwill 4400 Central Ave. Services for people with disabilities 303 7 Albertson’s 2250 10th Ave. S./1414 3rd St. N.W. Grocery stores 285 8 University of Great Falls 1300 20th St. S. University 235 9 Missouri River Care and Rehabilitation 1130 17th Ave. S. Nursing and rehabilitation 225 10 McDonald’s 1721 10th Ave. S./2000 14th St. S.W./1710 3rd St. N.W. Restaurants 220 11 Davidson Cos. 8 3rd St. N. Financial services 217 12 Quality Life Concepts 215 Smelter Ave. N.E. Services for people with disabilities 205 13 Heritage Inn 1700 Fox Farm Road Hotel 178 14 Town Pump Various locations Convenience stores, hotels, casinos 171 15 Loenbro 409 14th St. S.W. Energy service, construction 165 16 Sam’s Club 401 Northwest Bypass Retailer 165 17 Center for Mental Health 513 1st Ave. S. Mental health services 180 18 ADF International 1900 Great Bear Ave. steel fabrication 150 19 BNSF Railway 121 4th St. N. Railroad 145 20 Shoot the Moon 1420 Market Place Drive Restaurants 137

TOP PUBLIC EMPLOYERS

RANK EMPLOYER ADDRESS BUSINESS TYPE EMPLOYEES 1 Malmstrom Air Force Base 21 77th St. N.. Military 4,476 total; 3,146 military

2 Great Falls Public Schools 1100 4th St. S. Public School System 2,078 3 Montana Air National Guard 2800 Airport Ave. B. Military 1,004 total; 990 military

4 City of Great Falls 2 Park Drive S. Government 574 5 Cascade County 415 2nd Ave. N. Government 500

PRINTERS

NAME ADDRESS PHONE EMPLOYEES SPECIALITES Advanced Litho Printing 226 9th Ave. S. 453-0393 44 Commercial printing Printingcenterusa.com 117 9th St. N. 761-1555 26 Four color printing, Internet file transfer, digital printing, short run printing Staples 207 NW Bypass 453-0900 30 Scanning, desktop, business printing, Internet file transfer Northern Directory Publishing 25 Division Road 761-5234 20 Directory publishing Office Max 1601 Market Place Dr. 452-3836 20 Scanning, desktop publishing, photos River’s Edge 205 River Drive S. 771-9899 or 771-989615 Commercial printing, news tabloid, four color printing, magazines, mail services, cold web printing Allegra Solutions 300 5th Ave. S. 727-3291 10 Business printing, signs, marketing support, vinyl vehicle wraps, Web and graphic design, T-shirts and promotional products Associated Business Systems 1100 7th St. S. 454-2981 2 Business forms, all printing Licini’s Print Shop 2224 Vaughn Rd. 761-4622 6 Brochures, fliers, letterhead, forms, copying and color copying, legal docu- ments Blend’s Copy Shop 509 1st Ave. N. 454-3466 3 Large-format printing, maps Great Falls Builders Exchange 325 2nd St. S. 453-2513 2 Blueprints, construction drawings, building plans American Solutions for Business 771-1176 1 Commercial printing, business forms, promotional products PAGE 30 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

ENGINEERS ENGINEERS NAME ADDRESS PHONE TOP EXECUTIVE ENGINEERS* SPECIALTIES Thomas, Dean & Hoskins 1800 River Drive N. 761-3010 Erling Jule 13 Water, structural, civil, geo-technical, survey, materials testing lab, landscape architecture, environmental, industrial hygiene KLJ 614 Park Drive S. 453-2564 Mitch Stelling 12 Civil, structural, water, waste water and site development GPD 524 1st Ave. S. 452-9558 Daniel Kempa 7 Mechanical, electrical systems Terracon Consultants 1392 13th Ave. S.W. 453-5400 Gary Quinn, Ken 5 Geo-technical, environmental, construction materials Munski CTA Architects & Engineers 219 2nd Ave. S. 452-3321 Martin Byrnes 6 Commercial, government, education, medical and retail. NCI Engineering 4509 North Star Blvd. 453-5478 Jake Neil 4 Civil, water, environmental, wastewater treatment, surveying L’Heureux Page Werner PC 15 5th St. S. 771-0770 Stephen L’Heureux3 Healthcare, educational, corrections, commercial, military, residential Lacy & Ebeling Engineering Inc. 320 1/2 Central Ave. 761-1088 Linda Geranios 3 Structural and industrial engineering Big Sky Civil & Environmental 1324 13th Ave. S.W. 727-2185 Joe Murphy 2 Surveying, design, planning, environmental specialists Dowl HKM Engineering 106 1st Ave. S. 453-4085 Richard West 4 Civil engineering Morrison & Maierle Inc. 1321 8th Ave. N., Suite 454-1513 Craig Nowak 3 Water, waste water, transportation and building engineering, 104 airports,survey, IT systems, natural resources AE2S/Advanced Engineering and Environ- 300 15th St. S., # 7 268-0626 Nate Weisenburg- 2 Water, waste water and storm water mental Services er Everson Cordeiro Engineering 12 6th St. S. 761-4057 Chris Cordeiro 1 Electrical and mechanical engineering Woith Engineering 1725 41st St. S. 761-1955 Spencer Woith 1 Civil engineering and land surveying * Licensed professional engineers

