MATR Newsletter – December 18, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• Oxygen crunch exposes potential ‘crisis’ in Montana

  “I think this is an important thing to know, as a community, that two COVID-19 patients were transferred out of the hospital on [Dec. 8] and it was because the hospital was running out of oxygen,” she told the county health board.

• Montana legislature will meet in person – “It’s possible lawmakers will die” Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a Republican from Hamilton.

  The vote came from the Joint House and Senate Rules Committee and fell on party lines, with 21 Republicans for the proposal and 13 Democrats against it.

Come Home Montana

• HIRING AGAIN: PFL plans expansion, seeks new employees

  PFL Tech Inc., one of Montana’s largest employers, has begun aggressively hiring new employees to meet accelerating customer demand. So far the company has already rehired about 35 people locally since September, said PFL CEO and founder Andrew Field, and the company plans to hire at least 80 additional new employees by the end of the year.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Supply Chain Specialist, Solutions Engineer, Customer Advocate, System Administrator and more… – PFL

  PFL started as America’s first ecommerce commercial printer, way back in 1999. Since then, we’ve grown into a marketing automation company developing innovative solutions for marketers and sales teams. Our main campus is located in Livingston, Montana, tucked into a snowcapped mountain valley. We are close to Yellowstone National Park, world class skiing, rock climbing…

• Montana Career Opportunities – Customer Service Representative, Customer Solutions Technologist, Security Technologist and more… – Northwestern Energy

  NorthWestern Energy is regional energy solutions company serving electric and natural gas across western and central Montana, eastern South Dakota and several communities in Nebraska, while also proudly serving Yellowstone National Park.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s Equal Pay Task Force Releases Final Report

  The governor extended the task force through 2022, but Governor-elect Greg Gianforte has yet to disclose his plans for it.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Companies push reskilling efforts to help workforce

  One of the potential downsides that technology-enhanced manufacturing can bring is the elimination of jobs previously done by people.

• Christmas Music from Montana’s Hi-Line with Phillip Aaberg – 12/20 – 4PM – Online

  Composer Philip Aaberg writes music that connects a global audience to the sweeping landscape of the West. By translating Montana’s farms, ranches, and native cultures into musical concepts, he’s forged a unique keyboard style that paints an audible portrait of his home state.

• Broadview – Largest wind and solar farm in Montana gets new owner

  “Once completed, these projects will provide much needed reliability to the region’s grid while also contributing valuable local construction jobs and significant tax dollars to counties such as Yellowstone, Stillwater and Golden Valley.”

• Mending Fences – Land Acess in the West is a Story Fenced in and Framed by Conflict. But Montana is Finding Opportunities That Lie On Common Ground

  “Who Gets to Own the West?

• Western Montana’s Biotech Sector is Tackling the Opioid Crisis and it May Just Change Medicine

  “NIH calls us and asks us to help them; wants us to give them a project so they can send some money to the University of Montana. We’re going to apply for that every time,”

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Telehealth forever in Montana?

  “Telehealth will increase Montanans’ access to care and reduce their health care costs,” Stroyke added in an emailed statement to Montana Free Press. “To ensure it’s available to all Montanans, we must increase access to reliable broadband, particularly for our rural and frontier communities.”

• How to Secure Federal Broadband Grants

  Federal funding will soon be available to local governments and nonprofits to expand broadband for telehealth and at-home learning in the wake of COVID-19, but competition will be steep.

Gov. Steve Bullock

• As His Term Ends, Montana Gov. Bullock Talks Ups And Downs Of The Job

  It has been an incredibly rewarding job. It’s been a job that’s been incredibly challenging and all consuming. But it really just has been a gift. It’s been a great opportunity and a humbling opportunity.

Visit Montana

• Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park 25 years ago. Where do they stand now?

  “I thought it would be a rare person who would be able to see a wolf in Yellowstone but it’s become an industry, a phenomenon.”

Education News

• MSU featured as case study in report highlighting innovative energy efficiency strategies

  “We’re in good company with these case studies,” which include Stanford University and Cornell Tech, said Megan Sterl, MSU’s engineering and utilities manager. “It shows that we’re proving a model of energy conservation and innovation that can be adopted by others.”

Government News & Events

• Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to launch new website

  The completely re-designed website will have more intuitive navigation that will make finding information easier for customers, whether they click to buy a fishing license, reserve a campsite, or find information about hunting regulations.

Transportation

• The U.S. Can Absolutely Afford to Build More Rail

  The persistent myth that it just costs more to build train lines in the U.S. than it does abroad is mostly bunk, a new analysis finds — but costs quickly balloon when we start building them underground, for reasons that researchers can’t yet fully explain.

• Virtual Workplace Breakfast – 2020 Missoula Infrastructure Videos and 2021 Projects – 1/12 – 8:30-9:30AM Online

  Enjoy a treat on us while remaining safely socially distanced. Participate in the virtual meeting and receive a code to redeem a free breakfast burrito from Golden Yolk Griddle. We highly encourage you to travel there sustainably if possible:)

Privacy, Hacking and Virus Alerts

• The SolarWinds Breach Poses Five Urgent Cybersecurity Challenges For CIOs

  Although government agencies are in the eye of the storm, CISA’s warning makes clear businesses also have plenty to worry about.

• Homeland Security: Hacking campaign poses ‘grave risk’ to all levels of government, private sector

  “CISA has determined that this threat poses a grave risk to the federal government and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations,”

MATR Newsletter Supporters: