MATR Newsletter – January 22, 2019
The state with the best education wins!

Montana Economic Development information and success stories will be shared tomorrow (1/23)in the Rotunda, at the Montana State Capitol for legislators, to encourage continued support of Montana’s economic development.

All are invited to participate and share success stories.

Come Home Montana

• WinCo Foods looking to fill 160 positions in Helena

  Job openings have been posted for about 160 employees to fill roles ranging from cashier to deli clerk to cart clerk.

• Montana Talent available in Strategic Sales and Business Development

  A motivated professional with 30 plus years of lessons learned that I use to help others succeed. I take pride in being a big picture strategist that understands the need for unified brand management, community connection and creating growth.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Montana Economic Development information and success stories will be shared tomorrow (1/23)in the Rotunda, at the Montana State Capitol for legislators, to encourage continued support of Montana’s economic development.

  Join us in supporting #economicdevelopment in Montana!

2019 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Hearing Scheduled for 1/30 on Aspects of Contracting with the State of Montana

  Require public agency IT contractors use software to verify hours worked

Montana Economic Development

• After public input, planning firm unveils Missoula’s growing downtown 10 year vision

  More than 80 percent of the items envisioned in the 2009 plan have come to fruition, including public parking, more downtown lodging and $850 million worth of investment.

• Our Lady of the Rockies group seeking approval to build a tram in Butte, Montana

  Our Lady of the Rockies sits at an elevation of 8,510 feet and was completed on December 17, 1985 when a Nevada Air National Guard team lifted the statue in four sections with a CHAR Sikorsky Sky Crane.

Montana Business

• Missoula, Montana-based American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) – Off-Road Vehicle Customization At Its Best

  The AEV brand has become the standard in off-road as the company casts an eye toward accessory parts for even more iconic vehicle lines in the future.

Visit Montana

• Most People Don’t Know There’s A Great Wall Of China In Montana

  Our Chinese Wall is located in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Arrow Solutions Group

• Why is micromanagement becoming popular? Wasn’t it considered bad?

  Often times; however, I believe that managers who are micro-managing aren’t really intending to micro-manage people, they are really trying to micro-manage the outcome – and this is not necessarily a good thing.

Northwestern Energy

• Montana debates future sources for power generation

  NorthWestern plans to start acquiring new power generation this year through a competitive solicitation process from a variety of resources

TechLink

• TechLink – Weekly tech roundup: medical technology special edition

  All of these are opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses to license and bring to market.

Wyoming Business

• University of Wyoming may tap reserves after rejecting $2 million gift from Tony Cercy

  The University of Wyoming might tap reserve funds after rejecting a $2 million pledge from a Casper businessman who was later convicted of sexual assault.

Funding and Building your Business

• For Struggling Startups, Retirees Are Coming to the Rescue

  An increasing amount of founders are looking to folks who’ve been there and done that — and benefitting from their hard-earned expertise.

• How Pattern-based Thinking Gives Companies an Edge

  If you’re predicting the outcome of a car crash, you don’t want to focus on the color of the vehicles — you want to focus on their relative weights and speeds.

• The Labor Market Is Changing: Is Your Company Ready?

  The big issue behind this change may be costs, notably housing, as is widely admitted by tech industry leaders.

Regional Economic Development

• 5 Keys To Starting A New Venture In Your Local Town

  Is entrepreneurship ever viable or recommended in a small town?

Regional Business News

• Zillow expands direct home purchase program to Portland, four other markets

  Zillow Offers allows home sellers to request a no-obligation cash offer from Zillow to buy their home, removing “the hassle and uncertainty of selling a house,” according to the Seattle-based company.

• This startup is launching a remote-controlled ‘grocery store on wheels’

  “You don’t have to spend time ordering online and you get to pick out food yourself, which is the fundamental reason groceries have never flourished on e-commerce. We are making it not only convenient, but the fastest possible way to shop. “

• Why affordable housing is scarce in progressive cities

  One of the true challenges is the entrenched power and privilege of an older generation of homeowners.

Government and University TechTransfer

• Purdue hits startup milestone with 200+ startups, $350 million funding in five years, nine acquired for $2.3+ billion

  “Five years ago we set out to establish an equally strong commercialization ecosystem to ramp up the translation of this research into the market and into real-world solutions.” Purdue University President Mitch Daniels

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

• What would you have done? – A life lesson from a high school wrestler

  “Winning isn’t everything in the sport of wrestling,” said Marek. “There’s more to the sport than getting your hand raised at the end of the match. And it shows who you are as a person not just winning the match.”

• CBS Sunday Morning – Homelessness on campus

  We will likely never know just how many homeless students start college but have to leave without their degrees, an elusive statistic Dom Coronel says is actually a loss for everyone.

