NorthWestern Energy has reached key settlement agreements with several major stakeholders in its ongoing regulatory rate review for electric and natural gas services in Montana. The agreements, if approved by the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC), would result in modest increases in residential utility bills, helping to fund continued investment in safe and reliable energy Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte joined U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy to officially cut the ribbon on Amazon’s new 50,000-square-foot delivery station in Belgrade. The state-of-the-art facility is part of Amazon’s continued expansion in Montana, representing a $27 million investment and creating dozens of jobs in Gallatin County. “Montana is open for business, and Amazon’s Read More…
SITKA Gear, a leader in high-performance hunting and outdoor apparel, announced a series of strategic changes to its sales team aimed at aligning talent with the company’s evolving business priorities. The adjustments include the addition of three new sales representatives and a significant territory expansion for a veteran team member, all designed to strengthen retail Read More…
Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI) announced Friday that it has received all necessary regulatory approvals for its planned acquisition of Bank of Idaho Holding Co. (OTCQX: BOID), clearing a major hurdle in the completion of the deal. The acquisition, which includes Bank of Idaho and its subsidiaries, is now scheduled to close on April 30, Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont.- A free online course is geared toward boosting success, and it’s open to every business in Montana. The courses will help business owners increase revenue, sales, traffic, and profitability. “Destination Creation” by Grow Great Falls is normally priced at $399, but that fee has been lifted in an effort to help business Read More…
Montana’s largest MLS contracts to make FOREWARN services available for its 3,000+ REALTOR® members to promote proactive agent safety BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOREWARN, LLC, a red violet company (NASDAQ: RDVT) and the leading provider of real-time information solutions for real estate agents, today announced that the Montana Regional MLS (“MRMLS”) Read More…
HELENA — It’s been more than three years since the last store in Helena’s Capital Hill Mall closed its doors, and nearly two years since the former mall building was demolished. Now, the first new construction at the site is getting underway. Contractors are currently putting up the frame for a new building south of Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Despite the increase in air travel over the holidays the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) still reported a 43.5% decline in passenger numbers in 2020 compared to the record 2019 year. On a national basis, the Transportation Security Administration reported a 60.7% decline in passenger throughput across 440 U.S. airports. Bozeman Yellowstone Read More…
Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway has proposed a plan to reduce the number of grizzly bears killed by its trains in Montana. In 2019, BNSF trains killed eight grizzlies. That year, one of its locomotives killed a cow and that carcass attracted grizzlies. Two of them died in train collisions and three others were killed by Read More…
BILLINGS — Applications are open for Montana business owners to receive a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, with a few more caveats in the application for second-time borrowers this go-around, said Kevin Kraft, president of the Shiloh branch of Yellowstone Bank Sunday. “The biggest difference is you have to Read More…
Helena, MT- With the start of the 2021 Legislature fast approaching, Montana’s premier business advocacy organization is laying out its top policy priorities for the new year, the focus of which is aimed at near-term recovery and maintaining long-term, sustainable economic growth. “As businesses continue to navigate the public health and economic challenges presented by Read More…
BOZEMAN — Manufacturing continues to be a significant driver of Montana’s economy, according to a report recently released by Montana State University’s Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, whose positive impact is discussed in the annual snapshot. The 2020 Montana Manufacturing Report, prepared by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, analyzes trends in the state’s Read More…
BILLINGS — The fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is headed to the Billings West End after a developer filed a request for zoning clarification to construct a restaurant in the Planet Fitness parking lot on the corner of 24th Street West and Marketplace Street. TFC Rosebud, LLC of Utah filed the request on December 1, 2020, and the plan Read More…
MISSOULA — The Missoula County Airport Authority this week approved a $2 million state loan for Neptune Aviation to fund the purchase of two aircraft hangars and the creation of dozens of new jobs. Neptune, a national aerial firefighting company based at Missoula International Airport, purchased the hangars last September from Homestead Helicopters. The hangars Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont., Dec. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — FYR Diagnostics, a Missoula-based biotech company, has executed a contract with the State of Montana that will increase statewide COVID-19 testing capacity and reduce the time patients must wait to receive results. Adding FYR as a primary testing resource will keep test processing within Montana and alleviate pressure on the state laboratory in Helena. “Even with the Read More…
BIGFORK — Bigfork during the summer is usually full of tourists and people enjoying Flathead Lake but one restaurant would have closed this past summer if not for state-funded coronavirus grants. “Bigfork is right at the north end of the lake and we have The Playhouse right beside the restaurant so that’s usually full — and then we’re Read More…
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…
HELENA – The Montana Chamber Foundation announced today its plans to host The Prospects, a statewide high school business plan and pitch competition. As a part of Envision 2026, the Montana Chamber of Commerce’s ten-year strategic plan, the organization is working to build an opportunity for business growth and prosperity by improving Montana’s talent pipeline 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…
FRAMINGHAM — A Framingham development company is co-redeveloping a Montana mall and bringing the first Whole Foods Market to the western state. Framingham-based Grossman Development Group, LLC, is partnering with Boston Realty Advisors/The Broadway Company and the ownership of the Gallatin Valley Mall in Bozeman, Montana, to redevelop the shopping center that serves a five-county trade Read More…
First Interstate BancSystem (FIBK) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.76 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.68 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.79 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 11.76%. A quarter ago, it was expected Read More…
As the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect every industry differently, sawlog prices in Montana are reaching record levels, said F.H. Stoltze Land and Resource Manager Paul McKenzie. “The product demand has increased dramatically in general forest products,” he said. According to the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research Read More…
MISSOULA — Over the past 20 years, Montana’s registered apprenticeship program has sent more than 3,300 workers into good-paying jobs, with another 2,400 on the way, according to a new report. On Wednesday, Gov. Steve Bullock summarized the findings of a Department of Labor and Industry report on Montana’s Registered Apprenticeship program and praised the role that Read More…
BOZEMAN — Manufacturing companies around Montana will offer virtual and in-person tours of their operations throughout October as part of a national effort that kicks off with National Manufacturing Day on Thursday, Oct. 1. The Montana Manufacturing Extension Center at Montana State University is encouraging Montana manufacturers to host the tours and is available to Read More…
Montana State Fund (MSF) will be paying a $20 million dollar dividend back to policyholders in mid-November. This is the 22nd consecutive year the MSF Board of Directors has declared a dividend. They’ve returned a total of $306 million to policyholders since 1999, $165 million since 2015 alone. “It tells us we’re making progress in Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A western Montana company made the cut in an international competition to come up with U.S. Air Force security solutions. Adelos, Inc. is a subsidiary of S&K Technologies, Inc. and owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes. We showed you their groundbreaking technology two years ago when they proposed alternative security solutions Read More…
Nearly $138 million has been sent to small businesses through the Montana Business Stabilization Grant program since the program launched in May. For a lot of recipients, the program has been a much needed lifeline that has kept their business from going under. “We have been extremely grateful for it,” said Brianne Harrington, owner of Read More…
BUTTE – Just as Butte’s tourism season was getting started, coronavirus dealt the hotel industry a vicious economic blow. “Who knew? Who knew that we would ever come across something like this?,” said Maria Pochervina, director of the Tourism Business Improvement District. READ FULL STORY
Billings AMC theaters will reopen at the end of August after being closed for almost six months. Nationwide AMC Theaters will begin to reopen on Aug. 20, with retro ticket prices of 15 cents per movie. The company said it expects to open doors to more than 100 cinemas, about a sixth of its Read More…
Kimpton Hotels and Resorts newest hotel, the Kimpton Armory Hotel in Bozeman, Montana, will debut August 18, becoming the brand’s first property in Montana. Located in a landmark National Guard Armory building joined by a new tower in Bozeman’s downtown, the hotel blend “Montana’s rugged beauty and the storied history of the building” with modern amenities. This Read More…
The Hagadone Media Group has launched a new grant program offering up to $1 million in matching advertising funds to assist locally owned businesses that have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Grants will be awarded in amounts up to $10,000 per month and can be used toward print or digital advertising in local Hagadone Read More…
St. Vincent Healthcare officials announced Wednesday the hospital was recognized as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation by IBM Watson Health. The Billings hospital is the only of its kind in Montana to receive this distinction. This is the second year in a row for the recognition. St. Vincent is also the Read More…
FedEx Express and FedEx Ground employees in a Montana city will soon be working in the same building, and, for some shipments, together. FedEx Express employees in Kalispell, Montana, will conduct operations at FedEx Ground’s facility there once a building lease begins August 31. The two companies’ work in that building “will remain independent of Read More…
Inimmune, a Missoula-based biotech company founded by nationally recognized vaccine scientists that has been working on a vaccine for COVID-19, announced today that it has raised $22 million in Series A funding led by Two Bear Capital, a venture-capital firm founded by Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen. The firm plans to use the Series A investment Read More…
WHITEFISH — Whitefish Mountain Resort is taking extra precautions for all of their activities on the mountain due to coronavirus concerns. Elyse Knudsen, risk control manager with Whitefish Mountain Resort, said that the resort is being extra careful with guests. Before the summer season started the resort assessed all possible contact points between guests and Read More…
Just about every business has had to adapt to COVID-19 in one way or another, creating a financial strain for many organizations. In addition to a drop in customers, the cost of safety precautions like masks and hand sanitizer can be a burden on organizations. Since March, Blackfoot River Brewing Co. in Helena has moved Read More…
COVID-19 cases are increasing in Montana, and a group of businesses in downtown Bozeman have decided to do something. “We do have an uptick in cases, and hopefully, this will slow it down. In our industry, we need to show that we’re willing to do our part. But we’ve also got families to feed and Read More…
A long-anticipated grocery store and a new Town Pump are under construction on neighboring parcels on Bozeman’s north side. Construction of WinCo Foods is underway on Max Avenue near Staples, just off of North 19th Avenue. The employee-owned grocery store, based in Boise, Idaho, first tried for a Bozeman location in April 2016 but withdrew those Read More…
BILLINGS- A former market president for Rocky Mountain Bank has admitted to fraud and money laundering crimes. A release from the Department of Justice says 46-year-old Stephen Phillip Casher was charged in a 14-count superseding indictment alleging bank fraud and related crimes. The prosecution presented evidence in court records at trial that Casher worked as Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Summer officially begins at Whitefish Mountain Resort this Saturday. The resort will be opening nearly all its outdoor activities, including over 30 miles of mountain bike trails. As snow continues to melt, more trails will open throughout the season. The resort will also be opening three brand-new trails expected to be completed by Read More…
Richland County is among a handful of statewide areas designated as a “Destination Community.” As part of the Phase 2 Reopening of Montana scheduled to begin on June 1, Gov. Steve Bullock announced that 20 counties — including Richland — would be eligible for additional financial assistance through two new initiatives to help protect Read More…
There’s another twist in the years-long legal battle over the operation of a Creston bottled water plant, with the Montana Supreme Court overturning a lower court ruling which had blocked permits. Local residents and conservation groups have been fighting the plans of Montana Artesian Water Company to pump enough water to fill more than 1-billion Read More…