BANKS

NAME BRANCHES PHONE PRESIDENT DEPOSITS Wells Fargo Bank Montana 5 454-5400 Janna Cruz, district manager $311.3 million First Interstate Bank 4 454-6200 Kyle Herda $381.65 million U.S. Bank 5 455-1077 Robert A. Butcher $295.685 million Stockman Bank of Montana 3 771-2740 Adrian Doucette $196 million Prairie Mountain Bank 2 268-0404 Laura Vukasin $76.61 million Stockmens Bank 1 468-2232 Michael Moore $30.345 million Teton Banks 3 467-2531 Mike Johnson $170.127 million

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CREDIT UNIONS

OFFICES BRANCHES PHONE PRESIDENT ASSETS in millions MEMBERS 1st Liberty 4 761-8300 Steven Grooms $163 19,758 Montana Federal 3 727-2210 Steve King $203.8 22,198 Russell Country 3 761-2880 Bernard Neibauer $61.63 9,170 Embark 2 727-7300 Debra Evans $91.5 9,563 Family First Federal 1 727-7575 Kathryn Briggs $12.6 2,133 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 31

LODGING

NAME ADDRESS PHONE MANAGER ROOMS AMENITIES

Best Western 1700 Fox Farm Road 761-1900Robert Dompier 231 Convention/meeting space, catering, restaurant, casino and bar, coffee bar, complimentary hot Heritage Inn breakfast for guests

Holiday Inn 1100 5th St. South 727-7200Dana Livings 168 Restaurant, pool, fitness center, wireless Internet, business center, lounge, casino, complimentary airport shuttle, 48-ft. waterslide, workout room, convention space, complimentary park-and-go

Hilton Garden 2520 14th St. S.W. 452-1000Laurie Price Manning 118 Full service bar, restaurant with evening room service, pool, hot tub, fitness center, business center Inn with remote printing, full banquet accommodations, wireless Internet, conference space, video conference capability, shuttle Staybridge 201 3rd Street N.W. 761-4903Becky Amaral-Miller 113 Complementary breakfast, pool, guest laundry, free evening reception, guest market, kitchens, Suites firepit, bbq grills, wireless Internet, 24 hr business center, meeting center

Super 8 Lodge 1214 13th St. S. 727-7600Irfan Abbasi 112 Continental breakfast, wireless Internet, Internet in lobby, laundry, complementary coffee

Townhouse Inns1411 10th Ave. S. 761-4600Steve Walker 108 Pool, casino, meeting room, continental breakfast, hot tubs/sauna, wireless Internet, airport shuttle

The Quality Inn 220 Central Ave. 761-3410Glenda Horner 105 Restaurant, lounge, free wireless Internet, microwaves and refrigerators in rooms, outdoor pool, indoor parking, computer center in lobby

Extended Stay 800 River Drive S. 761-7524Collette Stinar 104 Full service kitchens w/cookware and utensils, cable TV, wireless Internet, free voice mail, iron/ America board, 24-hour laundry, nightly/weekly/monthly rates, breakfast-to-go

Hampton Inn 2301 14th St. S.W. 453-2675Rebecca Horn 97 Meeting rooms, pool, fitness center, Internet, shuttle, hot tub, complementary breakfast

La Quinta Inn & 600 River Drive S. 761-2600Malissa Hollan 92 Pool, fitness and business centers, kitchenettes, Internet, wireless Internet, breakfast Suites

Comfort Inn & 1801 Market Place Dr.455-1000Randy Albert 88 Internet, business and fitness centers, shuttle, breakfast, suites, microwaves, refrigerators Suites

