MATR Newsletter – December 18, 2018
The state with the best education wins!

Come share the joys of the season tomorrow – 1 Million Cups Missoula Holiday Celebration – 12/19 – https://matr.net/event/1-million-cups-missoula-holiday-celebration-12-19/

Without Art, the Earth would be just Eh.

MONTANA

Come Home Montana

• Above Bozeman – 4K Drone Film

  Bozeman, Montana is unique.

• How a refugee turned Montana mayor seeks to transcend politics of divisiveness

  To backers of more liberal immigration policies, Collins’s dramatic story speaks to the potential for newcomers to give back to their new country, tapping into the fortitude forged in tribulation and channeling it into educational pursuits, community work, and, in his case, even public service.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• The Future of Remote Work

  “The way we all work is going to change.” Richard Branson

• I’ve been successfully self-employed for a year — here are 9 things I wish I’d known before starting

  Being self-employed will present you with many challenges and some distinct advantages.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Montana cellphone, Internet infrastructure vulnerable to outages; new funding could help

  Communities with fewer than 20,000 residents will be eligible for the new funding to expand high-speed Internet access. That means a whole lot of Montana communities will qualify. The first round of grant applications will be due to USDA by the end of April 2019.

2019 Montana Legislature and Politics

• 2019 Montana Legislature primer

  Fifty-one bills have already been introduced and a whopping 2836 bills are waiting in the wings to see if they pass legal muster, get drafted and make it to committee.

Montana Economic Development

• One Big Sky District brings its action plan to the Billings City Council

  In a word, Billings has potential.

Montana Business

• CEO says company intends to move forward with proposed $251-million crypto mining facility in Butte, Montana

  Tilton says the company is still in the midst of securing electricity for the facility and won’t be able to move forward until the electric component of the project is complete.

• Governor Bullock Welcomes Outdoor Media and Lifestyle Company MeatEater, Inc. to Montana

  “I’m thrilled to be able to call Montana home once again,” said Rinella, who spent a decade living in Montana while earning his MFA in Narrative Non-fiction writing from the University of Montana and launching his career as a writer. “There’s literally no other place I’d rather live, nor a more authentic home for MeatEater.”

MATR SPONSORS

Big Sky Economic Development

• Bob Dunn, CEO of Landmark Development Services Company, LLC. says Montana in good position for changing economy

  “We’re in the middle of a very dynamic shift in our economy,” Dunn said. “It used to be that the employer would locate in a community, in a state, in a city because of the resources that existed in that region or they made a decision to go some place and the employee followed. Overnight, that is going to change. The story tomorrow is simply that the employer will follow the employee.”

Northwestern Energy

• NorthWestern Energy warns of holiday season scam activity

  Thieves are trying to steal your money and they are using dirty and convincing tricks this holiday season.

MATR SUPPORTERS

Great Falls Development Authority

• GFDA Top 10

  Our fourth annual Ignite Great Falls will be on January 11, 7:30 – 10:30 AM at the Meadowlark Country Club!

BUSINESS NEWS AND FUNDING

Funding and Building your Business

• Why Companies That Wait to Adopt AI May Never Catch Up

  Companies are planning to be “fast followers” — a strategy that has worked with most information technologies.

  We think this is a bad idea.

Incubators and R&D

• Gut-brain link? MSU scientists seek life-saving clues with $2.9 million grant

  “It’s really cool because it turns out your brain is really influenced by your gut,” Lefcort said Thursday in Cooley Lab. “This is cutting edge right now.”

Regional Economic Development

• Technical Assistance Webinars Available for ReConnect Program

  The ReConnect Program offers loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America without sufficient access to broadband.

• Chase for talent pushes tech giants far beyond West Coast

  “Almost everyone is looking at other affordable places where you can open an office.”

Regional Business News

• The Next Housing Crisis

  At some point settling in the much ballyhooed “tiny units” will lose appeal.

EDUCATION

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

• Billings schools say no to week-long spring break, discuss year-round school

  Research backs up Leo’s comments; generally, students learn better on a year-round schedule, especially those from low-income families who statistically struggle more in school than their more wealthy peers.

