On March 9, less than a year after Gov. Steve Bullock signed House Bill 725 legalizing sports betting in Montana, the first betting terminals were placed inside bars and casinos across the state. Two days later, the NBA suspended the remainder of the professional basketball season. A day after that, the NHL and MLS suspended Read More…
A local Helena photographer celebrated five years in business. Kevin League hosted a grand opening of his new, permanent gallery this weekend in Downtown Helena to celebrate the anniversary. For League, having a full-time space to display his work is the first within his five years in business. League has numerous awards for his work Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Blackfeet Tribe business owners can now apply for grants to help them make up for some of the money they’ve lost this year due to the pandemic. Application are being accepted through December 11. As of Tuesday, about two dozen businesses had submitted applications. The committee overseeing the grant was still in Read More…
New changes are coming to one of downtown Kalispell’s oldest historic buildings. Originally opened in 1912, the Kalispell Grand Hotel is now under new ownership. Noelle and John Barr of Houston, Texas, took ownership of the downtown landmark after it spent more than 30 years under the care of Janet and Butch Clark. “We’ve got Read More…
Bozeman, Montana has a population of 48,532, but just like big cities in New York and California, this small city in the southern part of the state has seen the demand for medical masks skyrocket. Located in Gallatin County, Bozeman is home to more than one third of Montana’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, and is by far the hardest hit county in Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Monday that it’s started construction on the long-stalled Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border despite calls from tribal leaders and environmentalists to delay the $8 billion project amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for TC Energy said work began over the weekend at the border crossing Read More…
Even though local public health measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic are barely weeks old, the Whitefish business community is already losing more than $732,000 in daily revenue, according to a study released Tuesday, offering a snapshot of the downturn that local economies may have to endure for months to come. The Whitefish Convention and Read More…
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) finds itself on the front lines dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. Not only has the coronavirus forced the company’s Billings headquarters into a “work-from-home operation”, but KOA’s network of campgrounds nationwide are front and center as the country fights back against the virus. President and CEO Toby O’Rourke took to the Read More…
BILLINGS — Billings restaurants in the Shiloh Crossing shopping complex are seeing up to a 50 percent loss of sales Saturday following Governor Steve Bullock’s directive to stay at home. “As you can see, around the parking lot, it’s been dead. Our revenue has been cut in half. It’s just been me and my manager doing everything since Read More…
According to the Governor’s Office, unemployment in Montana held steady at 3.5% in February, before COVID-19 reached the Treasure State. Gov. Bullock said in a press release that Montana added 800 jobs over the month and was on par with the U.S. unemployment rate, also 3.5 percent in February. READ FULL STORY
BILLINGS — Businesses and nonprofits in all of Montana and Wyoming are eligible for up to $2 million in disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to press releases from U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines of Montana and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. The loans are designed to help businesses stay afloat if Read More…
Industry leaders and educators are hoping to teach the tools of the trades to the next generation of workers. As the Flathead Valley continues to grow, the demand for work in local trade professions like construction has never been higher. But with the aging workforce and fewer new employees entering these fields, local employers have Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — On Monday, Missoula City-County Health officials announced an order closing bars and limiting restaurant service starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday through 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 24. The health department is doing this to follow guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control. “It’s not just about money, it’s really about the ethics Read More…
The Montana Department of Commerce announced that five Montana communities have been accepted to become affiliate members of the Montana Main Street Program. The program helps Montana communities strengthen and preserve historic downtown commercial districts by supporting economic development, urban revitalization and historic preservation through long-range planning, organization, design and promotion. “The Department of Commerce Read More…
Local developer Mick Ruis is planning to build a major mixed-use development in downtown Columbia Falls. Ruis’ plan will go before the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. and then the Columbia Falls City Council on April 6. If approved, Ruis believes it would be a transformative project for Nucleus Read More…
BUTTE – NorthWestern Energy’s Montana customers are reporting a scam demanding money for a meter change. The criminals leave a phone message saying the customers’ meter will be changed shortly with instructions to call a phone number. When the customer calls the number, they are told there is a fee and service will be disconnected Read More…
WinCo and the owners of the proposed grocery store location paid union members $15,000 to settle a lawsuit against the city of Bozeman, according to court documents. While the lawsuit was between the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 4 and the city of Bozeman, the city did not pay any money in the Read More…
DILLON, MT — How do you show a perspective employer what you can do or show examples of work you’ve done? Those are very difficult if not impossible with a traditional resume. However, work on-going at Montana Western in Dillon is making all of that possible. It’s called micro-credentials and Montana Western recently received a Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — It’s not what you would expect to find in Montana’s heart land. But for more than 50-years, a Tiki bar in Great Falls has been captivating customers from all over the world. In our Montana Moment, we visit the Sip ‘n Dip at the O’Haire Motor Inn. Here on a Wednesday night, “Piano Pat,” Read More…
As baby boomers transition into retirement and new job markets evolve in a strong economy, Montana is following the nationwide trend of a workforce shortage. With Montana’s jobless rate at 3.4% as of December 2019, just below the national average of 3.5%, employers are struggling to fill job vacancies due to a low unemployment rate, Read More…
This year, WaterStreet Company is celebrating its 20th year of business in the Flathead Valley. The Kalispell technology company has quietly grown to include 80 local employees and software clients across the country. In 2020, they expect to eclipse the 100 employee mark. “We’re hiring like crazy,” said WaterStreet’s Vice President of Marketing Erica Schatte. Read More…
Montana West Economic Development is assisting the property holder of the Gateway Community Center in Kalispell by assigning an employee to serve as interim property manager to help “set the direction for sustainability” at the nonprofit campus. Kim Morisaki, MWED’s director of business development and marketing, began on Feb. 3 and will serve the role Read More…
BILLINGS — Economists with the University of Montana touted Billings’ economic health during a Tuesday luncheon at the Northern Hotel. Patrick Barkey, the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research director, said Billings has had good construction activity, a healthy real estate sector and financial institutions that are doing well. “Billings is the Read More…
Berkadia secured $30.3 million in financing for Talus Apartments, a 288-unit garden-style multifamily community in Great Falls, MT. Seattle-based Investors Capital Group, LLC, was the borrower. The 10-year Freddie Mac loan features a full-leverage loan with partial-term interest-only. Located at 2100 26th St. S, the community was constructed in two phases from 2015 to 2018. Read More…
Two decades ago, four Montana hospitals tried something new. They bankrolled a company to compete with the most powerful insurer in the state. The hospitals wanted to challenge what they described as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana’s “dominating presence.” So they founded insurer New West Health Services in 1998 to cover hospital employees and Read More…
SHELBY, Mont., Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Port of Northern Montana has recently confirmed that it has a significant amount of low-cost renewable electrical power available at its Data Center Development Park in Shelby. In particular, as a result of a cooperative arrangement with NaturEner USA, there is approximately 10 megawatts (MW) of renewable electrical power currently available at the Shelby Data Center Read More…
BUTTE – United Airlines estimates it would need $1 million in guaranteed revenue over two years from Butte before it would consider adding a second flight from Bert-Mooney Airport to Denver. This more than the $380,000 Butte’s Tourism Business Improvement District, or TBID, was asked to raise. TBID officials are planning to send a survey Read More…
JCPenney announced Friday that the retailer is planning to close its location at Southgate Mall. The department store is expected to close in April 2020. In a press release sent Friday afternoon, Washington Prime Group, the owner of Southgate Mall said prior to the JCPenney closing announcement they executed an agreement to gain control of Read More…
