NorthWestern Energy has announced agreements to supply significant amounts of electricity to two proposed data centers in Montana, with combined power demands set to exceed the capacity of the state’s newest gas-fired power plant. The development raises questions about Montana’s energy infrastructure and its ability to meet growing demand while maintaining reliable service. The larger Read More…
Montana’s unemployment rate remained at 3.2% in November, continuing an unprecedented stretch of low unemployment that has persisted for 41 consecutive months, with rates at or below 3.4%. The state’s historic run surpasses the previous record set in 2006-2007 when unemployment rates stayed at or below 3.4% for 15 months. In November alone, Montana added Read More…
Frontier Asset Management, an independent asset management firm, has officially launched its suite of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). These ETFs are designed to enhance Frontier’s multi-asset Active ETF Strategies, with the goal of providing attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors. The Frontier ETF suite consists of six actively Read More…
(The Center Square) – Methane emissions from the largest oil- and natural gas-producing basins fell 44% between 2011 and 2013, according to newly published data from the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, methane emissions dropped in seven oil- and natural gas-producing basins by up to 87% from 2019-2023. The 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…
Local microgreens growers have come up with innovative ways to use their product. EarthStar Farms owner Susan Waite of Whitefish mixes microgreens into her homemade macaroni and cheese and sticks them into a grilled cheese sandwich or a hamburger. Ashley Kwasney of Gecko Mountain Farm in Somers throws them in soup, omelets and pasta dishes, Read More…
Shopko will close its remaining stores across the country, including all of its Montana locations. According to a document filed on March 18, the company will close all of its remaining locations by June. The company stated in a press release that it was unable to find a buyer for the business, which declared bankruptcy 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…
It’s not unusual for companies to be inundated with messages from people looking for answers — what is rare, however, is for a CEO to personally respond to one. Yet one 10-year-old schoolboy appears to have succeeded, grabbing the attention of the boss behind one of Australia’s largest airlines. Alex Jacquot recently penned a letter Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — The manager of an oil processing plant in eastern Montana that exploded and burned in 2012 has pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act. The Billings Gazette reports that the plea agreement by Mark Hurst was reached recently in U.S. District Court in Billings. Hurst was the project manager for Custom 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…
NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Juliana v. United States—urging dismissal of a controversial lawsuit, which seeks to compel the federal government to more aggressively address climate change. The brief was filed in conjunction with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and other concerned businesses and business groups. The case 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…
799 Comments By Shayndi Raice and Shayndi Raice The Wall Street Journal Biography @Shayndi www.facebook.com/shayndi Shayndi.Raice@wsj.com Paul Overberg | Photographs by Paul Overberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @poverberg paul.overberg@wsj.com Daniel Acker for The Wall Street Journal March 4, 2019 10:29 a.m. ET An Amtrak train from St. Louis to Chicago hurtles past Dwight, Ill. Read More…
Cheniere Energy’s liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas, in October 2018. Photo: Eddie Seal/Bloomberg News 2 Comments By Christopher M. Matthews Christopher M. Matthews The Wall Street Journal Biography Updated March 4, 2019 6:33 p.m. ET Cheniere Energy Inc.’s LNG 1.56% expected $18 billion deal to supply natural gas to China signals the company’s Read More…
Facebook and Instagram are pushing back against a practice known as cybersquatting. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire/Zuma Press 11 Comments By Shan Li Shan Li The Wall Street Journal Biography @ByShanLi shan.li@wsj.com Updated March 4, 2019 9:48 a.m. ET BEIJING— Facebook Inc. FB 0.28% and its photo-sharing app Instagram sued four companies and three people based Read More…
Venezuela’s U.S.-backed opposition leaders asked a federal appeals court to refrain from carving up the country’s foreign assets, saying their loss would hurt the chances of political change in Caracas. The opposition’s parallel government filed papers Friday urging the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to support the Trump administration’s push for regime change in Read More…
Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger’s pay package jumped 81% to $65.6 million in the year ended in September. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News 6 Comments By Micah Maidenberg and Micah Maidenberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @MicahMaidenberg micah.maidenberg@wsj.com Erich Schwartzel Erich Schwartzel The Wall Street Journal Biography @erichschwartzel erich.schwartzel@wsj.com Updated March 4, 2019 2:21 p.m. ET Read More…