• 5 Ways to Prepare Kids for Jobs that Don’t Exist Yet

  Recognize, celebrate, and reinforce the “four C’s.”

• 9 Things Teachers Need if the United States Ever Wants Another Globally Competitive Generation

  I wanted to make the title of this article “Nine Things Teachers Need if We Don’t Want a Dystopian Future in Which America’s Children Are a Pack of Raging, Illiterate Wildlings,” but my editor said it was too long.

Education News

• 11 of The Best Science Websites for Interactive Learning

  Most of these are aimed at younger learners but some will be as, if not more, entertaining for adults.

Montana Education/Business Partnerships

• New program partners MSU student with mayor to help solve city’s challenges

  “This program encourages MSU students to envision and help create a brighter future for Bozeman,” McSpadden said. “For us, that’s a definition of leadership.”

Montana Education Excellence

• Stone Child College excited about new 4-year teaching degree program

  Drummer said the new teaching program is open to anyone and that Stone Child College does not require students to be Native American to attend.

NONPROFITS

Non-Profit News

• What does Montana look like to you in the next ten years?

  In pursuing our mission One Montana is committed to ensuring a sustainable and vibrant Montana by resolving challenging social, economic and environmental issues that impact our state’s diverse communities.

American Prairie Reserve

• American Prairie Reserve deserves Montana’s support

  I am reminded that when the creation of Glacier Park was proposed in the early 1900s, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce opposed the idea because it would prevent coal mining. Today the Kalispell Chamber touts the wonders of Glacier. Let history be a guide. Support APR.

YOUR CAREER

Careers

• How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like

  While none were particularly easy or comfortable, these are ideas and insights that almost anyone can use when they have to work with someone they just don’t like.

• This Is The Scientific Way To Win Any Argument (And Not Make Enemies)

  A negotiation is frequently “a war of attrition. There’s usually no one argument that can suddenly get someone to see the light.”

• Survey finds increasing interest in skills-based hiring, online credentials and prehire assessments

  A drumbeat of studies show increasing labor market returns for degrees, and employers say they value the critical thinking skills of liberal arts graduates.

OREGON

Oregon Business

• Oregon CIO Terrence Woods Discusses State’s Top Priorities

  Modernization in particular stands to be an ongoing issue for Oregon, as it is for most states in the country.

Transportation

• American Airlines coming to Glacier Park International Airport

• Solar Roadways Featured In Smithsonian Design Museum – “The Road Ahead”

  We are delighted to announce that Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum has included Solar Roadways in their “The Road Ahead” exhibition, which opens today, December 14 in New York City.

• Gas Stations, Other Car-Centric Uses Banned From Transit-Oriented Areas in Sacramento

  New gas stations, drive-through restaurants and warehouses will soon be banned within a quarter-mile of Sacramento’s 23 light-rail stations under a new ordinance passed Tuesday by the City Council.

  The ordinance will also eliminate parking requirements for new housing developments within a quarter mile of a station

• The electric cars of the future could be recharged in 15 minutes

  “450kW is substantially quicker than the Tesla superchargers (120kW), and would in principle be 10 times quicker than the rapid chargers that are currently widely available,”

Energy and Climate Change

• Two US electric utilities have promised to go 100% carbon-free—and admit it’s cheaper

  It’s cheaper to tear down their coal plants and build renewable-energy plants than to keep the old boilers running.

Community

• Tell Us Something – a celebration of storytelling, of the community, and of each other hits biggest year yet in 2018; expansion possible in other Montana communities. Is your community interested?

  “It’s not surprising that you provide an art event like Tell Us Something that is curated and intentional, that people will respond.”

Rural Communities

• Rural cities work to attract, retain youth

  “The lower median age is the golden barometer for cities,” Sobiek said. “It shows you are going into the future.”

• Speak Your Piece: Times’ Rural Economics Analysis (“The Hard Truths of Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy.” ) Omits a Wealth of Options

  “Instead of so-called place-based policies to revitalize small towns,” Porter writes, “why not help their residents take advantage of opportunities where the opportunities are?”

• The Hard Truths of Trying to ‘Save’ the Rural Economy

  Can rural America be saved?

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

• Bonner, Montana Bitcoin mining riding out cratering market

  “We’re still plugging away as usual,”

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