MATR Newsletter – July 22, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunities – Android Engineer, Senior iOS Engineer, Senior Software Development Engineer and more… onX

  With locations in Montana’s Missoula valley and at the base of the Bridger Mountains in Bozeman, our passion lies in the rivers and peaks surrounding us. We bring our enthusiasm…

• Montana Career Opportunities – Corporate Counsel, Pilot, Construction Engineer, Accountant – Northwestern Energy

  NorthWestern Energy is a regional energy company serving electric and natural gas across western and central Montana, eastern South Dakota and several communities in Nebraska. We also proudly serve Yellowstone…

• Montana Career Opportunities – Associate, Partnerships & Business Development, Data Engineer, Director, Sr. Manager/Director Analytics – Riviera Partners

  We’re always looking for exceptional talent at Riviera. For the last decade, we’ve had our hand in building the hottest startups and well-known tech companies around. We believe everyone deserves…

Great Falls Development Authority

• As the community grows, the Great Falls Development Authority is assessing just how much, and what kind of, housing is needed.

  “A surprising fact for me on the study was that we do need more upper end because as people grow through their through their careers, they typically transition to different levels of housing,” Schalper said. “We don’t have enough stock for that, so people are stuck kind of where they’re at. They can’t move, which means that the people in the next level down can’t move up either.”

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Kalispell Chamber Partners with Local Childcare Providers to Address Care Shortage

  New programs are set to open in churches, schools and community centers across the Valley as the struggle to find adequate childcare endures

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Inner Peace — Be Cool, Calm, and Collected

  If you’re yearning for peace of mind, give these 15 guideposts some serious thought:

• Montana Clean Energy Fair – 8/13 – Butte

  The Montana Clean Energy Fair is a family friendly fun and educational event showcasing renewable energy and what it can do for you. Fair attractions include renewable energy workshops presented by renewable energy experts, renewable energy exhibits, an electric car show, and kid’s activities including solar car construction and race!

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Biden administration urges Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to push broadband assistance program

  Vice President Kamala Harris wrote a letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte this week saying as many as 151,000 Montana households are still eligible for discounted internet service.

• Fiber internet company plans to speed up fiber installation in rural Gallatin County

  Standing outside of the Big Yellow Barn in Belgrade, Yellowstone Fiber CEO Greg Metzger likened the proposed expansion to when electricity was first brought to the area 100 years ago.

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• Montana program adds over 500 apprentices so far this year

  The program began in 2000 as a way to increase employment in the state’s skilled trades. As of October 2020, the program has coordinated approximately 9,000 apprenticeships in 110 different industries

Housing

• Data suggest short-term rentals in Missoula represent fragment of housing stock

  The report, compiled by Granicus software, found 585 short-term rental listings in 445 unique units as of April. While short-term rentals are offered across the city, the majority of them were located in the Riverfront, Heart of Missoula and University District neighborhoods.

• Montana Governor’s new housing task force instructed to propose plans by mid-October

  Patrick Barkey, an economist at the University of Montana and task force member, is skeptical of that timeline.

  “You’re trying to solve in a month what we haven’t been able to solve for 20 years,” he says.

Montana Business

• These tax software programs for small business owners make filing (almost) painless

  If you don’t go the tax pro route, software capable of tackling complex returns will be your saving grace.

Visit Montana

• Video – Will the traditional north entrance to Yellowstone ever be rebuilt?

  Exclusive look at Yellowstone damage after historic floods

• River in Peril: Montana’s Big Hole River under threat

  The river is in peril – facing threats from climate change, prolonged drought, irrigation withdrawals, pollution from nutrients, being loved to death by recreationists, development and more.

Incubators and R&D

• California just invested millions in lab-grown meat, becoming the first state to back the unproven industry

  Advocates say that lab-grown meat will be an environmentally friendly alternative to industrial animal agriculture, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Regional Business News

• Newest additions to this airport made completely out of wood

  The largest and newest dock of the Zurich Airport will be completely made of wood. Zurich, known as the gateway of Switzerland, provides one of the most important airports for Europe. Dock A will showcase its smart, sustainable design and will serve as a gateway to a better tomorrow.

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

• The Human Resource Development Council of District IX, Inc. (HRDC) Head Start enrollment filling fast, offering child care scholarship to Bozeman families

  The program, funded through the Head Start grant, is free education for preschool children aged 3-5 years old for qualifying families.

• Today’s TED Talk – How schools can nurture every student’s genius

  Forget home economics and standardized tests, education visionary Trish Millines Dziko has a much more engaging and fulfilling way for students to develop real-world skills. Get schooled by Dziko as she shares how project-based learning can transform public education and unlock genius for the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, ideators and leaders.

• 7 reasons why emotional leaders are the future

  Emotional, sensitive, intuitive leaders will be vital to any organization that hopes to achieve success in the next decade.

Government News & Events

• California could soon add a new fee to wine and liquor bottles. Why not in your state as well?

  California wine and liquor drinkers could soon pay up to 10 cents more when they buy an adult beverage at the store — a deposit they could theoretically get back if they recycle their empty bottles.

• Return to Sender: Postal Service Backtracks on Gas-Powered Truck Purchase

  According to a posting on the USPS website quietly uploaded today, the agency will raise the target percentage of new electric vehicles in the fleet from just 10 percent to 50 percent. And instead of rush purchasing 165,000 new “Next Generation Delivery Vehicles” — 90 percent of them gas-powered — the Postal Service will reduce its order to 50,000.

Careers

• Today’s TED Talk – Why fun is the secret to a healthier life

  Have you had your daily dose of fun? It’s not just enjoyable, it’s also essential for your health and happiness, says science journalist Catherine Price. She proposes a new definition of fun — what she calls “true fun” — and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connection into your everyday life.

Come Home North Dakota

• Governor Burgum announces expansion of Cisco Networking Academy to offer skills training to all North Dakotans

  There are numerous courses, badging and industry certifications available, with an emphasis on cybersecurity, along with coding, networking essentials, Internet of Things (IoT) and other technology-focused courses.

Transportation

• Look Ma, No Steering Wheel… Self-Driving Cars Are Coming To San Francisco

  Cruise plans to launch the service gradually with a fleet of just 30 cars. The first robotaxis will be modified versions of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt. However, the company is seeking approval to get its custom-built Cruise Origin on public roads. The autonomous electric vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and can attain highway speeds. The car’s roomy interior is fitted with seats that face each other.

• “Dangerous by Design” – American roads are designed to be deadly – The top 4 dangerous intersections in Montana are on Reserve Street in Missoula

  “Dangerous by Design,” a recent report by the advocacy group Smart Growth America, lays major blame on the way those roads are designed.

• San Francisco Launches Adaptive Cycling Program

  The program offers a variety of adaptive bikes at no charge to people with disabilities.

• Tomorrow’s Trains Will Suck Carbon Out of the Sky

  A new startup wants to turn the world’s railways into a network of mobile machines that eat up greenhouse gases.

• What can San Francisco (or your community) learn from other world-class cities? Residents share ideas from global travel

  We’re the same overly deliberative, bureaucratic, cautious, argumentative, plodding city as always.

• Rental scooters causing problems in Bozeman

  “What started out to be a very good community partnership and a way of transportation has ended up being a disaster for public safety in Bozeman and Gallatin County,” said Schliem.

• Chevrolet to offer kit to convert gasoline classic cars into EVs

  General Motors will soon offer an electric crate-motor package to allow people to replace gasoline-powered engines with fully electric propulsion systems in classic cars.

MATR Newsletter Supporters: