Social-media company sheds in-house AI video unit as it looks to rein in the rising costs of developing generative-AI models and immersive gaming products Snap Inc. is carving out its generative-AI video team into a new, independent company called Dotmo, the latest move by the social-media giant to manage the soaring costs of building artificial-intelligence Read More…
Elon Musk’s SpaceX priced its initial public offering Thursday, raising $75 billion and cementing the rocket maker’s place among the world’s most valuable companies in what stands as the largest IPO in U.S. history. On Friday, Wall Street delivered its verdict: investors wanted in. The offering valued SpaceX at approximately $1.77 trillion at its IPO Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Gov. Greg Gianforte announced that Janicki Industries selected Great Falls as the site of an $800 million manufacturing campus expected to create more than 1,000 jobs in its first five years and ultimately employ more than 2,000 people once fully built out. John Janicki, president of the company, made the announcement Read More…
The Las Vegas Strip is facing a wave of consolidation unlike anything seen in a generation, with two major casino takeover deals announced in the span of days that could fundamentally reshape the American gaming industry. Media mogul Barry Diller’s holding company People Incorporated — formerly known as IAC — submitted a non-binding proposal Monday 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…
Two major U.S. automakers are calling out car dealers for allegedly jacking up prices beyond sticker value and ripping off customers. Ford and General Motors warned dealers to stop exploiting supply chain shortages by setting prices above the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, or MSRP. “We have very good knowledge of who they are,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said while unveiling the company’s latest quarterly 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…
Facebook has patented a new technology for an “authentic” robot eye. The idea, granted in December, would let the social media company build a “high performing and realistic” eyeball that would be like an “animatronic device” to track humans’ eye movements. Tracking eye movements is used in digital ads to detect what people look at, as Read More…
WASHINGTON — With workers quitting their jobs in record numbers across the United States, employers are getting creative with their offerings to attract and retain talent. Many are providing more money and benefits amid a nationwide labor shortage that has worsened supply chain shortages and hampered businesses, especially those that employ front-line workers. In Arizona, one 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…
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook received almost $100 million in compensation in 2021, a year in which he completed 10 years as the company’s CEO and led the iPhone maker to record profits during a global pandemic. His $98.7 million pay package rose more than 500% compared with the previous year’s $14.8 million, Read More…
Liberty Global, the largest international TV and broadband company, is standing by embattled board member John W. Dick, saying he serves in good standing. Dick has become embroiled in a dispute over allegedly stolen assets that has generated headlines around the world as his daughter has accused him of theft and of looting assets from Read More…
Walmart faces mounting criticism on Chinese social media platforms from users who allege the retail giant has stopped offering products from Xinjiang province in its China-based stores, according to a report Monday. The viral backlash began last week, with users on Weibo and other platforms posting images claiming products made in Xinjiang weren’t available at Read More…
This past fall, Lululemon’s design team noticed something unusual. Wall Street bros were flocking to the Brookfield Place store in the Financial District to buy the On the Move trousers, which look like chinos but are made from the same soft, stretchy, moisture-wicking material used in the brand’s activewear. That’s right: Finance execs were finally ditching their 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…
Kraft is experiencing a shortage of their cream cheese product, and they’re taking the opportunity to craft up some holiday marketing. The deal stems from a shortage of Kraft-owned Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Kraft is offering customers who couldn’t find the special ingredient to get some money back for another baked good. READ FULL STORY
The internet hasn’t turned out the way it was supposed to. In its earliest incarnation, before some Wall Street Journal readers were born and the rest had fewer automatically renewing digital subscriptions, it was supposed to be distributed, user-controlled and, in a word, democratic. READ FULL STORY
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…
Shares of Lucid Motors tanked Monday morning after the electric car maker disclosed that its been slapped with a subpoena as part of an investigation into the merger that took Lucid public earlier this year. “On December 3, 2021, [Lucid] received a subpoena from the [Securities and Exchange Commission] requesting the production of certain documents related to an Read More…
Just days after receiving a $750 million cash infusion, a tech startup that Forbes branded in October as a “unicorn,” valued at $7 billion, laid off hundreds of employees in a manner that some online deemed “brutal.” Better.com, a digital mortgage lender with offices in Oakland, laid off 900 employees weeks before Christmas on a mass Zoom call. Only those Read More…
Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon don’t get along. Mr. Musk has spurned Mr. Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase & Co. for years, turning to other banks while expanding Tesla Inc. and his broader empire. Conversations over the years between the two companies have often upset one side or the other, according to people familiar with the matter. 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…
“Let’s go Brandon” to the moon? A cryptocurrency digital coin labeled $LGB, which stands for the phrase “Let’s go Brandon,” went up 150%. The cryptocurrency is “America’s Coin,” according to its website . The digital coin is part of the mission to fight back “against the establishment, their mismanagement, and the financial fleecing of the American people,” the website 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…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk faces a tax bill of more than $15 billion in the coming months on stock options, making a sale of his Tesla stock this year likely regardless of the Twitter vote. Musk asked his 62.7 million Twitter followers over the weekend whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings. “Much is made lately of Read More…
Jes Staley stepped down as chief executive of Barclays PLC under pressure from regulators about how he characterized his relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Barclays said Mr. Staley stepped down “in view of the conclusions” made by U.K. regulators in its long-running investigation into what Mr. Staley told the bank about his 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…
Southwest Airlines has scrapped a plan to put unvaccinated employees who have applied for but haven’t received a religious or medical exemption on unpaid leave starting by a federal deadline in December. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines are among the carriers that are federal contractors and subject to a Biden administration requirement that their employees are vaccinated against Covid-19 by 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…