HELENA, Mont. — Gov. Greg Gianforte continued his annual 56 County Tour this week, visiting small businesses, energy facilities, agricultural operations, and infrastructure projects across six counties along Montana’s Hi-Line and Rocky Mountain Front.
The governor began his day in Toole County at Prairie Peddler in Shelby, a local gift and coffee shop that reopened in November 2025 after a 2024 fire destroyed its original location. Owner Kelli Lohr and nearly a dozen other local small business owners met with Gianforte to discuss the rebuilding process and the broader challenges facing rural entrepreneurs. The shop, now housed in a renovated former gas station, carries products from Montana small businesses alongside a full coffee and drink menu.
In Glacier County, Gianforte visited the BHE Montana Glacier Battery System, the first utility-scale battery storage facility in Montana. The $100 million project carries a capacity of 75 megawatts for two hours and is designed to strengthen grid reliability across the state. Site manager Scott Rooney noted the investment reflects Montana’s growing role in energy innovation. The governor highlighted the project as consistent with his administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, which has prioritized expanding affordable and reliable energy through his Energy Task Force.
The governor also traveled to Browning to meet with the Blackfeet Tribal Council and tour the Blackfeet Boarding Dorm, a residential facility providing stable housing and after-school programming for more than 250 Native American students during the nine-month school year. Gianforte discussed his administration’s priorities around reducing the number of Native children in foster care through kinship placements and family strengthening efforts.
In Pondera County, Gianforte visited Windrift Hill in Conrad, a family-owned manufacturer of goat-milk soaps, lotions, and body butters. Founded in 1999 by Dick and Deena Maier, the business has grown from the couple’s kitchen to an 8,000 square foot facility with eleven employees, shipping more than 45 product varieties to all 50 states and international markets through a network of more than 7,000 retail suppliers.
The governor wrapped up that leg of the tour in Teton County with a stop at a Montana Department of Transportation bridge construction project, using the visit to highlight the state’s infrastructure investment and raise awareness about road safety in active construction zones.
On a separate stop in Chouteau County, Gianforte visited Flocking Good Farms in Big Sandy, a family-owned poultry operation raising chickens and turkeys. The farm received a $25,000 Growth Through Agriculture grant from the Montana Department of Agriculture in 2025 to launch a Mobile Slaughter Unit aimed at improving operational efficiency and meeting rising demand. The governor noted that the state supports local meat processors and producers through the program with grants of up to $50,000 and loans of up to $100,000.
In Liberty County, the governor stopped at Mattson Farms in Chester, where fourth-generation farmers grow winter wheat, spring wheat, durum, barley, flax, lentils, and chickpeas for buyers in the United States, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Gianforte highlighted his administration’s trade missions to Asia and his work with Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, to raise the Business Equipment Tax exemption from $100,000 to $1 million, a change that eliminated the tax burden for more than 5,000 small businesses, farms, and ranches statewide.
“Any tax we don’t have to pay is great,” said Vince Mattson, chief executive of Mattson Farms. “Money that we are able to save from not paying yearly taxes on our equipment allows us to invest right back into the farm.”