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…
Karen Alderman Harbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute will be the speaker at the annual Petroleum Industry Appreciation Day Luncheon on August 29. The event which is sponsored by the Montana Petroleum Association will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Billings, and is open to Read More…
The newest member of the growing group of hotels in the Flathead Valley, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, opened its doors last week in Whitefish. The property had been under construction since last fall. The 81-room hotel on U.S. 93 South is focused on a specific set of clients: those who are staying five days or Read More…
Wendy’s had preliminary merger talks with Papa John’s before the company’s founder, John Schnatter, stepped down as chairman last week, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC. The talks cooled after Schnatter’s use of a racially charged slur led to his resignation. Schnatter still sits on Papa John’s board and has a nearly 30 Read More…
Amazon’s Prime Day again broke records this year, but the sales holiday also boosted sales across the broader U.S. e-commerce industry. According to Adobe Analytics data released this morning, larger retailers – meaning those with over a billion in annual revenue – saw a 54 percent increase in sales on Prime Day, compared with an Read More…
The number of small business that aren’t able to find enough workers has matched the highest level ever recorded. The percentage of small companies not able to fill open positions hit 36 percent in June, according to the NFIB Research Center, matching the survey’s record high set in November 2000. (The data goes back to Read More…
After reading a recent op-ed piece written by four seemingly confused former land board staffers regarding the Habitat Montana program I believe a response is definitely in order. The four, Ed Tinsley, Kathy Bramer, Rusty Harper and Jenny Eck, show the ineptness associated with past operations of the land board when it comes to writing Read More…
Tech-driven disruption in the insurance industry continues at pace, and we’re now entering a new phase — the adaptation of underlying business models. That’s leading to ongoing changes in the distribution segment of the industry, but more excitingly, we are starting to see movement in the fundamentals of insurance — policy creation, underwriting, and claims Read More…
Roger and Lisa Sammons are definitely overachievers. When the owners of Pardue Grain invited dignitaries, local business owners and customers, vendors and contractors to the “groundbreaking” of their new pulse crop processing facility, they forgot to mention the facility’s construction is well underway! Last Friday’s ceremony was merely a formality as the Sammons and their Read More…
Judge Kimberly Mueller on June 10, 2016 in the U.S. Eastern District Court of California found that John Duarte, a nursery operator and wheat farmer, plowed wetlands, four to six inches deep, and therefore violated the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Judge found Mr. Duarte, by chiseling a pasture, discharged fill material into a water Read More…
Venture capital-backed companies based out of California are usually recognizable. But what can get lost in the mix are the companies based throughout the rest of the country. VC research firm Pitchbook compiled every state’s most valuable VC-backed startup into an interactive graphic. READ THE FULL STORY.
Bias Brewing officially opened and features six beers brewed in house, cold brew coffee, and food from Food For The Soul 2. The brewery’s first beer menu features a variety of types of brews from stouts to pale ales. It offers 4-ounce taster sizes all the way up to small and large growlers. Bias also Read More…
MONTANA – AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie theater chain, has unveiled a $20-a-month subscription service as a rival the flagging MoviePass. The theater chain on Wednesday unveiled a new service to its loyalty program, AMC Stubs, allowing subscribers to see up to three movies a week for a monthly fee of $19.95. That’s more Read More…
A federal judge said Tuesday that AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner is legal, clearing the path for a deal that gives the pay-TV provider ownership of cable channels such as HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon did not impose conditions on the merger’s Read More…
LIVINGSTON – Livingston’s Printing For Less (PFL) held a ceremonial groundbreaking event Friday for its new 55,000-square-foot digital printing and fulfillment center. The company plans to add 100 new employees once the new center is complete. Just this past year it added 80 new positions at its Livingston location. “We’re obviously optimistic about our own Read More…
Manhattan gun holster and tactical accessory maker Blackhawk! was named the state’s Manufacturer of the Year by the Montana Chamber of Commerce. “Our team is deeply honored and very excited to receive this recognition,” said Blackhawk Factory Operations Manager Lamont Kotter in a release. “This is a testament to the great work our employees do Read More…
Since the beginning of 2016, in a two-and-a-half year span, Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls have added six new hotels with 500-plus rooms and more than 300,000 total square feet, counting four completed hotels and two scheduled for completion this summer. Now another new hotel is coming to Kalispell with the recent application of My Read More…
Instead of the massive pot rooms that once pumped out millions of pounds of aluminum, dozens of local residents saw sprawling holes at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. during a public presentation and tour on May 9, a show of progress at the contaminated Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site that is in the midst of Read More…
For those of you who have never visited the former Glasgow Air Force Base in St. Marie, Montana, it is definitely an interesting site to see. It looks like something out of a movie. You will drive down a street and see abandoned home after abandoned home with brown, overgrown lawns and boarded up windows- Read More…
Vacant for most of the last decade, the old National Guard armory building in downtown Bozeman is beginning to show signs of life. Plans are moving forward to repurpose the building into an eight-story boutique hotel complete with event space and at least a pair of restaurants, said Cory Lawrence, CEO of local travel company Read More…
An obscure wireless industry deal from last year can help explain why T-Mobile and Sprint finally agreed to merge this week after years of flirting with a deal. Last May, Verizon signed a deal to buy acompany called Straight Path for more than $3 billion. If you remember the deal, it’s probably because AT&T and Read More…
