Belgrade’s much-beloved Chalet Market has been named the state’s Retailer of the Year by the Montana Department of Commerce. The store, which sells a variety of meats smoked, cured and packaged onsite, along with sandwiches, ice cream and a collection of products made in Montana, was honored at the annual Made in Montana Tradeshow late Read More…

MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula is getting two more breweries, one in downtown and one on the hip strip, bringing the city’s total to nine breweries, but the industry brings more to the community than just providing a unique blend of beer. On the corner of East Main Street and Pattee Street once sat a service Read More…

CUT BANK – Pardue Grain, Inc.’s $5.7-million project will include a food-grade processing line for pulse crops, which in Montana include chickpeas, peas and lentils. The upgraded facility should be open 12 miles west of Cut Bank in time for harvest and will add eight jobs to the economy, the Cut Bank Pioneer Press reported. Read More…

A Montana judge says a Nebraska-based insurance company is liable for a $43 million settlement between the state and people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a Libby vermiculite mine. National Indemnity Co. paid $16 million toward the 2009 settlement but later sued to recover the money. State District Judge Holly Brown said in ruling Read More…

Montana’s high-tech businesses want to demonstrate that they can play a meaningful role in growing the state’s economy by offering higher wages than other businesses in the state, adding more jobs, and generating quick revenue growth. That’s according to a report out today from the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. The organization, with assistance from Read More…

A local environmental nonprofit organization has filed an appeal with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, seeking a reversal of the agency’s decision to grant a permit to a water-bottling plant in Creston. The Flathead Lakers announced the group would appeal the DNRC’s January decision to issue a water permit to the Montana Read More…

The nation’s first manufacturer of cross-laminated timber plans to set up shop in Maine, with a goal of creating 100 jobs at a $22 million mill, officials said Friday. SmartLam, LLC of Montana still seeks a mill site, but has committed to building a factory in Maine within 18 months. Founded in 2012, the company Read More…

The Front Brewing Company, a Great Falls brewery open since 2012, is in the process of being sold and changed. Jeremiah Johnson, the purchaser of The Front Brewing Company, said he and his wife are extremely fortunate. “I’m in the process of purchasing the Front Brewing Company from Linda Caricaburu and Brad Talcott here in Read More…

A mapping startup based in Missoula, Mont., which allows users to download sophisticated offline topographic maps outlining public and private lands and a number of other features geared towards hunting, fishing and camping, has pulled in its first major outside funding. onXmaps has closed a $20.3 million Series A round led by Summit Partners. Bessemer Read More…

Were it not for the stock market crash of the early 1970’s, James Stack might still be a mechanical engineer in Colorado. Stack graduated at the top of his engineering class at Montana State University in 1974 and went on to work as a project manager at IBM. Taking the advice of economists and Wall Read More…

WHITEFISH, Mont.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) today announced that its 2018 capital expenditure program in Montana will be approximately $135 million. This year’s plan in Montana remains focused on maintenance projects to ensure BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable rail network. The largest component of this year’s capital plan in the state will Read More…

GTUIT, LLC, a Billings based company, announced that it has recovered more than one million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from oil producing wellsites that would have otherwise been combusted in a flare stack. GTUIT designed, built, and operated all the mobile associated natural gas processing units responsible for achieving the million barrel milestone. Read More…

In the early 1800s, French soldiers conquering and colonizing Algeria were given daily rations of absinthe because military leaders thought it would help their men combat malaria. When those soldiers returned home, they started demanding the drink at their local watering holes in France. Its rise to popularity was swift, but so was its fall. Read More…

GREAT FALLS – Patrick Chapman, chances are if you have shopped at Super 1 foods on 10th Ave in Great Falls you know who Patrick is. Before Super One Patrick worked with NorthWestern Energy as one of their secondary life skills program students. This program teaches young adults with special needs how to be independent, Read More…

The University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research’s 43rd annual economic outlook seminar will be held in Kalispell on Feb. 6, with this year’s program exploring the relationship between higher education and the state’s economy. The keynote speaker is Robert Nystuen, president of Glacier Bank and vice chair of the Montana University System Read More…

Negotiators were in Montreal, Canada for the sixth round of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement this week and Montana wheat and barley farmers paid close attention to the ongoing talks. According to Michelle Erickson-Jones, president of the Montana Grain Growers Association, NAFTA has been one of the most important agreements overall Read More…

A business coalition is asking a judge to stop state officials from imposing a fee on assets of Montana’s workers’ compensation fund to plug a budget gap. The suit filed Monday in state District Court in Lake County says employers pay into the fund to make sure injured workers get medical coverage and state officials Read More…

EVERGREEN – The Green Haus medical marijuana dispensary is a bright, airy space with wooden accents and friendly faces behind the counter, a dream owner Mike Eacker has spent at least a decade making come true. Each customer who walks in is greeted by name, and each tells stories of how medical cannabis has changed Read More…

Montana’s unemployment rate remained pretty much unchanged during the final month of the holiday season. State Senior Economist Barbara Wagner explains. “Montana’s unemployment rate is at 4.1% in December, that is the most recent month we have available,” said Wagner. “It is actually exactly even with the U.S. rate this month, which is a long Read More…

This story is the final chapter of a series focusing on how Missoula and its surrounding communities are grappling with challenges of sustainable growth. (If you haven’t yet, check out the first of the series here, the second one here, and the third here.) It was written by the The Missoulian and is published here Read More…

Montana farmers and ranchers are being asked to fill out a very important survey that helps paint an accurate picture of American agriculture – the Census of Agriculture. “By filling it out you let your voice be heard. You let everyone know how Montana’s agriculture economy is; basically, telling us your story” says USDA-NASS MT Read More…

In 2017 the Helena Regional Airport saw a record number of passengers with 209,000 making it one of the most successful years for the organization. Airport Director Jeff Wadekamper says that load factors on the flights were great with most flights being at 50-80% capacity and airlines increasing aircraft size to better accommodate those loads. Read More…

This week, the Montana Department of Commerce announced the recipients of more than half a million dollars’ worth of Workforce Training Grant funds. “This grant program is a small amount of money compared to the total cost to a business to hire someone and train them, but the hope is to put a little bit Read More…

Growing tomorrow’s leaders today for Montana was the focus of a luncheon held at the Capitol rotunda. It was Leadership Montana’s fourth session with the class of 2018. Individuals involved were business leaders and government leaders that come from all corners of the state. Channel Schieffer, President and CEO of Leadership Montana said she is Read More…

A Nebraska manufacturer has acquired a Bozeman-based photonics company and will relocate the company’s production facility from Singapore to Bozeman. Elemental Scientific, an Omaha company that specializes in spectroscopy technology — a method of identifying material using light — purchased the newly named Elemental Scientific Lasers, located on North Seventh Avenue across the street from Read More…

BILLINGS – A Billings West End business got a new name on Wednesday. Get Juiced officially reopened as Well Pared. The company has been serving juice and smoothies since it opened on the corner of Broadwater and 24th Street West in 2013. The menu has expanded over the years to include salads and some hot Read More…

HELENA – Gov. Steve Bullock reports that Montana’s unemployment rate has remained steady for most of 2017, saying workers and families are heading into the holidays with a strong economy driving growth in local communities across the state. Gov. Bullock’s office says the unemployment rate was 4.0% for the month of November while the U.S. Read More…

MISSOULA,Mont. – Stockman Bank is asking the Missoula City Council to approve a new bank on the corner of Brooks Street and Dore Lane. The request comes from Mike Tuss, a principal at CTA Architects, on behalf of William Coffee, the CEO of Stockman Bank, as the bank looks to construct a nearly 49,000-square-foot building. Read More…

Whitefish Ford VW and Kalispell Ford of Evergreen have united and relocated to a brand new 54,000-square-foot facility in North Kalispell that officially opens today. The Kalispell Ford dealership has a larger capacity than both the old ones combined and features 26 service bays, said Milt Aus, who was the general manager at Kalispell Ford Read More…

Pulse crops such as peas, dry beans, lentils, and chick peas play a huge role in healthy diets around the world. Pulse crops are also a powerful and versatile crop for Montana farmers who can use them to improve soil health and generate income from local and global markets. According to Circle’s Jerry Schillinger, president Read More…

Montana has an estimated 37,400 women-owned businesses, employing 35,000 and attributing to roughly $4,771,100,000 according to the seventh annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN. The report analyzes data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners and factoring in relative changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Montana is ranked Read More…

BUTTE, Mont. – Black Friday may be the busiest shopping day of the year, but small businesses have their eye on another big day. Butte shops are busy preparing for their own rush on Small Business Saturday. This year they’ve come up with some new ways to lure customers in. The Butte mall was packed Read More…

The Montana Scene opened its fifth location on Nov. 3 at 219 S. Main St. in downtown Kalispell. The Montana Scene’s other locations are in Bigfork, Whitefish, Missoula and Bozeman. Only open for three years, the family-owned business has seen tremendous growth. The mission of the The Montana Scene is to share their passion and Read More…

Inter-Mountain Bancorp, Inc., the Bozeman-based holding company for First Security Bank, has entered into an agreement to join the Glacier Bancorp family of banks.  Pending Board and regulatory approval, First Security will officially be under the Glacier Bancorp umbrella in early 2018. The new relationship will eventually lead to First Security Bank’s Golden Triangle locations Read More…

COLUMBIA FALLS — The prominent hotel and convention center. The lineup of renovated and emerging storefronts and apartment buildings populating almost half of Nucleus Avenue. Even the aerial photo of the “Gateway to Glacier” placed front and center on the city government’s website. All courtesy of Mick Ruis. It’s impossible to walk through Columbia Falls Read More…