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…
Often lauded as one of the state’s major business success stories, owners of a prominent Montana farm have sold their land. Wheat Montana, based in Three Forks, sold its mills and bakeries to a private equity firm in 2015 and sold its farm to a new family in January 2019, co-owner Dean Folkvord said. Though Read More…
BOZEMAN – Twenty current and emerging leaders from Montana’s natural resource industries have been selected to take part in Class IV of REAL Montana (Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership). Class IV will begin their leadership journey on September 12, 2019 at their first seminar in Bozeman. “REAL Montana continues to strengthen its mission of building Read More…
Farmers and ranchers have long been in search of ways to limit the need for tillage and chemical herbicides on farmland, and two researchers in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture are working on a project that may provide a solution. With help from the Western Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education program, which is being Read More…
HARLOWTON, Mont. — Bridger Brewing, Montana Space Grant Consortium at Montana State University and Bozeman-based Crooked Yard Hops have partnered on a project that sent beer ingredients into space. The retrieved ingredients were then used to brew a commemorative beer celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. While other breweries are Read More…
Forty-four Montanans Complete Premier Leadership Development Program, 19 Complete new Masters Class BOZEMAN – Leadership Montana announced the graduation of 44 community, business, education, healthcare, nonprofit and government leaders from across the state for the Class of 2019 of its flagship leadership program. Leadership Montana presents an annual seven session program of leadership development, education about Read More…
A local water rights group is encouraging anyone with a senior water right to pay close attention to their mailbox, according to a release from the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, or AGAI. “You must be involved in the process to protect your water right,” AGAI organizers said. In case right holders are not aware, Read More…
James Stack’s career as a financial advisor is testament to the fact that you can understand the movements of the stock market while working 2,200 miles away from it. A native of western Montana, Stack made a decision to forgo life in a financial center for the pleasures of working in Whitefish, in the middle Read More…
Dive Brief: OSHA has cited a Montana highway contractor for 26 serious and two other violations and proposed fines totaling $225,425 in connection with an accident during which three employees sustained burns and one worker fell. The agency’s initial press release in April reported 23 serious violations and fines of $261,418. The agency said three Read More…
MISSOULA – Move over, White Claw. This month, Big Sky Brewery unveiled its own brand of spiked seltzers, featuring flavors familiar to the Treasure State. Though the Big Sky Spiked Seltzer is a far different beverage than longtime flagship beers such as Moose Drool and Summer Honey, the company says Spiked Seltzer still follows the Read More…
BILLINGS, MT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Nelcon Inc. – a highway contractor based in Kalispell, Montana – for exposing workers to burns and falls at a mobile asphalt-mixing plant in Laurel, Montana. The company faces $261,418 in penalties for 23 serious violations. Three workers suffered burns Read More…
A longtime veteran of Bozeman’s tech world, Susan Carstensen, said the business climate for women in Montana doesn’t look like it did when she first started. “The difference between 1995 and today, I think, is pretty dramatic,” she said. Carstensen worked for RightNow Technologies, now Oracle, as a chief operating officer, chief financial officer and Read More…
MISSOULA – Montana’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7% for the month of March. Total employment estimates indicate a gain of 326 jobs, while payroll employment posted no change over the month, suggesting that tight labor markets are constraining job growth, according to figures from the Department of Labor & Industry. Montana’s labor force Read More…
Dive Brief: A Montana district court judge last week issued an order in favor of solar developers, ruling that the state’s Public Service Commission intentionally disadvantaged small solar projects in violation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The ruling comes after a June 2017 audio recording captured Commissioner Bob Lake acknowledging that cuts Read More…
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office dispatched officers to the Montana Athletic Club in Bigfork on Thursday to ensure the business’ compliance with a 30-day suspension of its alcohol license. A Helena judge has prohibited the sale of all alcoholic beverages on the club’s premises for 30 days and imposed a $1,000 fine following the club’s Read More…
It’s a well–worn idea that bitcoin is helping to trash the planet, throwing fuel on an already burning world while providing value to very few people. By one recent estimate, the energy used to keep the network going, a process known as mining, is enough to power Hungary. But now a Montana county in the Read More…
MISSOULA – There’s a new fast food option coming to Missoula, and it’s setting up shop in a familiar building. Frugals is moving into the former Dairy Queen building on Brooks Street. It will mark the seventh location for the burger chain, which is focused in Washington, Idaho and Montana. The restaurant’s menu includes a Read More…
A Montana-based organization is helping jump start high-tech startups through a business pitch competition held in Missoula, Billings and Bozeman to encourage tech industry development and job opportunities. Early Stage Montana, a nonprofit coalition, is looking for entrepreneurs who need help planning and growing their businesses. Participants will pitch their business plans and products to Read More…
BILLINGS – Pitching a tent, enjoying the great outdoors, and gathering around a campfire: all things many people associate with Kampgrounds of America (KOA). Now, customers can also associate Toby O’Rourke as chief executive officer of the Billings-based company. Based in Billings, KOA just named Toby O’Rourke as the new CEO. O’Rourke has been the KOA president since March 2018 and Read More…
Over a century later, UPS continues to honor their safe drivers across the nation in what they call the Circle of Honor. As of last month, over 1400 drivers were added to the Circle, 3 of whom are from right here in Montana. In total, Montana has 569 full-time UPS drivers. Out of those drivers, Read More…
Development in Kalispell has gathered momentum in recent years, as many businesses and organizations anticipate the arrival of a new walking path cutting through downtown, replacing the existing train tracks. Since that ball got rolling, officials said, it has only picked up speed. Earlier this month, at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon, it became Read More…
