Three more signs of recovery
If you needed still more evidence that the economy in Northwest Montana is beginning to stabilize, you got it in good measure on the front page of the Aug. 30 Daily Inter Lake.
Three stories touted projects that will add jobs to the local economy, but also signify considerable confidence in the economic climate in the months and years ahead.
On the retail side, Sportsman & Ski Haus announced that the popular outfitter’s Kalispell store will be expanded by nearly a third, bringing total retail space to 53,000 square feet.
Because this is a high-end local retailer, it’s particularly good news that Sportsman has been doing well enough at its Hutton Ranch store to be confident about this expansion. Part of that success is thanks to Canadian tourism and shopping, a key component of recent growth in the Flathead.
A potentially even bigger boost to the local economy may come from Dylan Energy, a Maryland company that says it plans to lease or purchase the old Walmart building in Evergreen for a manufacturing facility.
CEO Martin Cain says that Dylan Energy will build an “off grid” heat and power system that is capable of powering about 600 homes or a commercial complex.
If the deal goes through as Cain hopes, he foresees 50 employees being hired within the next nine months and eventually as many as 150. He also predicts that other manufacturers would move to the area to support his facility.
We certainly can’t count on this project yet, but it provides a blueprint for the kind of manufacturing that the Flathead needs to attract to create a more diverse economy going forward.
Meanwhile, Lincoln County also got good news last week when it was announced that St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby has been cleared for a $32 million federal loan guarantee.
That means work will be able to move forward on a new hospital facility that has been in the talking stages for more than four years. The project will be an economic shot in the arm for Libby, and will also benefit Kalispell through the participation of general contractor Swank Enterprises and the architect/engineering firm CTA.
Any one of these three positive stories would have been exciting on its own, but to see them all on one front page shows that the economic picture in Northwest Montana is brighter every day.