Big Sky Business Journal

Montana Highlights:

Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Reason To Celebrate

American Exceptionalism.

It’s not about politics.

It’s not about nationalism.

It’s really not even about America.

It’s about human beings and how they were meant to live.

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New Firm Helps Buyers Find Right Business

By Evelyn Pyburn

With extensive experience in business and most especially in the campground business, there are few people better qualified to advise prospective campground buyers than John Halstvedt and Dan Singer. Recognizing a need and understanding the unique means they have of addressing that need, these two Billings men have started a new enterprise – Recreational Business Partners.

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Changing the Game

Change the Game will be the focus of the 2010 Compete Smart Manufacturing Conference. Meet company leaders in person, tour and explore new possibilities with your peers and allies on October 7 & 8 in Billings.

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Business News

Stockman Bank Grants Habitat for Humanity $10,000
Habitat for Humanity, Mid Yellowstone Valley received funding from Stockman Bank to further its mission of building affordable houses for families in need. Habitat will build a house at the MontanaFair, being held August 13-21. Stockman Bank’s...
Retail Staple Food Prices Edge Higher
Retail food prices at the supermarket increased slightly during the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey. The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to...
Research Study Finds Soil Erosion Decreasing, Development Increasing
A newly released report indicates a 27 percent increase over a 25 year period in the amount of developed land in Montana. The report compiled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Resources Inventory (NRI) was based on land-use...
New Manager at Exxon
Jon R. Wetmore has been named ExxonMobil Billings Refinery Manager. Wetmore replaces Geoffrey A. Craft who has transferred to ExxonMobil Pipeline Company in Houston, Texas. Wetmore was born in Canada and received his BS degree in Chemical Engineering...
Integra Increases Network Capacity
Integra Telecom Inc., an integrated communications provider for business, has increased its, voice and Internet network capacity by four times in the Billings-Bozeman, area. In Billings the company is located at 206 North 29th Street. The upgrade provides...

Government & Politics

What’s in Store at State Legislature?
“The budget is going to be the huge issue in the next state legislature,’ said Jon Bennion, in speaking before members of the boards of the Big Sky Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the Big Sky Economic Development Corporation (EDC), last...
SBA Official Lauds Health Care Program
Region VIII Administrator US Small Business Administration For decades, America’s small business owners have asked for more affordable health insurance coverage and more tax relief. The new health reform law – the Affordable Care Act – provides...
RFP Issued for Metra Arena
Yellowstone County Commissioners issued a request for proposal on Tuesday for a general contractor to oversee the reconstruction of Rimrock Auto Arena. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on July 26. They will be opened on July 27 and reviewed...
Planning Mill Levy Fails to Make Ballot
In a vote of two to one, Yellowstone County Commissioners refused to put a mill levy request on the November ballot for the City County Planning Department. Despite wide support from public officials in almost all corners of local government, Commissioners...
Nothing is Simple -- Every Day Demands Quick Answers
So far the restoration contractors have hauled away 330 tons of debris from Rimrock Auto Arena. The process of restoring the tornado damaged facility, however, is one that is fraught with unexpected issues needing immediate answers on a daily basis....

66°

°F

Billings, MT

Partly Cloudy

Humidity: 59%

Wind: W at 9 mph

Sat

64 | 94

Sun

60 | 90

Mon

59 | 85

Tue

60 | 84

Obama Pushes Small Business Bill
U.S. President Obama called on Senate Republicans to move forward on small-business bill, while Republicans said the bill would kill jobs.
BA, Virgin Sound Optimistic
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic signaled that the pace of recovery is picking up after one of the toughest economic downturns in decades.
Personal Details Exposed Via Biggest U.S. Websites
The largest U.S. websites are installing new and intrusive consumer-tracking technologies on the computers of people visiting their sites—in some cases, more than 100 tracking tools at a time—a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

SEC vs. the media, round two
The Securities and Exchange Commission was not seeking a blanket exemption from public information laws, when it asked Congress to include a little known provision in the Wall Street reform law, the agency said in a letter to lawmakers Friday.
Stocks: Best monthly gain in a year
Despite a mixed performance on Friday, stocks booked the best monthly gain in a year, with the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both rising nearly 7% in July.
Worst job on Earth: BP calling all applicants
It could quite possibly be called the worst job on Earth -- and the position is open.

From the Editor

It’s about priorities.
President Obama recently announced that he was consulting with “experts” on the economy. One has to wonder where these experts have been for the past 200 years. It’s not as though any of the economic problems confronting our country are new. The fact is every “expert” in the world knows how to grow an economy and how to generate wealth. What they haven’t figured...
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Community & Events

When and Where July 15 2010
A two-day workshop to be held July 21-22 at Montana State University is designed to help supervisors increase their employees' productivity, satisfaction and teamwork while better managing their own stress and workloads. "Supervisor Boot Camp" runs...
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When and Where July 1 2010
The 9th Annual “A Waiting Child” Golf Classic benefiting Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption will be held Monday, August 2, at the Yellowstone Country Club. Billings native Mike Grob, a professional golfer who has...
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Pavilion at Amend Park
Amend Park Development Council has been granted a permit by the City of Billings to build a $74,000 pavilion in the concession area of Amend Park. The pavilion will have power and will offer shade and shelter for park events. While the project has...
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Guest Commentary

Montana Spends Millions On Illegal Immigrants
State and local spending on illegal immigrants amounts to $32 million a year in Montana. That’s according to a study released this month by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. that advocates for immigration law reform....
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