MATR Newsletter – February 10, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• Covid – Inside the Worst-Hit County in the Worst-Hit State in the Worst-Hit Country

  When COVID-19 surged through a North Dakota community, a battle with the pandemic became a battle among its residents.

Come Home Montana

• The beauty of the Missouri River Breaks around Winifred, MT. from above.

  I had the pleasure of flying with my old school mate Rudy in his Piper Cub. We made the flight the day after our 50th high school reunion. I was hoping to capture some of the unique geologic faults that are exposed in the steeply eroded drainages that make up the Breaks.

Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development

• Survey: Growing Number Of Montanans Say Tourists Overcrowding State

  “For the first time in years, we’ve started to see some steady increase of negative perceptions about tourism,”

Northwestern Energy

• NorthWestern Energy Announces Leadership Changes

  “Today’s announcement is part of deliberate succession planning that reflects a strong company, building on its successes with its eyes toward the future,” said Rowe.

Prospera Business Network

• Make a Difference for Your Business with Prospera’s Continuing Education Classes!

  Did you know Prospera offers almost 800 online classes?

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• To Meet Climate Goals, Think Outside the Electric Car

  If we are serious about curbing emissions, we must end the practice of allowing states to build new fossil-fuel-intensive highways or expansions while ignoring the backlog of maintenance needs for our deteriorating existing roads and bridges. Repair must be the first priority.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Salesforce to allow permanent remote work for most employees, with big implications for S.F.
  Salesforce, San Francisco’s largest private employer, will permanently allow most workers to stay home for two or more days a week, a major shift that could dampen downtown’s economic recovery well beyond the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Top 5 Things 2020 Taught Us About Remote Work

  Whatever the future of work holds, use the lessons of the past year to get smarter about how you work and manage employees from home.

• The catch-22 that’s bankrupting Wyoming – Work-from-home employees on out-of-state payrolls highlight the need for change

  Wyoming’s mineral-dependent tax structure has long ensured that economic diversification is a net loser for the state, columnist Madden writes. Now, work-from-home employees on out-of-state payrolls highlight the need for change, he argues.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• No internet, no vaccine: How lack of internet has limited vaccine access for racial minorities

  Now, it appears that internet access is emerging as a new and troublesome determinant of health. This appears to be particularly true for underresourced racial and ethnic minority communities and aging populations.

• SpaceX opens pre-orders for Starlink satellite internet service

  You can put money down on Elon Musk’s next technological venture right now, as long as you’re willing to wait.

• How Fast Does The Internet Need To Be In Montana To Be Competitive? What Do You Think?

  Montana can’t state competitive as a desirable location if we don’t have the basics available which definitely includes reasonably priced and a consistent minimum download and upload speed Internet.

Senator Jon Tester

• Montana Senator Jon Tester Announces His 5 Committee Assignments for 117th Congress

  Senator sits on five committees: Chairman of Veterans’ Affairs Committee, only member of Montana delegation on Appropriations, Commerce

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Study: Right-to-work states underperform on many social, economic metrics

  States that have adopted “right to work” laws, which prohibit union contracts from requiring non-member workers to share in the cost of bargaining efforts on their behalf, lag behind other states in a broad range of social and economic indicators, a study released this week says.

Housing

• No bidding wars: Developer to take different tact on selling Hellgate Village homes in Missoula, Montana

  As one of Missoula’s newest subdivisions comes online later this year, a local real estate firm and team of builders will take a new approach to selling homes, hoping to avoid the bidding wars that have resulted from the city’s notoriously low housing inventory.

Visit Montana

• Bears in winter? Yellowstone biologist says to carry spray year-round

  “You know hibernation is really based more on a seasonal reduction in food availability,”

Funding and Building your Business

• 5 Reasons To Enlist Outside Advisors For Your Startup

  Here are some key reasons why I believe every entrepreneur should create a formal Advisory Board or Board of Directors before they ask for funding, or even build their business plan:

Regional Business News

• Behold the 3D-printed, cruelty-free rib-eye steak

  The news of Aleph’s forthcoming 3-D printed and other artificially grown steaks comes several weeks after American startup Eat Just announced their pilot launch of lab-cultured chicken in Singapore.

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

• Arts Missoula Speaker Series ZOOM Talk Recording: Meet Our Neighbor, The NEW Missoula Public Library with Honore Bray.

  If you would like to watch again, or missed any part of today’s talk, you can watch

City Club Missoula

• City Club: Missoula hospital executive predicts slow return to normalcy

  The leader of a Missoula hospital thinks it’s going to take until at least the end of 2021 before life starts returning to normal.

MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative

• The Montana State University Leadership Institute to Host a Presentation by Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson Online on April 8 – All are Invited

  “We are thrilled to host President Robinson at MSU, as she has moved audiences around the world with her passionate and hopeful call for all nations to work together to fight for a sustainable future,” said Carmen McSpadden, director of the MSU Leadership Institute, the organization hosting Robinson.

Transportation

• From Portugal to New York, Montana’s southern passenger rail efforts draw attention

  Montana’s efforts to reboot a passenger rail line that ceased operations in 1979 has gained applause beyond the state, garnering both national and international attention.

• When a Missoula road became a highway – “It’s close to gridlock.”

  “It’s close to gridlock,” Weaver told the Missoulian’s Michael Downs. “It’s the worst congestion I’ve ever seen in Missoula.”

• Allegiant adds new direct flights from Montana

  Now, with Allegiant’s low-cost, nonstop service, travelers will have easy, affordable access to the cities they want to visit.”

• Could Street Parking Technology Help Make Our Cities More Equitable?

  We’ve taken street parking for granted for a long time. It’s a luxury that comes at the cost of the poor.

• When a Missoula road became a highway

  “It’s close to gridlock,” Weaver told the Missoulian’s Michael Downs. “It’s the worst congestion I’ve ever seen in Missoula.”

Energy and Climate Change

• Today’s TED Talk – A concrete idea to reduce carbon emissions

  Cement researcher Karen Scrivener shares the research behind a pioneering new kind of cement known as LC3, which could slash carbon emissions from this crucial building material by 40 percent, if adopted at scale.

• Kenyan woman’s startup recycles plastic into bricks that are stronger than concrete

  one day at the factory means 1,500 churned plastic pavers, prized not just for the quality, but for how affordable they are.

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