Montana’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.4 percent in December, extending the state’s streak of over four consecutive years with unemployment at or below that level, according to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. The state’s jobless rate remains well below the national average of 4.4 percent, keeping Montana among the top ten states Read More…
Thirteen farmers from Kansas and Colorado, along with Weskan Grain and Colorado Pacific Railroad (CXR), filed an antitrust lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas alleging that Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (K&O) and Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) conspired to block competition and inflate grain transportation costs across the region. Read More…
Montana’s construction industry continues to surge, driving economic growth, creating thousands of high-paying jobs, and fueling demand for skilled workers across the state, according to a new analysis released by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI). The report, part of DLI’s 406 JOBS High Demand Sector Analysis series, details rapid expansion in the Read More…
The Montana Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI) held a public administrative hearing on January 22, 2026, to examine a cybersecurity breach involving Health Care Service Corporation, a mutual legal reserve company doing business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT). The hearing moved forward after the Lewis and Clark County 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…
The debate over how to dispose of the Bakken’s radioactive oilfield waste has prompted a small group of lawmakers from North Dakota and Montana to start collaborating. The conversations come as Montana prepares to enact a formal rule capping the radiation level of oilfield waste disposed of at landfills in the state. Much of the Read More…
Economists were shocked on Friday as the Bureau of Labor Statistics said US employers added 2.5 million payrolls in May, defying expectations of 7.5 million jobs lost. The surprise increase came on the heels of the record 20.5 million jobs lost in April. The unemployment rate declined to 13.3%, bucking forecasts of a near-record 19% rate. April’s Read More…
JCPenney has released their list of stores they are closing. The list shows 154 stores that they have decided to close, including one in Montana. The Gallatin Valley Mall JCPenney is the only location in Montana currently set to close. “While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital Read More…
It’s no secret that the newspaper industry across the country has been facing challenges for the past few years. Falling subscriptions and ad dollars have been attributed to the internet and the current way that many of us consume news and information. Why wait for a morning newspaper when instant info is available 24-7 right on our Read More…
When Joe Unterreiner became the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer in 1996, he thought he’d only be there for a few years. But 24 years later, he’s finally decided to transition into retirement starting this October. “It’s been a really great run … I really enjoyed the work, obviously, or I Read More…
KULR (Billings)- It started in a brainstorm session, but evolved into something much larger, all to recognize area high school seniors. Lets face it, being a graduating senior is not the most ideal of situations right now. In a team effort, one Billings commercial print shop is providing area seniors a momento to remember their Read More…
Amidst widespread coal layoffs throughout the Powder River Basin in recent months and an industry rocked by plummeting prices and decreased demand, Decker Mine reverses course, offering a but of good news for the future of western coal. After laying off nearly 30% of its workforce earlier this month, all 98 furloughed Decker Coal Company Read More…
One trader bought 250,000 barrels of oil and secured a rare payout as oil prices turned negative last month, causing jitters in markets and leaving most other traders scrambling to find storage options across both sides of the Atlantic, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. But for BB Energy, a trading house based in London, the historic oil-market crash was Read More…
US states are rushing to court Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after he threatened to move the company’s HQ out of California. The billionaire is in a spat with California’s Alameda County over the closure of Tesla’s Fremont facility as part of a shelter-in-place order during the pandemic. He tweeted on Saturday that he would be Read More…
More than 9,600 COVID-19 relief grant applications have been submitted to the State of Montana since applications opened last Thursday. Last week, Governor Bullock announced $123 million in CARES Act funding for nine new grant programs that are designed to address key COVID-19 issues Montanans are facing. As of the beginning of the business day May 13, the Montana Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton noted that 11,000 fewer businesses renewed their state registrations by April 15 this year in comparison to last year. The statistic was highlighted in Stapleton’s Montana Business Forecast on Sunday. “The economic, social, and health-related disruptions from the coronavirus are historic,” Stapleton wrote in the emailed forecast. Read More…
“Times are hard and change is coming no matter what we do, but what we can do is be good to those around us. Our neighbors need good neighbors more than ever…” Those were well written words by our friends at KXGN Radio & TV in Glendive, Montana as they shared the news that BNSF Read More…
HELENA- Montana child care providers are eligible for funding through the CARES Act Child Care and Development Block Grants. The $10 million in federal CARES Act funding was announced Wednesday, and is to provide support for existing child care providers, assistance for low-income families participating in the Best Beginnings Scholarship Program and will fund emergency Read More…
After recently announcing a new mask/face covering policy going into effect Monday, Costco will also now begin temporarily limiting fresh meat purchases at its warehouses. Costco says fresh meat purchases will be temporarily limited to a total of three items per member among the beef, pork and poultry products. “Costco has implemented limits on certain items Read More…
A top financial ratings service has listed western Wyoming gas drillers Ultra Resources and Jonah Energy among issuers of “top bonds of concern” whose securities could face “imminent” default. Fitch Ratings named the two companies that operate in the Pinedale Anticline, Jonah Field and Normally Pressured Lance, or NPL Field in an April 13 report Read More…
SEATTLE — Face masks will soon be mandatory for all passengers and flight crews on Alaska Airlines planes, the airline announced Friday. The policy goes into effect on May 11 for passengers, but on Monday for employees whose jobs makes it difficult to maintain 6 feet of space between others, including pilots, flight attendants and customer Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Kettlehouse Northside location is closing permanently in Missoula due to COVID-19 pandemic. They posted the following on their Facebook page: We have some difficult news to share. We have made the decision to permanently close our Northside taproom in response to the global pandemic we are currently experiencing. As a result of Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — Restaurants and bars around the Treasure State are gearing up to reopen, but they can only do so under certain restrictions outlined by Governor Steve Bullock and the Yellowstone County Unified Health Command. One restaurant in Billings is making sure all employees follow these new protocols, by putting staff through a web-based Read More…
