SpaceX shares have fallen roughly 50% from their post-IPO peak, and Morgan Stanley is warning that a further slide to $100 — a level many investors consider realistic — would mean the market is assigning no value whatsoever to the company’s artificial intelligence business. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas made the case in a note Read More…
Montana’s U.S. Senate race entered a turbulent new phase as the national Democratic Party’s campaign arm publicly declared it would not support the party’s own nominee, a major veterans organization endorsed independent candidate Seth Bodnar, and President Trump weighed in to attack Bankhead on social media — all while both candidates insisted they were staying Read More…
American Express reported second-quarter profits rose 8% from a year earlier, beating Wall Street’s expectations, but shares fell roughly 6% Friday as investors focused on unchanged full-year earnings guidance and rising expenses rather than the headline beat. The New York-based card issuer earned $3.11 billion, or $4.53 a share, in the quarter, topping the analyst Read More…
The University of North Dakota has launched four new degree programs spanning aerospace, law and nursing, all designed to address workforce shortages in North Dakota while expanding opportunities for students. The newest addition to UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is a dedicated Bachelor of Science in Helicopter Operations, separating helicopter flight training Read More…
Hundreds of people, including Montana State University faculty, staff, students and alumni, along with community members, legislators and industry professionals, gathered Friday to celebrate the completion of the Combined State Labs building. The tri-lab agricultural facility, located on the west side of South 19th Avenue, brings together MSU’s Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Wool Lab, the Montana Department of Livestock’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, the Montana Department of Agriculture’s Analytical Lab. Established at Read More…
Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, delivered a deeply personal and impassioned floor speech Wednesday urging the Senate to reject a War Powers Resolution that would have directed President Trump to halt U.S. military operations against Iran, choking up as he pointed to a bracelet honoring a fallen friend killed by an Iranian Read More…
The Montana Department of Commerce announced that $781,000 in federal grant funding is available to help small Montana businesses accelerate and grow international sales — an amount tied for the highest awarded to any state in the nation this cycle. The funding comes from the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered through Commerce’s State Read More…
Stockman Bank has been named the top bank in Montana on Forbes’ 2026 list of America’s Best-In-State Banks, marking another year at the top of the statewide ranking for Montana’s largest family-owned community bank. The recognition, released June 17 in partnership with Statista, is based on surveys of thousands of U.S. banking customers as well Read More…
Montana State Auditor James Brown announced his Securities Division prevented more than $1 million in fraud-related losses for Montanans in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the year-to-date total to more than $2 million. Working in conjunction with financial industry partners, the Securities Division prevented $1.15 million in fraud-related losses for 10 Montanans between April Read More…
The North Dakota Department of Commerce has opened registration for the 2026 Global Talent Summit, a one-day event bringing together employers, workforce professionals, educators, community leaders and government partners to explore strategies for addressing workforce shortages through global talent. The summit will be held Sept. 3 at the National Energy Center of Excellence on the Read More…
A former Laramie County commissioner is making a bid to return to the board more than a decade after leaving office, positioning himself as a voice for residents over government and a check on long-term incumbents. M. Lee Hasenauer, a Republican who served a two-year term on the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners from Read More…
Montana State University has named Michael Becker as its permanent vice president of university communications. Becker has served as interim vice president for the past year. He previously worked as director of the MSU News Service and university spokesman since 2017. In the role, Becker will lead MSU’s communications, marketing and branding teams, which include Read More…
Montana ranked ninth in the nation for year-over-year job growth, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced, citing a new report placing the state among the country’s strongest job markets. According to a report by Stat Ranker, which compared all 50 states on year-over-year growth in total nonfarm payroll employment between February 2025 and February 2026, Montana added Read More…
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has been awarded more than $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand the state’s Registered Apprenticeship system over the next three years, with a targeted focus on AI infrastructure and related industries. The award, running from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, comes through the Read More…
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced his Consumer Protection Division returned a record amount to Idaho consumers through voluntary dispute resolution in the first half of 2026, with more than $956,000 recovered without the need for lawsuits or court orders through the end of June. After Labrador reorganized the division in mid-2025 to strengthen investigations Read More…
The University of Montana recently earned an A+ grade for its undergraduate and graduate elementary teacher preparation programs for excellence in preparing future classroom leaders to teach reading. The recognition for UM’s Phyllis J. Washington College of Education comes from the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonpartisan education policy organization. The achievement comes at Read More…
Costco Wholesale reported June net sales of $29.24 billion, a 10.6% year-over-year increase for the five-week retail period ending July 5, offering fresh evidence that the warehouse retailer’s distinctive business model continues to hold up well in a choppy consumer environment. Comparable sales rose 8.8% for the month, with the U.S. segment leading the way Read More…
The Montana Department of Justice awarded nearly $150,000 in grants to four Children’s Advocacy Centers across the state to help improve care for child survivors of crime and abuse, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. The funding comes from a Johnson & Johnson settlement resolving allegations the company manufactured, marketed and knowingly sold baby powder tainted Read More…
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Minot entrepreneur Kevin Black and Grand Forks physician and healthcare administrator Dr. Joshua Deere to four-year terms on the State Board of Higher Education, along with Mayville State University student Kelby Azure to a one-year term as the board’s student member. Black, who has served on the board since Read More…
