We’re talking home building and AI-proof trades for Gen Z with President of Southwest Montana Building Industry Association slash owner of Rivers Landscaping Riley Rivers and Career Outreach Coordinator for Bozeman and Gallatin High Schools Karl Schwartz, architect of the new Bozeman Construction Academy.

Riley breaks down the real inputs driving building costs in the Gallatin Valley: materials, labor, land, fuel, permit delays, government regulation, and the cost of holding land while projects wait for approval. Karl explains how the Construction Academy gives high school students hands-on trades experience, college credit through Gallatin College, and job-site readiness before they graduate.

They also get into why construction careers are much broader than “swinging a hammer,” why AI is not about to install sprinkler lines on a Big Sky hillside, and how private industry support helped launch a public-school trades program. Then Joe makes Riley and Karl play a deeply unserious but weirdly educational price-per-square-foot guessing game featuring storage units, Bozeman homes, Costco, Yellowstone Club, coffee shacks, the Las Vegas Sphere, and the International Space Station.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/swmbia

Join SWMBIA: SWMBIA.org

Support the Construction Academy: BozemanConstructionAcademy.org

And get your Big Sky Community Rodeo tickets here: BigSkyPBR.com

Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast

Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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Big Sky, Montana is technically unincorporated — no town council, no mayor — yet it generates $25 million a year in resort tax revenue and just became the most taxable community in the state. We sat down with Daniel Bierschwale, Executive Director of Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD), to break down how resort taxes work, what the new hospital district means for residents, and why Big Sky is essentially funding two teachers per school district across all 391 Montana school districts.

And while we’re talking dirty details, Karl Johnson, owner of YES Compost, joins to explain what vermicomposting is. It’s hundreds of thousands of worms eating your food scraps and pooping out garden gold. We talk worm aversions (no citrus, no onions, definitely no diapers), scaling from 10 lbs of worms to a city-wide composting operation, and the one commercial client who really should have read the green bucket guidelines.

This episode was made possible by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, for your enjoyment and information.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/yesbsrad

Learn more about Big Sky Resort Tax: ResortTax.org

And sign up for YES Compost here: YesCompost.com

Topics covered: Big Sky resort tax | BSRAD | Montana local government | vermicomposting | worm castings | Big Sky housing | hospital district | Gallatin Valley composting | Big Sky Chamber of Commerce

Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast

Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

Help us corral more listeners like yourself by subscribing and then reviewing us wherever you get your podcasts.

Still need more links? Okay here's one more. https://www.hoarymarmot.net/

Residents of Big Sky, Montana have an increasing number of options and opportunities, and on this episode, we’ll feature a couple of great examples.

Dr. Syd Desmarais of Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital and Jeremy Harder, head of school at Big Sky Community School, join us to talk about what it actually takes to serve a resort town of pet owners with active, sporty kids.

We cover some serious ground here: pet acupuncture, why dental powders are a waste of money, what a brand new hybrid K-12 school actually looks like, and how it’s connected to a school in New York.

This is part of a series brought to you by the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, which is very cool of them.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/vetschool

Check out Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital: https://www.lonepeakvethospital.com/about-us

And learn more about Big Sky Community School: BigSkyCommunitySchool.org

Topics: veterinary medicine in rural Montana | alternative education | Big Sky Community School | Lone Peak Veterinary Hospital | pet acupuncture | hybrid homeschool | Big Sky Chamber of Commerce

Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast

Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

Help us corral more listeners like yourself by subscribing and then reviewing us wherever you get your podcasts.

Still need more links? Okay here's one more. https://www.hoarymarmot.net/