Category: Government
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SBA Summarizes 2020 Loan Activity
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Fiscal Year 2020 summary loan data of the financial assistance provided through traditional loan program lending as well as aid provided via the CARES Act. Loans guaranteed through traditional SBA-backed lending programs exceeded $28 billion; however, enactment of the CARES Act dramatically increased loan volume guaranteed by the Agency:…
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PSC Rules that NWE Must Refund $9.9 million
The Montana Public Service Commission has trimmed $9.4 million from an annual rate adjustment requested by NorthWestern Energy, after concluding the utility’s imprudent supervision of the coal-fired power plant in Colstrip, led to its temporary shutdown in 2018. With interest, NorthWestern will be required to refund more than $9.9 million to ratepayers. For about two…
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Red Wave Sets Rare Political Trifecta
By Evelyn Pyburn The people of Montana have “thrown down the gauntlet,” and have challenged Republicans to show what they can do, stated Republican Brad Tschida, who was 2019 House Majority Leader and recently re-elected to HD97 in Missoula. On Nov. 3, the Republicans swept all statewide offices and netted many new positions in both…
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BSED Outlines 2021 Legislative Goals
The next session of the Montana State Legislature is scheduled to begin on Jan. 4, 2021. Prior to each legislative session, organizations of all sorts usually announce their legislative priorities – those issues, policies and proposals, for which they plan to lobby or support. Yellowstone County’s economic development agency, Big Sky Economic Development (BSED) is…
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Gray Wolf Delisted from Endangered Species
The Department of the Interior announced it has removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list, signaling a successful recovery under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The gray wolf spent more than four decades on the endangered species list. The population is now thriving in the lower 48 states. “This should be heralded as…
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Ronda Wiggers to Head Montana NFIB
Ronda Wiggers has been announced as the new state director or the Montana Federation of Independent Business, (NFIB) a small-business advocacy association. She will be in charge of lobbying, educational outreach and political efforts. Wiggers will be taking up the torch for Riley Johnson who has served in that position for 38 years. “Ronda’s lobbying…
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Rich States, Poor States – Montana in Middle
With its founders and researchers, “united in free markets and limited government,” the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has come out with results of two studies that show Montana is about middling when it comes to economic prospects and the performance of its governor. And, the authors make frequent points that one ranking might have…
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$1 Million in Business Development Funds
Eight businesses are receiving $1,050,260 in business development funding through the Montana Department of Commerce. It is estimated that the funding will support the creation of up to 136 jobs and train new workers at growing businesses in Montana. Funds will be awarded through two reimbursement programs at the Department of Commerce: The Big Sky…
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Court Allows States to Waive SNAP Regulations
The Center Square The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked a Trump administration change to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could have removed eligibility for almost 700,000 unemployed, able-bodied Americans. A lawsuit filed in January by a multistate coalition alleged a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule wrongly reversed a decades-old policy…
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City of Billings Approves TEDD Agreement
With two dissenting votes, the Billings City Council approved, on Monday, an amendment to the agreement the city has with Lockwood Water and Sewer District (LWSD) that paves the way for the LWSD to expand its sewer district boundaries to provide service to property owners in the TEDD in Lockwood. The amendment allows the expansion…