The U.S. Interior Department announced Friday that it is opening the public comment process for a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, potentially paving the way for expanded drilling in the Arctic and other previously restricted areas. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader push to boost domestic energy production. The Read More…
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, known for his outsized bets and outspoken commentary, has been a lightning rod in 2025, navigating a turbulent market landscape while wielding influence in both finance and politics. His Pershing Square Capital Management’s portfolio is down nearly 14% year-to-date, a rare stumble for the activist investor, yet his high-profile Read More…
Hank’s Reno Junction Travel Plaza sits at the busy intersection of Wyoming Highways 387 and 59, making it a strategic stop for travelers, truckers and coal miners working at the nearby North Antelope Rochelle Mine. When Peabody Energy announced Tuesday it planned to ramp up production at the mine, Hank Pridgeon — the namesake of Read More…
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…
The U.S. 93 bypass, Glacier Rail Park and the reconstruction of Going-to-the-Sun Road have one thing in common. All three projects were once included on the community wish lists that shaped the Flathead Valley’s comprehensive economic development strategy in years past. Every five years, Montana West Economic Development embarks on a regional improvement plan, but Read More…
Christopher Gregory is one of the principals of Fortis Group, a newly formed business brokerage firm. Fortis Group operates out of Bozeman offices with its parent company Compass Advisors. Both businesses assist in the sale of businesses, with Fortis specializing in the sale of smaller market businesses, of which Montana is largely comprised. How Read More…
Flathead County’s unemployment rate posted at 6.7 percent in January, increasing from 5.9 percent in December, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Monday. The county has a current workforce of 42,248 people. The jobless rate in other Northwest Montana counties also increased over the same month. Lincoln County had a 10.5 percent unemployment Read More…
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) – I spend a lot of time at Fox 5 covering startups. One of the biggest compliments you can pay a startup is to call it a disrupter, changing not just local business, but entire industries across the country and even around the world. Former TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus says we haven’t had such Read More…
Wikileaks today published a trove of documents, allegedly taken from the CIA, that detail the government’s efforts to hack popular devices like iPhones, Android phones, and Samsung smart TVs. But Apple is pushing back against claims that the CIA’s hoarded vulnerabilities for its devices were effective. The documents, if they are indeed legitimate, include charts that Read More…
Norwegian startup Gobi raised $500,000 at a $15 million valuation to take on Snapchat with its “Stories” communication tool. The platform enables users to create public and private groups where users can share photos and videos that stay around for three days before vanishing into digital pixel-dust. “We originally created a Snapchat group for our college,” says Kristoffer Lande, Read More…
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday that he does not believe carbon dioxide is a “primary contributor” to climate change. “I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact. So no, I would not Read More…
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce with one of its top honors, recognizing the local organization for its effective structure and positive impact on the Flathead Valley. The Kalispell chamber received a five-star accreditation for its sound policies, effective procedures and positive impact on the community. The chamber advocates Read More…
A pair of local nonprofits plan to buy the 270-acre Bohart Ranch Cross Country Ski Center to create a 500-acre recreational area adjacent to Bridger Bowl, the groups announced Friday. Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, in partnership with the Bridger Biathlon Club, will finalize the sale of the Bridger Canyon ranch by early June, before setting Read More…
High tech companies brought in more than $1 billion dollars in revenue in 2016 and the industry is growing seven times faster than the rest of the Montana economy. A University of Montana Bureau of of Business Economic Research (BBER) study showed $1.09 billion in revenue last year, up from $867 million in 2015. Companies in Read More…
For a state that has the highest ratio of entrepreneurs, Montana does not rank well in how it treats those entrepreneurs, and the impacts of those policies are far reaching for every citizen. Montana ranks 32nd in the 21st annual ranking of all states by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE), regarding policies which Read More…
On a recent Wednesday night, Montana State University channeled its inner Silicon Valley. A group of startup businesses gathered to present their various ventures — from a rideshare app to a bioengineered toothpick — in front of a crowd in the atrium of Jabs Hall. The startups, six in total, represented the first cohort of Read More…
Talen Energy is pushing Montana lawmakers for a tax break worth millions to keep two units of the coal-fired Colstrip power plant open, with one Republican leader saying Tuesday the units could close within the year without some form of assistance. House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, said the $10 million coal severance tax reduction proposed Read More…
Local taco connoisseur Marley McKenna is hoping to feed Four Corners’ growing appetite with a new Taco del Sol shop off Huffine Lane. The restaurant, which will join McKenna’s Main Street location, is set to open in April. From Bozeman Daily Chronicle
There has been a sudden surge in job openings in the Bakken – particularly for hydraulic fracturing and completion crews – as companies ramp up to put more wells on line in the first half of 2017, reports Oil Patch Hotline. Pay scales are running between $16 and $30 an hour. The number of job Read More…
About 77,000 visitors to Montana used Airbnb accommodations last year spending more than $10 million. Bozeman led all of Montana cities in 2016 in Airbnb use with 13,000 guests spending $1.9 million for their accommodations, according to an Airbnb press release issued Wednesday. From KTVQ
In December 2007, a man named Robert Thomas bought a $351,800 RV at the Dixie RV Super Store in the city of Hammond in his home state of Louisiana. But it wasn’t technically Thomas who made the purchase — a fact a court would later agree with. Instead, it was bought by a Montana Read More…
