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…

BOZEMAN, Mont. – In a four to one decision, the Bozeman City Commission voted Wednesday night to approve a controversial apartment complex project slated for downtown. It was the second vote on the Black Olive project.  Dozens of people crowded into City Hall to have their voice heard. Many were disappointed when the vote came Read More…

Kathy Boelter, Billings, founder and President of Arrow Solutions Group, was recently accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, a very coveted award for small business owners who demonstrate dynamic leadership in business. The program, a co-investment between Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies, focuses on job creation and economic development. It offers participants Read More…

BILLINGS – Making hand crafted spirits is a labor of love for Casey McGowan, who opened Trailhead Spirits in January 2013. “We are a true production distillery where we make all the products that we sell,” said McGowan. “We ferment, we distill, we bottle, we do everything on site here.” When McGowan says everything is Read More…

As a fifth generation Montana farmer and rancher, Colter DeVries, was one of the first in his family to attend college. DeVries studied finance and business at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, Montana. It was here that he started working for a commodities trading platform and took an interest in marketing. “It’s always been Read More…

MISSOULA – Courtesy MT Chamber of Commerce Facebook, the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the University of Montana School of Business Administration, and the Montana High Tech Business Alliance will host a Boost Your Business seminar in Missoula, Montana. The seminar is free to the public and all businesses are welcome to attend. The seminar aims Read More…

A Canadian livestock production and animal nutrition corporation is seeking to build Montana’s largest slaughterhouse and meat processing facility near Great Falls. According to the Great Falls Tribune, Friesen Foods has filed a Special Use Permit (SUP) with the Cascade County Planning Division for the proposed “Madison Food Park” complex, which could employ 3,000 people. Read More…

The economics of unit trains and improving technology are making possible the building of a new mega fertilizer plant by Town & Country Supply Association near Lockwood. Construction began in February and is expected to be completed in December. It will be operational just in time to serve the needs of farmers for the 2018 Read More…

There were recurring themes during a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce panel discussion about manufacturing last week. Freight costs are a continuous challenge; good employees are hard to find so if you have them, do what you can to keep them. And paperwork can make or break a small manufacturer. The Chamber discussion kicked off a Read More…

BUTTE – REC Silicon in Butte announced Wednesday it is laying off 30 employees at its facility just south of Butte. The layoffs were made for efficiency improvements and cost-cutting initiatives, according to a news release issued by the company Wednesday morning. READ THE FULL STORY.

A former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. electrical planner has published a comprehensive online history of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant. From the geology, chemistry, and history of Earth’s aluminum, to the aluminum boom from the 1960s to the 1990s, Richard Hanners’ history tells the whole story, including the rise and fall of Anaconda Aluminum Read More…

Advocates see great potential in Montana’s growing solar power industry, but a Public Service Commission decision has changed the landscape. Up the North Fork of the Flathead — one of the wildest valleys remaining in the lower 48 states — the Polebridge Mercantile acts as a tiny haven of modernity, offering visitors baked goods, cold Read More…

(HELENA) Pizza Ranch plans to open in Helena later this year. Construction is underway on a new building that will house the restaurant. The 9,300-square foot building is on North Sanders Street, near Buffalo Wild Wings. READ THE FULL STORY