MATR Newsletter – August 25, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• Missoula health board to test state law, order quarantine for unvaccinated close contacts

  Admitting the decision could prompt a lawsuit, the board agreed that science was key to protecting public health and “doing the right thing” was fundamental to their role as health representatives.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – Chief Operating Officer – NCAT

  The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to help people build resilient communities through local and sustainable solutions that reduce poverty, strengthen…

• Montana Career Opportunity – Community and Economic Development Coordinator – MBAC

  MBAC is looking for a dynamic, self-starting professional to join the Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC) team as a Community and Economic Development Coordinator. MBAC works to catalyze community and…

• Montana Career Opportunity – AmeriCorps Planning Grant Coordinator – The Montana Business Assistance Connection

  The Montana Business Assistance Connection catalyzes community leaders, stakeholders, and opportunities driving prosperity, our economy, business vitality, high quality job growth and the enhancement of quality of life throughout the…

• Montana Career Opportunity – Executive Director – Lincoln County Port Authority and Kootenai River Development Council

  Position open until filled with earliest start date of September 20, 2021. Please submit Letter of Interest, Resume, and Job Service Employment Application to: Job Service Libby, 417 Mineral Ave.…

Zoot Enterprises

• Montana’s post-pandemic economy is robust, says UM economist

  Zoot Enterprises is now working with high school and middle schools in an attempt to reach students sooner and get them thinking about tech careers and showing them they can do it and stay in Montana.

  “We need more talent,” Follett said.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Peter Drucker on The Nonprofit Board

  Nonprofits need both an effective board and an effective executive. Practically every nonprofit will accept one or the
  other half of this assertion. But a good many will not accept that both are needed.

• Just Released: UEDA’s Report on the Ecosystems Design Network Pilot

  The resources, roles, and players in ecosystems that use a human-centered design approach to considering how to strengthen these ecosystems to support economic and community recovery.

• Welcome to WeCAN! USDA-funded collaboration among Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to improve our communities

  Community Reviews are comprehensive assessment programs that provide information and tools to help communities address priority issues and enhance quality of life for their residents.

• USDA Seeks Comment on Ways to Help Businesses Start, Expand and Improve Cooperatives in Rural America

  The Department is interested in stakeholders’ recommendations to streamline application requirements and
  make other improvements to the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) program.

• Gov. Gianforte announces expansion to Build Montana program

  The program is an educational partnership between the Montana Equipment Dealers Association and the Montana Contractors Association. Launched in March of 2020, Build Montana’s focus is to build career paths for students to enter the construction industry.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Senate’s internet access plan rests on better broadband maps – More accurate maps could be two years away

  The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill makes a $42.5 billion bet that the government will overcome an obstacle that has long plagued efforts to connect most Americans to the internet: notoriously inaccurate maps showing where they can get a signal – and where they can’t.

Housing

• Energy Secretary Granholm announces new building energy codes

  The department projected the new code determinations will save up to 4.7 percent on-site energy, 4.3 percent source energy, 4.2 percent carbon emissions and 4.3 percent in energy costs. The department projects the determinations would generate savings of $138 billion over the next 30 years for homes and businesses, or about $162 per residential unit a year.

Montana Business

• Bozeman, Montana based Cadence Consulting Group, LLC

  We specialize in enterprise-wide Readiness and event-specific Optimization with an average of 10-15x ROI within 12 months.

Visit Montana

• Missoula, Montana Based Adventure Cycling – Flagship Cross-Country Bike Trail Follows Rural Route, Makes a Lasting Impact

  Nearly 50 years after it welcomed its first riders, the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail is continuing to showcase rural people and places, while offering a host of economic and community benefits.

Montana Manufacturing Extension Center

• August 2021 Montana Manufacturing News

  MMEC IS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS! Click here to read more about how manufacturing in Montana has evolved.

Montana Biotech

• Montana biotech company Inimmune Corporation receives $ 598K Small Business Innovation Research contract to advance vaccine technologies

  “This award will support the discovery and development of a strong adjuvant and immunotherapy pipeline at Inimmune and will help the company advance novel treatments for some of the worlds most deadly diseases,” stated Dr. Kendal Ryter, Inimmune co-founder and VP of Product Development.

Funding and Building your Business

• The 3 Stay Conversations: The best way to improve employee retention

  Improve employee retention by having these three one-on-one meetings with your staff once a month.

Incubators and R&D

• These 4 tech breakthroughs could help people live to 200 years old

  Genetic engineering, regenerative medicine, wearables, and AI combine to form a powerful antidote to aging, writes venture capitalist Sergey Young.

Come Home Idaho

• Idaho Cybersecurity Task Force Meeting Spotlights Workforce
  Attendees at the inaugural meeting discussed the struggles they face in hiring, training and keeping cybersecurity talent, as well as the need to give private firms more useful threat intelligence.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Commission seeks suggestions from you for new Montana U.S. House district maps

  Free online tools mean Montanans can draw their own political maps and submit them for consideration.

Government News & Events

• St. Paul Does Away With Minimum Parking Requirements

  St. Paul officials hope that tossing out parking mandates will open the door to new housing and businesses while moving the city closer to its goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled by 40 percent by the year 2040, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative

• MSU Leadership Institute – Former Astronaut Mae Jemison – February 1, 2022- Bozeman

  In 1992, Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space.

Transportation

• Transforming Transportation in Montana’s Flathead Valley

  Flathead Valley municipalities are drafting transportation plans for the next 20 years to address growth and create a logical transit network

• Petaluma becomes first US city to ban new gas stations

  A small group of activists is driving the conversation about climate change in new directions with a push against establishing new gas stations.

• Waymo is now offering free rides in their autonomous vehicles in SF. I rode in one.

  Not once during the ride did I feel unsafe. Though I wouldn’t say I’m entirely trustful of current autonomous vehicle technology, with the driver up front, I never fretted we’d be in grave danger.

• Genesis Electric Vehicle can be charged without a plug

  Drive the car over a pad and start charging wirelessly.

Energy and Climate Change

• Ithaca, NY raises $100m to decarbonize buildings

  The city plans to help homeowners acquire funding to retrofit buildings by installing electric heating systems, solar panels and batteries, among others. The aim is to reduce energy consumption and replace traditional heating with more environmentally friendly alternatives.

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