The Big Sky Business Journal

  • Rafa’s Brow Boutique and Beauty Salon

    Rafa’s Brow Boutique and Beauty Salon

    By Jose Bustos An Influencer? A Super Influencer?  Possibly!  Who knows who may spearhead the look of beauty and elegance for women and men in Montana.  Rafael Rivera instinctively knows that and he will with his business, The Brow Boutique located at 3201 13th Street West in Billings.  Rafa, as Rivera is known, has a…

  • Protecting Women

    The Montana State Legislature took up the very controversial issues regarding gender autonomy and protection of women’s rights. Three bills were passed: House Bill 121, which protects women’s and girls’ locker rooms, bathrooms, and private spaces from biological males  House Bill 300, which safeguardes women’s collegiate sports from unfair competition  Senate Bill 437, which defines…

  • Montana Highlights May 15, 2025

    Glacier Office Furniture has opened in Evergreen, MT. Glacier Office Furniture offers development solutions for office spaces with an emphasis on chair ergonomics. Ben Dorrington will take over the position of executive director of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce this summer when current director, Connie McCubbins, retires.  Dorrington has set goals of economic growth and…

  • March Payrolls Expanded

    Private-sector payrolls expanded by an estimated 62,000 positions in April, down from a revised 147,000 in March, according to the ADP National Employment Report released on April 30. Median pay for employees who stayed in their jobs rose by 4.5 percent from a year earlier, down slightly from 4.6 percent in March, while workers who…

  • Lawmakers Propose Reform to Help Farmers Amid Mass Deportations

    By Tim Clouser, The Center Square As farmers grapple with the impact of mass deportations, federal lawmakers proposed a bill to reform the H-2A visa program for those seeking a legal agricultural workforce. Congress established the visa program in 1952 to temporarily allow foreign farmworkers to work in the United States. According to the U.S.…

  • Income for Montanans

    In almost all categories, earnings in Montana is near the bottom in almost all categories. The following stats, presented by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, compare income distribution from 2005 to 2019 in Montana based on race. Average white earnings in Montana is $31,000 as compared to the national average of all races $35,610. Montana’s…

  • Ice Arena Groundbreaking

    Ice Arena Groundbreaking

    By Evelyn Pyburn It’s a new era for ice hockey in Billings, Montana – in fact for all ice sports. With Signal Peak Energy’s $6 million donation, this past month, along with the addition of many other community donations, a groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday to build a $12 million Signal Peak Energy Arena,…

  • Ford Continues Losses on EVs

    In the first quarter of 2022, when the company announced it would spend some $50 billion on electric vehicles, Ford’s stock sold for more than $20. Today, Ford’s shares are trading for less than $11, according to Robert Bryce in substack.com. The bad news for Ford Motor Company’s shareholders is that the company continues to…

  • Expanding Medicaid

    Under great pressure from hospitals in Montana, that depend heavily from government reimbursements, the Montana State Legislature approved a bill to continue Montana’s Medicaid expansion program. House Bill 245 will subsidize health care for low-income adults between 18 and 65 year olds.  It was supported by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Montana Hospital Association,…

  • Election Tough on Levies

    While across the state voters approved increased levy requests for four communities, voters were not so generous in Yellowstone County. Voters approved levy increases for school districts in Missoula, Bozeman, Helena and Kalispell, while Belgrade voters rejected their request. In Yellowstone County School all four requested levies were defeated in Laurel —  for the elementary…