MATR Newsletter – January 4, 2019
The state with the best education wins!

Outlook 2019: Montana Governor Bullock Lays Out Priorities for Coming Session

“I hope there are days when your coffee tastes like magic, your playlist makes you dance, strangers make you smile, and the night sky touches your soul. I hope there are days when you fall in love with being alive.” Brooke Hampton

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – Economic Development Director – Beartooth Resource, Conservation, and Development Area, Inc.

  The Economic Development Director is responsible for facilitating small business and community projects that contribute to successful business operations and vibrant communities. This position will become knowledgeable in and administer federal and state grants.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA) January News.

  Would you be interested in sponsoring the MEDA “Don’t let the Sun Set on Montana’s Economic Development” legislative lunch on January 23rd?

2019 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Outlook 2019: Montana Governor Bullock Lays Out Priorities for Coming Session

  Democratic governor says Medicaid expansion, preschool and infrastructure rank high on his wish list

Montana Business

• Four Anaconda high-school students embark on web-design, social-media marketing company

  So what drives a 17-year-old high school student to start such an enterprise?

• Yellowstone Businesses Paying To Keep Tourism Alive During Gov Shutdown

  The company that struck a deal with Yellowstone National Park to pay park employees to keep the park open during the federal government shutdown says it’s willing to keep paying into February, but will have to re-evaluate if the shutdown lasts longer than that.

• Missoula, Montana based CLEARAS Awarded First Contract In EPA Region 5 To Address Local Water Quality Based Effluent Limit

  “The state’s growing regulation around phosphorus has sparked a lot of interest by wastewater treatment facilities to find a long-lasting, cost-effective solution to meet stringent discharge permit requirements,” said Jordan Lind, chief executive officer for CLEARAS Water Recovery.

• ExcelliMatrix, Inc.- Custom Software Development Solutions & Mobile App Development

  Treating our clients the way we would love to be treated by our trusted partners and vendors is what makes our company successful as a technology consultant.

• The Advantages of Manufacturing in Montana

  Montana is a leader in manufacturing growth in the country.

Visit Montana

• “Sounds of the Wild West” – New project co-led by MSU brings Montana’s ecosystems to life through use of sound

  “Sounds of the Wild West” celebrates the Crown of the Continent, Upper Missouri, High Plains and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems through 25 sound recordings, five maps and nearly 30 images.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Which Company Will Be Montana’s 2018 Exporter of the Year? Nominations Open

  This award recognizes a Montana firm that has made a significant contribution to the economic growth and prosperity of the state through its international marketing activities.

Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development

• 2019 ServeMontana Awards – We invite you to nominate individuals and organizations

  The purpose of these awards is to recognize individuals of all ages and backgrounds who, through their dedication and commitment to community service, have greatly enhanced civic life in Montana.

Flathead Valley Community College

• Registration Now Open for FVCC’s Winter & Spring Continuing Education Classes

  FVCC’s Continuing Education Center also offers customized training for businesses, industry certifications, computer workshops, online classes, conference support and other services.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Start the New Year off right in Great Falls, Montana with these FREE business education events!

  Here are our upcoming educational events for business owners, managers, and professionals for January 2019:

TechLink

• New Air Force technology can find propaganda, malware on Twitter | TechLink Pulse

  “The power of social media is undeniable…hackers can post false information”

Idaho News & Events

• Idaho Governor-elect commits to Medicaid expansion

  “We will implement it in an Idaho manner. We don’t want to have an incentive for people not to work.”

Wyoming Business

• Wyoming Business Council – Shared work spaces are nurturing entrepreneurial creativity and innovation

  “When we tell our grandkids we commuted more than a few minutes to an office and back every single day, they’re going to look at us like we’re absolutely crazy; like we took a horse-and-buggy to work,” said Jerad Stack, a serial entrepreneur and proprietor of the Durlacher coworking space in Laramie.

Funding and Building your Business

• 7 ways to streamline your hiring process in 2019

  When someone leaves, it can take a long time to find a replacement.

