MATR Newsletter – February 17, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Sweden Imagines Life After Cars With ‘One-Minute Cities’

“We believe that streets can be more optimized considering the needs of humans and nature.

Corona Virus Information

• ClassPass launches a map of clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines

  Best known for helping people find exercise programs, ClassPass will now also help residents of Boston, Chicago, and New York figure out where to get vaccinated.

• Why a True Economic Recovery Starts With Financial Education

  If more business owners understood the breadth of offerings–and not just PPP–now at their fingertips, they’d be better positioned for growth.

• Dr. Fauci to lead virtual UM Mansfield Lecture TODAY at noon. All are invited.

  UM says Dr. Fauci accepted the invitation to lead the lecture based on its relationship with and advocacy by Rocky Mountain Laboratories, as well as the university’s expertise in public health.

Come Home Montana

• Why I left Bozeman, or: Who will make our soy lattes now?

  You’ve got to wonder if a million bucks will go far enough these days.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Development Manager, Membership and Marketing Manager – Montana Free Press

  Montana Free Press is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to explaining the politics, policy, economy and diversity of the country’s fourth-largest state. We are committed to producing in-depth original and collaborative journalism across multiple platforms. We are data-driven and reader-focused. We distribute our work to more than 60 media partners across the region,…

Prospera Business Network

• Grow and Develop Your Team Using Coach Approach!

  The course highlights four specific principles in the book and breaks them down and applies them to real life management scenarios. During the course, you will learn strategies to effectively grow and develop your team using a coaching style to management.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Why You Need a ‘Challenge Network’

  He sought out the biggest misfits at Pixar for his project — people who were disagreeable, disgruntled, and dissatisfied. Some called them black sheep. Others called them pirates.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Iowa Governor’s $450M Broadband Buildout Receives Support – “We need to see it as important as highways, water, sewer, power.”

  Just 18.5 percent of Iowans have access to affordable Internet and the average download speed is the second worst in the nation. But Gov. Reynolds hopes to get Iowans connected over the next three years.

• LC1539 – An Act Allowing Montana Municipalities to Own and Operate Municipal Broadband Systems

  States without restrictions enjoyed higher access to low-priced broadband plans on average.

• Martinez Named Director of Colorado Broadband Office – Broadband Initiatives Report

  Four issues through changing how Colorado governs, maps, funds and deploys broadband.

• Elon Musk’s Starlink filings show plans for phone service and low-income web access

  Starlink also plans to introduce a suite of related products to its portfolio, from a dedicated phone service, emergency backup for voice calls, and more affordable internet access for low-income customers through the US government’s Lifeline program.

• Rural Arizona Schools Work to Get Broadband Beyond the Walls of the Classroom

  The Final Mile Project utilizes “broadband superhighway” institutions like schools and libraries to build out a network of high-speed wireless internet serving communities’ households.

Housing

• Inclusionary zoning ban passes through Montana House

  Inclusionary zoning refers to municipal ordinances that require a given share of new construction be affordable by people with low to moderate incomes. Programs can vary.

Montana Business

• Nature Makes Wood. Could a Lab Make It Better?

  For millennia, humans have been chopping down trees and harvesting plants. Lab-grown plant material might change that.

Montana Biotech

• Montana Bioscience Alliance Winter II 2021 Newsletter

  The objective of the 4th “F” Fund (4FF) is to provide direct assistance to Montana Bioscience entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses in need of money for travel to key conferences, small equipment purchases, or temporary staff assistance in relation to proposal development, etc. This fund is designed for maximum flexibility in support of new and established businesses and entrepreneurs in the Bioscience industry.

Funding and Building your Business

• This startup uses data to help tech workers get the pay they deserve

  Levels.fyi decodes the shadowy “levels” used by tech companies to classify jobs. Now the startup will even coach you on how to get the best deal possible.

• Why Business Model Innovation Matters More Than Ever

  “Everything that we have learned in business school for the past decades is still true. But the business model offers a new avenue for value creation.” –Christoph Zott

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• Bozeman filmmaker brings Black experiences to Montana film industry – ‘The Hail Mary’ – Premier 2/26

  A 25-year-old MSU graduate came all the way from Nigeria to Bozeman with one motive, and that’s to tell his story so others can benefit. “I’m here to use my difference to make a difference. Being someone who was born in Nigeria and living in Montana and not just as a Nigerian but also as…

Come Home Wyoming

• Teton County ‘residents’ propose county swap with Colorado

  “We are a young, healthy and diverse community with a modern, integrated economy,” said software engineer and snowboarder Olivia Crail. “It doesn’t seem like anyone on the Wyoming state level wants that.”

2021 Montana Legislature and Politics

• ‘The Great Kansas Tax Experiment of 2012’: A cautionary tale for Montana

  In 2012, Gov. Sam Brownback convinced the Kansas Legislature to enact sweeping tax cut legislation. The plan was billed as a “shot of adrenaline to the heart of the Kansas economy.” As a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives at the time, I was intrigued by the proposal but worried it was “too far, too fast.”

• A Framework for Shaping the Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles and Advancing Equity Outcomes

  AV technology has the potential to have major impacts on cities, both positive and negative. AVs could increase safety and help reduce congestion and pollution, but they could very well exacerbate existing inequities if they are simply layered on to the transportation ecosystems that exist today.

Government News & Events

• California Might Make Virtual Meetings a Permanent Option

  Two state lawmakers proposed a bill that would require all public meetings to have Internet participation options even after in-person meetings return. The bill also suggests requiring translators to increase access.

Transportation

• A Framework for Shaping the Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles and Advancing Equity Outcomes

  A new white paper provides a foundation for public sector agencies to approach autonomous vehicle deployment and policy with a focus on equity.

• This year will be huge for electric cars — here’s why

  Seven new EVs coming in 2021 and what they tell us about this massive sea change in the auto industry

• Sweden Imagines Life After Cars With ‘One-Minute Cities’

  “We believe that streets can be more optimized considering the needs of humans and nature. Today, streets are mainly designed for cars, leaving little or no space for other activities. It’s not sustainable.”

Energy and Climate Change

• New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission Provides Comprehensive Solutions

  “As a country we need transformational and lasting change to meet our targets and ensure a thriving Aotearoa for future generations. The good news is that our analysis shows there are technically achievable, economically affordable and socially acceptable paths for Aotearoa to take. But the Government must move faster – and support business, agriculture and community to do the same.

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