Gross domestic product fell 4.8% in the first quarter, according to government numbers released Wednesday that provide the first detailed glimpse into the deep damage the coronavirus wreaked on the U.S. economy. Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the first estimate of GDP to show a 3.5% contraction. This marked the first negative GDP Read More…
BOZEMAN — On Wednesday Montanans heard from Governor Bullock about his plans to reopen the Treasure State. Now, it’s up to individual business owners on what they plan to do. Aaron Parker owns several restaurants in Bozeman, but before he makes a hasty decision to open them back up, he first wants to hear from Read More…
A Bozeman construction company last week received a $569 million addition to an existing contract to build about 17 miles of border wall between the United States and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Defense announced the modification to the contract held by Barnard Construction’s subsidiary BFBC LLC on April 13. It was first reported Read More…
The City Commission on Tuesday OK’d the final details of a $3.2 million bond sale needed to repay a developer for its up front costs for public improvements tied to a big project on the west bank of the Missouri River. D.A. Davidson and Co. will handle the bond sale for the city. A portion Read More…
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began closing businesses and lowering interest rates, banks in the Flathead Valley are reporting high numbers of phone calls, loan applications and mortgage refinances. Banks have seen a lot of activity through the Small Business Administration’s $349 billion federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which authorizes forgivable loans to small businesses Read More…
More than 2.9 million homeowners have taken advantage of a program designed to provide relief to holders of government-backed mortgages, part of the coronavirus CARES Act relief package. This represents 5.5% of all active mortgages, according to Black Knight, a mortgage data and analytics company that is now tracking the growing numbers daily. The program Read More…
The coronavirus pandemic has created a desperate clamber for vital medical supplies, like N95 masks, that has led the federal government to award massive contracts to third-party vendors to help fill the gaps. In this chaotic effort to obtain supplies, the Trump administration awarded a $55 million contract to Panthera Worldwide LLC, a company with Read More…
A federal judge in Montana has thrown out a key permit needed for a developer to complete the Keystone XL pipeline. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improperly granted a permit to developer TC Energy to cross waterways to build the pipeline. The order Read More…
A special committee of WeWork’s board is suing SoftBank after SoftBank withdrew its $3 billion tender offer, the company announced Tuesday. WeWork is claiming that SoftBank breached its obligations under their agreement. SoftBank originally made the tender offer to buy shares of WeWork at an agreed upon price last year as part of a package to bail out Read More…
Bozeman, Montana has a population of 48,532, but just like big cities in New York and California, this small city in the southern part of the state has seen the demand for medical masks skyrocket. Located in Gallatin County, Bozeman is home to more than one third of Montana’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, and is by far the hardest hit county in Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Monday that it’s started construction on the long-stalled Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border despite calls from tribal leaders and environmentalists to delay the $8 billion project amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for TC Energy said work began over the weekend at the border crossing Read More…
Even though local public health measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic are barely weeks old, the Whitefish business community is already losing more than $732,000 in daily revenue, according to a study released Tuesday, offering a snapshot of the downturn that local economies may have to endure for months to come. The Whitefish Convention and Read More…
Unemployment claims have spiked to 6.65 million across the country, the Department of Labor said in a press release on Thursday. Unemployment claims have doubled since last week when the Labor Department reported that about 3 million people were seeking unemployment. That figure was already by far the highest number of unemployment claims the department had ever seen. READ Read More…
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told the aerospace company’s employees that it is starting a “voluntary layoff plan” that will allow eligible workers to leave the company with a pay and benefits package. The program is designed to shrink the company’s workforce at a time when air travel is plummeting because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a memo, Read More…
As more people work from home to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, they’re using their home internet networks for activities usually reserved for the workplace. But your home network may not be equipped to handle all the video conferencing and file-uploading you may be doing at the moment. What can you do if your Read More…
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) finds itself on the front lines dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. Not only has the coronavirus forced the company’s Billings headquarters into a “work-from-home operation”, but KOA’s network of campgrounds nationwide are front and center as the country fights back against the virus. President and CEO Toby O’Rourke took to the Read More…
BILLINGS — Billings restaurants in the Shiloh Crossing shopping complex are seeing up to a 50 percent loss of sales Saturday following Governor Steve Bullock’s directive to stay at home. “As you can see, around the parking lot, it’s been dead. Our revenue has been cut in half. It’s just been me and my manager doing everything since Read More…
According to the Governor’s Office, unemployment in Montana held steady at 3.5% in February, before COVID-19 reached the Treasure State. Gov. Bullock said in a press release that Montana added 800 jobs over the month and was on par with the U.S. unemployment rate, also 3.5 percent in February. READ FULL STORY
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will head to trial apart from fellow C-suite exec and one-time lover, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, according to a report. Holmes, who served as the company’s CEO, will head to trial starting Aug. 4 with a separate jury from Balwani, who will be tried following the conclusion of Holmes’ case, Bloomberg reported. The judge did not provide any Read More…
About 10 years ago, SoftBank released a slideshow presentation on the company’s 300-year plan. “Unknown virus” got one reference, on slide 69 of 133. Perhaps coronavirus will just be a blip in the company’s long-term plan for world domination. Perhaps SoftBank’s vision of investing in artificial intelligence and other dominant technology companies will pay off in the long run, Read More…