MATR Newsletter – February 23, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Curious about Western Communities? Is Your Community Included? – Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming Community Assessment Reports

  This map represents the many assessments conducted in each state before launching the tri-state project. Blue, green and purple balloons connect you to assessments conducted in communities between 1998 and 2017, and in some cases, to evaluation information for communities participating in follow-up surveys and ripple effects mapping as part of this project. Yellow balloons connect you to assessments that use new processes developed by the three state design team.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Senior Drinking Water Engineer, Senior Engineer Civil/Project Manager – Transportation, Telecom OSP – Field Engineering Technician II and many more… – KLJ Engineering

  REIMAGINE YOUR CAREER Collaborative teams. Creative work environment. Life-changing projects. Our reputation as a great place to work resonates within each community we serve. As a team we deliver consistent,…

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Development Authority study highlights industries most impacted by coronavirus

  Labor market consultant company Chmura put together an analysis of the local economy over the last two years and found that the industries most disproportionately impacted depended on the frequency of in-person interaction, like hospitality, food service and healthcare.

Prospera Business Network

• The Women’s Business Center Impact Grant is a statewide opportunity for women-owned businesses!

  We will be awarding four businesses in total with the grant funds.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Why Cities Want Old Buildings Taken Down Gently

  A growing number of US cities are adopting “deconstruction” policies that involve taking structures apart by hand in the name of sustainability.

• Missouri Technology Corp. wants to boost the state’s entrepreneurship sector. It’s recommended 16 ideas to do so

  MTC’s report, which is called “Catalyzing Innovation: Strategies for Missouri to Drive Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” identifies five main areas where the state’s innovation and entrepreneurship economy currently is lagging and offers 16 recommendations to combat those challenges.

• More countries are trying out shorter workweeks without salary loss

  Newsweek’ reports that Belgium has become the latest country to offer workers the right to a four-day workweek without loss of salary.

• How to stay focused as a new CEO

  ‘Is this what you want your CEO working on?’

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Will federal money help Montana bridge the ‘digital divide’?

  “We have an opportunity to build a network for the future and not to enshrine or condemn consumers to what’s good enough today,” Feiss told MTN News in a recent interview. “I’m not convinced we’re going to grab that opportunity. We have a risk here of clutching defeat from the jaws of victory.”

• Rural electric co-ops are the fastest growing group of broadband providers

  “You’d be hard pressed if you’re a rural electric co-op to not get in the broadband business,”

Housing

• Solving the Housing Crisis

  As housing demand continues to outpace supply, nonprofit agencies are using creative financing and city officials are approving record multi-family housing developments

• The Rippling Effects of High Housing Costs in Montana
  In the Flathead Valley, a lack of housing is stalling job growth while preventing younger generations from achieving financial stability

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

• If You Want Smarter Kids Teach Them Music, Not Coding, According To MIT

  Learning music during our early life makes the brain more connected, which in turn, makes their brains neurologically capable of many things, not just music.

Montana Education/Business Partnerships

• University of Montana Seeking Community Partners for Third Annual Big Sky Experience

  Big Sky Experiences fall within six categories: environment and sustainability; science and technology; communication and artistic expression; business and entrepreneurship; health and human development; and justice, policy and public service.

Rural Communities

• Parts of Rural America Are Adding Adult Population and Diversity, Census Shows

  There’s more than one story about population change in rural America over the last decade. Here’s a look at how parts of rural America are growing and becoming more diverse.

Careers

• How Infrastructure Improvements Spur Economic Development

  “Everyone wants to live, work, and play close.”

Transportation

• In Paris, a new ‘quiet zone’ will ban through-traffic in the the city center

  By preventing trips that cut through certain central neighborhoods, more than 100,000 cars—and all the pollution they create—could be taken off local roads each day.

• Solar-powered electric car that can be driven ‘for months without charging’ goes on sale

  The Lightyear One features a range of 725km and can harness the power of the sun to keep its 60kWh battery topped up.

• Under the skin: How roads could charge your electric car as you drive Stellantis-backed Arena of the Future is powered by 1MW of electricity to charge vehicles on the move

  It is also the first time a dynamic charging system has been powered by DC current, which allows energy transfer to the vehicle compatible with motorway speeds.

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