The railroad’s planned investment will fund various initiatives, including a $1.4 million investment in the rail line between Butte-Silver Bow and near Lima to replace 10,000 crossties along our Montana Subdivision. UP also plans a $748,600 investment in the rail line between Moose Creek and Walkerville to replace curve rail along the railroad’s Montana Subdivision. Read More…
HELENA, Montana, April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT), (the “Company,” “Eagle”), the holding company of Opportunity Bank of Montana, today reported net income was $573,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $763,000, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2017. Read More…
The app development side of Montana’s much-lauded tech sector will continue its upward trajectory, according to a newly released report. The sixth annual report, the State of the App Economy — aggregated by ACT The App Association, an industry organization that represents more than 5,000 app makers — details the growth of an almost $1 Read More…
The parent company of Herberger’s announced Thursday that going-out-of-business sales at Montana stores will start Friday. That includes the store at Rimrock Mall in Billings. The retailer moved into that spot and renovated the space three years ago after spending decades in a different wing of the mall. The announcement from corporate parent Bon Ton Read More…
Small-business hiring in March fell to the lowest point in over seven years, while hourly earnings grew steadily, a report from human resources firm Paychex said Tuesday. The Small Business Jobs Index decreased 0.12 percent from last month and 1.07 percent from a year earlier. Small-business wages continued to rise, reaching a 2.66 percent (69 Read More…
Kalispell Regional Healthcare is undergoing a transition in its leadership team as three top executives, the director of its digestive health institute and a contingent of its internal design team have either departed or announced plans to retire. In recent weeks, three prominent members of the Kalispell Regional staff who also serve on the hospital Read More…
In the outside, Meissenburg Designs still looks a lot like it did when it was the site of Martin’s Peat, located southeast of Bigfork. Loyd and Laura Meissenburg acquired the property in 2013, with most of the changes occurring inside to accommodate their growing design and fabrication company. The magnificent Swan Mountains rise above the Read More…
Belgrade’s much-beloved Chalet Market has been named the state’s Retailer of the Year by the Montana Department of Commerce. The store, which sells a variety of meats smoked, cured and packaged onsite, along with sandwiches, ice cream and a collection of products made in Montana, was honored at the annual Made in Montana Tradeshow late Read More…
CHEYENNE – The Cheyenne-Laramie County Joint Powers Board agreed Tuesday to fund half of a $250,000 grant meant to lure a mystery Denver manufacturer to the Swan Ranch rail park. The grant, split with economic development nonprofit Cheyenne LEADS, will be used to offset some of the company’s costs moving into LEADS’ “spec” building south Read More…
The Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo announced Tuesday that it’s the latest grocery chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after a New York-based chain, Tops Friendly Markets, filed earlier this month. While rumors of the filings have been swirling for months, the chains didn’t start officially filing in court until the Read More…
VAN NUYS (CBSLA) — An online prankster is targeting In-N-Out Burger and now the chain is taking legal action. When a man in a dark suit walked into an In-N-Out in Van Nuys and claimed to be their CEO, some believed him, but the manager wasn’t convinced. “Who are you?” the exchange started. “I’m actually Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula is getting two more breweries, one in downtown and one on the hip strip, bringing the city’s total to nine breweries, but the industry brings more to the community than just providing a unique blend of beer. On the corner of East Main Street and Pattee Street once sat a service Read More…
Lyft made a lot of progress in 2017, helped by strong market expansion within the U.S. and riding some very bad news from its primary rival, Uber. That’s helped it grow revenue to more than $1 billion as measured by GAAP standards for its fiscal 2017, with a particularly strong Q4 during which its revenue Read More…
President Donald Trump killed Broadcom’s proposed buyout of Qualcomm, citing national security concerns, according to a statement issued by the White House on Monday. “There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Broadcom Limited, a limited company organized under the laws of Singapore (Broadcom)…through exercising control of Qualcomm Incorporated (Qualcomm), a Delaware corporation, Read More…
CUT BANK – Pardue Grain, Inc.’s $5.7-million project will include a food-grade processing line for pulse crops, which in Montana include chickpeas, peas and lentils. The upgraded facility should be open 12 miles west of Cut Bank in time for harvest and will add eight jobs to the economy, the Cut Bank Pioneer Press reported. Read More…
A Montana judge says a Nebraska-based insurance company is liable for a $43 million settlement between the state and people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a Libby vermiculite mine. National Indemnity Co. paid $16 million toward the 2009 settlement but later sued to recover the money. State District Judge Holly Brown said in ruling Read More…
Montana’s high-tech businesses want to demonstrate that they can play a meaningful role in growing the state’s economy by offering higher wages than other businesses in the state, adding more jobs, and generating quick revenue growth. That’s according to a report out today from the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. The organization, with assistance from Read More…
A local environmental nonprofit organization has filed an appeal with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, seeking a reversal of the agency’s decision to grant a permit to a water-bottling plant in Creston. The Flathead Lakers announced the group would appeal the DNRC’s January decision to issue a water permit to the Montana Read More…
There’s currently around $200 billion of bitcoin floating around in people’s digital wallets. For many of their owners, those bitcoins have proved to be a valuable asset. They’re happy to leave them to rise in value and build up their wealth. For others though, those giant piles of coins are exactly what they’re supposed to Read More…
A South Korean official who guided Seoul’s regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrencies was found dead on Sunday, according to a government spokesman. Jung Ki-joon, 52, was head of economic policy at the Office for Government Policy Coordination. He helped coordinate efforts to create new legislation aimed at suppressing cryptocurrency speculation and illicit activity, the spokesman said. Read More…