BELGRADE, Mont. – Montanans are ready for takeoff to the country music capital Nashville, Tenn. for the state’s first direct flight to Music City, USA. Montana’s busiest airport, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, is getting ready for a new direct flight to Nashville through Allegiant Airlines. You can start booking flights now for nonstop service, with Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Governor Steve Bullock and the U.S.D.A Rural Development State Director Charles Robinson will help celebrate the completion of Montana Craft Malt, a facility that will produce thousands of tons of malt from Montana-grown barley. The facility, inspired by a market analysis report and a variety of grant and technical assistance programs through the Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Billings Logan International Airport will offer two additional flights from Billings to Portland, Oregon and Dallas, Texas in 2020. The airport announced American Airlines is adding a second flight from Dallas to Billings, beginning April 7, 2020. The flight will arrive at 8:41 p.m. and depart at 6:30 a.m. the following morning. American Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana’s ban on flavored vaping products has been in effect for about a week and already some people have found a way to get around it. “Having customers having access to a safe product, you know, that’s the goal,” said Freedom Vapes co-owner Ron Marshall. After one day of a 120-day temporary ban Read More…
Kevin Washington, a minority owner of CryptoWatt, the cryptocurrency mining plant in Butte, says he’s “the biggest victim, by a mile” of the plant’s majority owner, Matthew Goettsche, who has been indicted in connection with an alleged $722 million Ponzi scheme. In a telephone interview Saturday, Washington said he is trying “at all costs” Read More…
Montanans earning the minimum wage will see the rate increase to $8.65 per hour beginning January 1, 2020. The 2019 minimum wage in Montana is $8.50 per hour. Currently, 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. A press release from the Governor’s office says that an Read More…
To celebrate his graduation, Nicholas Balcken will likely raise a glass — of Blackfoot River Brewing Company beer. On Friday, Balcken became the first participant in the Montana Registered Apprenticeship Program to receive a Professional Brewer Certificate. With this credential, the Blackfoot River Brewing Co. employee said, “I hope to be able to develop better beers and improve my Read More…
HELENA — A third-generation rancher from Helena, Montana won the Montana Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet back in November. The prize was a brand new Polaris Ranger and an all-expense paid trip to compete in the national competition in Austin, Texas coming up in January. Rocky Forseth says, “We can take a Read More…
RONAN – The first hemp-processing license in the State of Montana was issued to a Ronan business in November from the Montana Department of Agriculture. Green Ridge Biosolutions moved into a 15,000 square-foot building at 63298 U.S. Highway 93, located near the Ronan arch, in September. Sam Belanger, chief operations officer, said he looks forward Read More…
An agreement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the federal government over long-disputed water rights took a major step forward Thursday when Montana Sen. Steve Daines said he plans to introduce a bill that would implement a new settlement framework. “Today is a really important step. We’ve reached a historic compromise on a Read More…
BILLINGS — Montana clothing company All Season All Terrain (ASAT) Outdoors is suing New York-based fashion company Supreme for copyright infringement after Supreme sold clothing printed with a copyrighted camouflage design, according to court documents. Stevensville based ASAT Outdoors filed the suit on Nov. 11 in New York District Court. The Montana company claims to Read More…
HALL, Mont. — About 20-years-ago a rancher near Hall decided to semi-retire. But Ed James got bored. So he and his wife Sue, decided to start a new business. Now, the couple’s value added, family-owned company has clients all over the country. For our Montana Moment, we visited Sugar Loaf Wool Carding Mill. The mill stands in Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The first caregiver organization signed up for the Montana Apprenticeship Program Thursday. The program will provide 14 caregivers with dementia training at First Choice Home Health in Bozeman, where they say most of their patients are suffering from some form of dementia. In 2017, there were 287 deaths caused by dementia and Alzheimer’s Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Three Small Business Development Centers are expanding access to services and outreach to rural areas by hiring additional staff to better serve small business owners and entrepreneurs across Montana. The Great Falls SBDC, based at the Great Falls Development Authority (GFDA), has hired a rural business adviser – a new position created to make business Read More…
Soon residents in the Mining City will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with representatives from companies like Slack and WeWork as around 200 entrepreneurs and other professionals descend upon Butte next week for the annual Innovate Montana Symposium. The event runs Oct. 14-16 and marks the fourth run of the symposium, which is Read More…
HELENA — Bidding is open for seven alcohol licenses in Montana, including Bozeman and Belgrade. According to a press release from the Montana Department of Revenue, on-premises beer licenses are available in Helena, Bozeman, Hamilton, Belgrade, and Polson. All-beverage floater licenses are available in Bozeman and Missoula. A “floater” license allows the applicant to purchase, Read More…