MATR Newsletter – January 1, 2019
The state with the best education wins!

“Traffic is the great thief in our life, stealing millions of hours and billions of dollars.” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – CAD Designer/Draftsman – Kampgrounds of America, Inc.

  We are currently looking for a self-motivated and confident team member who is highly proficient in drafting and mechanical drawing with a high level of knowledge in drafting standards, science, mathematics, and engineering technology.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Senior Full-Stack Engineer, Product Designer, Sales Representative and more….- Submittable

  More than degrees or particular skill sets, we’re looking for obsessive, self-motivated people who have done one or two things in their lives that most people would consider exceptional or very interesting.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Data Engineer, QA Analyst, Quote to Cash (Q2C) Solutions Specialist and more… – ATG

  You are part of a “small” company making a lot of noise in the Enterprise Quote to Cash space while working with a lot of really cool clients (Atlassian, Concur, Constant Contact, InterCall, Aria, Salesforce).

2019 Montana Legislature and Politics

• HBO Documentary ‘Bleed Out’ – How getting sick can bleed you dry financially.

  After a routine operation leaves the mother of filmmaker and comedian Steve Burrows in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a personal video diary becomes a citizen’s investigation into the state of American health care.

• 2019 Montana Legislature: Growing cities, ‘gateway’ towns pitch local option sales tax

  Montana is one of only five states that does not impose a general or local sales tax and fast-growing communities fighting increasing housing costs and tourist destinations plan to argue they should allow local voters to decide whether to impose a community sales tax.

• 2019 Montana Legislature: With pilot project success, Governor Bullock renews call for state-funded preschool

  The governor’s proposal already has advocates among the session’s Democrats. Sen. Bryce Bennett, D-Missoula, said he strongly supports the proposal, arguing, “investing in kids at an early age ensures we give them every opportunity to succeed in this economy.”

Montana Economic Development

• Highway 93 South Community Visioning Workshop Planned for the Flathead Valley

  Whitefish planning officials are continuing to cull public comment on the corridor plan to help inform the future of land use for the city’s southern gateway.

• Bear Paw’s Winter Newsletter

  Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organziation that works to improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservations.

• Can Do: Montana World Trade Center Opening A Worldwide Audience For Montana Businesses

  Learn how Montana businesses can successfully operate on an international scale.

Montana Business

• Brady Meltzer joins fast-growing Montana startup, Submittable, as Vice President of Sales

  “I’m thrilled to be joining a company with a cutting edge culture that is building something meaningful in this special place we call home (Montana). I’m also grateful for the opportunity to work with such a diverse and amazing group of individuals.”

• Under Cognizant, ATG of Missoula sees big year in 2019, “aggressive” job growth

  “It’s going to be a big year,” said Stergios. “We’ll be moving about 90 of our employees into the Old Sawmill District in January. We’ve also started advertising for applicants.”

• Montana entrepreneur Jonathan Distad opening Blacksford RV rental at Bozeman airport

  Located in Bozeman, Montana, Blacksford is a technology-based, customer-focused RV rental business located exclusively at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport providing the highest quality Winnebago RVs with a unique all-inclusive pricing model that includes unlimited miles, fully stocked vehicles, WiFi via Verizon Connect and more.

• Billings business boomed in 2018

  Billings saw a lot of business in 2018, everything from a rush on hotel rooms when the President of the United States visited town, to a local Hutterite colony getting internet for the first time so it could sell steel siding and roofing.

• The Patrolman – After 37 years, Big Sky Resort’s ski patrol director is hanging up his coat and cross

  During his first week of work ski patrolling at Montana’s Big Sky Resort in 1982, Bob Dixon was buried in two avalanches. He also saved someone’s life.

• Billings 14-year-old finds quiet business success in 3D printing and wood carving

  He has a Facebook page, Riley’s Manufacturing and Design, where he posts his work.

Visit Montana

• The 12 Most Beguiling Places The New York Times Style Magazine Visited This Year Including Livingston, Montana

  Livingston, Mont. | Natalie Storey took a look at where to stay, eat and explore in the former railroad town of Livingston, Mont. — just an hour’s drive from Yellowstone National Park, making it the perfect base camp for hikers.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Montana Economic Development Top Ten for 2018

  Here is our Top 10 for the Year 2018, celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy. A quick summary of things to celebrate as we close out 2018.

Montana West Economic Development

• Montana cities focus on downtown strength

  The region’s ongoing transformation reflects the influence of tourist dollars, as well as the impact of seasonal residents, along with people who move here intending to stay and Flathead Valley natives who frequently experience mixed feelings about all the changes wrought by popularity.

Idaho News & Events

• Big changes are coming to Idaho’s Treasure Valley in 2019. Here’s a guide to what you’ll see

  2019 should be an eventful year for the Treasure Valley.

Wyoming Business

• Laramie selected for broadband improvement program

  Laramie was recently named one of 35 cities accepted into Neighborly’s Broadband Accelerator Program.

Funding and Building your Business

• A Survival Guide to Global Workforce Trends in 2019

  The workforce is getting both younger and older.

