Winners Announced For 2026 Minnow Tank Competition

Great Northern Development Corporation recently announced the winners and runners-up of the 2026 Minnow Tank Business Plan Competition, a regional entrepreneurship program designed to support small business growth, start-up development and economic opportunity across northeastern Montana.

The finale was held on Thursday, April 30, at the Glasgow Elks Lodge, bringing together entrepreneurs, community members, regional partners, lenders, business resource providers and supporters from across the region. Finalists pitched their businesses live in front of a panel of judges and an audience, competing for funding, visibility and continued business development support.

This year’s winners and runners-up are:

• Startup Winner: Rogue Acres, Valley County, $5,000 Rogue Acres, founded by Courtney Anderson and Ruan Rall, is a farm-to-table store rooted in rural Montana. The business focuses on locally sourced, nutrient- dense foods straight from producers customers can trust, while supporting small businesses, stewarding the land and connecting the community to real local food.

• Startup Runner-Up: Frosted Feelings, Daniels County, $500 Frosted Feelings, owned by Savannah Frederick, is a small-batch bakery dedicated to putting a fresh spin on nostalgic flavors and treats. From sourdough to custom cakes, Frosted Feelings brings a little extra joy to the table, with plans to use the funding to purchase an electric dough sheeter to help scale production and add more specialty baked goods.

• Expanding Business Winner: Sugg Primary Care Clinic, Garfield County, $5,000 Sugg Primary Care Clinic, led by Dawn Sugg, DNP, FNP-C, began in 2021 in Glasgow. With more than 18 years in nursing and primary care, Sugg built the clinic around a caring, simple and patient-focused approach to rural healthcare. The clinic now serves thousands across the region, and its new Jordan location, led by Paige Stanton, FNP-C, brings that same relationship-based care to Garfield County.

• Expanding Business Runner- Up: Meadowlark Apothecary, Valley County, $500 Meadowlark Apothecary, owned by Robert Sullivan, is a northeast Montana business that grows and sells cultivated sweetgrass products. The business has built a niche brand focused on quality, sustainability and careful production, bringing a unique rural Montana product to customers across the country.

This year, GNDC was able to expand the impact of Minnow Tank through additional support made possible by Opportunity Bank of Montana and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines through the Member Impact Fund. Because of their generosity, GNDC was able to add runner-up awards in both the start-up and expanding business categories, allowing more entrepreneurs to receive direct funding support through the competition.

GNDC also extends appreciation to this year’s platinum sponsors Opportunity Bank of Montana, Montana Department of Commerce and LivePlan.

Minnow Tank is more than a one-night pitch competition. Held every two years, the program walks entrepreneurs through business planning, financial preparation, market analysis, pitch development and one-on-one technical assistance.

Participants are evaluated on business clarity, customer need, market opportunity, financial readiness, competitive strategy, management capacity and community impact. The live pitch is also judged on presentation quality, value proposition, competitive strategy and the business’s potential benefit to northeastern Montana.

Since launching in 2018, Minnow Tank has worked directly with more than 70 entrepreneurs and has awarded more than $40,000 to help rural businesses start, grow and expand. More than 70 percent of Minnow Tank participants are still operating or have successfully launched today, showing the long-term impact that targeted business planning, advising and local investment can have in rural communities.

Through GNDC’s Small Business Development Center advising and economic development work, the organization has also supported more than $26 million in capital for businesses across the region. These investments help strengthen rural communities, create and retain jobs, expand needed services and support local ownership throughout northeastern Montana.

“Every two years, Minnow Tank reminds us that rural entrepreneurship is not small, it is powerful,” said Quincy Walter, small business advisor at GNDC. “These business owners put in the work, asked hard questions, sharpened their plans, and showed up for their communities. That matters. When we invest in businesses like these, we are also investing in jobs, services, local ownership and the long-term strength of northeastern Montana.”