Governor Greg Gianforte announced that Montana’s unemployment rate remained at 2.8% in February, marking the 44th consecutive month of unemployment at or below 3.4%—a historic low. The strong labor market continues to be a key indicator of Montana’s resilient economy. “Montana’s economy is strong, adding 3,000 new jobs and reaching a record-high labor force of Read More…
Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share at a meeting held on March 26, 2025. This marks the 160th consecutive quarterly dividend declared by the company, which has also increased its dividend 49 times over the years. The dividend will be payable Read More…
CoreWeave, an AI infrastructure firm backed by tech giant Nvidia, made its Nasdaq debut on Friday with a less-than-enthusiastic response from investors. The company’s shares closed flat after opening nearly 3% below their offering price, giving it a valuation of $23 billion on a fully diluted basis. The lackluster performance has raised concerns about the Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte is celebrating a $2 million investment from GE Aerospace to expand manufacturing capacity at its joint venture site in Butte, further boosting Montana’s role in commercial and military aircraft engine production. “I appreciate the continued investment from GE Aerospace to boost American manufacturing, jobs, and products,” said Gov. Gianforte. “In Montana, we’ll Read More…
Over the weekend in Seattle, KTVQ brought home the Northwest Regional Emmy Award for Best Morning Newscast for work on our annual Pink Breakfast newscast. For 16 years Q2 News has opened its studios to breast cancer survivors and their caregivers to honor patients still battling and those who’ve beat cancer, by telling their amazing Read More…
A bear spray rental business in southwest Montana is marking its third year of operation. TrailQuipt has locations in Gardiner, West Yellowstone and outside Bozeman. The business rents bear spray canisters for two days for $16, which they call a cost-effective alternative to buying bear spray. The company is implementing an online reservation system this Read More…
Mullinax Irrigation & Construction Supply, which provides irrigation solutions and construction products from their headquarters in Sheridan, WY, recently announced the sale of their business to a new generation of ownership. Kevin Beagle and Dustin Frost, an Army and a National Guard Veteran, both with connections to the Billings business community, have purchased the company Read More…
Fintel reports that on April 28, 2023, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained coverage of First Interstate BancSystem Inc. – (NASDAQ:FIBK) with a Market Perform recommendation. Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 40.35% Upside As of April 24, 2023, the average one-year price target for First Interstate BancSystem Inc. – is 37.01. The forecasts range from a low of 31.31 to a high of Read More…
NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE) today announced that Sherina Maye Edwards has been elected by the company’s shareholders to the Board of Directors, bringing extensive regulatory, legal, utility infrastructure and executive experience to the independent board. Edwards is the former Chief Strategy Officer of MasTec, Inc., a NYSE-listed infrastructure construction company and former Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte received praise from industry leaders, business owners, and business advocates for his advocacy of a tax relief package, signed into law on March 13. Fulfilling his campaign promise to address the priorities of Montanans by offering them the largest tax cut in the state’s history, which includes both immediate tax rebates and Read More…
The owner of the Taco Time on Main Street is looking for someone to buy the property due to declining sales. The Taco Time, first opened to great success in 1975 performed well during the pandemic with their drive-thru. But since the pandemic began winding down last year, so have their sales, said owner Steve Adams. Adams believes a lot Read More…
The University of Providence announced a partnership with Montana’s first medical school — Touro University of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls. The agreement with Touro will allow UP to offer students a Biology degree with a Health Professions concentration. Students enrolled in the program will be guaranteed an admissions interview (if GPA requirements are met) Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana exceeded his goal for adding good-paying jobs to the economy in 2021, which he set at the beginning of last year. Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) data show the state added just under 13,000 jobs paying over $50,000 in 2021, easily surpassing the governor’s goal of Read More…
When Brittain Kovac and Josh Schukman bought their first 1988 Airstream trailer in 2016 to live in while they worked traveling jobs, they fell in love with the vintage living space and the era it was designed in. Over the years, they acquired five Airstreams from Kansas City, Arizona and the Yaak, moving each of Read More…
