Missoula News | New West Network

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For Whitefish, Quainter is Better

Whitefish’s Big Mountain presented its new master plan to the Whitefish City-County Planning Board on April 20th, but decisions on the plan were postponed in order to sort out zoning issues. The new plan, which is intended to make the ski area’s village more people-friendly, includes three new lifts, dispersing development around a downsized village concept, and establishing an enlarged beginner skiing area away from the village.
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Networking the West

TechRockies.com, a sister publication of SoCalTech.com, has launched - bringing a new online publication and directory of high-tech venture firms, companies and people to the Rocky Mountain region. SoCalTech has been around for awhile - I think I subscribed in '99 - and since the demise of eMileHigh back in 2001 (?) I haven't seen another all-tech publication emerge to fill the void. Recent interviews on TechRockies.com include Josh Coates of Berkeley Data Systems; John Martin of IQNavigator; Mark Davis of Creekpath; Kevin Cawley of smartFeed; Brock Blake of FundingUniverse; Kevin Santiago of Cymphonix; and Michael Stacy of Groople. You can reach Benjamin Kuo, founder of TechRockies.com and SoCalTech.com, at ben@techrockies.com. (Ben: if you need some women to interview, just let me know!) It's good to see more coverage and more momentum for tech in our region - bring it on!

Bringing Organics Home

When Lifeline Farms began growing and selling its natural produce from the Bitterroot Valley 25 years ago, "organic" had a slightly different connotation.

“We took our crate of food to Safeway, we had all our letters saying it was organic, and we said, ‘This is organic, do you want it? The managers looked at it and said, ‘Oh, it’s organic? Well, we’ll take it anyway,'” says Luci Brieger, who with her husband Steve Elliott runs the produce portion of Lifeline Farms, one of the oldest organic farms in Montana.

Since those early days, Brieger and Elliott have seen organics go from obscurity to a mainstream marketing boon. And now, many organic farmers, including Brieger and Elliott, feel that organic programs have lost touch with their roots in small farms and close communities by embracing corporations that ship their produce all over the world. In that spirit, 12 Missoula-area organic farms have formed a group that will offer an alternative to the USDA organic certification -- a "Homegrown" label focusing more on growing and selling food locally. [more]

Planning Against Wal-Mart

Ravalli County Commissioners, after moving meeting venues twice to accommodate a crowd of some 1,300 people, passed a resolution Wednesday to limit the size of new retail stores in the county.

The crowd was overwhelmingly in support of the 60,000-square-foot cap on stores, although some did speak in favor of letting large retailers set up shop.

“It has been a watershed moment in the Bitterroot, with all these people coming out to support a zoning ordinance,” said Russ Lawrence of the Bitterroot Good Neighbors Coalition, a citizen group that supported the proposal. “I think people are just tired of having their futures happen to them. The people who live here and care about what happens here want a hand in their future." [more]

In the Flathead

Land use issues are hot as ever in the Flathead, and residents have gravel pits on the brain. Seven months ago, Flathead County Commissioners approved a zoning text amendment that increased the number of zoning districts where gravel pits can be prohibited. [more]

A Smart New Montana Blog

Last fall I taught a class at the University of Montana Journalism School entitled "How to Start a Magazine in Print or Online." Each student was required to develop an actual publishing project over the course of the semester, and one of the most promising publications was the brainchild of a student named Hank Green. Hank wasn't even in the journalism school - he was pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies - but he was very tech-savvy, and very serious about his idea. I was thus delighted to see yesterday the official launch of EcoGeek, a site devoted to "exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology." Hank and his collaborators have done some great things with the site, especially in the realm of Web 2.0-style features, and it paid off with a first-day hit on Digg. Congrats Hank!

Onward and Upward!

As my family, friends and colleagues know all too well, I've spent a lot of time over the last few months putting together the second round of financing for New West. Raising money is never easy, and raising money for journalism-oriented projects can be particularly challenging, but today I'm delighted to report that we have closed the deal. We assembled a great group of investors for our seed round last year, and now we've built on that with a powerful and diverse group for our first equity round (known in the trade as a Series A round). Their support, together with yours, will enable us to take New West to the next level. Keep reading for the full press release, and as always let us know what you think. Thanks! [more]

Money and Space

The investigation into a former University of Montana vice president’s involvement with a non-profit organization that received $3 million in NASA grants is on track to finish by early June, Montana's legislative auditor said Thursday. The investigation is in the preliminary stages and will require combing the financial records for not only the university and the INSA, but could also delve into the employment records of two of Montana’s biggest politicians: Sen. Conrad Burns and Rep. Denny Rehberg.

Monday’s unexpected resignation the Board of Regents Chairman John Mercer won't affect the progress of the investigation, said Scott Seacat, the state's legislative auditor. Seacat said Commissioner of Higher Education Shelia Sterns will keep the investigation going. “The commissioner isn’t going to let this leave her sights,” Seacat said. [more]

Where's the Money?

by Russ Fletcher

When the Montana Board of Investments last year agreed to put up $25 million to jump-start a regional venture capital fund and retained the investment firm Credit Suisse First Boston to raise another $15 million from private investors, it appeared that cash-starved entpreneurs in Montana and neighboring states might finally get a lifeline. But CFSB last month informed state officials that it had failed to secure a single commitment for the fund, effectively ending the effort before it had even started and rasing new concerns about the entrepreneurial environment in the state.

While the fund would have been free to finance startups not only in Montana but also in Idaho, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, Nevada, and Wyoming, the responses received from the 64 possible funders contacted by CSFB ranged from "we're already investing in the region" to "the potential investor is skeptical about the opportunity in the region". [more]

The Axing of Air America

Comedian and Air America radio host Al Franken was on the radio in Missoula again this morning - lamenting the decision by Simmons Media Group to scrap Air America and the "progressive talk" format on KNS, and questioning the reasoning behind the decision. While Franken acknowledged that affiliate relationships come and go in the radio business, he called the situation in Missoula "the most shocking of this kind of thing," citing the extremely warm reception he received when he appeared here in January and the excellent ratings the show enjoyed in this market. "It's kind of weird," said Franken. "It doesn't sound like a business decision, it sounds like a political decision."

"There is more fear in this country than I ever realized," Franken continued, adding that the decision in Missoula "felt pretty icky...we thought if we brought the listeners the advertisers would be there."

Interestingly, Franken appeared on the morning show on 103.3 The Trail, which is also owned by Simmons (and also hosts the daily New West Newsminute). Our friend and colleague Dave Cowan, general manager for the Simmons station group in Missoula, deserves a lot of credit for letting Franken have his say.

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