MATR Newsletter – August 22, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• 3 Openings Available – Bob Marshall Wilderness Horseback Guided Elk and Deer Hunt  September 24 – 30, 2022

  This is a once in a lifetime hunt for anyone who wants to experience the very best of a professional guided hunt on horse back in Montana’s fabulous wilderness.

• The fabulously wealthy are fueling a booming luxury ranch market out West

  Moguls are lavishing ever-larger fortunes on the rustic life, prompted in part by the pandemic

• The Beauty and Opportunity of Isolation in Montana – The American Prairie Reserve (APR)

  In my view, the American Prairie Reserve is an extraordinarily enlightened organization and it has bent over backwards in every way to respect, understand and accommodate the ranch and town concerns of the region. If the APR achieves its vision, the 3.5 million acre buffalo reserve will attract hundreds of thousands, even millions, of eco-tourists from all over the world, new enterprises on the main streets of Malta, Jordan and Lewistown, and wind up being one of the most noteworthy success stories in the history of rural redevelopment.

• USDA Hiring a Community Development Specialist in Bozeman or Helena (Job Postings)

  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Montana is hiring a Community Development Specialist to work out of the Bozeman state office, or Helena sub-area office, to promote the use…

• Montana Career Opportunity – Community Development Director – City of Bozeman

  The City of Bozeman is seeking a Community Development Director. The Community Development Director’s principal function is to provide leadership for the City’s Community Development Department, including directing, planning, and…

Great Falls Development Authority

• GFDA – Upcoming trainings: Business Pitch In Events, Email Marketing, Website in a day Bootcamp and more!

  Whether you’re just getting started, looking for new customers, wanting to grow sales through e-commerce, or focusing on workforce.
  We’re here to help.

  Check out the upcoming trainings!

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Child Care Options Growing in Kalispell

  “Last week was a big week for child care in the Flathead Valley! Two of our initiative supporters and members received word that they had received their full‐ask grants for ARPA dollars to expand services in the Valley from the Child Care Innovation and Infrastructure Grant Committee. The Bird’s Nest has received $1 million dollars to expand their capacity as well as Immanuel Lutheran Communities receiving $869,770 for their child care center,“ shared Lorraine Clarno, President/CEO of the Kalispell Chamber.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• TODAY – ONLINE – Rail summit could be major milestone in efforts to restore Montana passenger service – 8/22-23 – Online

  In-person registration is SOLD OUT. Please join us online. Connection information will be sent to registrants before the event.

• Montana to receive up to $61.3 million to promote small business growth

  The initiative also gives rural and Native American entrepreneurs greater opportunity to create new businesses and expand existing ones.

• Investment of $18 million announced to increase child care accessibility across Montana

  The grant amounts range from $142,000 to $1 million and serve these Montana counties: Glacier, Gallatin, Missoula, Mineral, Ravalli, Lewis and Clark, Beaverhead, Carter, Flathead, Granite, Yellowstone, Jefferson, Carbon, Deer Lodge, Sweet Grass, Fergus, Judith Basin, Petroleum, and Cascade.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• The remote work revolution is already reshaping America

  While the fine women and men at U.S. statistical agencies are still grappling with how to measure this astonishing transformation, a host of academics and other experts have rushed to fill the data gap.

Housing

• Recession Watch: It Doesn’t Seem Imminent—But The Housing Market Collapse Deepens As Fed Officials Warn ‘Economy Will Slow’

  Cooling inflation has helped temper concerns of an imminent recession, particularly as the job market continues to show historic strength, but a worsening housing market collapse and vast uncertainty over the course of the Federal Reserve’s interest hikes have many experts, including policy officials, warning that it’s still too early to know just how difficult this economic downturn will end up being.

• 3D-printed construction takes off in Montana

  Montana is now the first state to approve 3D-printed construction as an equal replacement for walls made with concrete masonry units.

Montana Business

• ‘Cattle are the key’: Some Montana ranchers turn to regenerative grazing to capture more carbon

  The two landscapes showcased Halverson’s new grazing plan: moving cattle frequently between small pastures, allowing grazed pasture long periods of rest, and grazing year round, even in the winter.

• Missoula, Montana’s ‘Xplorer Maps’ Story

  These entirely custom and original maps are truly one-of-a-kind keepsakes to share with friends and family for years to come. There are simply no other maps that can compare anywhere!

Funding and Building your Business

• What the Great Resignation Taught Us About Retaining Talent

  Big Ass Fans founder Carey Smith has some choice words–and sage advice–for employers who want to attract and keep top talent.

• 3 Bulletproof Strategies For Boosting Sales With Existing Customers

  Capitalizing on your customer’s current needs to push more sales is the secret sauce for many businesses. Follow these three strategies for best success.

21st Century Education Initiative – “You Should Care…”

• It Now Costs $300,000 to Raise a Child

  The cost of raising a child through high school has gone up, thanks to inflation.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• ‘A Generational bill,’ Missoula County exploring clean-energy opportunities in Inflation Reduction Act

  Caroline Bean and Andrew Valainis, both with the county’s Climate Action Program, said the bill’s focus on energy efficiency, energy production, job creation, tax credits and clean power will be a game changer in helping the city and county move closer to their goal of 100% clean electricity.

Government News & Events

• New law lowers renewables costs for rural electric co-ops

  There’s $9.7 billion in the bill specifically for cooperatives, for emissions cutting energy projects, energy efficiency and reliability.

• Clean energy: Missoula’s new ground-mounted solar array nearly up and running

  “What’s neat about it is the city is getting 1,000 solar panels, we’re meeting our energy goals, and we’re paying the same price for the power.” said Mollenhauer.

Transportation

• Here’s What Happens When Countries Use Bikes to Fight Emissions

  If everyone biked as much as the Dutch, we could cut nearly 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year—the equivalent of most of Germany’s emissions.

• 1st Vehicle-to-Grid System on NYC Grid Launches

  The revenue from this program will help Revel to pay off the cost of its EVs sooner. It will also help ConEdison balance the grid and avoid grid blackouts or brownouts in, for example, the growing heatwaves hitting the city.

Energy and Climate Change

• Montana’s rural residents may not be ready for increasingly intense heat waves

  Cathy Whitlock, an MSU professor and lead author of the Montana Climate Assessment, says Montanans, especially those in rural areas, may not be prepared for these temperatures because most have historically lived without air conditioning.

• An even better ‘Green Energy’ Car is coming. It’s fast like the wind and everyone can have one.

  Naturally powered!

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