Amid record low unemployment it’s hard to find employees in Montana, not just the Flathead Valley. Still, the work is ongoing locally to promote strategies that can help businesses keep the employees they already have. Montana’s unemployment rate is the fifth-lowest in the nation, dropping from 2.7% in January to 2.6% in February, according to Read More…
The recent surge in gas prices is fueling operational adjustments across the Flathead Valley business landscape. Donny Stevens, who runs a Columbia Falls trucking company, said his biweekly bill increased by $5,000 from one statement to the next. “It’s affecting us big-time,” Stevens said. READ THE FULL STORY
While Montana Rail Link will be getting out of the railroad business by shifting operations to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the Missoula-based company will still control considerable real estate. That includes some important, but currently unused branch lines in Western Montana. During the most recent meeting of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), spokesman Jon Bennion explained Read More…
A great employee benefits broker has to predict trends in the market and analyze data to find the best solutions in a complex environment. Constantly changing regulations across multiple states makes this a challenge for even the best broker — but Shannon Jensen has it figured out. One HR manager leading a large multistate team Read More…
The road back to normal is still a bumpy one for many businesses. For Helena heavy equipment dealer Empire Equipment Company they’re taking on the challenges as they come. “It’s been pretty difficult,” Empire Equipment Company General Manager Krista Marshall told MTN. “Luckily our manufacturers have been well established at getting parts from Europe to North America. Read More…
The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as the Covid omicron variant hits operators’ businesses. Last year, lawmakers created the $28.6 billion fund to aid bars and restaurants struggling in the wake of the pandemic. The grants were designed to make up for a restaurant’s full pandemic losses of up Read More…
HELENA — Marks Lumber is closing down for renovations to their Lumber Mill. They plan to be closed starting in mid-April for 8-10 weeks. The lumber mill is replacing an edger and a trimmer. The current equipment they have doesn’t allow for as many cutting options and isn’t always reliable. The new equipment will give Read More…
MISSOULA — BNSF Railway is taking over operations and maintenance of Montana Rail Link following the end of a long-term lease with the company. A letter to MRL employees Monday from President Derek Ollmann states the decision was “made after a great deal of thought including securing BNSF’s commitment to continue employment for all MRL Read More…
Endpoint Utility Corporation is a small local tech company born from some of the biggest businesses in the global market. The IT service provider was founded in the Flathead Valley by four partners who cut their teeth at big-name businesses such as Microsoft and McDonald’s. Their focus is on making information technology solutions accessible to Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The Honey Hippo Play Café, opening soon in Great Falls, is an indoor playground that doubles as a coffee bar. Owner Laura Ewalt has been a stay at home mom for the better half of 10 years. Recently, after her son didn’t quite make the age limit for preschool, she decided that Read More…
BIG SKY, Mont., Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Montage Hotels & Resorts today announced the opening of Montage Big Sky, a modern alpine retreat offering an elevated spirit of comfort and distinctive amenities that epitomize today’s sense of luxury, in an idyllic location for year-round adventures in Southwest Montana. The resort is located less than an hour from Yellowstone National Park and surrounded by Read More…
HELENA — Lee Enterprises, the owner of several Montana newspapers, has rejected a bid by Alden Global Capital, LLC, a hedge fund, to purchase the company. Lee is the parent company of the Montana newspapers the Helena Independent Record, the Missoulian, the Billings Gazette, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli Republic. Alden was offering $24 Read More…
LAKESIDE, Mont. – With snow over the weekend and more in the forecast, Blacktail Mountain Ski Area is gearing up for its upcoming season. After announcing new ownership in November, some changes are coming to the mountain this ski season. General Manager Jessi Wood said they don’t have an opening day scheduled yet, but she’s Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Montana is a place that many people want to call home, and after the effects of COVID restrictions ran out both of this family’s businesses due to shutdowns, they decided to make Montana their home. Jon and Amanda Bush were the power couple to beat in their town of Vancouver, Washington. Amanda Read More…
Helium is blowing up in the Flathead Valley — the technology start-up firm, that is. Jeff DuPuy, a local tech enthusiast, is spearheading the deployment of a radio system that acts as an alternative to traditional internet services. Dupuy is working with “other nerds across the country” to bring the benefits of the Helium system Read More…
