MATR Newsletter – January 13, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• Rocky Mountain Lab’s Director Marshall Bloom shares COVID-19 experience

  “This is very serious and its impacts linger for a long time,” he said. “I’m still feeling weak and run-down. I’m a month out and by 7 p.m. every night I’ve run out of gas…It’s an experience that I wouldn’t want to go through again.”

• Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program webinar – THIS WEEK – THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 at 3:00PM Online

  $15 billion in grants to operators of shuttered venues, to be administered by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Of this amount, at least $2 billion is reserved for applicants with up to 50 full-time employees.

• COVID-19 Crisis Call Center Launched in Montana – Please share with everyone.

  Montana Crisis Recovery is free and anonymous support available to all Montanans. This program is managed by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

• Trump administration to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for all Americans over 65

  The administration will also stop holding back millions of doses reserved for the second round of shots.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – System Technician – Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

  This position is the primary respondent to IT help desk inquiries and is focused on providing excellent customer service to internal and remote staff. It supports the day-to-day activities of the Information Technology department including troubleshooting user issues, installing, maintaining and upgrading hardware, software, networking and peripheral equipment.

Northwestern Energy

• NorthWestern Energy to Host Year-End 2020 Financial Results Webcast – 2/12 – 1:30PM MST – Online

  The Company also plans to issue a news release detailing its financial results the evening of February 11, 2021, after the market close.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Kalispell’s Scott Osterman Tabbed to Lead Commerce Department

  Gov. Greg Gianforte on Jan. 11 announced his choice of Scott Osterman as head of the Montana Department of Commerce, citing the Kalispell business executive’s experience in high-tech manufacturing, including at the Flathead Valley’s Applied Materials, as key bona fides qualifying him for the top cabinet position.

• Made in Montana Monthly January 2021

  Our logo is a badge of honor for artisans, growers, manufacturers and craftspeople working for something bigger than the bottom line

Big Sky Economic Development

• January 2021 Trainings Big Sky Economic Development

  UPCOMING TRAININGS

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• New University of Montana Business Center Buoys Female Entrepreneurs

  “To get the rare opportunity for Missoula to headquarter a statewide, SBA Women’s Business Center is a privilege, but it also is a way for the city of Missoula to actually live its values. I cannot wait to hear about the different, women-owned businesses that this new center will support.” Mayor John Engen

• Planning and Executing Successful Montana Business Transitions – Montana Chamber of Commerce – 1/27 – 12-1:30PM – Online

  We welcome you and your clients to participate in a 90-minute session hosted by the Montana Chamber covering legal, accounting, wealth management, valuation and succession planning topics.

• We’re in the midst of a caregiving crisis. Here’s how Biden may address it

  President-elect Biden’s $775 billion proposal to invest in the caregiving economy and expand access to childcare is projected to add 5 million new jobs.

• Missoula County defends job grants amid questions over geographic distribution

  The award amounts ranged from $10,000 to $25,000 and the majority of the funds – 58% – went to the food and drink industry.

• What makes a community? A look at what’s great about Great Falls, Montana

  As a fresh start and some positivity at the end of one difficult year and going into one that will likely be challenging, I asked a few local business owners and Great Falls Greats winners a few questions about why they do business here, why they stay and what’s unique about out community.

Senator Jon Tester

• Book Review: Grounded – “A Senator’s Lessons on Winning Back Rural America” by Senator Jon Tester

  Senator Tester’s memoir could become a helpful roadmap for coastal Democrats fighting for rural votes. The question is: will they pick it up and read it?

• OLLI at MSU to host Jan. 15 Friday Online Forum with Sen. Jon Tester – “How We Work Together to Find Common Ground”

  Tester will discuss some of the challenges for Congress in a time of social division and media mistrust, as well as opportunities to move America forward with respect and common purpose.

Housing

• Missoulians for a Dignified Encampment Facebook Group

  Please join “Missoulians for a Dignified Encampment” if you’re also interested in collaborating with agencies, officials, and camp occupants to determine an alternative to the high-risk conditions at the Reserve St. encampment.