• Chasing Amazon: The store of the future is already here as retailers up their tech game

  Shoppers at some stores and malls can also get the information they need from a robot named “Pepper.” And the Mall of America has enlisted a hologram named Ellie the Elf as a virtual greeter.

• 4 Workplace Trends Every Small Business Should Know About for 2019

  Spotting or failing to recognize an important trend can be the difference between a banner year and one we’d rather forget.

• The 40-hour week isn’t working anymore. It’s time we switched to a 15-hour one.

  A strange thing happened on the way to the leisure society.

Montana Education Excellence

• Montana State University researcher Bob Peterson selected to lead world’s largest organization for insect science – The Entomological Society of America

  The Entomological Society of America, a nonprofit professional society, has more than 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry and government.

• Missoula schools work to support increasing number of homeless students

  The number of homeless students at Missoula County Public Schools is on the rise. In the 2017-2018 school year, the district served 510 homeless students, compared with 438 in the 2016-2017 school year.

Government News & Events

• Mayor, commission, newcomers emphasize team effort looking to Helena’s new year

  I think that a smaller city, what it brings is a great deal of transparency and accountability that you wouldn’t necessarily see in a larger city.”

• The Biggest Issues for States to Watch in 2019

  18 of the policies and proposals that will dominate state legislatures this year.

Non-Profit News

• Missoula SOUP – Accepting Pitch Applications for 1/31/19

  Soup is a donation-based, volunteer-run microgranting dinner.

North Dakota Business and Economic Development

• Williston Economic Development first in North Dakota to earn international accreditation

  “IEDC is kind of the gold standard for economic developers across the nation and the globe,” he said. “It’s a place to go for resources and understanding best practices of economic development, and really creates a good mentorship with peers in the economic development community.”

Miscellaneous Ramblings

• Dave Barry’s Year in Review 2018

  The election goes smoothly, except of course in Florida, which should seriously consider outsourcing all of its government functions to a competent organization, such as Montana.

• 25+ Astounding Science Facts We Didn’t Know at The Start of 2018

  4. Viruses are literally raining on us from the sky all the time. In fact, hundreds of millions of viruses per day are deposited above the lowest layer of the atmosphere – much more than anyone suspected.

Transportation

• Wielding Rocks and Knives, Arizonans Attack Self-Driving Cars

  “There’s a growing sense that the giant corporations honing driverless technologies do not have our best interests at heart,” Mr. Rushkoff said. “Just think about the humans inside these vehicles, who are essentially training the artificial intelligence that will replace them.”

• Ohio Eyes New Connected Vehicle Test, One of Several in U.S.

  A connected vehicle project in Ohio will join other similar explorations of sensor and related technologies that allow vehicles to interact with each other and infrastructure, in the aim of growing safety and traffic management in a space becoming more crowded with vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

• Elon Musk asks for Tesla employees to test out Autopilot’s new full self-driving mode

  For employees willing to test out the new driving feature, the $8,000 cost will be waived, Musk said in the email. Always the salesman, Musk added, “This is the last time the offer will be made.”

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• Brad Feld – Welcome to 2019

  Fred’s punchline is “It is going to be a doozy” and I agree.

• Technology Trends for the New Year That Are NOT About Security

  What new tech devices and features can we expect to cause “disruption” as we move into 2019?

• Lab-Grown Kidneys Proven To Work: Now Moving To Being Viable Option For CKD & Dialysis Patients

  Researchers recently reported that they have successfully grown kidneys in a lab, connected them to “excretion systems,” and noted that they “function and grow properly” in both rats and pigs.

• The 12 cleverest tech ideas of 2018

  The best products, the major trends, the colossal screw-ups.

• Tech predictions for 2019: It gets worse before it gets better

  Looking into a crystal ball at the year to come, we’ll say goodbye to Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and electric scooters — and hello to pricey foldable smartphones and 5G networks that most people can’t use.

Energy and Climate Change

• 406 Recycling is providing free e-recycling each month in Helena, Montana

  “We’re very proud of the secure, environmentally minded service we provide and we want to make that accessible to the community,” said Elsaesser, “And we do provide the most comprehensive option for recycling.”

Community

• CBS 60 Minutes – Chef Massimo Bottura: Improving the world one plate of pasta at a time

  60 Minutes travels to Italy to meet the chef whose kitchen creations are works of art

• Celebrate 25 years of First Night Missoula – Join the party on 12/31

  This Dec. 31, Missoula will hold its New Year’s Eve community celebration of the arts for the 25th consecutive year.

• The Bozeman area’s top-10 stories of 2018

  2 Bozeman’s economy prospers as growth continues

Other Economies

• North Carolina Startups Raised More Than $1 Billion Last Year. Here’s Why Raleigh Is the Tech Industry’s Best Kept Secret

  Most residents never thought they’d see the day, but downtown Durham is now a cultural and entrepreneurial hotbed.

• 10 Most Underrated U.S. Cities

  Here’s our top 10 underrated cities for you to add to your travel itineraries.

Rural Communities

• Maine (could be Montana) Voices: What we fail to grasp about rural Maine and what it needs to succeed

  We need to rethink the role of state government in preserving rural economies – and we need to ask ourselves what we can do with our buying power.

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