MATR Newsletter – January 19, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• City of Bozeman begins offering paid parental leave – City of Bozeman Career Opportunities

  The city is now offering eight weeks of paid leave to employees after a birth or adoption, city manager Jeff Mihelich announced in a news release Tuesday.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Request for Proposals- Executive Director/Administrative Services – Montana Economic Developers Association

  Great opportunity to Come Home to Montana and bring your expertise, energy and insight to contribute to a better Montana.     The Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA) is seeking…

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana reports a record number of new businesses in 2021

  The Montana Business Economic Report contains information about where, by ZIP code, new businesses are located. The 59901 ZIP code (Flathead County) had the highest increase in 2021, with more than 7,000 new businesses registered.

Northwestern Energy

• One More Week Until the 47th Annual Economic Outlook Seminars! Nine Cities Tuesday, January 25 – Wednesday, March 16

  Where Housing is Headed. How will today’s imbalances be resolved?

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Economic Development 2021Q4 Quarter Index

  Number of new establishments opened in Great Falls MSA in 2020 (YourEconomy.org): 401

• GFDA – Business Trainings and Events You Should Know

  Whether you’re just getting started, looking for new customers, wanting to grow sales through e-commerce, or focusing on workforce.  We’re here to help.   Check out the upcoming trainings!

• Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 for 1-16-22

  Here is our Top 10 for this week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy — Montana’s Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• USDA Invests Over $3 Million in 29 Montana Agri-Businesses for Value-Added Activities

  The Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program helps agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and marketing of new products. The goals of this program are to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities and increase producer income.

• Montana State University Extension offers free series about electric vehicle adoption in Montana – 9 to 11 a.m. on the following Fridays: Jan. 28, March 4 and May 6 – Online

  The series is intended to provide individuals, community leaders and planners with a better understanding of the impact of the use of electric vehicles in rural communities.

• Request Your FREE Safety and Health Consultation – Montana’s Safety and Health Consultation Program

  Work-related injuries and the resulting losses can be significantly reduced and, in many instances, PREVENTED altogether with the proper identification and elimination (or control) of safety and health hazards.

• Now You Can Rent a Robot Worker—for Less Than Paying a Human

  Automation is reaching more companies, imperiling some jobs and changing the nature of others.

• ‘Weebox’ – Scottish Discoveries, Delivered to your door The Scottish Subscription Box – Why not a “Made in Montana” box for economic development?

  WeeBox is delivered straight to your door, hand wrapped in local, Scottish newspaper so you can even take a wee peek at the headlines. Each box is curated to connect you with Scotland and what might be happening that month on our bonnie shores – helping you to feel proud and get involved

• In Montana, there are more job postings than there are people unemployed in the state, with every industry being hit hard by the national Great Resignation.

  The Montana Labor & Industries Job Board has about 19,000 job openings right now and 1,250 of them are in Missoula.

• The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley

  Other regions have tried to capture the tech title for decades. Why haven’t they succeeded?

• Small businesses in Butte consider applying for government contracts – Montana PTAC – Who We Are

  PTAC stands for procurement technical assistance centers, where specialists can offer in-person counseling and training for free to small businesses.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• How Deutsche Telekom is creating real connection virtually for its remote workforce

  They’ve created a web-based application which represents a combination of all the distributed offices. Agents log on in the morning and take their seat in the virtual office. Everyone who’s logged on can see other employees who are logged on, and easily start collaborating through the app’s tools and features.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• The Keys To Unlocking Universal Broadband Are in the Hands of Our Communities

  After the pandemic hit, local governments rushed to step in to broaden internet access in rural and less affluent city neighborhoods, but unfortunately, in 18 U.S. states, legal restrictions still make establishing municipal broadband prohibitively difficult.

• Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds – Why don’t solar panels have this feature?

  The devices—developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX—have a warming feature to prevent snow built up from disrupting the signal

• Tester Urges State Governments to Better Coordinate with Tribal Governments to Successfully Implement Tribal Broadband Expansion from Infrastructure Bill – Broadband is Crucial

  “The recommendations are to, if you don’t have relationships with your state government, to develop some of those relationships around broadband,” answered Matthew Rantanen, the National Congress of American Indians Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Technology & Telecommunications.

Senator Jon Tester

• Note on American Rescue Plan Funds growing Montana’s economy from Senator Jon Tester’s Offfice

  Senator Tester was the only member of the federal delegation to support these critical investments in Montana. Now it’s the state of Montana’s responsibility to get this funding out the door and to communities as quickly and responsibly as possible.

Housing

• Backers of property tax cap initiative ask Supreme Court to allow signature gathering

  One of the backers of an initiative aiming to cap property taxes in Montana is asking the state Supreme Court to reverse a lower court’s block on collecting signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.

• This Dutch construction innovation shows it’s possible to quickly retrofit every building

  Energiesprong (‘energy jump’) is finding ways to make buildings more efficient without requiring major construction projects.

Montana Business

• Bozeman, Montana web-based fitness program, MTNTOUGH Fitness Lab, launches app, plans move to new headquarters

  MTNTOUGH offers online fitness and nutritional training programs geared for mountain athletes. It runs on a subscription basis, similar to Netflix, with training programs and content available on its website.