The Trump administration allowed a national emergency declaration over Hong Kong to expire Friday, lifting some sanctions on current and former city officials — but Washington moved quickly to clarify that the underlying executive order stripping Hong Kong of its preferential trade treatment remains fully in place. The move set off a brief wave of Read More…
Nvidia has built its dominant position in the artificial intelligence chip market by consistently delivering on promises that once seemed impossibly ambitious. Now, with expectations running at record highs and rivals closing in, the company faces a different kind of challenge — convincing investors that what comes next will be as good as what came Read More…
A federal judge on Friday blocked South Dakota from enforcing a new state law restricting advertising for abortion pills against a New York-based reproductive health nonprofit, dealing a temporary setback to the state’s effort to crack down on abortion pill information campaigns. U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of House Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy rejoined the U.S. Navy Reserve in a ceremony at the Oval Office on Tuesday, where President Donald Trump administered the oath of enlistment to the Montana Republican and former Navy SEAL. Sheehy, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2008 and completed SEAL training before serving as a Navy SEAL Officer Read More…
Independent candidates have officially qualified for Montana’s U.S. Senate race and the state’s eastern congressional district, deepening a strategic divide among Democrats over whether the nonpartisan campaigns help or hurt their chances of winning seats away from Republicans. The Montana Secretary of State’s Office confirmed this week that former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines used a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday to press two Treasury Department nominees on the need for a comprehensive federal tax framework for digital assets, arguing that outdated tax rules are pushing American entrepreneurs and innovation overseas. Daines questioned Francis Brooke, nominated to be deputy secretary of the Treasury, and Sriprakash Read More…
Cocaine and methamphetamine seizures in Montana increased sharply during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, while fentanyl seizures continued a downward trend, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. “Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs continue to threaten communities, and the battle against the cartels that are bringing them into our state Read More…
On June 4, UND’s newest space-research project rose into view above campus as cranes lifted two antennas onto the rooftops of the Collaborative Energy Complex and Odegard Hall. That morning, workers installed the most visible pieces yet of UND’s new bistatic radar system, with “bistatic” referring to the physical separation between the radar’s transmitter and Read More…
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown on Thursday over the state’s sanctuary policies, arguing they unlawfully obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The complaint, filed July 9 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, targets Maryland’s Community Trust Act, a 2026 law that broadly prohibits state and local Read More…
First Interstate BancSystem has been named to TIME magazine’s inaugural America’s Best Companies 2026 list, a recognition the Billings-based regional bank’s leadership credited to its people and its approach to community banking across the West. The list, produced in partnership with Statista and announced July 9, ranks 1,000 U.S. companies based on three equally weighted Read More…
Most financial advice from billionaires sounds something like this: diversify your portfolio, buy index funds, think long-term, let compound interest do the heavy lifting. Mark Cuban’s advice on what to do with a sudden $100,000 windfall sounds nothing like that. It starts in the grocery store. When asked by Forbes how he’d handle a fresh Read More…
Wall Street posted weekly losses across the board as a sell-off in semiconductor and technology stocks outweighed a string of solid earnings reports, snapping what had been a period of broad market strength. The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% for the week, ending Friday at 7,457.69. The Nasdaq Composite fared worse, falling 2.9% as chipmakers came Read More…
A Lewis and Clark County District Court judge this week narrowed the scope of a temporary restraining order against the Montana Republican Party’s newly adopted bylaws, partially lifting a block placed on the rules after a group of party members sued to invalidate them. Judge Michael McMahon issued the original restraining order on July 9, Read More…
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Idaho Gov. Brad Little in Big Sky on Tuesday to announce a proposed federal rule that would give Western states significantly more flexibility to manage grizzly bears — the first major management reform since the species was listed as threatened under Read More…
The University of Montana Alumni Association recently honored four exceptional alumni with a 2026 Grizzly of the Last Decade selection. The recognition highlights graduates whose work is making a mark in business, public service, entrepreneurship and innovation. Each honoree has taken a distinct path, but all have turned their UM education into work that creates Read More…
The Department of War awarded two Other Transaction Authority agreements totaling $86 million to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop high-energy laser weapons capable of defeating drone swarms and cruise missiles, with a total program ceiling of $847 million. The agreements, announced July 9, are being executed by the department’s Scaled Directed Energy Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus issued a decision finding campaign finance violations by three political committees — Big Sky Fiscal Guardians, Treasure State Stewards and Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections — ordering two to reclassify and referring the third to the county attorney for potential prosecution. The decision, dated July 8, stems Read More…
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate telephone numbers, the latest step in a years-long multistate effort to combat illegal robocalls. “Idahoans are tired of scammers swindling their families and flooding Read More…
A former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and first deputy speaker of the Afghan National Assembly’s House of the People has been extradited to the United States and charged with conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and provide an arsenal of military-grade weapons to a drug trafficking organization. Abdul Zahir Qadeer, Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon voted last week to support communities across Wyoming using Mineral Royalty Grants during a special virtual meeting of the State Loan and Investment Board, approving $3,673,931 in funding for 11 towns and districts. The meeting, held July 2, was called to review earlier 2026 projects for potential additional funds from grant reserves. Read More…
By: Frankie Beer, MSU News Service