The Montana Water Court could soon reach a turning point once all its old water rights cases are settled. But experts say that won’t be the end of the state’s water disputes. That’s why some lawmakers and lobbyists support mandating an interim study that will examine the future of the Montana Water Court and finding Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — According to the U.S. Small Business Administration ninety-nine percent of businesses in Montana were considered small businesses in 2018. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helped open fifty-eight businesses across the country last year. Montana ranked number one in the country for the number of workers employed by small businesses in 2018 Read More…
A 120-unit apartment project near Gateway Community Center is the focus of a public hearing before the Kalispell City Council during its regular meeting tonight. Husky Partners, LLC, is asking for a conditional-use permit for five buildings with 24 units each, plus a clubhouse. The multifamily buildings will be three stories and 43 feet tall, Read More…
CORAM – A small-town distillery in Montana is being nationally recognized for their whiskey. A February article in Esquire magazine dubbed Wheatfish, a whiskey distilled by Glacier Distilling Company, the best in the state. The article, written by Aaron Goldfarb, recounts different distilleries across the country and features one whiskey in every state. Nicholas Lee has Read More…
One product would arm a school principal with a weapon that would provide less-than-lethal or lethal options when confronting a school shooter. One barrel of the “Protector’s Choice” would fire bean-bag rounds. One would fire live ammunition. A separate product would recycle Styrofoam to manufacture 4-foot-long Lego-style construction blocks that could enhance efforts far and Read More…
Helena, MT and Chicago, IL (WorkersCompensation.com) – Montana’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance, Montana State Fund (MSF), is partnering with Rising Medical Solutions (Rising), a national managed care company, to administer its medical bill repricing and provider payment program. After awarding its program to Rising, the partnership became operational in January of 2019. “Our Read More…
Sreekala Bajwa, an expert in precision farming and the new vice president of agriculture at Montana State University, holds a sweeping vision for new role. “My vision is — and I’m still learning — is to really learn, talk to people and find out what the challenges are and where the opportunities are that we Read More…
HELENA — The old Western adage that “whiskey’s for drinking, water is for fighting over” is repeated so often it’s almost become a cliché. But water is always a hot topic in the Treasure State, and a classic Western water fight is playing out in the Legislature over a bill that would address who can Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The accessibility of listening to and buying music online is certainly different from the days when fans lined up to buy Elvis Presley records. Brick and mortar record stores have closed all over the country. But in Missoula there’s one shop that’s weathering the changes and even opening channels to music in Read More…
Which home styles are sold in greatest (and least) quantities, across the Flathead? Does it vary by city? How many acres (or fractions thereof) come with which home styles, and does that vary by city? I was recently asked about the acreage which comes with home sales. This week, I’ve analyzed the 2018 single-family home Read More…
Over the last decade, some of Montana’s larger airports have added new flights or extended certain flight services. The increased traffic is even causing some airports to expand. Since Glacier Park International Airport director Rob Ratkowski started in 2004, the number of direct flights has gone from just four to 11. He thinks the area Read More…
Though pulse crops face challenges, their long-term outlook remains bright — which an upcoming conference will help to illustrate, a pulse grower leader said. “This will be chance (for attendees) to catch up on the new developments with pulse crops,” said Chris Westergard, the Northern Pulse Growers Association president and a Dagmar, Mont., farmer. The Read More…
Beer and bacon — those are the two essential ingredients for a new business venture launched by two women in Gallatin County. Business partners Melissa Pomeroy and Cat Thomas are using those unique ingredients to make soap. “Poking around on the internet, we both fell down a rabbit hole of where we discovered you Read More…
Billings, MONT-The Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce released their comprehensive Public Policy Guide that will direct lobbying efforts at the Legislature. The group recently hired a lobbyist, EJ Redding, to advocate on behalf of area business in Helena. According to Redding, “I believe in the Chambers mission and look forward to fighting alongside businesses for Read More…
What would the economy of the state of Montana look like if the eight largest hard rock mines – producing copper, palladium, gold, talc, cement and other products and materials – did not exist? That was a question posed in a recent study produced by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It addressed – Read More…
In a recent study conducted in Gardiner, Montana, by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, unsolicited comments from nearly 50 percent of residents exemplified issues in Montana’s affordable housing crisis. Those comments ranged from complaints about high rent to unreasonable housing prices. And while the state battles an affordable Read More…
Billings, MONT.-Today, local business owners announced the formation of the Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce. The group was formed in response to a growing belief among business owners that common-sense, pro-business solutions have become secondary policy goals. The group will educate and advocate for proven and business-centric policy prescriptions that create a positive environment for Read More…
HELENA, Mont., Jan. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBMT), (the “Company,” “Eagle”), the holding company of Opportunity Bank of Montana, today announced that it completed, effective January 1, 2019, its previously announced acquisition of Big Muddy Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, The State Bank of Townsend, Townsend, Montana Read More…
It’s good news that the administration has reached an agreement on an updated North American Free Trade Agreement. It means certainty for U.S. industry and agriculture, as well as the prosperity that comes from free trade. After all, international trade’s been an asset for farmers, businesses and consumers in Montana. The state’s exports have surged Read More…