• Giving people money turns out to be an incredibly effective tool in ending homelessness

  “There’s a narrative that you can’t give people living in poverty money and they can’t be trusted to make wise financial choices,” Williams says. “We just thought it was time to disrupt those excuses.”

Choose Montana

• Gallatin College MSU featured in Photonics Spectra

  Montana has one of the densest per capita clusters of optics and photonics institutions in the U.S. To meet local and national workforce demands Gallatin College MSU offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in photonics and laser technology.

Funding and Building your Business

• Using Data To Look Before You Leap Into Your Startup

  To get a more reliable read on how viable a startup idea is, you need hard data. Fortunately, today it’s easier than ever for entrepreneurs to gather data from a variety of sources to validate ideas. Moreover, they can also use that data to help attract investors to back their startup.

Wyoming Business

• Allegiant Air aims for pandemic vacationers with flights to 3 new cities, including Jackson Hole and Portland

  Allegiant Air is expanding to three new cities as part of a 21-route expansion aimed at pandemic vacationers.

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

• I’m a high school sophomore. Here’s how schools can teach kids to solve real-world problems

  Rather than starting with the solution, students should first be taught to research and investigate the problem.

• University of Montana Institute Selects First Cohort of Baucus Leaders for Montana

  Students chosen for Baucus Leaders Montana will have the opportunity to make a difference as they participate in project-based learning with offices throughout the state in the summer of 2021.

2021 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Startup, Nonprofit Team Up on Hybrid Public Meeting Software

  A blog post last month on People Speak’s website announced the integrated platform is available to the broader public. Speaking for the city of Lakewood, Parker said hybrid-style remote meetings are the future for them and possibly every city in a matter of years.

• What Public Access To The Montana Legislature Looks Like In 2021

  The 2021 legislative session amid the COVID-19 pandemic is the first time the public can give testimony in bill hearings via video.

• To Put Voters First Again, Amend the Constitution

  It’s the only way to undo the damage the Supreme Court did when it overturned laws regulating the raising and spending of campaign money. It has bipartisan support, and states should lead the way.

• Billings City Council proposes legislative priorities for 2021

  The Billings City Council is laying out its legislative priorities for 2021, and one of their focuses is on enhancing public safety and security.

Government News & Events

• U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan

  “This comprehensive plan lays out a vision for the safe integration of automated vehicles into America’s transportation system while ensuring that legitimate concerns about safety, security, and privacy are addressed,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

Careers

• Today’s TED Talk – 6 essential lessons for women leaders

  In a rich conversation full of practical insights, former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard and former Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reflect on their experiences as women leaders in positions of global power — and share six standout lessons on what it takes to lead and build solidarity in the face of gender bias and stereotypes.

Connectivity & Communications

• Welcome To ‘Parsing The Press’ With Sally Mauk & Gwen Florio

  Welcome to the first episode of Parsing the Press, a look at current issues and how they’re being presented in the Montana press. Veteran journalist and author Gwen Florio joins MTPR’s Sally Mauk for the weekly analysis.

Transportation

• Cadillac wants to fly people in electric drones

  The VTOL flying car (that’s the term used for vertical take-off and landing vehicles or passenger drones) is GM’s first design in aerial mobility. It’s an idea for personal air travel that doesn’t require a trip to the airport.

• Champs-Élysées Makeover Inspires U.S. Advocates To Push for Better City Arterials

  As Parisians celebrate a new plan to pedestrianize the Champs-Élysées and cut car traffic in half, Americans street safety advocates demand redesigns for their own cities’ dangerous downtown arteries.

• Street Made Entirely of Recycled Plastic Asphalt – Los Angeles applies recycled plastic asphalt on first major city street

  The material, now being tested on California roads, is made using recycled PET plastic and promises longer-lasting road treatments.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• I spoke to 99 big thinkers about what our world after coronavirus might look like: This is what I learned

  More business disruption, more political turbulence, but maybe also a glimmer of new possibilities.

Energy and Climate Change

• Schneider Electric Unveils the Energy Center for Distributed-Energy-Enabled Homes

  Set to be available in mid-2021, it combines the features of what would normally be six or seven separate equipment installations into one electrical service entrance box, integrated via Schneider’s Wiser energy control platform.

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