All posts by Big Sky Headlines

10 Things to Know About Montana

1. DUBBED “Big Sky Country,” Montana is the third-least densely populated state in the United States. Forty-six of its 56 counties are considered “frontier counties,” and average just 6.86 people per square mile of land. 2. What it lacks in human population numbers, it makes up for in cattle. Montana has more than double the number of cows Read More…

Small US banks are merging to pursue greater scale and cost efficiencies

A sizable group of community banks are in various stages of consolidation, highlighting how the industry-wide merger and acquisition (M&A) trend is extending down market, as community and regional banks pursue greater scale and cost efficiencies. M&A fever has already gripped the nation’s super-regionals and top banks. BB&T announced in February that it was acquiring SunTrust for Read More…

Mueller fallout continues as Greg Craig trial opens

The last time reporters and photographers scrambled after the Washington power lawyer Greg Craig as he entered the federal courthouse blocks from the Capitol, he was shepherding a high-profile defendant — Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright — to face charges of lying in a leak investigation. On Monday, the press scrum will again descend on the Read More…

Wyoming is committed to a ‘citizen legislature.’ But the format can limit who is able to participate.

Just before the close of the 2019 legislative session in Cheyenne, Rep. Landon Brown — then a 32-year-old staffer in the state’s Department of Environmental Quality — was contemplating resignation.   The Legislature was approaching concurrence on a bill to raise its $109 per diem rates for some lawmakers that, thanks to a late amendment Read More…

Cruzado sees another promising year for Montana State

Montana State University President Waded Cruzado always sounds upbeat, but she talks about the outlook for the upcoming school year as especially exciting. “We are very, very happy because we have many things to celebrate this coming year,” Cruzado said. Cruzado, 59, MSU’s first female president, spoke in an interview this week in the Montana Read More…

Gianforte holds roundtable with Helena non-profits

HELENA — Helena non-profit Executives and Directors met Monday afternoon at the Power Block building with Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte. The roundtable meeting was held with intent to discuss concerns by each non-profit from Helena Food Share to Habitat for Humanity. Congressman Gianforte listened intently as they went around the table highlight this year’s achievements Read More…

Montana State Fund presents $540,000 return to MBIA

HELENA — Montana State Fund presented the Montana Building Industry Association (MBIA) with a $539,902 check Thursday morning for their efforts to improve workplace safety. MBIA instituted a Group Retention Insurance Program, or GRIP, which help foster safe workplaces for construction sites. “Montana State Fund applauds the efforts and determination of the Montana Building Industry Read More…

Biden Inc. Over his decades in office, ‘Middle-Class Joe’s’ family fortunes have closely tracked his political career.

The day the Bidens took over Paradigm Global Advisors was a memorable one. In the late summer of 2006 Joe Biden’s son Hunter and Joe’s younger brother, James, purchased the firm. On their first day on the job, they showed up with Joe’s other son, Beau, and two large men and ordered the hedge fund’s Read More…

Supreme Court could hear first case over the opioid epidemic, thanks to an unusual suit brought by Arizona

The Supreme Court could for the first time take a case that strikes at the heart of the American opioid epidemic, thanks to an unusual lawsuit brought by the state of Arizona against members of the Sackler family and their pharmaceutical business Purdue Pharma. In a petition filed with the justices this week, Arizona Attorney General Mark Read More…

Blue Laws in North Dakota Are History

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota’s law banning Sunday shopping from midnight to noon is now history. Whatever it is you’re in the market for, you can now shop for it on Sunday mornings in North Dakota. That’s because the state’s Blue Laws have been lifted. “Well you’ve never been able to come until after lunch, Read More…

Wyoming governor settles 2016 lawsuit he filed as treasurer against state

Gov. Mark Gordon announced Thursday that he would be ending a legal proceeding he initiated as state treasurer in 2016 over that office’s authority to approve contracts related to the state capitol building construction project.   Gordon’s suit challenged the 2014 legislation that created the Capitol Building Rehabilitation and Restoration Oversight Group — the entity Read More…

Montana, North Dakota Oil and Gas Lease Auction Brings in Over $1.6 Million

Nearly half the bid and rental receipts from lease sales go to the states to directly support public education, infrastructure improvements and other state-determined priorities.   The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana/Dakotas raised $1.6 Million in its quarterly oil and gas lease sale held online July 30. Nearly 50 percent of the revenue from Read More…

Obama Presidential Center would have ‘adverse impact’ on historic Jackson Park, federal review concludes

The finding by the Federal Highway Administration puts pressure on the Obama Foundation to find a way to “resolve adverse effects” and turns up the heat on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to order the foundation to make those changes. Construction of the $500 million Obama Presidential Center will have an “adverse impact” on historic Jackson Park Read More…

Drone makes first commercial delivery in The Bahamas

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) – A drone made a successful commercial delivery in The Bahamas for the first time last month traveling more than 50 miles over land and water in 28 minutes. The flight on June 18 also marked the first time that a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) operated in controlled airspace at an active commercial international Read More…

Former Billings Gazette, Missoulian executive named communications director for Fox’s campaign

A longtime former newspaper executive has been named the communications director for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox’s campaign for governor.   Mike Gulledge, who was recently the regional publisher of the Missoulian, Billings Gazette and Ravalli Republic newspapers before taking a role with the University of Montana, begins the role for Fox immediately.   “I’m honored to Read More…

Capital One breach exposed bank data for the most financially vulnerable customers

The Capital One hack is of the largest data breaches ever — and among those affected are some of the bank’s most financially vulnerable customers. The bank and the US Department of Justice revealed Monday that a hacker was able to access private data for more than 100 million Capital One customers. Social Security numbers, credit card applications, Read More…