Featured Articles in Business

Snap Spins Off Gen-AI Video Team to Form Dotmo, a New Independent Firm

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…

SpaceX Makes History With Record-Breaking $75 Billion IPO — Shares Surge Nearly 20% on Debut

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…

Janicki Industries Selects Great Falls for $800 Million Manufacturing Campus

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…

MGM, Caesars Takeover Bids Signal New Era for Las Vegas

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…

All in: Business

Gianforte Welcomes Semiconductor Firm to Montana

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday marked the opening of Eshylon Scientific’s new facility in Bozeman, cutting the ribbon on the semiconductor manufacturing solutions company’s relocation from California to Montana. The governor toured the site and highlighted the investment as part of Montana’s growing technology and semiconductor industry. “Montana is becoming a hub for entrepreneurship and Read More…

Montana Commerce Department Launches New Loan Program for Rural Businesses

The Montana Department of Commerce announced Monday that a new loan participation program aimed at expanding access to capital for rural businesses will open for applications on Oct. 1, 2025. The Opportunities in Rural Economies (ORE) Loan Participation Program will partner with local lenders to provide low-interest loans for projects that support job creation, strengthen Read More…

Black Hills Corp. and NorthWestern Energy Announce All-Stock Merger

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) and NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NWE) said  their boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock, tax-free merger. The deal will create a regulated electric and natural gas utility company with an estimated market capitalization of $7.8 billion and an enterprise value of Read More…

After completing innovation and management graduate program, Montana State alumnus launches food-focused startup

With bachelor’s and master’s degrees now under his belt, Montana State University alumnus Quinn Holland’s advice to current students is still what drives him every day. “Relentlessly chase what excites you in life. If there is something that you are curious about, chase it until the end of the earth and until you’re satisfied with Read More…

Trump Administration Sees Trillions in New U.S. Manufacturing Investments

Since President Donald J. Trump took office, U.S. manufacturing, production, and innovation have seen a surge in domestic investment, with corporations and foreign entities pledging trillions of dollars to expand operations on American soil. Major technology, automotive, pharmaceutical, and industrial companies have announced multi-billion-dollar investments in the United States during President Trump’s second term. Highlights Read More…

Lee Enterprises to Pay $9.5 Million in Privacy Case, Faces New Employee Class-Action Lawsuits

Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based newspaper chain that owns hundreds of publications in 25 states, including several in Montana, has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a subscriber privacy lawsuit — even as it confronts fresh legal troubles from a February 2025 cyberattack that allegedly exposed the personal information of thousands of employees. Three new Read More…

1M homes to be powered by Montana coal mine expansion

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of the Interior on Tuesday approved expansion of coal mining in Montana, marking the second largest coal expansion since President Donald Trump took office in January as 33.75 million tons of federal coal will be recovered, 300 jobs ensured, and a million homes powered by the decision. The Read More…

Montana Maintains Near-Record Low Unemployment

Montana’s unemployment rate held steady at a remarkably low 2.8% in June, marking the ninth consecutive month below 3% and extending a historic run of four straight years with unemployment at or below 3.4%, according to Governor Greg Gianforte. “With more Montanans working now than ever before and historically low unemployment, we’re seeing the results Read More…

Small Business Sentiment Surges as “One Big Beautiful Bill” Takes Effect

Small business owners across the nation are showing renewed confidence in the economy, according to CNBC’s latest Small Business Survey, coinciding with the implementation of President Donald J. Trump’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill and his broader pro-growth policies. The survey reveals a significant upswing in optimism: Nearly half of small business owners now rate Read More…

Meghan McCain calls CNN’s Kaitlan Collins a ‘hack’ and ‘imbecile,’ demands she be stripped of WH credentials

Meghan McCain is calling for CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins to have her press credentials revoked, calling her an “absolute imbecile” and a “pure partisan hack” following a tense exchange during a White House press briefing. McCain’s criticism comes after Collins clashed with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and White House Press Read More…

Inside the ‘arms race’ to win the new luxury cruise ship market

Once viewed by wealthier vacationers as mass market, déclassé venues for watery cocktails, garish waterslides, buffet stampedes and Norovirus outbreaks, cruises are now chic. Everyone from Martha Stewart and Tom Brady to Kendall Jenner and Dakota Johnson was onboard the Ritz’s recent launch of Luminara, the hotel brand’s new ship, which has been floating around the Mediterranean. Savvy investors and luxury brands are Read More…

Target drops popular perk for shoppers after more than a decade

Target is dropping its price-matching policy with rivals Walmart and Amazon after more than a decade as the company aims to reposition itself amid slowing sales and competitive pressure. Under its new Price Match Guarantee policy, taking effect July 28, customers of the Minneapolis-based retail giant will be able to price match other Target products in the Read More…

Simplot to Acquire Clarebout Potatoes

The J.R. Simplot Company and Clarebout Potatoes announced this week Simplot’s intention to acquire the operating business of Clarebout, in a move that unites two family-owned leaders in the frozen potato industry. The transaction, expected to close in 2025 pending regulatory approvals, will significantly expand Simplot’s footprint in Europe and enhance its global processing and Read More…

KRAMBU Unveils Plans for World’s Most Sustainable AI Factory in Montana

KRAMBU, Inc., a sustainable high-performance computing infrastructure company, announced this week the development of a next-generation AI data center campus in Montana—what the company is calling the world’s most sustainable “AI Factory.” The project is designed to redefine the future of artificial intelligence infrastructure by integrating direct liquid cooling (DLC) technology, renewable energy sources, and Read More…

Bozeman Tops List as Most Expensive U.S. Airport for Summer Car Rentals, Survey Finds

Travelers heading to Montana this summer may face sticker shock at the rental car counter. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) has been named the most expensive airport in the country for car rentals, according to a new survey from travel website Cheapcarrental.com. The survey, which analyzed rental rates across 100 U.S. airports for the peak Read More…

Irrigation in Montana: Sustaining agriculture, landscapes and communities

Montana’s wide-open spaces and fluctuating climate make water a precious resource. Across the state, irrigation is central not only to agriculture but also to the health of residential landscapes and community green spaces. From century-old canal systems feeding hay fields to backyard sprinklers keeping lawns green in dry summers, water use in Montana requires careful Read More…