12 JULY/AUGUST CASCADE MONTANA NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT JULY/AUGUST 2024 GREAT FALLS YEAR/YEAR CHANGE 0.8% STATEWIDE YEAR/YEAR CHANGE 3.3%/3.4% 3.1%/3.2% 4.3%/4.2% by Butch Larcombe AIRLINE BOARDINGS JULY 2024 13.7% JULY/AUGUST 12 There are several interesting projects that made news in Great Falls and northcentral Montana recently. In connection with its 20th anniversary of operations in Great Falls, Pasta Montana announced plans to add a $6.5 million processing line that will allow it boost production from 55 million to 80 million pounds of pasta each year. The plant, located near the intersection of River Drive and 25th Street North, uses primarily durum wheat grown in northcentral Montana to produce its pasta products, which are shipped across the country and internationally. The 91,000-square-foot plant currently employs 115. The new line could add to that total and allow the Pasta Montana to operate 24 hours per day. The plant is owned by Nippon Flour Mills, one of several Japaneseowned agriculture-based companies operating in the Great Falls area. Others include Columbia Grain, Montana Specialty Mills and Helena Chemical. “Japanese companies are investing and trading in Great Falls because the Japanese consumer insists on the highest quality ingredients, and the agriculture we produce here is among the world’s best,” said Brett Doney, the head of the Great Falls Development Alliance, in remarks reported by The Electric. North of Great Falls, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Montana unveiled plans for a 75-megawatt battery facility that will allow it to store electricity produced at wind farms in Toole and Glacier counties. The company is a subsidiary of the Berkshire Hathaway company associated with legendary investor Warren Bu et. BHE owns the large Glacier Wind and Rim Rock wind farms near Shelby and Cut Bank. It said also plans to construct a 100-megawatt solar project in the area that will feature 200,000 solar panels spread over a 1,000-acre site. The battery storage project is expected yield about 70 temporary jobs this year and towards completion in 2025. But Berkshire also says it plans to establish an o ce and control center in Great Falls in connection with the Hi-Line project. That center will employ 15 and is slated to open this year. BHE did not release a price tag for the energy facilities. The Great Falls Development Alliance reported on activity at the Agri-Tech Park in northeast Great Falls. The agency said it recently sold a lot in the park to Best Oil for an expansion project. GFDA also said it has bought an additional 38 acres in the park, which will yield three lots that can be sold to new, expanding or relocating businesses. Current occupants of the park, which features BNSF Railway service, are Montana Specialty Mills, Paci c Steel & Recycling, Helena Chemical and FedEx Ground. JULY/AUGUST
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