MATR Newsletter – January 11, 2019
The state with the best education wins!

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has
been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding
its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false
notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – Director of Marketing/Operations – Visions

  As marketing/operations director, you will oversee the marketing systems of VISIONS, including the Salesforce database, Pardot, WordPress website, Google Ads/Analytics, social media, and additional marketing channels.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Manager of Strategic Partnerships – MoFi

  This is your chance to be on a team that is transforming communities. MoFi is changing what lending can do for people and their businesses.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Mgr Technical Consultative Solutions – Financial Crimes Compliance, Sr Product Mgr I-Digital Risk Applications, Product Manager II, and more… – LexisNexis

  Our mission is to provide essential insights to advance and protect people, industry and society.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Anthony Pollner Distinguished Professorship – The School of Journalism at the University of Montana

  Recent Pollner professors have included former New York Times reporter William Glaberson; Hank Stuever, television critic at the Washington Post; design expert Ron Reason; Chris Jones, a two-time National Magazine Award recipient, and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Eli Saslow, Tamara Jones, John Woestendiek and Maurice Possley and AP international photo editor Sally Stapleton.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Senior Engineers – Submittable

  This position will be making architectural decisions and their code will be used by thousands of people every day.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Don’t Let the Sun Set on Economic Development in Montana

  MEDA is hosting a display event and lunch on January 23rd, in the Rotunda, at the Montana State Capitol for legislators.

2019 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Montana county’s financial problems inspire accountability bill

  Bill is aimed at keeping counties from falling into financial trouble, and providing a way to investigate and hold officials accountable.

• Montana lawmakers adopt significant changes to House rules

  The Montana House of Representatives passed a major reform of its rules Thursday after unifying Republicans and gaining significant Democratic support.

• Gov. Bullock Says Medicaid Expansion Good For Montana Businesses

  “I think that it’s time that we finally fully recognize that the value of Medicaid expansion is as much for Montana businesses as it is for the Montanans receiving healthcare.”

• Hi-Line Lawmakers Discuss Ambitions For 2019

  Lawmakers favor legislation ranging from an increase in aid to education to laws that would make it easier for cities such as Havre to create a vacant properties register.

Montana Economic Development

• New call center to set up in Butte Plaza Mall, employ 350 people

  Ferko added that she felt “a lot of people worked hard,” to recruit the call center, crediting Butte’s economic-development team with bringing the mall to the table.

Montana Business

• Bozeman announces business mentoring program at library

  Available at no cost to the public, the program is a collaboration between the library, the city’s economic development department, Montana State University’s Blackstone Launchpad and Bozeman’s Small Business Development Center.

• Missoula-based Elephant Friendly™ campaign promotes elephant-friendly tea plantations

  Mills and her husband Scott got the help of UM’s Broader Impact Group in the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship, the university’s wildlife biology program, Blackstone Launchpad, MonTEC and the College of Business to launch the initiative.

• Bonner, Montana based Ruana Knives, 80-plus years crafting tools for the outdoors

  “Things haven’t changed. I think some of the dust is still here from when my Grandpa opened up.”

• Montana Economic Outlook Seminar 2019 – Coming to a Community Near You

  Why Attend EOS 2019?

  BBER economists present national, state and local economic forecasts for each seminar city and industry experts will give their outlook for Montana’s important sectors, including tourism, health care, real estate and housing, agriculture, manufacturing, energy and forest products.

• Figure – Welcome to a new way of borrowing, investing, and making the most of your money.

  We have open positions in Reno, San Francisco, and Bozeman where you’ll find a culture based on intellectual honesty, mutual respect, and results.

• Where the jobs are: Montana’s economic landscape, visualized

  Just as the landscape directs where we can build homes and businesses, economic geography shapes our lives.

• News and Events for Montana Manufacturers

  Excellence through Collaboration

Big Sky Commerce

• Big Sky Commerce welcomes Cotner Law, PLLC as one of our newest clients this week!

  We enabled our secure and simple payment processing solution for this law office which includes our Customer Information Manager module.

Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development

• The Secret is Out – Montana Has Been Discovered

  “The story that’s being told both within and beyond Montana’s borders is that it is an exceptional place to grow a business, hire a productive and loyal workforce, and find the wide-open spaces that restore the spirit and inspire greatness in ourselves, our businesses and our communities.” #ChooseMONTANA

Montana Office of Tourism & Economic Development

• Montana Department of Commerce Announces Nearly $830,000 in Grants for Tourism and Recreation Infrastructure and Marketing Projects

  “In Montana, you’re never far from world-class recreation and visitor experiences,” said Jenny Pelej, interim division administrator for the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development at Commerce.

Great Falls Development Authority

• New Year, New Business? Start the year off right with LaunchPoint!

  LaunchPoint will walk through the key structures, available tools and why money is important before, during and after you open your doors.

Idaho News & Events

• Idaho STEM Action Center

  Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. Partner with us to build Idaho’s future.

• Greg Zickau Will Stay on as Idaho’s CIO, Despite New Governor

  With its new focus on digital technology and cybersecurity, Idaho aims to consolidate some 68 state organizations and 550 IT personnel over the next five years.

Funding and Building your Business

• ‘Lighthouse’ manufacturers lead the way—can the rest of the world keep up?

  Early-adopting “lighthouse” factories are implementing advanced manufacturing and AI-driven technology, at scale, and seeing significant gains.

• Selling a Business in 2019: Three Important Things to Keep in Mind

  A new year presents a new opportunity to capitalize on your hard work and sell your business.

• Request For Proposals – Big Sky Dev Con 2019

  We are accepting proposals for presentations at this year’s Big Sky Dev Con on Saturday June 8th, in Bozeman, MT. If you are interested in presenting this year, please fill out the following questionnaire.

• Pressed for Tech Talent, Hiring Managers Consider Online Credentialing

  A Girl Scout badge for learning how to program a robot is seen as an example of new badges focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

• Parents of special-needs kids assume they’re less desirable employees. They’re wrong.

  I discovered something unexpected: All of the advocacy work I was doing in the children’s hospital and doctor’s offices was transforming me into a more capable professional.

Incubators and R&D

• New insight into how lack of quality sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s disease

  A specific sleep phase that, when disrupted, can be linked to early stages of cognitive decline.

Regional Business News

• Hospitals must post prices online, but they may be more confusing than helpful

  While more information is always welcome, the new data will fall short of providing most consumers with usable insight.

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

• Utah’s approach to tech education could be a model for the nation

  Utah Governor Gary Herbert is requesting $3.9 million in this year’s state budget to ensure that three different computer science courses are available in every Utah school by 2022.

• Does Higher Education Still Prepare People for Jobs?

  Universities could substantially increase the value of the college degree if they spent more time teaching their students critical soft skills.

Montana Education Excellence

• Montana sees record-high graduation rates in 2018

  Montana is one of several states that has rolled out graduation-specific initiatives.

Government News & Events

• Tester Leads Fight for Montana Community Health Centers Senator’s Bipartisan Bill Would Provide Long-Term Certainty for Montana Patients

  “In many communities, these facilities are the only health care providers that treat uninsured patients and they do so at an affordable rate. I’ll keep fighting to strengthen Montana’s community health centers so we can increase access and lower the cost of care for all Montanans.”

Government Technology

• Some Nevada governments using blockchain for public records

  One project the county is looking at using blockchain technology for a potential digital record recovery system in case of a disaster.

Non-Profit News

• How Data-driven Strategies Can Improve Impact Investing Outcomes

  “It is a way to benchmark and grade your investments and make them much more targeted.” –Rory Riggs

• Missoula area nonprofits win state tourism grants

  From new rodeo bleachers in Superior to an improved Ice Age flooding exhibit in Missoula, a wide range of nonprofit organizations have been awarded new funding to boost tourism efforts in western Montana.

Missoula Children’s Theatre

• Missoula Children’s Theater Tour Training Happiness

  There are 33 teams of two Tour Actor/Directors on the road this winter/spring.

Workforce Development

• Helena WINS: Addressing workforce development challenges and opportunities

  Through the Helena WINS initiative, businesses are partnering to develop industry sector projects strategically designed to serve current and emerging workforce needs.