BILLINGS — Billings will soon get a new concert venue in the form of an outdoor pavilion on the east side of Downtown. It’ll be built near 2nd Avenue North and N. 17th Street, and plans so far are receiving positive feedback from people in that area. “I’m sure it would add a lot to Read More…
The Kalispell City Council voted to restrict marijuana dispensaries, cultivation and manufacturing to industrial zones after a second reading of the ordinance at the Oct. 18 council meeting, setting the city’s framework for facilities once operations can begin on Jan. 1, 2022. While marijuana operations are permitted in the city, they will be limited to Read More…
HAMILTON — It’s fall in Montana, with windswept mountain ranges and morning temperatures hovering in the 30s, and it’s not the ideal growing season. That is unless you’re inside Local Bounti. “This new type of growing is really exciting,” said Meaghan McGrath, director of product development. Local Bounti is a company specializing in growing facilities that Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Delta is rebuilding its flight schedule across the nation. The airline is raising its capacity to 80% later this year. It’s been operating at 71% of its regular capacity. Here in Montana, it’s a bit of a different story right now. Recently, Delta cut its direct flight from Great Falls to Minneapolis. Read More…
The 2021/22 ski season will be Dan Graves’ last as chief executive officer of Whitefish Mountain Resort, a position he has held for 15 years. Graves was promoted to the role of CEO in 2007, and the resort said in an Oct. 6 press release “the list of accomplishments under Graves is long and the Read More…
If the growing scrum of land and development interests bearing down on the intermountain west were to attend a formal gala, the region’s swaths of privately owned forestlands would surely stand out as the belle of the ball. And yet, as America’s working forestlands endure an unprecedented degree of pressure to convert their traditional bases to Read More…
BILLINGS – They’re calling it L.A. traffic jams in the shipping lanes of the Pacific Ocean, but the backlog of cargo ships waiting for a turn to dock and unload is impacting businesses in Billings. On both the West and East coasts, ships are hanging out in the ocean for days, filling up a so-called Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Montanans kicking off the first weekend of October with the Missoula Scheels grand opening. Making it the third Scheels store in Montana and 30th store in the country. As the opening ribbon came down, the energy ran high as people came piling through the doors, in Missoula Southgate Mall’s new addition. Some Read More…
The Whitefish Planning Board recently voted in support of two separate proposals to build new hotels in the city, one on a prominent lot downtown and the other off U.S. 93 south of the core business district. Both projects require conditional-use permits and approval from the Whitefish City Council to move forward, with developers of Read More…
HAMILTON — You may not give much thought to where the vegetables on your plate come from, but one company with Montana roots has, and it’s setting its sights on changing agriculture by bringing innovation to indoor farming. Local Bounti built its first large state-of-the art-greenhouse in Hamilton and has plans for several more in Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $339,716 fine against Helena-based Slice of the 406 LLC, and Minnesota-based 82 and Sunny LLC, for “allegedly conducting illegal charter flights.” The FAA alleges between July 2017 and November 2018, 26 passenger-carrying flights were conducted without having the required FAA operating or air carrier certificates. The Read More…
BILLINGS — Bow and rifle hunting season is upon us, which is why one Montana-based company is aiming to educate people around the country on the sport. For the Love of Hunting (FORLOH), an outdoor apparel company, has traveled across the nation to educate people on hunting and its responsibilities. But they also offer fun opportunities around Read More…
After more than a decade in the making, Limberlost Brewing Co. is open in Thompson Falls. Two northwestern Pennsylvania natives — Zach and Kate Whipple-Kilmer — learned from a close friend how to brew beer more than a decade ago. They saved their money, bought their equipment and bided their time. In 2015, the couple Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – As tourism bounces back across the treasure state, hotel availability is dwindling while prices are skyrocketing. To put this in perspective, when I search for a hotel room here in Missoula for Friday, there’s absolutely nothing available. The city’s completely sold out. So, just how hard is it to find a place Read More…
BOZEMAN — Despite a pandemic, it seems like the city of Bozeman is doing great economically. But that comes with advantages and disadvantages. “What we’re seeing in the last year and a half is an unprecedented surge in housing prices driven in large part by the availability of relatively high-income folks to relocate in places Read More…