A future with fewer cars – TED Talk – Freeman H. Shen

“There’s a war going on out there in A.I. and Nvidia is the only arms dealer.”

Come Home Montana

• Leaders say population spike in Butte promising sign for city’s economy

  “It’s great to see Butte growing. I think we’re on the cusp of big things in our community,” said Kelly Sullivan, executive director of the Butte Local Development Corp.

• New film captures Colstrip through a high-school lens

  MTPR’s Austin Amestoy sat down with the filmmakers behind “Tomorrow’s Town Today,” which explores life in the coal-centric town of Colstrip, Montana, through the eyes of some of its youngest residents.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• UM and Wells Fargo Launch Rural Entrepreneurship And Leadership Co-Lab for Women

  Since 2020, women have created about half of new businesses filed in the U.S. up from about 29% previously, according to a 2023 U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship report. As women continue opening businesses, this initiative recognizes the importance of prioritizing rural communities across the nation and aims to address the growing need for solution-finding for rural economies.

City of Bozeman Economic Development

• City of Bozeman in early stages of kick starting summertime internship and mentorship program.

  City staff are searching for businesses who want to participate in either the internship or mentorship parts of the program.

Montana Economic Development

• K-12 public school cuts will darken University of Montana and Montana’s future – The State with the Best Education Wins!

  Not only do these cuts make it less likely for students to pursue creative careers through the University, they also hurt new graduates’ abilities to find teaching jobs in Montana.

Visit Montana

• Low-cost airline adds four Santa Rosa, CA routes, including Glacier National Park for $78

  One-way fares will start at $78 to Kalispell (which is 30 minutes from the park, nicknamed “The Crown of the Continent”)

Funding and Building your Business

• Video on command Pika is the idea-to-video platform that sets your creativity in motion.

  Pika was founded by two Stanford Ph.D students who felt making videos was too damn hard. So, they decided to make it easier for anyone to create video on command.

Government Technology

• 4 Ways to Use AI in Urban Planning and City Design

  With the ability to predict trends, engage citizens, enhance resource allocation, and guide decision-making, artificial intelligence has the potential to serve as planners’ very own multi-tool.

Transportation

• A future with fewer cars – TED Talk – Freeman H. Shen

  What if your car could drop you off and then find parking by itself? According to electric vehicle entrepreneur Freeman H. Shen, this technology already exists. He shares his vision for a future where AI-powered electric vehicles will solve many of the problems cars currently cause, like smog, traffic congestion, accidents and, yes, endlessly circling the block looking for somewhere to park.

Energy and Climate Change

• The Excerpt podcast: The NIMBY war against green energy

  With green energy (including nuclear and hydroelectric) now powering almost 40% of America’s grid, the next few years will be critical to meet the 100% goal by 2035. But as the need for a cleaner, more resilient power grid intensifies, due in large part to climate change, there have been increasing efforts across the country to block utility-scale wind turbines and solar farms.

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