• Walmart, Toyota, and others join CTA and IBM in coalition to create tech apprenticeships

  Members will commit to either scaling up their existing apprenticeship programs or creating new ones.

Come Home North Dakota

• Little North Dakota town’s webcam racks up millions of views

  Some are even considering moving to the small town to escape the big city.

Oregon Business

• Laird Superfood Secures $32 Million in Private Funding Round From WeWork and Others

  One of the fastest-growing companies in the natural-foods industry will use funding to expand product offerings, support acquisitions and add jobs across departments

Miscellaneous Ramblings

• “Valley of the Boom” – The Browser Wars on Nat Geo starting Jan. 13.

  The lives of tech world figures, including their friendships, rivalries, victories and failures.

Transportation

• Infrastructure – Failure to Act (like professionals)

  We are not maintaining our infrastructure because we have overbuilt — we’ve built too much infrastructure — and, consequently, we have failed to make productive use of those investments.”

• Ford’s Self-Driving Unit CEO: “At some point before 2021, we have to have no driver.” Here’s Where We’re Taking Autonomous

  Sherif Marakby discusses what challenges to autonomous vehicles remain, when self-driving cars will arrive and who the auto giant is partnering with these days.

• Ford Axes its Chariot Shuttles, Proves Mobility Is Hard

  A potent reminder that creating a profitable transportation business can be far harder than it seems.

• Report: Public Transit Must Become a City’s Mobility Backbone

  Agencies must take the lead in becoming mobility managers to keep up with changing travel options.

• Top 10 Industries Transformed By Self-Driving Cars

  …..driverless cars will mean that sex workers will become more independent and more widely distributed as the sex industry goes mobile.

• Walkable Missoula: Pedestrian plan looks to improve connectivity, reduce vehicle traffic

  An estimated 6 percent of residents in the Missoula urban area walk or bike to work or school, a figure that places the city well ahead of the state and national average but it’s still less than the stated goal of 18 percent

• Elon Musk is serious about making the Tesla roadster fly

  The Tesla CEO informed Twitter followers on Wednesday that he is not joking about using rocket thrusters to get his upcoming Tesla Roadster to fly— or at least hover.

• Udelv partners with Walmart for autonomous deliveries, reveals next-gen van design

  The company’s vans have completed over 1,200 deliveries from florists, restaurants, bakeries, auto parts suppliers, and others on public roads in the Bay Area to date.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• CES Liveblog: Robots, Flying Cars, and a Gazillion Gadgets

  We just posted today’s photo gallery of all the coolest stuff we’ve seen so far at the show.

• This wearable AI translator lets you talk freely and naturally in different languages

  Timekettle Technologies’ new WT2 Plus Wearable Translator can translate speech into more than 20 languages.

• Want to Build a Nanobot? This New Shrinking Technique Could Help

  Research innovation brings Shrinky Dink-like method to the nanoscale.

Energy and Climate Change

• Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds

  “2018 is going to be the warmest year on record for the Earth’s oceans,” said Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst at the independent climate research group Berkeley Earth and an author of the study. “As 2017 was the warmest year, and 2016 was the warmest year.”

Community

• 7th Annual Robert Burns Supper – 2/1 – Missoula, Montana

  Calling all Scots. There will be poetry. There will be Haggis. There will be Scotch Whiskey. There will be men in kilts. There will be laughter and great food.

• Downtown Bozeman releases first draft of improvement plan

  With demand for more than 12,000 housing units expected in coming years, Bozeman leaders are figuring out how downtown fits into the city’s growth plan.

Rural Communities

• Rural Investments Could Be the Next ‘Big Opportunity,’ Former USDA Official Says

  Rural America’s slow recovery from the Great Recession isn’t entirely bad news, says the founder of the Rural Opportunity Initiative. For smart public and private investors, it could provide a chance to get ahead of the pack.

VR/AR, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Artificial Intelligence and The Internet of Things

• Radix DLT is Coming – This Reclusive Engineer Is Plotting The Death Of Blockchain

  One of the hardest things an engineer can do is throw away months of work, but in the six years that Dan Hughes spent building a new alternative to blockchain in self-imposed isolation, he did it at least twice.

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