MATR Newsletter – February 19, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• Mobile vaccination units roll out from Acela Truck Co., based in Belgrade, Montana

  The company, which launched in 2017 as a retailer for refurbished military vehicles, responded to the early months of the pandemic by shutting down its production of trucks in favor of trailers built to hold bodies.

Big Sky Economic Development

• It’s not Babysitting, Honey, It’s Called Parenting – Women on the Rise – Entrepreneur Series

  This session will go through maintaining balance, harmony and setting expectations for home life.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Blackfeet seamstress Belinda Bullshoe sells locally in Montana, invited to more international runways

  Belinda Bullshoe’s intricate stitching creations highlight Montana native struggles and triumphs one thread at a time.

• Belgrade, Montana publishes plan to invest in downtown

  The city is now accepting feedback on the document, and the planning board will review it on Monday.

• Why U.S. tech companies are finding a second home in Northern Ireland
  What can your state learn from this?
  A deep talent pool, government support, and innovative academic partnerships have turned this small region into a global business center
• A Strategic Approach to Economic Recovery Planning

  Six components of a strategic plan for city and regions to guide their short-term actions for equitable economic recovery from the pandemic.

• In Attempt to Attract to State, Companies Could Create Governments Under Nevada’s ‘Innovation Zones’ Program

  When Gov. Steve Sisolak last month announced his plan to launch Innovation Zones in Nevada to jump-start the state’s economy by attracting new tech companies, the details of how those zones would operate proved scarce.

• MPIA February 2021 Newsletter

  It is great to be in photonics and hear of the great activity in the industry, specifically in Montana!

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Billings, Montana businesses discuss the future of working remotely

  Business owners are facing a new normal amid the pandemic as they start conversations on whether to have remote employees return to the office permanently.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• FCC Launches Broadband Data Effort

  The move was made by Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who also named Jean Kiddoo as the chair of the effort, dubbed the Broadband Data Task Force. Rosenworcel also announced related senior staff members and gave an update on the FCC’s ongoing broadband data collection work.

• Webinar Recording – Using Data as a Foundation for Broadband Planning

  I was on this webinar and will spend some time on the mapping tools that were outlined in the webinar. This was the best resource that I’ve seen on the broadband mapping!

• Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson Signs Law That Opens the Door for Municipal Broadband Networks

  “This law opens it up where we can get some new competitors into this field,” said Republican Sen. Ricky Hill, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

• How we measure internet access is broken in America, and the FCC wants to fix it – How Fast Does The Internet Need To Be In Montana

  Having an accurate map of internet access is extremely important. One of the FCC’s priorities is to close the “digital divide” by increasing access to the internet in low-income and rural communities.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Guns coming to campus (and nearly everywhere else): Permitless concealed carry of firearms now legal in Montana

  “Gun control measures don’t prevent criminals from perpetuating violence or crime,” said Gianforte. “Gun control measures step on the rights of law abiding citizens and our Second Amendment is very clear, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Housing

• Build Housing, Not Expressways

  This is a fine place to plan a postpandemic urban neighbourhood. Green but dense. Served by transit and light on cars. Home to 15,000 and, if the city chooses, thousands of them in permanently affordable housing. These are the things you can build in a rich and growing city, the sort of things on which leaders hang their legacy.

• Boise, Idaho Using Adaptive Reuse to Convert Offices to Affordable Housing
  Under the city’s Grow Our Housing program, vacant offices could see a new life as below-market rentals.
• Berkeley considers ending single-family zoning by December 2022: A ‘big deal’

  Berkeley is the latest city looking at opening up these exclusive neighborhoods to more housing as the region struggles with exorbitant rents and home prices and increasing homelessness.

• Select group of Missoula City Council members to embark on search for housing trust appointees

  The Affordable Housing Citizens Oversight Committee will include four City Council appointments, three of which will have voting powers. The mayor also will make three appointments to the committee and Missoula County will make one.

Montana Business

• Parsing The Press: Conflicts Of Interest And Off-The-Record Threats

  Journalists try to keep an ethical distance between themselves and their news sources, but that presents challenges sometimes. This week’s guest, University of Montana Journalism Professor Dennis Swibold, discusses that relationship — and the criticism aimed at female journalists that sometimes crosses lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

• US Department of Labor proposes $264K in fines for Montana manufacturer, Western Bee Supply Inc. in Polson, staffing agency for serious, willful violations following finger amputation

  They found a workplace with unguarded saw blades, rotating machinery, belts, pulleys and chains. Machine operators were cleaning saw blades and other machinery without locking out and tagging out equipment to prevent sudden starts, as required.

Funding and Building your Business

• Here’s the top 15 venture capital funds that invest in games

  “The scary thing is how fast all of this capital is being amassed,”

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

• Learning Empathy Takes Practice. Lots of It. That’s Where Virtual Reality Can Help

  Mursion’s simulations use real actors in A.I.-generated scenarios–no bulky headset required. It could be the future of workplace learning.

Transportation

• Texan Ford and Tesla Owners Use Their Cars to Power Their Homes

  A Texas man used his newly-bought Ford F-150 Hybrid to power his home for 72 hours during the blackout. He ran it between 10 to 12 hours per day, and the Ford F-150 didn’t use up all that much fuel as he mentioned it only used a few gallons of gas in that time.

• Federal Transportation Manual Update a Chance for Improvement

  After 11 years, the federal transportation manual is getting an update to reflect the rise of autonomous vehicles, shared mobility, and modernized pedestrian infrastructure.

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