Hello happy Labor Day and welcome back to the 78th edition of the Bozeman Build Report covering business and trade news happening in the Northern Rockies!

In today’s edition we cover bank robberies, land access permission cards, upland and bow season starts, Montana fruits, Western false fronts, pipeline acquisitions, and much more.

Have a great week!

Daniel

_{When and what is the Bozeman Build? The BB is a 1x/week free email newsletter delivered Monday mornings focused on Montana trade content and news. We are not a financial or building advisors.}

Montana Trade Pulse

Aug. 25, 2025 A new resource is now available for the public at content.commercemt.gov that provides photography and video assets for public use. Economic development organizations, destination marketing organizations, K-12 classrooms, universities, government agencies, non-profits and others are welcome to create an account and begin using these assets. (MT Commerce)

August 26, 2025 August 2025 Montana Manufacturing News (MMEC)

August 27, 2025 Montana’s Communications Advisory Commission on Monday approved spending more than $300 million to bring more residents high-speed internet, including millions for satellite connections to companies like Amazon and StarLink. The federal money for high-speed internet coverage is expected to expand to another 71,975 locations across the state. Department of Administration director Misty Ann Giles, a member of the council, said 32 grant applications had been selected. (Daily Montanan)

August 27, 2025 HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE The Economic Contribution of University of Montana Grizzly Athletics to Missoula County (UofM)

Aug 27, 2025 One person was arrested Wednesday following a bank robbery and police pursuit in Miles City, according to the Custer County Sheriff's Office. (KTVQ)

Aug 27, 2025 Twin Bridges fire camp mobilizes over 400 firefighters to battle Southwestern Montana wildfires. Northern Rockies incident management teams establish temporary "cities" to support firefighters battling the Cloudrest and Bivens Creek fires. (KBZK)

Aug 28, 2025 Montana Tech to host 2025 Energy and Critical Materials Summit from October 8–10, 2025 (Mtech)

Aug 28, 2025 Access Flathead Ridge Ranch private land with free permission card (FWP)

Aug 28, 2025 Montana Technological University has secured a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the Center for Energy Technologies (CET), a new research hub focused on energy systems. (MTech)

Aug 28, 2025 Missoula airport logs 18 straight months with passenger increases. The airport last year saw more than 1 million passengers for the first time, marking a nearly 12% increase over 2023. (KBZK)

Aug 29, 2025 This week marks season openers for upland game bird and archery (FWP)

August 29, 2025 Revamped Riverside facility opens to help address prison overcrowding. On Montana’s prison dashboard, the state’s Friday prison population was 3,419 of a capacity of 3,435. Montana State Prison, the state’s largest correctional facility, was about 100 inmates over capacity. Montana State Women’s Prison was eight inmates under capacity on Friday. (Daily Montanan)

Aug 29, 2025 Recent cooler temperatures will allow Hoot-owl fishing restrictions to be lifted, adjusted on several Montana rivers (FWP)

Montana Department of Transportation News

MDT News from last week

• Proposed resurfacing project on multiple routes in Anaconda

• Review period extended for US 93 Polson-Somers Corridor Study

• Proposed culvert repairs along I-90 between Columbus & Lodge Grass

• MDT Launches 2026 State Freight Plan Update

• Proposed resurfacing on Laurel Road

• MDT encourages Montanans to plan sober rides over Labor Day

Montana Fruits

Montana isnt necessary known for its fruit production except for the exception of berries, flathead cherries, and some orchards in the flathead. Yet, fruit still does grow here! This year in SW Montana, seems like all fruit trees and berry bushes have been fairing well due to above average moisture. The first photo is a 60 year old apple tree in the Madison Valley and the second photo is a raspberry bush found somewhere in the Beartooths.

It’s baling season

Seeing quite a few ranchers stack hay over the last couple of weeks.

Bozeman Trade Pulse

August 25, 2025 Big Sky Resort to Debut Kircliff, A Glass Summit Experience at 11,166 Feet (Big Sky Resort)

August 27, 2025 The Steer-A-Year program in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will return for the 2025-26 academic year and is seeking donations of young cattle and feed. (MSU News)

Western false front architecture

Not super practical on new builds however it makes your building look bigger and its a great commemoration to the earliest building styles of the west.

Northern Rockies Misc

Aug 28 2025 Indy Pass announced today that 43 new resorts have signed on for the 2025/2026 season. These new resorts will be joined by 228 returning from last year, forming an unprecedented 271-resort coalition. (Indy Ski Pass)

August 29, 2025 Houston-based Harvest Midstream has signed a $1 billion deal to buy MPLX's extensive natural gas network across the Uinta and Green River basins. It’s the first major investment in Wyoming energy for the company and its billionaire owner, Jeff Hildebrand. The transaction includes about 1,500 miles of pipelines and processing facilities with a combined capacity of 845 million cubic feet per day across Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. (Cowboy State Daily)

Regional HMI

Each month, the HMI depicts overall builder sentiment toward housing market conditions on a scale ranging between 0 and 100. A higher reading (>50) is an indication that the majority of builders feel confident about the current and near-term outlook for housing. Lower readings signify less optimism among builders. Here’s a look at how all the USA regions compare to each other Midwest having the strongest confidence and West having the least confidence.

I combined historical data from the West region from 2006-2025 to see how historical confidence stacks up finding that confidence started decreasing back in 2022 with escalated confidence deterioration seen this summer.

@ 5:25 Matt Reardon with Nutrien Ag talks about the source of last weeks moisture source, video only relevant if you’re a weather geek.

Thank you for reading,

Daniel Zavadil

bozemanbuild.com & blockbiome.com