All posts by Big Sky Headlines

NRA Endorses in Montana General Election

FAIRFAX, Va.—Today the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) announced its endorsement of Greg Gianforte for governor and Tim Fox for attorney general in Montana. “We are pleased to endorse two strong pro-Second Amendment candidates in Montana. Greg Gianforte and Tim Fox will fight to protect our Right to Keep and   Bear Arms,” said Read More…

Uber teams with Sears on new rewards program for drivers and riders

Uber today announced yet another rewards program for its drivers and riders, this time in partnership with retailer Sears and its “Shop Your Way” loyalty platform. The program offers drivers points redeemable for products at Search, Kmart and Lands End, as well as discounts on vehicle maintenance and repairs at Sears Auto Centers. Meanwhile, riders who Read More…

Infrastructure Failures Fall Squarely on Governor Bullock

“Darned Poor Judgment” is the rating I give Gov. Steve Bullock for infrastructure performance during the past four years!   Clear back in 2013 the governor’s bad judgment became obvious. That year the Legislature passed a fix for oil boom infrastructure by a heavy margin, only to have the governor kill it with a veto. Read More…

Gianforte calls for Commerce director resignation, over tourism contract

  Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte is calling for Gov. Steve Bullock to fire his commerce director, over a tourism-promotion contract awarded to an out-of-state company.   At a gubernatorial debate in Billings this week, Gianforte said the contract was awarded in a “rigged process” that caused job losses in the state, and was “given Read More…

The Future of Energy In Montana

The State of Montana is blessed with an abundance of energy resources. We have areas of high quality wind and solar opportunities, and we have one of the nation’s largest reserves of high quality coal, plus new reserves of natural gas. The recent announcement of the complete shutdown of Colstrip units 1 & 2 was Read More…

Dead people voting in Colorado

Local officials in Colorado acknowledged “very serious” voter fraud after learning of votes cast in multiple elections under the named of recently-deceased residents.   A local media outlet uncovered the fraud by comparing voting history databases in the state with federal government death records. “Somebody was able to cast a vote that was not theirs Read More…

GTUIT Makes Inc. 500 List

Billings-based GTUIT, LLC has earned the 203rd position on Inc. magazine’s 2016 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private American companies with a three- year revenue growth rate of 1,894%. For 35 years, Inc. has tracked the fastest-growing private companies which have included firms like Microsoft, Under Armor, Oracle and Yeti Cooler. GTUIT stands out because Read More…

Bridging the Gaps in Foster Care

In a household with five children under the age of 7, a simple date night away for the parents can feel like a spa day, a few hours to recalibrate and breathe, to ignore the kids’ menu and enjoy conversation with other adults.   Amanda and John Mark Creamer understand how important this sliver of Read More…

Helix Business Solutions adds technology sector to Dillon economy

If you have listened to Montana gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte speak on his economic plans, one key area regarding jobs is to bring the state’s kids home with high paying jobs in the technology sector. Gianforte and his wife founded and grew RightNow Technologies in Bozeman before selling the business to the multi-national corporation Oracle. Read More…

Cheney earns endorsement of Wyoming Mining Association

The Wyoming Mining Association endorsed Republican Liz Cheney for the state’s lone U.S. House seat, the trade organization announced Monday. “The WMA believes Liz Cheney understands the critical issues and challenges facing Wyoming’s mining industry, and that she is the candidate best prepared to be our most effective advocate in Congress,” Jonathan Downing, the association’s Read More…

In a hopeful sign, Wyoming unemployment rate falls for first time in 18 months

Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell in August for the first time in 18 months, the Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday. The shift from 5.7 percent unemployment in July to 5.5 percent last month is not a statistically significant drop, but it offers hope that the state economy is stabilizing. Natrona County had the fourth-largest decrease Read More…

DNRC: Montana fire season is below average

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation that this year’s fire season has been near or below average in the Treasure State. During an Environmental Quality Council meeting in Helena earlier this week, the DNRC’s Bob Harrington reported that 252 fires this season have burned 23,000 acres of state-managed land. The total cost to fight the blazes is Read More…

Supporters of North Dakota pipeline protests gather in Great Falls

Members of the Chippewa Cree Tribe gathered along the bank of the Missouri River in Great Falls on Tuesday evening to show their support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. The group is joining in protest of the multi-billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline that would cross the Missouri River several times across Read More…

Why this pro-choice woman supports Greg Gianforte: jobs

Here’s a question a few of my friends are asking me. Why would a pro-choice, liberal-leaning woman like myself, who typically votes for Democrats, be supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte?   First, a little background. I’ve had decades of experience in business and economic development. In 2000, I began running a small economic development Read More…

