MATR Newsletter – January 21, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Life is a lemon and I want my money back.

Corona Virus Information

• How to Reuse N95, KN95, and Other Disposable Masks

  Fortunately, for most people and in most situations, you don’t need to chuck your mask after each use, or each day. Here are some answers to common questions about reusing your disposable mask.

Come Home Montana

• 10 new nonprofit jobs in Montana

  Great opportunities to contribute to a better Montana

Welcome to Bear Paw Development

• Bear Paw Development Corporation’s Quarterly Newsletter

  While we’ve turned the page on another year, we still fully understand the need to be front-and-center when it comes to doing what is possible to make this special part of Montana the very best it can be, and a wonderful place to live, work, raise a family and invest.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

• Dorsey – Ninth Circuit Asks Montana Supreme Court for Guidance: Is an Employer Defending Itself in a Wrongful Discharge Lawsuit Limited to the Reasons for Termination Given in a Discharge Letter?

  Many Montana employees can claim the protection of Montana’s unique Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, which generally bars an employer for terminating an employee without “good cause” after the employee has completed a probationary period.

PFL

• Andrew Field, PFL CEO and Founder, Is Retiring; President Nick Runyon to Assume CEO Role

  PFL began life under Field as the world’s first online commercial printer in 1996. Its mission was, and remains, to help businesses become successful. PFL, then PrintingForLess.com, enjoyed early success with rapid growth, three appearances on the Inc. 500 list, and industry-leading technology development.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Housing Market Demand Assessment Released

  Great Falls MSA Market Supports Construction of 450 New Housing Units Per Year

Prospera Business Network

• Prospera Seminars and Events to Improve Your Efforts

  Strengthen Your Team

• Power Up Your Nonprofit: Create your Business, Financial, Fundraising & Marketing Plan 

  This course is also designed to help new nonprofit leaders who are looking to expand their organization or programming.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• ‘Ticking swine-bomb’: Wild hogs are running rampant in California – Wild pigs can now be found in 56 of California’s 58 counties.

  A new bill introduced this week seeks to control the explosion of feral pigs in California, or what some are calling a ticking “swine bomb,” by minimizing hunting restrictions on wild hogs and banning the release of pigs into the wild.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis – FOCUS ON Early care costs, Indian Country challenges, and regional economic conditions

  What drives the cost of high-quality early care and education?

• Flathead Electric Co-op is offering over $118,000 in scholarships to local students this year. Applications are due March 15.

  Graduating high school seniors across the Co-op’s service area, as well as current undergraduates, are encouraged to explore the requirements on the co-op’s website at flatheadelectric.com/scholarships

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Remote work opportunities an increasing part of country’s fastest-growing jobs

  “A ton of the jobs have at least 35% of the open positions as remote options right now, which means that if you’re looking for work, on LinkedIn, you could toggle (the) switch and quite a bit of those jobs are going to allow you the flexibility to work from home or wherever you feel most comfortable,” Seaman said.

Montana Businesses Seeking Investment or For Sale

• Simms buys River’s Edge fly shops in Bozeman, Montana – Do you have a company for sale or would like to invest in one?

  “We’re excited to be taking this next step and to have these new partners,” Sheahan said. “To keep them successful and to contribute to this community as a business but also to provide a nice recreational outlet for the residents of Bozeman.”

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• Gov. Gianforte Launches New Program to Help Montana Businesses Invest and Grow

  The Montana Down Payment Assistance Program will help finance the acquisition of equipment, purchase of real estate or buildings with improvements, and new construction for existing Montana businesses. Loans have a low fixed interest rate for ten years and range in size from $250,000 to $3,000,000.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Gov. Gianforte denies funding for Montana nursing homes seeking state aid to stabilize staffing

  Gianforte said that relief money has already went to skilled care facilities, and should be used for long-term investments. Meanwhile the state’s Department of Public Health and Human Services director said more aid to nursing homes is just “kicking the can down the road.”

• Gianforte admin doubles child-care grant funds – but money still not out – About $60M in ARPA funds available

  In the wake of hundreds of Montana child-care providers applying for federal Covid-19 relief funds, the Gianforte administration is making all $60 million available – but has yet to distribute any money, more than 10 months after Congress approved it.

Housing

• Boston gives final OK to dropping parking requirements for affordable housing – What is your community doing?

  The move is aimed at making it easier to build lower-cost apartments in Boston. The measure now heads to Mayor Wu’s desk for her approval.

• Unique Co-Ownership House Opportunity in Bozeman, Montana

  This is a great opportunity to live and participate in the Bozeman Cohousing community on a part-time annual basis.  If you are interested, please see the introduction below from our member, Garl, and contact him directly with questions related to co-ownership.

Funding and Building your Business

• The Sunflower Podcast – Ever wanted to start a business, but didn’t know where to start?

   The Sunflower Podcast is your go-to podcast for all things entrepreneurship. Join entrepreneurs Rob Ryan as he enlightens listeners on how he built a $24B enterprise with his business strategy process, The Sunflower Model.

Come Home Wyoming

• Help wanted: Wyoming State agencies ‘hemorrhaging talent and experience’

  Gov. Mark Gordon is asking the Legislature to increase compensation for state employees amid skyrocketing turnover, brain drain.

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

• How much does the average American make? These Ivy League students think it’s six figures

  On Wednesday, a professor tweeted that 25% of her students believed the average American salary was over six figures. One of them, she says in the tweet, believed it was over $800,000.

• California offers college students $10K for public service

  Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that 45 colleges and universities in California, including some of the most prestigious campuses in the state, will be part of a new public service program that will subsidize tuition for students who do community service alongside their studies

University Business Plan Competitions

• Student entrepreneurs win $10,000 in Montana State University’s annual Big Idea Challenge

  Twelve student semifinalists, chosen from 28 applicants, delivered pitches about their ideas during the third annual Big Idea Challenge hosted by the MSU Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the MSU Blackstone LaunchPad.

Rural Communities

• USDA Launches Pilot Program to Deploy Renewable Energy Infrastructure to People in Rural Towns

  Funding Will Help People in Particularly Underserved Rural Communities Cut Energy Costs, Increase Energy Resiliency and Address Climate Change

Government News & Events

• Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock an initial board member for public lands foundation

  The “congressionally-chartered, nonprofit foundation authorized by Congress in 2017 will help leverage public and private dollars to conserve, protect and restore lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management for the benefit of the American people.”

• Fake News – “94% of serious crashes are due to human error.” What about bad road design?

  NTSB chief to fed agency: Stop using misleading statistics

Transportation

• The US Refuses to Fall in Love With Electric Cars

  As China and Europe lead the race to make electric vehicles mainstream, America lags behind. This is a problem.

• New technology could revolutionize electric vehicle charging

  A new charging system vastly improves reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness

• Berlin is planning a car-free area larger than Manhattan

  The citizen-driven plan that the city is considering now would create the largest car-free area in a city anywhere in the world.

• The World’s Largest EV Battery Firm Just Launched Battery Swap Stations – A cure for range anxiety?

  The new service, called EVOGO, will allow EV drivers to swap their depleted batteries for a fully charged one in as little as one minute.

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

• Fed kicks off debate on issuing its own digital currency with new white paper

  Creating an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could give Americans more, and speedier, payment options, but it would also present financial stability risks and privacy concerns, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a long-awaited discussion paper released on Thursday.

• 4 Innovations That Give a Sneak Peek Into the Metaverse – It’s Time to Get Serious

  New patents granted to Meta, formerly known as Facebook, could make the virtual world incredibly realistic.

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