• How Science Can Help You Keep Your Fitness Goal

  A new megastudy from the Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) at Penn reveals techniques that may be able to make those New Year’s resolutions stick around longer.

Funding and Building your Business

• Beware the Streetlight Effect When Analyzing Data

  The “streetlight effect”: Often told as a joke, of a drunk searching for his keys under a streetlamp instead of the dark alley across the street where he lost them because the light is better there, the same principle applies when managers over-rely on data that’s readily available.

Incubators and R&D

• Targeting an enzyme in fat cells drives rapid weight loss in obese mice – I want to be a mouse…

  A new study has shown how targeting an enzyme within fat cells can alter sensitivity to leptin and in turn drive rapid weight loss in obese mice, while also improving overall metabolic health.

• Piezoelectric material shown to help regrow knee-joint cartilage

  By stimulating cells to reproduce, electricity has already been shown to help heal soft tissue injuries. Now, an electricity-producing implantable material likewise appears to boost the regrowth of cartilage in compromised joints.

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

• Evening in Science for Montana Science Center – 2/25 – Bozeman

  Join Montana Science Center for an evening of scientific discovery over cocktails, appetizers and engaging conversation to support science education and the Montana Science Center. Science Discovery is only made possible by a community that invests in its future.

• MSC After Dark: Chemistry of Cocktails – 6/2 – Montana Science Center – Bozeman

  Join us at Montana Science Center to learn how to make tasty cocktails with a science flair. Beverages and light bites included as our bartender leads you on a scientific journey of ingredients and experiments.

• MSC After Dark: STEAM & Suds – 5/12 – Montana Science Center

  Join us at Montana Science Center! Come try out the high-tech makerspace, STEAMlab- learn to solder, 3D pint, laser cut and so much more. Beer, beverages and snacks included during the event!

• Montana Science Center Women in STEM Day – 2/12 – Montana Science Center

  Local, female professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math careers will be in-house guiding interactive demonstrations for visitors of all ages. Sponsored by Mountain Hot Tub.

• 5 Ways US States Can Get More Electric School Buses on the Road Plus Successful Legislation

  The new law makes an unprecedented investment in electric school buses (ESBs), appropriating $2.5 billion to help school districts adopt zero-emission school buses, such as ESBs, and another $2.5 billion toward zero- and low-emission school buses — which includes both ESBs and alternative fuel vehicles.

Montana Education/Business Partnerships

• Check-in, check it out: A potential on-campus hotel at MSU – Opportunity for Hospitality Management Students

  Dean Harmon, of the College of Education, Health and Human Development, sees this hotel as a recruitment tool for the Hospitality Management department. Currently, there are a little over 60 students enrolled in the major, with the hopes to garner a couple hundred.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• These States, including Wyoming and Montana, Won’t Adopt Even Bare Minimum Roadway Safety Laws

  Montana allows drivers to send and read text messages behind the wheel, which the report authors say research has shown to be “equivalent to the behavior of drivers at the threshold of the legal limit for alcohol.”

Government News & Events

• High Speed Rail Is a Solution for Terrible Airlines – Federal Railroad Administration Proposes New Midwest Rail Network

  If built, regional high-speed rail networks could provide an alternative to uncomfortable air travel and prevent travelers from becoming stranded at airports during extreme weather.

Transportation

• Former SpaceX engineers raised $50 million to build a Tesla for freight trains – Autonomous rail cars – Why not passenger rail as well?

  Autonomous, electric freight trains are here to take on semitrucks.

• Forbes – 4 underused U.S. rail lines, including The North Coast Hiawatha, should follow New York’s lead and be revived

  In recent years, however, there has been a push to restore the corridor, which The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority estimates would generate more than $270 million in economic benefits.

• Live Webinar: EVs & Electrification In Rural Communities – Wednesday, January 19, 2022 – 11AM MST

  Our focus will be on understanding and growing rural infrastructure and charging capabilities to better prepare for an electrified future.

• Tesla Cold Weather Experiment In -22°F & -31°F Temperatures

  A driver was stuck in the traffic jam in their Tesla for 16 hours and not only did they’re battery only drop from 74% to 61%, but they also used Camp Mode to stay comfy and nap.

• Thor pushes forward with self-propelled electric camping trailer – Great for electric tow vehicles

  The self-propelled trailer promises to be a critical tool for eliminating the efficiency and range reductions a trailer makes on its tow vehicle, something that will be especially helpful in the electric vehicle age.

Energy and Climate Change

• Bay Area zero-waste stores thrive after wave of pandemic pollution

  Called zero-waste or refill stores, these shops specialize in products such as nontoxic glass cleaner and foaming organic hand soap that customers can pour into their own repurposed vessels. The variety of household cleaners and body products can eclipse that of the most dedicated co-op grocer.

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

• Crypto: all the questions

  Wondering what that means for your business if you want to go all in on accepting crypto payments? Read on for answers to all of the questions–from new approaches to bookkeeping and taxes and fees, to how to sell strategically.

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