MATR Newsletter – December 11, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• COVID-19 Economic Update -Montana Department of Labor – 12/16 – Noon

  SPECIAL GUEST:

  Barb Wagner, Chief Economist, Montana Department of Labor & Industry

Montana Department of Commerce

• Botanie Soap of Missoula adds employees, increases production and products with Big Sky Trust Fund grants

  To get there, Botanie Soap Inc. of Missoula has applied for another round of Big Sky Trust Fund grants to help support next year’s plans for growth. The grant applications are due next month.

• Workforce Recovery Grants Awarded to 20 Montana Businesses – Funding Available for Montana Businesses Ready to Rehire Workers

  The businesses will share $895,000 to support rehiring 152 full-time employees.

Big Sky Economic Development

• Big Sky Economic Development shares report on Billings-area economy

  What an amazing effort as our business leaders, many of whom were themselves trying to keep their doors open and retain staff, joined with our economic development team and civic leaders to respond to real needs and define a game plan for our response and recovery.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Want a More Equitable Future? Empower Citizen Developers

  By the end of this decade, we will have failed if the tech industry is the only beneficiary of tech intensity. Its purpose is the democratic ideal of opportunity for everyone.

• New Missoula County technology reveals growth boom, lagging housing market

  Since the pandemic set in back in March, real estate agents in Missoula and across Montana have reported a new batch of buyers looking to leave some of the nation’s major cities for a different way of living.

• Montana Labor Market Information – Montana Department of Labor

  How the growing demand for apprenticeable jobs impacts the Montana economy

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• States Prioritized Broadband as COVID-19 Took Hold

  What good is wider broadband availability if one still can’t afford it?

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Gianforte supports Texas lawsuit to invalidate presidential election results

  Montana Congressman and Gov.-elect Greg Gianforte is one of 106 House Republicans Thursday who signed on to a “friend of the court” brief supporting the Texas lawsuit trying to invalidate presidential election results in four key states.

• Montana Governor Elect Greg Gianforte’s natural resource advisor is former D.C. pipeline lobbyist

  He worked for TransCanada to lobby Congress to back the Keystone XL pipeline and to ease the regulatory and permitting process for cross-border pipelines and domestic natural gas pipelines.

Idaho News & Events

• Vision Idaho Conference Video

  You won’t want to miss this event, highlighting the transformation of each region in Idaho.

Rural Communities

• Montana’s Rural Counties’ Being Reclassified as Urban Can Mask Their Successes

  Researchers from Montana say that the well-established narrative about rural decline tells only a part of the story. Looking at the counties that went from rural to urban reveals what propelled growth among some of the rural areas.

Government Technology

• Missoula County using new tools in response to development growth

  Missoula County Commissioner Juanita Vero says these types of platforms could do good for the whole state, “I only imagine Gallatin County could use something like this.”

Transportation

• ‘Fast Charge Your Ride’ – Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) encouraging electric vehicle usage through more fast-charging stations

  You can apply for either program until Jan 11 2021.

• GM unit Cruise sends driverless cars out, releases video of it to the public

  The company said it’s going so well that it hinted at commercializing the cars sometime next year with the goal of taking the fleet to other major cities.

Energy and Climate Change

• The price of solar electricity has dropped 89% in 10 years

  In 2009, building a new solar farm was 223% more expensive than building a new coal plant. Now, it’s flipped.

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