Author: Press Room

IPO Investing Declines

9 August 2023
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Companies in the United States that had hoped to become publicly traded have been forced to postpone their plans in part due to the worsening economic climate. This has translated to the U.S. recording one of the biggest historical slumps with initial public offerings (IPO).

In particular, according to data acquired and calculated by Finbold on February 16, the U.S. recorded 181 IPOs in 2022, representing a slump of a whopping 82% from 2021’s 1,035. Notably, the number of IPOs in 2021 represents a surge of about 115% from 2020’s 480. Between 2002 and 2005, the lowest number of IPOs was registered in 2008, at 62, amid the financial crisis.

A breakdown of the 2022 IPO quarterly distribution indicates that the number of companies going public steadily declined as the economy’s fortunes continued to dim. For Q1 2022, there were 80 IPOs, dropping to 18 in the last three months of the year.

Current Economic Conditions Have Small Business Owners Pessimistic about Future Business Conditions

9 August 2023
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According to National Federation of Independent (NFIB) Business’ Small Business Economic Trends report, small business owners continue to face challenging economic conditions. The Small Business Optimism Index increased slightly by 1.6 points in June but remains below the 49-year average of 98 for the 18th consecutive month. Labor market concerns and inflation are at the forefront of small business owners’ worries, with 24% of owners reporting inflation and another 24% citing labor quality as their top business concern.

“Halfway through the year, small business owners remain very pessimistic about future business conditions and their sales prospects,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Inflation and labor shortages continue to be great challenges for small businesses. Owners are still raising selling prices at an inflationary level to try to pass on higher inventory, labor, and energy costs.”

According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 59% reported hiring or trying to hire in June, down 4 points from May. A seasonally adjusted 42% of owners reported job openings they could not fill in June. This trend is especially pronounced in the manufacturing, construction, and transportation sectors. Of the 59% of owners who reported hiring or trying to hire in June, 92% had few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Thirty-three percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions, and 21% reported none.

Despite labor-related issues, small business owners continue to look for ways to grow their companies. An elevated net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next few months, down four points from May. Attracting and retaining applicants is a priority for small business owners, with a net 22% of owners planning to raise compensation in the next three months, unchanged from May.

Over the next six months, a net negative 40% of owners expect better business conditions, which is a 10-point increase. A net negative 10% of owners reported higher nominal sales in the past three months, down two points from May. A seasonally adjusted net 29% of owners reported raising average selling prices in June. Although this is three points lower than in May and the lowest since March 2021, this number is still at an inflationary level. Forty-three percent of owners reported higher average prices in June with price hikes most frequent in the retail, construction, and wholesale sectors.

The NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends data with quarterly surveys since the fourth quarter of 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. Survey respondents are randomly drawn from NFIB’s membership. The report is released on the second Tuesday of each month. This survey was conducted in June 2023.

Crucial Business Legislation Re-introduced in Both Chambers

9 August 2023
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On July 18, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act was re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representatives Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) introduced the legislation in the House and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) previously introduced it in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would make the crucial Small Business Deduction permanent, which is currently set to expire at the end of 2025, reports the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

“Passing the Main Street Tax Certainty Act would stop an enormous tax increase currently scheduled to strike small businesses at the end of 2025,” said Brad Close, NFIB President. “The 20% Small Business Deduction is set to expire in 2025, and without it, small businesses will have to limit their plans to grow, invest, and hire. By making the deduction permanent, small business owners will have the tax certainty they need to make business decisions about their future. We are encouraged that this important legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate and urge Congress to consider it.”

The 20% Small Business Deduction (Section 199A) allows pass-through small businesses the ability to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income and is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make this critical tax deduction permanent for small business owners across the country.

“Pennsylvania small business owners thank Rep. Smucker for re-introducing this critical legislation,” said Greg Moreland, NFIB Pennsylvania State Director. “The Small Business Deduction has been a crucial tax deduction for small business owners in the Commonwealth as it has allowed owners to reinvest in their business and employees. We ask Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act and make the Small Business Deduction permanent.”

In a recent NFIB member ballot, 91% said they support permanently extending the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act such as the 20% Small Business Deduction. Advocacy by NFIB members was instrumental in securing the 20% Small Business Deduction, and NFIB will continue advocating to have the deduction made permanent. NFIB Pennsylvania member David Cranston testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in 2018 to explain to lawmakers how the Small Business Deduction has benefited his small business. In NFIB’s 2019 tax survey, 81% of small business owners believe the Small Business Deduction is important.

According to NFIB’s 2021 tax survey, nearly half of small business owners (48%) reported the uncertainty of these expiring tax provisions is impacting their current or future business plans. Earlier this year, NFIB Pennsylvania member Warren Hudak and Georgia member Alison Couch testified before Congressional committees sharing their small business tax stories. NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman also recently testified before the U.S. House Budget Committee on how Congress can mitigate economic challenges on small businesses by making the Small Business Deduction permanent. This month, NFIB joined a coalition letter with over 160 other associations to encourage Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act.

Credit Cards Need Competition

9 August 2023
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The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released a new video featuring small business owners explaining the impact the Credit Card Competition Act would have on their Main Street businesses if passed into law.

The Credit Card Competition Act seeks to ensure competition in the credit card processing market by allowing small businesses the freedom to choose between multiple credit card networks. Without this legislation, businesses everywhere are subjected to ever-rising interchange fees set by large credit card companies in a closed market free from competition. According to a recent NFIB member ballot, 92% of NFIB member small business owners believe that businesses should have the right to choose between multiple credit card processing networks. This legislation would help preserve their freedom of choice by injecting much-needed competition into the credit card processing market, allowing small business owners to choose the option that is best for their business.

Excerpts include:

“I think one thing people forget about all these costs and fees that they think businesses pay is that it’s the consumers who end up paying these fees. At the end of the day, if we can reduce those fees, we can stabilize costs,” said David Henrich, a small business owner from Minnesota.

“The Credit Card Competition Act, I think, would be very beneficial to our business. We just recently started accepting credit cards, and we have noticed that that ‘swipe fee’ has been very expensive for us,” said Renea Jones, a small business owner from Tennessee.

“I don’t have that free choice to go out and choose who I give my money to. It’s already taken away from me on the third of every month before I have the choice to come back and say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s look at this and negotiate a better rate,’” said Jeff Hastings, a small business owner from North Carolina.

Camping World Opens in Lockwood

9 August 2023
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By Michael J. Marino, Yellowstone County News

Camping World just off Interstate 90 near Lockwood has opened for business, marking the RV dealer’s first store in Montana and its 199th store in the world.

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Camping World provides a variety of RV products and services. Devin Card, General Manager of the new Billings store, said that in addition to selling Recreational Vehicles and related items, they have 14 service bays.

With three other RV dealers just a stone’s throw away, one might wonder what strategy Camping World executives could have been employing when they decided to locate in Billings.

Card said he is not aware of all the details behind the company’s decision, but, “Billings draws in a large area of people that are traveling here on the weekends. People come to Billings for its shopping, [and] the hospitals ….I think that’s why you see so many RV places [in Billings],” he continued.

“As we enter Montana, the Billings community is a great place to begin,” said Camping World Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis. “It’s our goal to increase our store count by 50% over the next five years, through a combination of acquisitions, new store openings, and manufacturer exclusive locations.”

BLM Releases Oil/Gas Leasing Regulations

9 August 2023
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a proposed oil and gas rule that would affect how fossil fuels are leased and produced on national public lands. The rule would implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s reforms of the oil and gas leasing system.

BLM claims the proposed rule will cut down on speculative leasing in the onshore program so that rather than producing fuels, those lands can instead be managed for other uses like conservation and recreation. Finally, the rule would reform the bonding rates that oil and gas companies must post in order to ensure public lands are cleaned up when companies abandon wells.

The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Policy Director Rachael Hamby:

“Congress overhauled the oil and gas leasing system last year. Now it’s up to the Interior Department to make those reforms stick and prevent them from being undermined by future administrations. Today’s draft rule is a major step in that direction. The recent oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming shows that the industry already has more public land under lease than they know what to do with. The least they can do is give taxpayers a fair return when they lock up more acres and profit off publicly-owned resources.”

“It’s imperative that strong bonding reforms make it through the rulemaking process intact. The Interior Department just announced it will spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars cleaning up oil and gas wells abandoned by irresponsible companies. This can never happen again. Drillers must post bonds sufficient to clean up after themselves the next time an oil boom inevitably goes bust.”

Billings Building Permits August 1, 2023

9 August 2023
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Commercial

Rocky Mountain District Of CMA/ The Exterior Design Solutions, 2545 St John’s Ave, Com Fence/Roof/Siding, $17,000

Billings Shiloh Hotel LLC/ Pentex Builders, LLC, 705 Henry Chapple St, Com New Hotel/Motel, $14,600,000

McCall Development Inc/ McCall Development, 6204 Norma Jean Sq S, Com New Townhome Shell $350,000

Montana Prime Meats, 524 Liberty St, Com Remodel, $5,000

Humana Inc/ Horizon Retail Construction,  1423 38th St W, Com Remodel $728,812

South Forty Partners LP/ Harvest Solar Electric LLC, 769 Fallow Ln, Com Remodel, $214,000

KRE HCRE 2 Owner 3 LLC/ Bauer Construction, 1739 Spring Creek Ln, Com Remodel , $13,000

Barry, James D/ Sundance Tile & Carpentry, 109 5th St W, Demolition Permit  Commercial, $31,000

Valley Financial Credit Union/ Sprague Construction Roofing Division, 3100 2nd Ave N, Com Fence/Roof/Siding $25,000 

Holton, Russell/ KE Construction LLC, 1320 S 31st St W, Com Footing/Foundation $215,000.00

Holton, Russell/ KE Construction LLC, 1320 S 31st St W, Com New Other $2,000,000

Denny Menholt Chevrolet, 3000 King Ave W, Com Remodel, $130,000

Elevation Church Billings, Inc/ Ralph Dupea Contracting, 711 4th Ave N, Com Remodel, $40,000

Charter Communications Inc, 1860 Monad Rd, Com Remodel, $10,750

Residential

Youngren Remix LLC/ Duane Youngren Contractor LLC, 431 Lewis Ave, Res New Accessory Structure,$15,552

Mike Christensen/ Michael Christensen Homes, 4931 Silver Creek Trl, Res New Single Family, $450,000

Infinity Home LLC/ Infinity Home LLC, 954 Matador Ave, Res New Single Family, $241,855

Billings Best Builders LLC/ Billings Best Builders LLC, 3513 Rachelle Cir, Res New Single Family, $250,000

Billings Best Builders LLC/ Billings Best Builders LLC, 3472 Tahoe Dr, Res New Single Family, $250,000

Goffena, Deborah H/ Jeff Engel Construction, Inc, 154 Stillwater Ln, Res New Single Family, $500,000

Wells Built Inc/ Wells Built Inc., 4624 Toyon Dr, Res New Single Family, $401,019

Vandersloot/ Yellowstone Property Solutions LLC, 575 Winged Foot Dr, Res New Single Family, $600,000

CDH, LLC/ CDH, LLC, 5210 Camp Ln, Res New Single Family,  $279,772

CDH, LLC/ CDH, LLC, 5216 Camp Ln, Res New Single Family, $289,908

McCall Development Inc/ McCall Development, 6204 Norma Jean Sq S, Res New Townhome, $0.00

McCall Development Inc/ McCall Development, 6206 Norma Jean Sq S, Res New Townhome, $0.00

Woods, Barry L & Angela L/ Rock Creek Trim & Design, 2160 Fair Park Dr, Res New Accessory Structure, $40,000

Airport Photos to Showcase Eastern Montana for Visitors

9 August 2023
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Visit Southeast Montana and the Billings Logan International Airport are partnering to showcase the uniqueness and array of visitor opportunities in eastern Montana communities with a new photo installation as the airport continues its $60 million terminal expansion project.

The installation highlights the local communities and outdoor experiences in this part of the state that await the more than 400,000 passengers who use the terminal each year. It features:

* A wallscape of the night sky at Acton Recreation Area with a backlit lightbox that will inspire visitors to view some of the world’s darkest skies along Montana’s Trail to the Stars, which includes more than 45 dark sky viewing locations across eastern and central Montana.

* A 4.5-foot by 8.5-foot image of the Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield, the most-visited location in the Southeast Montana tourism region.

* A cutout of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco, which is a call to the area’s summer rodeo season that kicks off with the World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale.

* A 4.5-foot-tall burger that reminds viewers to bring a hearty appetite and find their favorite burger along the Southeast Montana Burger Trail, which features more than 20 local eateries over hundreds of miles across eastern Montana.

A “dino selfie spot” to encourage visitors to embark on the Montana Dinosaur Trail, where families can dig into paleontology on a guided dinosaur dig or stop at local museums.

Aly Eggar Accepts Position

9 August 2023
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Aly Eggart, MSPR, CATP, recently accepted a promotion to become the Director of Leisure Marketing for Visit Billings, managed by the Billings Chamber of Commerce.

Eggart was hired as the Leisure Marketing, Sales and Social Media Manager in 2016 and has since become an integral part of the Visit Billings team.

“We are proud to promote her into this well-deserved director position for Visit Billings and the destination,” said Executive Director of Visit Billings Alex Tyson. “During her seven years with the organization, Aly has become the leisure marketing leader for Billings. She has elevated this crucial visitor segment greatly impacting the visitor economy for the destination.”

Eggart’s responsibilities will include managing and leading leisure marketing and consumer sales efforts, growing leisure visitation through attendance at travel shows, and fostering the international group tour market. Additionally, she directs and manages the social media, publicity and leisure communications activities and campaigns. Eggart’s work to promote Montana’s Trailhead has been recognized as she led efforts for a campaign that won a bronze Adrian award in 2022 and the 2018 Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Montana Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Recreation.

YCN Takes 13 Awards in Newspaper Contest

26 July 2023
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Yellowstone County News won thirteen awards in the Montana Better Newspaper Contest which were presented at The Montana Newspaper Association’s annual convention in Helena last Friday and Saturday.

The event brings together newspaper publishers, reporters, designers, advertisers and marketers from across the state to discuss the state of their industry, compare notes and share ideas. Weeks ahead of the convention, statewide daily and weekly newspapers submit the best of their work in the past year to be judged by industry leaders in other states.

Yellowstone County News publisher, Jonathan McNiven, was also voted onto the Montana Newspaper Association’s board of directors for a three year term. He already serves of the Association’s Advertising Services Board of Directors.

In Division 3, Yellowstone County News took the first place award in five categories: Jonathan McNiven and Elisa Schlosser won the top award for Best Marketing Campaign; Elisa Schlosser won the Best Ad to Sell or Promote Merchandise Black and White award; Jonathan McNiven won the Best Breaking News Photo, Best Digital Presentation and Best Video.

Elisa Schlosser won second place for the Best Graphic and the Best Ad to Sell or Promote Services Black and White award. Jonathan McNiven won second place for Best Website. Evelyn Pyburn won second place for Best Headline Writing and third for Best Editorial. Michael Marino won third place for Best Headline Writing. David Crisp took third place for Best Column Writing. And, the Yellowstone County News Staff won second place for the Best Niche Publication.

This year’s top newspapers in Montana—winning the General Excellence Award — are: the Boulder Monitor, Choteau Acantha, Belgrade News, Havre Daily News and the Billings Gazette.

Among other awards, The Belgrade News was awarded the Thomas Dimsdale Award for the Best Montana Weekly Newspaper.

Thomas Dinsdale is noted as Montana’s first newspaper editor, who made an amazing impact on the state given that he died at the early age of 35. He was editor of The Montana Post, from September 17, 1864 until August 30, 1866 when ill health forced him to resign. He is probably best known as the author of “Vigilantes of Montana.”

The Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award was presented to Amy Nelson of the Billings Gazette. Ruder was a Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer who founded the Hungry Horse News in Columbia Falls, in 1946, and served as its publisher until 1978, when he sold it. Ruder died in 2000 at the age of 85.

The Billings Gazette was awarded the Sam Gilluly Award for the Best Montana Daily Newspaper. Gilluly was born in Billings in 1908 and followed in his father’s footsteps, who was a pioneering Montana newsman. Gilluly served for 28 years as editor of the Glasgow Courier. He served as Executive Director of the Montana Newspaper Association from 1974 through 1978.

The Montana Newspaper Association, of which Brian Allfrey is Executive Director, also recognized other outstanding leaders in the newspaper industry. Charles “Chuck” Johnson, a veteran Montana reporter for 45 years, was named to the Montana Newspaper Association’s Hall of Fame. Johnson unexpectedly died in March at age 74. He was known as the “dean of the capitol press corps,” and Gov. Greg Gianforte called him “a giant in political journalism.”

The recognition comes of a life time of reporting on Montana politics, government and culture and his mentoring of many young journalists. In May 2022, Johnson received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Montana State University. At the time of his death a local news report stated that “he had covered 22 Montana legislative sessions, seven governors, nine U.S. senators and 10 U.S. representatives, in addition to countless state legislators, elections, conventions and policies.”

The 2023 Master Editor & Publisher award was presented to Jacques Rutten, who in 2022 was named Regional Editor for Yellowstone Group Newspapers by Adams Publishing Group which acquired that group of newspapers in the past year. Prior to that Rutten was editor and publisher of the News-Argus in Lewistown, where he first began working as a sports reporter in 1997. Edward Renaud was presented with the 2023 Dick Crockford Distinguished Service Award.  Renaud is the Regional Production Manager for the Yellowstone Group Newspapers since its purchase by Adams Publishing Group in 2022. He is noted as a dedicated pressman and became Pressroom Foreman in 2004 and then Production Manager for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.