For several days in January, students at Park High School learned what it takes to make pet toys. Over the course of the last week, a pair of employees at West Paw Design, a Bozeman-based pet goods company, took over teacher Jamie Isaly’s manufacturing class. From Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Billings-based GTUIT, LLC announced that the firm has been providing Liberty Resources, LLC natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery and flare reduction services since June 2016. GTUIT has provided up to 4,500 MCFD of processing capacity at four well locations. GTUIT’s gas processing helps Liberty Resources reduce air emissions and meet the State of North Dakota Read More…
Adam MacDonald founded Western Spindle in his garage in Townsend more than a decade ago, and it has now grown into a nationwide supplier of fixtures for historic homes. He says some people were skeptical of his business model from the start. From KXLH
Ultra Petroleum Corp. has reached an agreement to settle a $303 million breach of contract claim by Rockies Express Pipeline LLC’s (REX) and its operator, Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP. The company said Tuesday that the settlement will be submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for approval and will be implemented in connection with Ultra’s chapter Read More…
A Cheyenne businessman is reaching out to the local millennial generation to improve downtown. Steve Borin is a Cheyenne land developer and owns property downtown. He is not a millennial himself, but he wants to get younger people involved. From Wyoming Business Report
Renewable energy and Wyoming jobs received a boost Wednesday as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the first 500 wind turbines for the Chokecherry Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Energy Project. The BLM action followed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Record of Decision (ROD) indicating that it would issue an Eagle Take Permit Read More…
The problem with the iPhone is that the current design isn’t suited to wireless charging. Apple makes use of a metal rear cover, and metal and wireless charging just don’t go well together (although there are budding technologies that allow wireless charging through metal, none are yet ready for prime time). In order to add Read More…
A Missoula restaurant will soon be featured on the Food Network. The Notorious P.I.G. barbecue restaurant in downtown Missoula opened just about two years ago. Owner Burke Homes explained, “I’m from St. Louis, Missouri. I knew I wanted to live in Montana and catch fish and shoot ducks and drink good beer and hang out with Read More…
Amazon plans to hire 100,000 people across the U.S. over the next 18 months. The online retailer said Thursday that the jobs are full time and come with benefits. Many of the new jobs will be at fulfillment centers currently being built in a number of states, including California, Florida and Texas. From KULR 8
Final decisions on four Business Ready Community (BRC) grant and loan requests will be made by the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board at its 8 a.m. meeting on Jan. 19 in Room 1699 in the Herschler Building. The Wyoming Business Council administers the Business Ready Community grant and loan program, which provides financing for Read More…
Fans of Cold Smoke beer should soon be able to pick up cans of the Missoula-based Scotch ale in Billings stores and bars. Billings-based Briggs Distributing announced Thursday that it has signed a partnership with Kettlehouse Brewing Co., which makes Cold Smoke and other beers, to distribute in a seven-county region surrounding Yellowstone this spring. Read More…
The Miles City Area Economic Development Council (MCAEDC) learned at its meeting Thursday that the small business development center (SBDC) will be moved from Colstrip to Miles City. The SBDC was created in 1989 to provide free one-on-one advising to business entrepreneurs. It offers financial analysis, business planning, operations assistance, marketing and social media assistance, Read More…
Though it remains on the same foundations upon which it was built more than 30 years ago, the Kalispell Center Mall is a place of constant activity and transition — stores come and go, mall walkers wander the halls, and local groups host community activities there. And while many malls in America are experiencing a Read More…
A business that started in an alley now ships custom metal work around the world. Over the course of seven years, Mick Thompson and his wife Alanna have brought their “back alley” business to the forefront of Red Lodge. From KTVQ
Lissie’s Luv Yums in Great Falls uses Treasure State ingredients to create gourmet dog biscuits for four-legged friends. But as MTN’s Julianne Dellorso reports in this week’s Montana Made, it provides a helping hand for humans, as well. From KBZK
Two of Montana’s neighbors are on the Forbes top ten Best States for Business list – North Dakota and South Dakota. Montana is ranked 23rd. Wyoming is ranked 35th and Idaho, 18th. Released in November, the 11th annual Forbes list puts Utah as the top ranking state, followed by North Carolina, Nebraska and Texas. West Read More…
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Storage Tank Program (STP) reported the highest underground storage tank (UST) operational compliance rates in the country to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) during federal fiscal year 2016. STP regulates the installation and operation of regulated storage tank systems (such as gas stations) and oversees cleanup Read More…
Oil climbed to an 18-month high in New York as output cuts by Kuwait and Oman signaled OPEC and its partners are delivering on their agreement to stabilize the market. Futures rose as much as 2.8 percent after adding 45 percent last year, the biggest annual gain since 2009. Officials from Oman and Kuwait told Read More…
A Montana company has been granted a license to build a $1 billion, 400-megawatt power storage project in the central part of the state that would supplement electricity from wind turbines and other sources, according to documents released Thursday by federal regulators. The 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows Absaroka Energy, Read More…
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to “save” America’s coal country and put long-suffering miners back to work. From KTVQ
Apple will launch a legal challenge this week to a record $14 billion EU tax demand, arguing that EU regulators ignored tax experts and corporate law and deliberately picked a method to maximize the penalty, senior executives said. From CNBC
Billings based First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has acquired Cascade Bancorp, parent company of Bank of Cascades. The transaction involved stock and cash of approximately $589 million. Cascade is a community bank based in Bend, Oregon with total assets of $3.2 billion, deposits of $2.7 billion, loans of $2.1 billion and 50 banking offices across Oregon, Read More…
The University of Montana School of Journalism will join other top-tier media schools in the launch of a new Google “News Lab University Network” in an effort to better train new and existing journalists in data, search and emerging technologies. The network is the latest effort by the School of Journalism to deploy technologies to Read More…