Crystal Inn 3701 31st St. S.W. 727-7788David Buckingham 86 Indoor pool and hot tub, wireless Internet, fitness center, Jacuzzi, free hot breakfast buffet, airport shuttle

Holiday Inn 1625 Market Place Dr.453-4000Cameron McKnight 85 Pool, 140’ water slide, complimentary hot breakfast, 24-hour fitness center, 24-hour business center Express

Malmstrom Inn 7028 4th Ave. N. 727-8600Nick Drain 83 Audiovisual equipment

O’Haire Motor 17 7th St. S 454-2141Sandy Thares 72 Pool, indoor parking, meeting rooms, wireless and complimentary high speed Internet full restau- Inn rant and lounge, fitness room

Comfort Inn 1120 9th St. S. 454-2727Stephanie Johnson 64 Breakfast, pool, free wireless Internet, close to shopping and dining, pet friendly

Fairfield Inn 1000 9th Ave. S. 454-3000David Tufts 62 Breakfast, pool, Internet, laundry, business center, gym membership

Days Inn 101 14th Ave. N.W. 727-6565Scott Shull 60 Complementary breakfast, meeting room, free high speed Internet, cable TV, fitness center, newly renovated

Great Falls Inn 1400 28th St. S. 453-6000Kelli Pandis 61 Breakfast, fitness center, conference room by Riversage

Motel 6 2 Treasure State Dr. 453-1602Kathy Boschee 59 Airport shuttle, Heritage Inn amenities

The Graystone 621 Central Ave. 452-1470M. Davidene Tait 50 Free wireless Internet, newly remodeled

Midtown Motel 526 2nd Ave. N. 453-2411Peggy O’Hare 40 Restaurant, free wireless Internet access

Best Resting 5001 River Drive N. 268-8333Angela Komiotis 33 Kitchenettes, laundry, Internet, cable TV, coffee bar Great Falls Inn

Central Motel 715 Central Ave. W. 453-0161Carol Melton 29 Close to dining, continental breakfast

Imperial Inn 601 2nd Ave. N. 452-9581Pravin Shah 30 Cable TV, microwave, refrigerator, rooms with kitchens PAGE 32 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM

REAL ESTATE OFFICES

NAME ADDRESS PHONE CITY OWNERS AGENTS WEBSITE Abode Realty 1526 Central 406-727-0352 Great Falls Bob Sechena 2 aboderealtymt.com American Realty Group 1323 9th Ave. S. Suite 1 406-761-6700 Great Falls John Virgin 10 yourgreatfallshome.com B&C Realty 1100 14th St. S. 406-727-4641 Great Falls Len Reed 4 realestateofmontana.net Belt Valley Property 68 Castner St., P.O. Box 588, Belt, MT 406-277-4114 Belt Gary Keaster 3 beltvalleyproperties.com 59412

Boland Agency 104 2nd St. S., Suite 200 406-453-0371 Great Falls Gerald Boland 2 jerrybolandrealtor.com Campbell Realty 406-799-1696 Great Falls Dave Campbell 1 greatfallslots.com Catalyst Commercial 625 Central Ave. W. 406- 403-0864 Great Falls Scott Blumfield 3 www.catalyst-cre.com Central Montana Realty 1905 1st Ave. N. 406-868-9805 Great Falls Jerry Wilda 2 centralmontanarealtyonline.com Century 21 McDonald Realty 3015 10th Ave. S. 406-761-2811 Great Falls Jerry Hedrick 6 century21greatfalls.com Coldwell Banker The Falls Real Estate 608 2nd St. S. 406-727-6000 Great Falls John Kunz 16 thefallsmt.com Dahlquist Realtors 500 Country Club Blvd./2525 10th Ave. S. 406-761-4081 Great Falls Brett Haverlandt 38 dahlquistrealtors.com Dustin Young & Company 819 8th Ave. South 406-216-3130 Great Falls Dustin Young 2 dustinyoungandcompany.com ERA American Horizon Realty 807 13th Ave. S. 406-727-3000 Great Falls Jim Dea 17 eragreatfalls.com Faith Realty 406-727-4884 Great Falls Dan Mann 3 Gary Williamson P.O. Box 2800 406-761-0373 Great Falls Gary Williamson 1 Goodbye-Owner 9 12th St. North 406-761-0001 Great Falls Steve Gillespie 2 goodbyeowner.com Gillespie Agency 9 12th St. North 406-761-0001 Great Falls Steve Gillespie 2 missouririverproperties.com, great- fallslistings.com