• Jack Ma says only by changing education can your children compete with machines

  According to the McKinsey Global Institute, robots could replace 800 million jobs by 2030, while the World Economic Forum suggests a “skills revolution” could open up a raft of new opportunities.

• To keep high school students on track, there’s no time like the beginning

  American teenagers are often told they have to grow up when they become ninth-graders. But few schools focus on helping each student make that adjustment.

Montana Education Excellence

• Donors keep Literacy Bitterroot funded until tax monies kick in

  “We were so grateful to see the message was clear,” Stark said. “Our community understood that our program was both necessary and that its services needed to be provided locally.”

Government News & Events

• After this year’s tax season, you may prefer death, especially in California

  “It’s going to be a disaster show this year.”

Government Technology

• Idaho conducts testing and plans to hire a cybersecurity specialist for elections

  “It’s about prevention and making sure any systems related to this office don’t get hacked.”

Non-Profit News

• Nonprofit Storytelling Mini-Guide

  Crafting a compelling story isn’t always easy, and not all stories are created equal.

Come Home Oregon

• Oregon Career Opportunity – Analyst, GIS Data – TriMet’s Mobility & Location-Based Services

  Apply for this position if you consider yourself a map geek

Come Home Washington

• Washington Career Opportunity – Geospatial Technology Services Lead – City of Bellevue

  The City of Bellevue, WA is currently recruiting a Lead who is responsible for the overall technical project and program management of the City-wide geographic information system.

Transportation

• Which cities make it easiest to commute without a car?

  “Cities are in a really strong position to be able to create positive change and really be able to fight climate change through their transportation networks,”

• The airline industry could save up to $35 billion by deploying pilotless planes.

  “Unlike passengers, cargo is not concerned with the status of its pilots [human or autonomous],”

• Uber is exploring autonomous bikes and scooters

  The new division, Micromobility Robotics, will explore autonomous scooters and bikes that can drive themselves to be charged, or drive themselves to locations where riders need them.

• Creating Livable City Streets

  What Appleyard found was that the amount of car traffic on the street dictated how friendly neighbors were with each other, how “at home” people felt in their neighborhood, and how familiar they were with their surroundings.

• 5 Times Elon Musk and Tesla’s Autopilot Saved Their Drivers’ Bacon

  With all the scare stories of autonomous cars of late, here are some much-needed examples of autopilot driver saves.

• What Millennials Want—And Why Cities Are Right to Pay Them So Much Attention

  Nearly half of those who owned a car said they would consider giving it up if they could count on public transportation options.

• Safe Routes to School Have New Funding Opportunities in Oregon

  The Oregon Department of Transportation announced the first round of funding for the Safe Routes to School Competitive Grant Program.

• These Simple and Cheap Walking Robots Can Carry Your Shopping Home

  An Australian researcher has pared back the science to create simple and helpful two-legged robots that are actually cost-effective.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• Welcome to the “Garage” A new concept in retail from Target

  Come on in to explore, learn, shop & partner.

• Carlsberg glues beer cans together becoming one of the first breweries to abandon plastic rings

  The Danish firm said the move, which has been heralded as a world-first, to attach its multi-packs with adhesive will reduce the use of plastic to package products by 75 per cent.

Energy and Climate Change

• Study: Yellowstone’s forests could become grasslands by mid-century

  “It will be a different place to live in and a different place to visit.”

• How China is radically reinventing urban architecture to go green

  On top of cleaning up its smog-filled cities, combating climate change is a key part of China’s current five-year plan.

• “Save the planet, bite by bite.” – Embrace a Fake-Meat Future for Its Lesser-Known Benefits

  In the fight to stave off climate change, meat replacement is—forgive me—one of the lowest-hanging fruits.

• The Pentagon calls climate change a national security threat. Trump isn’t listening.

  The new “Report on Effects of a Changing Climate to the Department of Defense” isn’t the environmental win that it could be.

Rural Communities

• Student debt is depleting rural America

  College students from rural areas are moving to big cities for higher wages to help pay off their student loans, according to new research from the Federal Reserve.

TED and TEDX Talks

• Hamilton, Montana hosts TEDx Heironymus Park

  The speaking event with a theme of “In the spirit of ideas worth spreading” was held in the Bitterroot River Inn near Heironymus Park in Hamilton.

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

• The Skills Needed for a Blockchain Developer

  Follow these tips while on your journey towards becoming a successful Blockchain developer.

Privacy, Hacking and Virus Alerts

• Better Business Bureau announces top 10 scams in Montana in 2018

  “If you are a living, breathing person who doesn’t live in a cave, you could be a victim,” said Hannah Stiff, BBB Montana marketplace manager.

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