• Companies’ pursuit of high profits is making the rich richer at everyone else’s expense, according to new research

  The bottom 80 percent of the country owns just 10 percent of the equity but spends 60 percent of the money.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• EQUUS INTERNATIONAL Film Festival® – 3/14-17 – Missoula, Montana

  The 2019 EQUUS INTERNATIONAL Film Festival®
  March 14-17 at the Roxy Theatre in Missoula, Montana, promises a powerful platform for the voices and stories of First Nation horsemen and women when the equine film-making world comes to the heart of the American West

Regional Business News

• Amazon, Whole Foods Plan Major Expansion In Rocky Mountain Region

  Amazon and Whole Foods apparently are planning a major expansion–driving by Amazon’s “Prime Now” delivery service–in the Idaho, Wyoming, and Southern Utah, as well as other parts of the Rocky Mountain region, as part of a major expansion of its services.

Montana Education Excellence

• U. S. Office of Civil Rights to Investigate Claims of Excessive Discipline and Unfair Treatment of Native Students on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation

  Instead of providing a safe learning environment, the Wolf Point School District adds to the long history of educational abuses of our tribal communities.

Government News & Events

• Public Officials of the Year – Amber McReynolds – The Woman Who Made Denver the Nation’s Best Place to Vote

  “The entire elections process was never designed with the voters’ interest first,” McReynolds says. “It was designed for political parties and campaigns.”

• Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country

  All across Indian Country, the federal shutdown slices deep.

• Proposal Would Stabilize Payments for Forest-Dependent Counties

  A bipartisan bill would replace the Secure Rural Schools and Self Determination Act with a predictable and sustainable funding stream, proponents say.

Government Technology

• Missoula’s LMG Security to conduct cybersecurity assessment on Helena, Lewis and Clark County IT departments

  Getting this third-party assessment will help validate those things we’re doing well and will give us ideas for improvement potentially, on things that they may find that we can improve upon.”

• Smart Cities: A Toolkit for Leaders

  The definition of a “smart city” is changing.

Non-Profit News

• The ‘Hard Truths’ of Dismissing Rural Philanthropy

  Foundations that avoid rural investment are missing opportunities for innovation and success.

Careers

• Why you should write a letter to your future self

  I enjoy this form of New Year’s resolution writing because it paints a picture of the type of life I’d like to have, and in doing so helps me in some small way to manifest it.

• How to future-proof your resume for 2019 and beyond

  If, like many people, you’re hoping to enhance your job prospects in 2019, then strengthening your resume should be at the top of your New Year’s resolutions list.

Transportation

• Electric Vehicle Incentives: A Tale of Two Countries

  “I think you could call it a success, because the density of EVs in Oslo is quite special at the moment: 57 percent of all new cars sold are electric [or hybrid]. That helps make Oslo one of the cleanest, quietest cities on the planet.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• Google moves closer to creating ‘Minority Report’-style sensors for controlling devices with hand gestures

  Now, it appears Steven Spielberg’s cinematic premonition may have included another technology that is potentially one step closer to reality: gesture-controlled sensing technology.

• Promising new Alzheimer’s treatment unexpectedly found in old antibiotic

  The research suggests a drinkable cocktail composed of newly discovered polymers may disrupt the early stages of the neurodegenerative disease.

• Anti-aging discovery reveals importance of immune system in clearing old cells

  The initial animal experiments promisingly restored youthful characteristics in old mice, suggesting improving immune system surveillance may be an effective anti-aging therapy.

Energy and Climate Change

• The man who paves India’s roads with old plastic

  “Plastic isn’t the problem, we are.”

Community

• 25 simple resolutions you can make to improve your city in 2019

  What if you also gave some serious consideration to one of the most important relationships in your life–the relationship you have with the city you live in?

• Happy New Year! May Your City Never Become San Francisco, New York or Seattle Or Portland, Denver, Boston, Dallas, Houston or Los Angeles.

  Are there are examples of cities that have successfully fostered the good outcomes and prevented the bad ones?

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

• Blockchain Can Wrest the Internet From Corporations’ Grasp

  The pendulum is swinging back to an internet governed by open, community-controlled services.

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