Nathan Garber started LeoN Holding Company in Kalispell a year ago as a full-service mini storage business. The company now plans to expand into Oklahoma. The company contributes to local non-profits such as the Boys and Girls Club of Glacier County and th Habitat for Humanity. Garber also plans on adding a new office and hiring additional staff in the Flathead Valley.

Marathon Petroleum will not be adding production growth capital to its 2022 budget in any of its plays. That’s regardless of whether commodity prices continue to rise. Marathon plams to emphaze return of capital to shareholders during 2022.

As of April 1, First Interstate will be eliminating non-sufficient funds charges and reducing overdraft fees, to offer flexibility intended to create a little extra breathing room for clients. First Interstate will make many changes including the elimination of non-sufficient fund charges and a reduction in overdraft fees from $30 to $10.

A 17-page comment letter has been submitted by North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources and the Division of Air Quality. The letter claims the EPA’s methane emissions proposal exceeds the limits of its authority under both the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. With production of over 500 million barrels of oil per year and over 900 million cubic feet of natural gas, North Dakota has a vested interest in the rules proposed by EPA to further regulate methane emissions. The proposed rules are not needed as North Dakota already successfully regulates GHG emissions from the oil and natural gas sector through the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the North Dakota Industrial Commission.

North Dakota Rig counts have reached 34 during February . That’s a two-year high since the pandemic began, which follows the national trend. The exceptionally tight labor pool has affected North Dakota’s potential rig count. The oil and gas sector is working on more gas infrastructure, to improve areas where takeaway capacity has been a challenge and to add to overall capacity out of the Bakken. Lack of adequate gas infrastructure can set a  low ceiling on the Bakken’s potential oil production.

British Columbia-based Teck Resources Ltd. has added a third water treatment plant that cleaned the waters of Fording River in Canada of coal mining pollution. The clean water drains into Montana’s Kootenai River and Lake Koocanusa.

Dale Greenwalt has been collecting ancient insects from the Flathead’s Middle Fork as a resident research associate with the Smithsonian Institution. His most famous find is a rare fossilized mosquito found engorged with ancient blood, likely from a bird of the Middle Eocene. Dale and a research partner have published this year the findings of several new midge species and one delicate mosquito larvae. Scientists praise the region for its unique ability to help record natural history through some of the rarest, most delicate of olden insects: tiny winged flies in their respective pupal and larval stages.

Carolina and Jake Balliew are opening the Lakeside Distillery in Townsend soon. The distillery will be located at 201 Broadway Street. Everything produced at the distillery is made with Montana products. In the summer he will harvest his grain himself in the Choteau area.

In Gallatin County, there were 20.2% fewer new listings in January 2022 than the same month last year, falling from 104 to 83. Pending sales decreased 12.5%, from 104 to 91. Closed sales decreased 6.5%, from 77 to 72. The average number of days homes spent on the market increased 32.1%, from 28 to 37. Median sales prices jumped 45.1%, from $560,000 to $812,750, and sellers received 97.8% of their list price, down slightly from 99.7% last January. The inventory of homes for sale dropped 34.6% from 136 to 89. The months supply of inventory decreased 22.2%, from 0.9 to 0.7.

As part of his charge to improve customer service and modernize technology in state government, Governor Greg Gianforte announced the launch of a new mobile app from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). FWP’s new app will allow Montanans to access their hunting and fishing licenses with their phone, reducing the need to secure and carry around paperwork while they fish and hunt. The new app, MyFWP, provides Montana sportsmen and women a simple, easy way to store and display licenses, permits, and digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, which can be used in the field without cellular service. In addition to storing and displaying licenses and permits in a digital wallet, the MyFWP app gives hunters the option to digitally validate an E-Tag instead of a traditional paper carcass tag. This can be done even if the hunter is out of cell service. 

U.S. manufacturers continue to post strong growth, although at a more moderate level compared to the record activity that defined 2021. February’s most critical industrial reports instead suggest continued signs of relief in supply chain pressures and labor shortages, among other developments

Following his announcement of a $6 million investment in rapid workforce training, Governor Greg Gianforte joined Carroll College President John Cech to announce a portion of the funds will be used for the rapid training of nurses and clinical social workers at Carroll College. As a partner of Accelerate Montana, Carroll College received a $440,000 grant to provide scholarships for the College’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Social Work programs. The scholarships, 32 in all, will offset up to $12,500 of tuition and fee costs per student in these programs, which prepare students to enter high-wage, high-demand jobs in Montana’s health care sector.