Bullock defends trips to concert, Kentucky Derby

Republican-leaning websites Friday posted stories questioning trips that Gov. Steve Bullock and administration officials have taken to Missoula and the Kentucky Derby. The governor’s office says the trips were, respectively, to conduct state business, and to fulfill Bullock’s role as head of the Democratic Governors’ Association. Newstalk KGVO’s assertion that Bullock also traveled to Puerto Read More…

Montana GOP asks high court to remove Libertarian SOS candidate

By Mike Dennison – MTN News HELENA –  The head of the state Republican Party Wednesday asked the Montana Supreme Court to remove the Libertarian secretary of state candidate from Montana’s November ballot, for not filing proper campaign forms. Jeff Essmann’s filing for “extraordinary relief” said Libertarian Roger Roots failed to file forms required of Read More…

Hillary Clinton said she didn’t know what the ‘C’ markings in emails stood for

Hillary Clinton told investigators that she wasn’t aware that a “C” marking in emails she received on her private server indicated that the information was classified at the “confidential” level, according to documents that the FBI released on Friday.   The State Department determined that one email chain contained information that is classified at the Read More…

Hillary Signed She Received Briefing on Classified Info, But Told FBI She Hadn’t

Either Hillary Clinton lied to the FBI or she lied on a State Department form as she began her tenure as Secretary of State. This conclusion appears inescapable after Friday’s FBI document release related to the Clinton email investigation. As revealed by those FBI documents, Clinton told agents that she could not recall “any briefing or training Read More…

Hacking fears over Clinton server: FBI reveal Hillary was sent ‘phishing’ email with porn links and ‘dark web browser’ was used to access another account

An unknown individual used an anonymous web browsing tool often used to access the dark web to get into an email account on the Clinton family server, the FBI revealed on Friday. Meanwhile, in another incident, top aide Huma Abedin revealed to an unidentified person that Clinton had fears she had been hacked after she Read More…

Miles City Council approves $23 million budget for 2016-17

The Miles City Council passed a $26.7 million city budget for 2016-17 Tuesday night. The $23,668,213 spending plan includes $5 million in General Fund expenditures, nearly $900,000 in cash carryover and various enterprise funds like ambulance, water, sewer, airport and library.. Finance Committee Chairwoman Susanne Galbraith said the police department requested an additional officer, which Read More…

Gianforte, Pro-Bullock PAC pouring money into MT’s gov race

Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has poured another $640,000 of his own money into his campaign, upping his total personal contributions to $1.7 million – about half his overall campaign funds. But Gianforte wasn’t the only one who opened his checkbook in Montana’s gubernatorial race last month. Good Jobs Montana, an independent political action committee Read More…

Malmstrom AFB Issues Bad Water Notice

Malmstrom Air Force Base residents woke up to potentially dangerous drinking water this morning.  The base put out a notice stating there were elevated chlorine levels in water and it was unsafe to drink or even wash with.  Some residents stated the water smelled a little funny as early as last night.  Base officials say Read More…

Engstrom, UM enter the age of customer service

The University of Montana’s new slogan is “Let’s Go There!” In addition to delighting fans of “30 Rock,” this exclamation is everything you want in a marketing tagline. It succinctly conveys the university’s message to the public: Please attend our school, and if you can, bring some friends. “Let’s Go There!” models desirable behavior for Read More…

Gianforte, Bullock Spend Heavily on Ads as Campaign Heats Up

HELENA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has given another $660,000 to his campaign as he and incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock began flooding the airwaves with ads. The Bozeman technology entrepreneur has given his campaign more than $1.6 million total, and he pledged to match every contribution he receives. Including Gianforte’s contributions of $650,000 Read More…

8 leadership lessons from the book Facebook’s HR chief recommends to all new managers

When Lori Goler, Facebook’s Vice President of People, joined the company in 2008, she got to work making the company a “strengths-based” organization. It’s a term based on Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s 1999 bestselling management guide “First, Break All the Rules.” The coauthors were Gallup analysts at the time and drew insights from 25 years Read More…

Before reforming the FEC look at Montana’s mess

Contemporary media parlor games revolve around fantasy sports and politics. Yet for politics, press interest in money raised and spent often seems more important than who will win and how policies might change. One corollary to the political-money obsession is the complaint that Federal Election Commission enforcement for alleged wrongdoers is too feeble. Critics say Read More…