Gold was discovered in Nevada in the late 19th century, but it was Newmont Mining that kicked off the state’s gold mining boom in the 1960s with a find on the so-called Carlin Trend. Photo: rick wilking/Reuters 10 Comments By Alistair MacDonald and Alistair MacDonald The Wall Street Journal Biography Jacquie McNish Jacquie McNish The Read More…
Traders have begun pricing in a small chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates this year, a move that could nudge inflation higher. Above, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images 106 Comments By Akane Otani Akane Otani The Wall Street Journal Biography @akaneotani akane.otani@wsj.com Updated March 3, 2019 2:28 p.m. ET Bets on Read More…
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom took part in a meeting on steel overcapacity last March in Brussels. Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/Press Pool 19 Comments By Emre Peker Emre Peker The Wall Street Journal Biography @wsjemre emre.peker@dowjones.com March 4, 2019 7:00 a.m. ET BRUSSELS—U.S. and European trade negotiators face growing domestic Read More…
Philip Morris said Monday that it plans to take a pretax charge of $194 million in the first quarter due to the ruling. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News 2 Comments By Micah Maidenberg Micah Maidenberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @MicahMaidenberg micah.maidenberg@wsj.com March 4, 2019 12:29 p.m. ET Philip Morris International Inc. cut its profit outlook Read More…
Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin at the Carondelet House on Aug. 12, 2015 in Los Angeles. Photo: Ari Perilstein/Getty Images 4 Comments By Ian Walker Ian Walker The Wall Street Journal Biography March 4, 2019 8:06 a.m. ET British fashion retailer Ted Baker PLC said its founder and chief executive has resigned with immediate effect 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…
Plunging oil prices at the end of 2018 caused worry about an international economic slowdown, but experts say Wyoming could be slightly insulated from the effects – at least for the beginning of the new year. “Any time you’re talking about oil prices, they are notoriously hard to predict, but what we are seeing is 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…
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…
PHILIPSBURG – Blue skies made it much easier for people to travel on Saturday which came in handy for a large group of Montana brewers. The Old Fire Hall in Philipsburg was home to the 7th annual Ice Association Brewfest which featured live music and stations to sample beer from 19 different breweries from around 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…
Montana lawmakers are considering two bills to tax carbon pollution, and not surprisingly owners of Colstrip Power Plant say the measures would kill the facility. Democratic legislators are floating two bills creating a $10-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide from various sources, including coal-fired power plants. Theirs aren’t the first attempts targeting Colstrip. Washington State, 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…
Exxon Mobil Corp. made a final decision Tuesday with Qatar Petroleum to build a $10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project on Texas’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Energy Secretary Rick Perry joined representatives of Exxon and Qatar Petroleum, the country’s state-owned oil company, to sign the deal Tuesday. The project would greatly expand the 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…
Believe it or not, there’s money in podcasts. Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media, the Brooklyn-based narrative podcast company, for more than $200 million in cash, according to Recode. Gimlet has raised approximately $28.5 million in venture funding from investors including WPP, Stripes Group, LioneTree Partners, Graham Holdings, Betawarks, Cross Culture Ventures, Read More…
Small-business owners filing their 2018 taxes may be able to take advantage of a brand-new 20 percent tax break. One of the new features of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the introduction of the qualified business income deduction, which went into effect last year. This tax break allows owners of “pass-through” entities, including Read More…
General Electric‘s cash problem will look better in 2019 after an accounting change takes effect, an accounting professor says. For reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, all public US companies should apply a new accounting standard that requires them to recognize financing-lease assets and operating-lease assets on their balance sheets. The previous accounting term Read More…
Alphabet shares traded slightly lower Tuesday morning as Wall Street delivered a classic reaction to its earnings which were released the prior evening: the results were good, but not good enough. While Alphabet reported revenue and profits for the fourth-quarter that topped Wall Street’s expectations, analysts said the internet giant’s margins were disappointing. That revelation Read More…