MATR Newsletter – January 22, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Search committee named to find new CEO/dean of Great Falls College MSU

  Montana State University President Waded Cruzado announced today the members of a committee that will lead the national search for the next CEO and dean of Great Falls College MSU. The committee will be chaired by Brock Tessman, deputy commissioner for academic, research and student affairs at the state’s Office of the Commissioner of Higher…

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana Exporter of the Year Nominations are Open

  Have you significantly grown your exports in 2020? If so, you may be eligible for the Montana Exporter of the Year Award.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority appoints officers, courts more counties

  “We are off to the races,” Strohmaier said Thursday. “Getting this thing up and running is like constructing the train as it’s running down the tracks. We’re trying to feel our way through this.”

• Montana Chamber Foundation Announces Partnership with Montana State University Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship

  Thanks to the support of MSU and Dean Mark Ranalli at Jabs, contestants in this competition will have the opportunity to connect with peers studying and practicing entrepreneurship, and compete for $10,000 in scholarships to continue their studies at Montana State University.

• Butte, Montana to develop master plan for Uptown’s economic future

  Next month, the city will host two public Zoom meetings to get feedback from the public and business owners in the historic district that intersects at Park and Main streets. The city wants to know what it can do to enhance this important area.

• Downtown Dine Local Week January 25-31 in Downtown Missoula, Montana

  Promotions include Take-Out Tuesday & Thursday, Lunchtime Love, French Fry Friday, Brunch-tastic Weekend, as well as Dine Local Fanatic Giveaway featuring a package valued at over $300 in goodies from Missoula food and beverage businesses.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• FCC Takes One More Step Toward Accurate Broadband Data

  Several states have produced their own broadband maps and surveys because of the FCC’s shortcomings in data collection.

Montana Business

• Missoula, Montana based onX Acquires Adventure Projects, Inc.

  Unparalleled navigation tools now support a vast community of outdoor adventurers

• Entrepreneur Victoria Livschitz Hikes Newest Company RightOnTrek to Whitefish, Montana to make outdoor adventures and planning more accessible

  With a small group of friends, Livschitz launched RightOnTrek, a company that she describes as having the ultimate goal of being the Grand Central of planning outdoor adventures, big and small.

Funding and Building your Business

• Why remote work may render the 5-day workweek obsolete

  Five days on, two days off cadence still exists, but to put it simply, it is inefficient.

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

• Education initiative helps students to understand algorithmic bias (Everyone should take this course!)

  The project introduces young people to important ideas around digital literacy and helps students to see the impact of personal bias on algorithm design.

2021 Montana Legislature and Politics

• On 11th Anniversary of Citizens United Decision, Montana Senator Jon Tester Reaffirms Commitment to Cleaning Up Dark Money in Politics

  Senator Jon Tester: “We need real people, not billionaires and corporations, deciding our elections”

Government News & Events

• Liberal trailblazers are falling like dominoes in Seattle — for not trailblazing enough

  With the news Monday that Mayor Jenny Durkan will be yet another one-term leader for the city, and that schools Superintendent Denise Juneau is out after just one term of her own, the city’s core public institutions are facing upheaval and vacuums of leadership at maybe the worst possible time.

Transportation

• Waymo’s Self-Driving Future Looks Real Now That the Hype Is Fading

  Blown deadlines led the public to look away, but the company’s technology is making progress—and more pilot projects are coming soon.

• Amtrak representative commends Montana counties for forming passenger rail push

  mtrak will help work with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Montana Rail Link to iron out how freight and passenger trails will share track, and informal meetings have already started.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• Say goodbye to language barriers with these translating earbuds

  The WT2 Edge, supposedly the world’s first bi-directional translation earbuds, can translate 40 languages and 93 accents in real-time.

Energy and Climate Change

• Elon Musk says he will give $100 million to whoever creates the best carbon-capture technology

  Musk’s proposed carbon-capture contest would go toward a cause that is likely to play a major role in fighting climate change moving forward, especially under the Biden administration.

MATR Newsletter Supporters: