Bozeman Build #69

Hi and welcome to the 69th edition of the Bozeman Build Report discovering trade news around the area. Today we wrote about the Montana Logging Association, new data center approved near Great Falls, TowHaul special visits, Glacier Bank aquired Texas based Guaranty Bancorp, RIP Wally McRae, 100 year leases aimed to revitalize old towns, Saint Mary Siphon restored, saltwater disposal plant explosion, cloud seeding, new TD Kelsey statue in Belgrade. Extending outside of Montana we talk about a Cody, Wy artillery facility, Idaho Falls market, Teton Pass road work, and ranching in Wyoming’s deep snow country.

Thanks for reading,

Daniel

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Montana and Bozeman Trade Pulse

Montana trade pulse

June 17, 2025 - New Stories from the Montana Logging Association. Karl Kanduch - steps down as president of the MLA (Logging.org)

June 18, 2025 Atlanta-based TAC Data Centers is proposing a 569-acre development adjacent to the AgriTech Park, north of Malmstrom Air Force Base and near the Great Falls Rainbow Power Substation. The company reportedly aims to invest $1-1.5 billion in the 2 million sq ft (185,805 sqm) development, known as Project Cardinal. Construction is set to begin next year, with the initial 135,000-200,000 sq ft (12,540-18,580 sqm) buildings coming online in late 2027/early 2028. Full campus build-out would be expected by 2030. Montana does not have a major data center market. Ziply and Hyperscale Data’s Sentinum unit operate facilities in the Treasure State. Atlas Power also operates a site in Butte. TeraWulf/Beowulf previously planned to operate a crypto site in Hardin, but this never came to fruition. Crusoe had deployed cryptomining modules powered by flared gas in the state, but has since divested them to NYDIG. (Data Center Dynamics)

Jun 23, 2025 U.S. Secretary of Labor visits Belgrade manufacturing facility TowHaul 

June 25, 2025 Kalispell, Montana-based Glacier Bank has agreed to acquire Mount Pleasant, Texas-based Guaranty Bancorp in an all-stock deal worth roughly $476.2 million, The acquisition would add 33 locations, including in Dallas and Houston, to the Montana-based lender’s footprint, as well as $3.2 billion in assets. (BankingDive)

June 26, 2025 Wally McRae, Montana poet and Colstrip rancher, died at 89 (MTPR)

“Some leave their mark on a branded hide. Some on the furrowed earth. Some aspire to reproduce themselves and those they birth. Some leave their marks on canvas, bronze or stone. It will survive, long after their creator no longer is alive. Some would build an edifice, an architectural gem, to serve throughout the ages as a lasting requiem. But grant to me this final wish. When I say that last amen: May my mark be carried lightly In the hearts and minds of men.”

Wally McRae’s funeral service will be held July 2 at the Rosebud County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall in Forsyth.

June 25 2025 The Montana Heritage Preservation and Development Commission is proud to announce the passage of House Bill 680, landmark legislation that allows for long-term leases on selected historic state properties. With this new authority, MHC is launching a formal application process for individuals, businesses and organizations interested in revitalizing Montana’s cultural assets through private investment and strategic partnership. (MT Commerce)

June 26, 2025 Just a little more than 12 months ago, the huge St Mary Siphon, more than a century old, which delivers water to thousands of ranchers and residents along Montana’s Hi-Line and eastern part of the state failed. On Wednesday, the United States Bureau of Reclamation announced the reconstruction project had been completed, thanks to an expedited review process by all levels of government, and emergency funding from Congress. (Daily Montanan)

June 26, 2025 Oil field disposal plant in eastern Montana explodes, no injuries (Record Patriot)

June 27th 2025 The Bureau of Land Management approved a NorthWestern Energy 16-inch natural gas pipeline that will be 74 miles from Helena to Three Forks. (NBC Montana)

June 28 2025 - America’s dive bars are disappearing. Montana didn’t get the memo. (The Guardian)

Jun 29, 2025 Could cloud seeding in the Big Hole Watershed benefit the Treasure State's agriculture? The study estimates potential increases in stream flow of between 20,000 and 60,000 feet in the Big Hole Watershed, depending on the program design and seasonal conditions. Estimated costs to implement the program vary from $12 to $60 per acre-foot. (Montana Ag Network)

Bozeman trade pulse

June 24, 2025 Has Bozeman’s rental market finally flipped? The company tracks and studies housing trends, and Rose said that 3,042 rentals have been built in Bozeman since 2021, with more than 1,000 of those units completed in 2024. Hundreds more, especially near the Montana State campus, are currently under construction, and, according to Rose, more than 4,000 rental units are still in the planning pipeline. (Montana Free Press)

Jun 25, 2025 A new bronze sculpture now greets drivers in Belgrade, standing 14 and a half feet tall in the center of the West Post roundabout, the piece is titled Touching the Big Sky, created by internationally acclaimed sculptor T.D. Kelsey. (KBZK)

Montana Picker

I randomly met David Perlstein last week at the bar, he’s the master mind behind Montana Picker who has spent the past 20 years here under the big sky digging, driving, and crawling for historical artifacts check him out on Facebook or Instagram @montanapicker

Northern Rockies

June 24, 2025 US Ballistic Laboratories is currently working to launch a “Load, Assembly, Pack” (LAP) facility on the City of Cody’s northern edge that will fill, assemble and pack artillery shells. (Powell Tribune)

June 28, 2025 Gillette’s Cyclone Drilling To Do Wyoming’s First 3-Mile Well And 4-Mile Well Is Next (Cowboy State Daily)

Idaho Falls

Tons of spec homes and larger scale multi family popping up around Bonneville Counties Idaho Falls. According to a 2023 checkr article, IF was ranked #13 in the list of Americas fastest growing cities. While Idaho as a whole is seeing rapid population increases, Idaho Falls stands out due to factors like a relatively affordable cost of living and proximity to outdoor recreation. At the time the article was written 2 years ago, Provo was ranked #1, Boise #2, Coeur D’Alene #3, Bend #4, and St. George #5. Idaho Falls Population in 2024 was 68,063, Rexburg’s population was 40,695, and Bonneville County Idaho’s population was 123,957 comparable to Gallatin Counties 2024 population of 126,984. The average Idaho Falls, ID home value is $395,363, up 2.1% over the past year. Population Data from United States Census Bureau.

Highway 22

About a year ago today Jun 29, 2024 - A massive landslide on June 8 knocked out State Highway 22 that runs through the Teton Pass, which connects Jackson, Wyoming, with Victor, Idaho. Ironically a year after, they planned to do a Final Closure for Permanent Repairs Thursday, June 27 at 6 p.m. to Saturday, June 30 at 6 a.m. (looks like they wanted to get that done before the 4th of July weekend) (JacksonHole.com)

Green River Cows

I have some rancher friends residing in North Sublette County Wyoming near Daniel/Merna areas. One rancher leases their pasture seasonally (May - September) to ~5,000 head of black/red angus cows that get trucked in from Utah, Colorado, and Washington. Another rancher nearby runs his cattle all year and in the winter they need to groom/pack down their feeding areas with a snow cat.

Thanks for tuning in and have a fantastic week,

Daniel

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