Gourley & Company P.O. Box 6445 406-453-5402 Great Falls Rick Gourley 1 Gray Realty 2201 47th Ave. S.W. 406-453-1163 Great Falls Denise Gray 1 Great Falls Realty 305 3rd St. N.W. 406-761-3518 Great Falls Kelly Parks 5 greatfallsrealty.com Holiday Realty 750 6th St. S.W. Suite 203 406-761-8630 Great Falls Charlie White, John Bink, Joe 3 holidayrealtymt.com Kraft

Homestead Realty of Montana 5500 Henry’s Lane 406-788-7231 Great Falls Janice White 2 homesteadrealtymt.com J& K Realty - Property Management 1538 Meadowlark Dr. 406-788-6844 Great Falls John, Kelly and Josh Lind 2 jkrpm.com James Company Realty Inc., The 212 5th St. S. 406-761-8865 Great Falls Jim Voegele 1 jamescorealty.com Keller Williams Northern Montana Realty1323 9th Ave. South 406-770-3674 Great Falls Alice Santos 22 greatfallsmt.yourkwoffice.com Macek Companies 104 2nd St. S. Suite 100 406-727-5505 Great Falls Mark Macek 2 macekco.com McPartlin Realty 2300 12th Ave. S., Suite 120 406-453-4388 Great Falls Jeff McPartlin 1

Montana Realty 1812 10th Ave. S., Suite 1 406-453-2454 Great Falls Bill Pena, Rose Gehl 4 mtrealty.com Northwest Realty Montana, Inc. 1701 2nd Ave N. 406-453-5565 Great Falls Bonnie Beuning 8 nwrealtymt.com Professional Brokers of Great Falls P.O. Box 1725 406-727-8222 Great Falls Pat Goodover 4 Property Shop 2626 3rd Ave. S. 406-899-4000 Great Falls Bob Bartram 1

ReMax of Great Falls 920 Central Ave. 406-761-1011 Great Falls Multiple Owners 16 remax.com Russell Country Realty 406-727-7100 Great Falls Kyle and Tami Haynie 10 russellcountryrealty.com Special Realty 3303 Upper River Road 406-452-1085 Great Falls Shannon Wadsworth 1 Swingley Realty 406-453-1111 Great Falls Dave Swingley 1 Thomas & Company 205 9th Ave. S,. Suite 200 406-268-1888 Great Falls Tom Van Hoose 1 thomasncompany.com

Professional service with a personal touch. Stewart Title Company – Great Falls 111 3rd Avenue South Great Falls, MT 59405 (406) 727-1500 stewart.com/great-falls

LICENSING,PLANNING MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WORKERS COM- GREAT FALLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY HIGH PENSATION REGULATION BUREAU PLAINS FINANCIAL CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT Craig Raymond, director » Address: P.O. Box 8011, Helena, MT 59604 » Web: gfdevelopment.org » Web: greatfallsmt.net » Phone: 406-444-7734 All construction contractors must » Address: 300 Central Ave. Suite 406, Great Falls, MT register with the bureau, with some limited exemptions. 59403 » Address: P.O. Box 5021, Great Falls, MT 59403 The registration cost is $53 for a two-year registration. » Phone: 406-454-1934 High Plains Financial administers » Phone: 406-771-1180 City Planning maintains zoning MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUSINESS a number of business loan programs, including: a revolv- maps for the city of Great Falls and makes recommenda- RESOURCE DIVISION FINANCE INFORMATION CENTER ing loan fund for businesses in Cascade County; a loan tions about zoning and annexation requests. program for business outside Great Falls’ city limits in » Web: mtfinanceonline.com CASCADE COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING Cascade County and in Glacier Pondera, Teton and Toole Susan Conell, director » Address: 301 S. Park, Helena, MT 59620 counties; a microloan program for up to $35,000 for businesses in Cascade, Glacier, Pondera, Toole, Teton, » Web: http://departments.cascadecountymt.gov/plan- » Phone: 406-841-2732 Judith Basin and Fergus counties; and Small Business ning » Fax: 406-841-2731 The Montana Finance Center pro- Administration 504 program loans. » Address: 415 3rd Street Northwest, Great Falls, MT vides summary information for the most significant fi- MONTANA PROCUREMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 59403 nancing resources available from state, federal, and local CENTER institutions. » Phone: 406-454-6905 » Web: gfdevelopment.org MONTANA STATE FUND » Fax: 406-454-6903 The department administers Mon- » Address: 300 Central Ave. Suite 406, Great Falls, MT tana and Cascade County subdivision regulations, en- » Web: montanastatefund.com 59403 forces floodplain regulations and overall land-use man- » Phone: 800-332-6102 or 406-444-6500 agement for the county. » Phone: 406-454-1934 » Address: 5 S. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59601 The » Fax: 406-454-2995 The center assists Montana busi- fund provides employer liability insurance coverage for nesses in obtaining government contracts, offering help STATE AGENCIES the legal obligation of an employer to pay damages in preparing bids, understanding forms and complying because of bodily injury or death of an employee. MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY with regulations. MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY BUSINESS STANDARDS DIVISION SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DIVISION » Web: BuildingCodes.mt.gov Jason Nitschke, director » Email: uid.dli.mt.gov » Address: P.O. Box 200517, Helena, MT 59620 » Address: 300 Central Ave. Suite 406, Great Falls, MT » Address: P.O. Box 8020, Helena, MT 59604-8020 59403 » Phone: 406-841-2333 Administers building codes, business and occupational licensing, health care licensing and » Phone: 406-444-3783 » Phone: 406-771-9022 weights and measures. » Fax: 406-454-2995 The center offers free, confidential MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE CENSUS EMPLOYER RESOURCES counseling, business training, and information to small AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION CENTER business owners. Personnel assist with business plan GREAT FALLS JOB SERVICE WORKFORCE CENTER preparation, business financial projections, market feasi- » Web: ceic.mt.gov bility, break-even analysis, as lender liaisons and in find- » Web: wsd.dli.mt.gov/local/greatfalls/ » Address: 301 S. Park Ave., Helena, MT 59601 ing industry information. » Address: 1018 7th St. S., Great Falls, MT 59405 » Phone: 406-841-2740 SERVICE CORPS OF RETIRED EXECUTIVES » Phone: 406-791-5800 » Fax: 406-841-2731 » Phone: 406-727-7633 Counselors provide one-on-one » Fax: 406-791-5889 Assist business with information on counseling to people who want to start a business and to MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SERVICES FOR wages, employment law, labor market, and personnel existing business owners who need assistance in long- BUSINESS LICENSING matters. The Job Service Workforce Center also offers job range planning, expansion, or other business-related » Web: sbdc.mt.gov/businesslicensing.mcpx training programs, employment-related computer access, concerns. proficiency testing and various employment related » Address: One-Stop Licensing, c/o Montana Department GREAT FALLS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE workshops. of Revenue, P.O. Box 8003, Helena, MT 59604 Steve Malicott, president » Web: greatfallschamber.org Phone: 406-841-2747 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MONTANA SECRETARY OF STATE » Address: 100 1st Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401 Linda McCulloch, Secretary of State AND BUSINESS COUNSELORS » Phone: 406-761-4434 [email protected] » Email: GREAT FALLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY » Fax: 406-761-6129 sos.mt.gov Brett Doney, president » Web: GREAT FALLS BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT P.O. Box 202801, Helena, MT 59620-2801 » Email: [email protected] » Address: » Web: www.greatfallsbid.com 406-444-2034 » Web: gfdevelopment.org » Phone: » Address: 13 5th St. N., Great Falls, MT 59401 406-444-3976 Oversees elections; maintains the » Address: 300 Central Ave. Suite 406, Great Falls, MT » Fax: » Phone: 406-727-5430 official records of the executive branch and the acts of 59403-2568 the Legislature; reviews, maintains and distributes public- » Phone: 406-454-1934 The Great Falls Development DOWNTOWN GREAT FALLS ASSOCIATION interest records of businesses and non-profit organiza- Authority puts together incentive packages, markets and » Web: downtowngreatfalls.net tions. advertises Cascade County and finds local opportunities for businesses interested in Cascade County. » Address: 13 5th St. N., Great Falls, MT 59401 PAGE 34 OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM BUSINESS RESOURCE GUIDE

