MATR Newsletter – December 13, 2019
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportuity – Staff Augmentation Developer – Kampgrounds of America, Inc.

  This Developer position will work closely with a small team of software developers to build, customize and integrate applications with KOA’s proprietary campground reservation management system used by campgrounds across the nation.

• Consumer Direct in Missoula plans new jobs to fulfill $500M contract in Washington

  Ben Bledso, CEO of the Consumer Direct Care Network, said Thursday that most of those new jobs will be based at the company’s Missoula headquarters and pay at or above the median wage of $18.65 an hour.

Northwestern Energy

• NorthWestern Energy to issue RFP for new capacity resources in Montana

  NorthWestern will increase service reliability, retain low rates by strengthening capacity position

Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development

• The ‘Gem’ Between – Montana’s Izaak Walton Inn is a thriving year-round destination

  Izaak Walton Inn is a wondrous experience, especially for train lovers (stay in one of the cabooses…).

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Montana Economy Grows 7.4%  in 2018

  Our local GDP grew 7.4% in 2018, an increase of $288,802,000!

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Statement of the Kalispell Chamber on the announcement of Flathead County termination of the transit agreement for Glacier National Park:

  “We are concerned about the negative impacts the elimination of this shuttle service will have for visitation and accessibility to our largest tourism draw,” Joe Unterreiner, President/CEO of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureau

Zoot Enterprises

• Zoot Enterprises Wins “Best Technology Partner” At 2019 Lending Awards

  Award Recognizes Vendor Excellence in Risk, Regulation and Compliance

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Sidewalk Labs debuts a first step toward the future of neighborhood design

  Introducing our generative design tool, which can help generate millions of planning scenarios — and identify options that best reflect local priorities.

• Development Backlash Follows Population and Job Growth in Western States

  Anti-growth feeling is bubbling up in some Western communities — particularly in cities adding people and housing faster than the national average

• Montana Bioscience Cluster Initiative

  Last April, the Montana Technology Enterprise Center (MonTEC) was one of seven entities nationwide to be awarded an innovation cluster development contract by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• U.S. Census Bureau Rolls Out Innovation Tools for 2020 Count

  To supplement all of this, there is also a new website — http://www.creativesforthecount.org — which is a content repository where people can share successful Census outreach strategies and advice with each other.

• How Gigabit Internet Is Turning Smaller U.S. Cities Into Tech Hot Spots

  “The Gig has allowed us to punch above our weight.”

• Plans for Butte medical training center move forward – The Praxis Center

  It will be the first independent, non-profit rural health care training facility in the nation.

• 50 Best U.S. Cities for Starting a Business in 2020 – Boise is #5

  What any business–and any city–can learn from the best places for startups in the U.S.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• The next generation of the internet is almost here—and it could even transform our farms

  The 5G farm of the future will have real-time soil monitoring, connected tractors, remote veterinarian care, and more.

Montana Businesses For Sale

• The Simple Guide to Buying a Business

  You would think there are no shortcuts to entrepreneurship, but there are.

Montana Ambassadors

• The Importance Of Paying It Forward Once You’re Successful

  “You shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”  Maya Angelou

Montana Business

• Welcome to Key to the Mountain – Great Montana Made Christmas Gifts – Jams, Sauces and other delights

  We are founded on wholesome recipes made with actual food.

Visit Montana

• Yellowstone National Park opens to winter visitors Sunday morning – 12/15

  Roads in Yellowstone National Park will open to the public for travel by snowcoach and snowmobile on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 8 a.m.

Funding and Building your Business

• Digital Marketing Stategies Workshop – 12/19 – Butte

  We will be talking about design, content creation, digital marketing, and social media management for Facebook, Instagram, e-mail marketing and websites.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• Norman Maclean and Me (and Scotch)

  Advice for living and drinking from the author of A River Runs Through It

Wyoming Business

• Grants Available in Wyoming to Help Agricultural Producers and Small Rural Businesses Develop and Market New Products

  Veterans, socially-disadvantaged groups, beginning farmers and ranchers, operators of small and medium-sized family farms and ranches, and farmer and rancher cooperatives are given special priority.

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

• Schools must cultivate skills that translate to work

  To prepare students for the future workforce, schools need to teach them skills like flexibility, creativity, tenacity, being self-driven, and collaboration.

• The Sooner You Expose A Baby To A Second Language, The Smarter They’ll Be

  Just hearing two languages helps babies develop cognitive skills before they even speak. Here’s how – and how you can help them develop those skills.

• Montana students display STEM skills in annual Science Olympiad competition

  Nearly 1,400 middle and high school students competed at the Montana Science Olympiad state tournament

Montana Education/Business Partnerships

• What Missoula community challenge could a group of college students work on next summer?

  What emerging dilemma is your city or organization facing? How could a team of curious, resourceful college students contribute to the work being done on this dilemma—at no cost to you?

Government News & Events

• What’s New in Civic Tech: Seattle Builds Benchmark Dashboard

  Seattle has launched Performance Seattle, a new centralized dashboard where visitors can see what Seattle is doing to improve the quality of life in the city.

• Seattle Joins the Rush to Slow Down Traffic on City Streets

  The city plans to lower the speed limit on major roads to 25 mph in hopes of boosting safety, following similar moves in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.

Careers

• Didn’t get your dream job? How to get back on your feet after getting knocked down

  Don’t let the defeats define your self worth.

Workforce Development

• States try to boost workforce through variety of programs

  This week SSTI takes a look at some of the different workforce development initiatives that surfaced in 2019 as part of our ongoing coverage of innovation programs that were implemented this past year.

Connectivity & Communications

• Google can now translate in real time on phone

  You start by asking Google to “be my Spanish translator…”

• Jack Dorsey Wants to Help You Create Your Own Twitter

  His hope: It will spawn better ways to combat hate and harassment.

Transportation

• Cruise, GM-backed self-driving company, teases life ‘beyond the car’

  “The status quo of transportation is broken,” Ammann writes, “and … our need to find better solutions grows more urgent every day.”

• California to Pennsylvania – Driverless Truck Safely Delivers 40,000 Pounds of Butter – Self-driving trucks could be “a few years out.”

  A safety driver was ready to take over at any time, though they didn’t have to.

• A Wonderfully Clear Explanation of How Road Diets Work

  Planner Jeff Speck leads a video tour of four different street redesigns.

Energy and Climate Change

• America After Climate Change, Mapped

  “We get the future we build for ourselves.”

VR/AR, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Artificial Intelligence and The Internet of Things

• Man indicted in $722 million bitcoin Ponzi scheme is majority owner of Butte’s CryptoWatt

  The arrest of Matthew Brent Goettsche, 37, of Lafayette, Colorado has thrown the operation of the Butte plant into turmoil.

Privacy, Hacking and Virus Alerts

• News stations in 6 Montana towns coping with cyber attack

  Stations in Billings, Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman and Butte are affected by the attack.

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