The visceral roars of the F-16s and the artistic smoke patterns in the sky are gone, but it’s a sure bet most people’s memories of Mountain Madness will linger for a while.

The 2014 Mountain Madness Air Show enthralled 25,000 people last weekend at Glacier Park International Airport.

Pulling off an event as big as the air show required months of planning and the collaborative efforts of hundreds of volunteers and 40 community groups, plus airport staffers, all under the umbrella of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.

Those who went to the show — and even the hundreds of people lining every road around the airport, particularly during the Thunderbirds’ performance — were rewarded.

This year’s air show was particularly meaningful for those of us in the Flathead Valley since one of our own — Maj. Jason Curtis of Kalispell— flew as the No. 6 pilot for the elite Air Force team.

Curtis spoke on the public-address system as he and his team prepared to take off, and then his solo streaks through the sky were especially thrilling for local fans.

Congratulations to all the performers who entertained us and all of our neighbors who worked so hard to bring this show to the Flathead Valley.

Jobs picture is promising

The economic impact of the recent air show may be hard to measure, but it had to be huge. With the Flathead economy tied more and more to tourism, every new event brings dollars to hotels, restaurants and local stores — and that means jobs.

Of course, tourism is highly dependent on the health of the overall national economy, as the Flathead learned the hard way in 2008 when the Great Recession hit. With fewer visitors, and fewer new residents heading our way, unemployment soared to scary heights.

As a result, it is with cautious optimism that we viewed the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Labor Day report predicting above-average job growth through 2015.

Let’s face it. No one really knows what next year will bring, but cautious optimism sure beats the glum pessimism that too many businesses had to adopt in the years from 2008 to 2012. 

Last year marked a huge turnaround, however, and unemployment in 2013 fell to 4.6 percent in Montana, which was the 11th lowest rate in the nation. There are still weak spots including Lincoln County and Sanders County in Northwest Montana, but the trend is positive, and that is great news.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.