» Phone: 406-453-6151 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RURAL DEVEL- MONTANA CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION MONTANA COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTER OPMENT » Address: 1717 11th Ave, Helena, MT 59601 » Address: 12 3rd St. N.W. Suite 110, Great Falls, MT » Web: rurdev.usda.gov/mt » Phone: 406-442-4162 59404 » Address: P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771 » Fax: 406-449-3199 » Phone: 727-1517 » Phone: 406-585-2580 » Web: mtagc.org REGIONAL ECONOMIC » Fax: 406-585-2560 NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA BUILDING & CONSTRUC- DEVELOPMENT MONTANA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TION TRADES COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONS AND Webb Brown, director » Address: P.O. Box 1365, Great Falls, MT 59403 AGENCIES » Email: [email protected] » Phone: 406-452-1973 » Web: montanachamber.com » Fax: 406-453-9556 BEAR PAW DEVELOPMENT CORP. OF NORTHERN » Address: P.O. Box 1730, Helena, MT 59624 INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS MONTANA Paul Tuss, executive director » Phone: 442-2405 Ext. 101 MONTANA RETAIL ASSOCIATION » Email: [email protected] MONTANA MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER » Address: 1645 Parkhill Dr, Suite 6, Billings, MT 59102 » Web: www.bearpaw.org » Web: mtmanufacturingcenter.com » Phone: 406-256-1005 » Address: 48 2nd Ave., Havre, MT 59501 » Address: 302 South Park, Helena, MT 59601 » Fax: 406-256-0785 » Phone: 406-265-9226 » Phone: 406-994-3812 » Web: mtretail.com The Montana Manufacturing Extension Center provides 406-265-5602 Bear Paw Development provides MONTANA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION » Fax: on-site assessment of business operations to help with business loans combined with training and technical practices for managing equipment, building, processes » Address: 1645 Parkhill Dr, Suite 6, Billings, MT 59102 assistance, to residents of Hill, Blaine, Liberty and Chou- and people. teau counties. » Phone: 406-256-1005 SNOWY MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT CORP. FEDERAL RESOURCES » Fax: 406-256-0785 Kathie Bailey, executive director » Web: mtrestaurant.com U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY » Address: 613 N.E. Main, Lewistown, MT 59457 & HEALTH ADMINISTRATION MONTANA EQUIPMENT DEALERS ASSOCIATION » Phone: 406-535-2591 » Address: 2900 4th Ave. N. Suite 303, Billings, MT 59101 » Address: 1645 Parkhill Dr, Suite 6, Billings, MT 59102 » Email: [email protected] » Phone: 800-321-6742 » Phone: 406-256-1005 PHILCO ECONOMIC GROWTH COUNCIL » Fax: 406-247-7499 » Fax: 406-256-0785 » Email: [email protected] BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU » Web: mtequipmentdealers.com » Address: P.O. Box 1637, Malta, MT 59538 » Email: [email protected] MONTANA TIRE DEALERS ASSOCIATION » Phone: 406-654-1776 » Web: www.bbb.org/eastern-washington/ » Address: 1645 Parkhill Dr, Suite 6, Billings, MT 59102 NORTHERN EXPRESS TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY » Address: 152 S. Jefferson Suite 200, Spokane, WA » Phone: 406-256-1005 99201 » Email: [email protected] » Fax: 406-256-0785 » Phone: 509-455-4200 » Web: pnmshelby.com » Web: mttiredealers.com » Address: 112 1st St. S., Shelby, MT 59474 » Fax: 509-838-1079 MONTANA AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION » Phone: 406-434-5203 CONSTRUCTION TRADE » Address: 501 N Sanders, Helena, MT 59601 » Fax: 406-434-2761 ORGANIZATIONS » Phone: 406-442-1233 SWEETGRASS DEVELOPMENT » Fax: 406-449-0119 GREAT FALLS BUILDERS EXCHANGE » Address: 521 1st Ave. N.W., Great Falls, MT 59404 Krista Smith, manager » Web: mtada.com MONTANA INNKEEPERS ASSOCIATION » Phone: 406-727-5173 » Address: 325 2nd St. S., Great Falls, MT 59405 » Address: P.O. Box 1272, Helena, MT 59624 » Fax: 406-454-6903 » Phone: 453-2513 » Phone: 406-449-8408 »Web: http://sweetgrassdevelopment.org » Fax: 727-7548 » Fax: 406-442-8018 PONDERA REGIONAL PORT AUTHORITY » Email: [email protected] » Web: montanainnkeepers.com » Address: 420 Main St. S., Conrad, MT 59425 » Web: greatfallsplans.com MONTANA TAVERN ASSOCIATION » Phone: 406-271-7237 HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF GREAT FALLS » Address: 920 E. Lyndale Ave., Helena, MT 59601 » Address: 327 2nd St. S., Great Falls, MT 59405 » Phone: 406-442-5040 STATE ECONOMIC » Phone: 452-4663 » Web: montanatavernassociation.com DEVELOPMENT » Fax: 453-0721 ORGANIZATIONS » Web: hbagf.org OUTLOOK 2015 | WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM PAGE 35

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