MATR Newsletter – February 1, 2024
The state with the best education wins!

Some women are made of steel, stones, tears, dust, bones and scars.

Others are made of dance, books, music. rainfall. stardust, moonlight, flowers, daydreams and wild adventures.

The rare ones are made of both.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunities – Payroll & HR Administrator, Director of Institutional Giving, Executive Assistant and Board Liaison – American Prairie

  Join one of the most exciting and ambitious conservation projects in the world while directly supporting our mission to create a vast refuge for people and wildlife preserved forever as part of America’s heritage.

• Lifeline Produce’s 78-acre Bitterroot farm preserved through conservation easement

  The farm runs an internship program aimed at training the next generation of farmers and teaching them the “old fashioned” ways of agriculture. “We need more farmers, and somebody needs to train them,” says Brieger.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Economic update: Montana likely poised for slower growth in ’24

  “What we face is slow growth. There’s no drama there. What we’ve been though since 2020 has been nothing but drama, down then up. But slow growth is coming.”

• Leadership Montana’s “Leading Edge” – Leadership for Montana’s Future

  As we welcome a New Year, there is a common leadership practice to select your word(s) of the year to guide your intentions throughout the next 12 months. At the Leadership Montana Board meeting last week, we selected Process, Commitment, and Transparency are our “north stars” for 2024. My personal words for the year are simplify and rhythm. What are yours?

• Leadership Montana Webinar: Higher Education’s Demographic Cliff  – 2/21 – Online

  What’s the higher education demographic cliff? It can be described as “the number of traditional college-aged students will peak in 2025 and then decline dramatically for several years” (Inside HigherEd). Matched with a decline in demand from those students to enter into higher education, many higher education institutions are facing this currently or preparing for it.

• Bozeman outdoor gear business Mystery Ranch acquired by YETI Holdings

  “MYSTERY RANCH packs have earned a global reputation within the most demanding communities by building load-bearing equipment that delivers in the harshest environments. Their ethos, passion and people not only align with the YETI team, but also connect well with our commitment to innovation and our customers,” said Reintjes. “Their communities, ambassadors and obsession with quality make it a natural fit with YETI.”

• BLDC January Newsletter

  Applications for the 2024 Prospera Impact Grant For Women NOW OPEN!

• RCEDA Newsletter

  Farmer & Rancher Stress Management Workshop

• Tech scales up reforestation in the wake of wildfires

  In the US, approximately seven million acres of land are burned by wildfires each year, and global warming is increasing the risk of very large fires. At the same time, not enough resources are being allocated to reforesting the areas that are lost to the flames, and there is an overall lack of seeds, nursery capacity, planting capacity, and funding. Mast Reforestation is tackling all of these issues with a first-of-its-kind innovation in carbon financing.

Five Valleys Archery Club

• Renew or Start your annual Five Valleys Archery Club membership today.

  Search our website or follow us on Facebook  for 3 upcoming exciting 3-D shoots and summer league information.

Responder Alliance – Don’t let trauma steal your passion

• This is a Montana Story – A Bozeman woman and her children survive am active shooting. Connection has become the key to unlocking her family’s healing

    No one I loved died that night last October which is the only reason I can write this story. Unlike many mothers across our country, I did not lose my then 6- and 9-year-old daughters to the drunken man aimlessly shooting and screaming 10 feet outside our cabin window. A dear friend and her 18-month- old son also walked out alive. Miraculous. I am not sure why the gunman only partially lost control, sparing us all despite the arsenal of weapons the police later found in his room and the nearly two and a half hours of pure terror…

Montana Business

• Inside the Beef Industry’s Campaign to Influence Schoolchildren

  Big Beef is wooing science teachers with webinars and lesson plans in an attempt to change kids’ perceptions of the industry.

• What We Look For When Visiting A Company – Missoula-based Front Street Capital – The Tarkio Fund

  If you have read any of our past letters, then you know how much we emphasize the criteria we use to select businesses for investment. We are constantly looking for leadership teams and cultures that exhibit the following

• Charter schools are coming to Montana. What does this mean?

  Given the contentious tone around charters in Montana and across the country, it can be difficult to discern what’s real and what’s convenient political rhetoric. Now that these laws are being rolled out, it’s becoming increasingly possible to predict their effect on students and families in the state.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• TDS® Fiber Is on Its Way to Missoula – Late 2024

  Soon, ultrafast Internet, intelligent TV, and incredibly reliable phone services will be available.

Housing

• Judge blocks Montana law curbing local control, sister to Wyoming bill

  Measure would strip local governments of power to regulate construction and development of accessory residential units.

Regional Economic Development

• The EB-5 program – The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam

  A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud.

Idaho News & Events

• Idaho National Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines expand research partnership

  “At INL we have the technology, with remote sensors and machine learning,” he said. “Colorado School of Mines is the institution that allows INL to take cutting-edge science and apply it to the actual rock. We don’t have a mine ourselves, but Colorado School of Mines is a global leader. It’s not even debatable.”

Come Home Wyoming

• What kind of state turns down help feeding hungry kids?

  Governor should reverse decision and sign up Wyoming to offer Summer EBT program.

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

• Montana Higher Education Tries to Keep up With Changing Workforce Needs

  Dozens of college presidents, national policy experts, and workforce leaders recently met with Montana employers to start finding solutions to the state’s workforce gaps. “Since Yellowstone, everyone wants to be a cowboy,” she says.

• University of Montana to restructure academic portfolio for next school year, citing changing student demands

  The national narrative about the humanities’ lack of importance is a “red herring.”

  “It’s the types of critical thinking skills that come from the humanities that are going to help people discern what’s AI-generated and what’s human-generated,” she said.

Non-Profit News

• Montana Nonprofit Association January Newsletter

  Read on for more resources and opportunities.

Hellgate Venture Network

• Hellgate Venture Network – 2/15 – Missoula

  Kristen Che presents “invi”

  “Networking for the Missoula area start-up and small business community offering peer support for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.”

Careers

• Neuroscience Says This Brainless Activity Reduces Stress and Quiets Your Mind (but Only If You Do It This Specific Way)

  Research shows that, done right, this simple, soothing activity is as good as meditation at busting stress and anxiety.

• The job market is getting more competitive. How to write a resume that stands out.

  Resumes should be organized and easy to scan for information. Experts say a little pop of color is fine, but most professions don’t need the job application to show off their design skills.

Transportation

• Cali Changes The Law To Make Riding Bikes Safer

  By simply letting bike riders cross streets at the same time as pedestrians, riders can avoid some of the most dangerous situations they face.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• “An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet,” Premiers Feb. 8

  An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet captures Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s search for people across the globe who are helping drive humanity toward a brighter, more sustainable future.

Energy and Climate Change

• China Installed More Solar Panels Last Year Than the U.S. Has in Total

  “The remarkable surge in investments in China’s renewable energy sector, particularly in solar and wind, underscores the country’s strategic focus on diversifying its energy portfolio and reducing reliance on traditional sources,” said Lin Boqiang, head of Xiamen University’s China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, in the press release.

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