MATR Newsletter – July 31, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

What happened when a Tesla came to Ekalaka, Montana

Come Home Montana

• What happened when a Tesla came to Ekalaka, Montana

  A Los Angeles couple, an electric vehicle and an unattended utility outlet energized the gossip mill in the 400-person eastern Montana town last week.

City of Bozeman Economic Development

• Bozeman one step closer to seeing slower speed limits on city streets

  The city says they want to work with MDT and other large cities across the state to give them more flexibility to set speed limits.

Five Valleys Archery Club

• National archery championship takes over the Helena area this weekend

  “It’s a sport for everybody. It’s a real family sport. You know, a lot of the parents and stuff that are here shoot, as well. So, when they’re, you know, going to other shoots it’s a family thing and you shoot together. And it’s just a real warm and welcoming community. And like I said, it’s something everybody can do. You don’t have to be athletic to shoot a bow,” says Jeremy.

Montana Bioscience Cluster Initiative

• BioScience under the Big Sky Summer 2023 Newsletter

  The objective of the 4th “F” Fund (4FF) is to provide direct assistance to Montana Bioscience entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses in need of money for travel to key conferences, small equipment purchases, or temporary staff assistance in relation to proposal development, etc.

Montana Business

• Must-read Wharton Faculty Authors: Improve Employee Engagement | Peter Cappelli

  Professor Peter Cappelli explains how viewing employees as financially valuable assets can lead to better management.

• How AI is fundamentally altering the business landscape

  There will be winners and losers in the AI race, but AI pessimists are discounting the creativity and productivity that the technology will unleash.

• Montana cities reacting to zoning, planning changes from 2023 Legislature

  Several of the new laws that came out of the 2023 session were aimed at encouraging denser housing development within cities, through new requirements for zoning and land-use planning.

• Biden Harris Administration Opens Applications For States & Territories To Implement $8.5 Billion For Home Energy Rebates As Part Of Investing In America Agenda

  Thanks to these programs, hundreds of thousands of households in need will benefit from free or reduced cost clean energy upgrades for their homes.

• Plan Your Pitch Seminar – 8/1 and 8/22 –

  Whether you are looking for access to capital, trying to grow your network, or planning your next round of social media, your “Pitch”, or how you articulate your business idea could not be more important.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Greg Gianforte: Delivering income and property tax relief for Montanans

  To ease the property tax burden, we must reform our system and bring greater transparency, accountability, and responsibility to local spending. I’m committed to getting it done.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Americans traveling to Europe will need ‘visas’ starting in 2024

  This week, the European Union announced a new security program mandating U.S. passport holders to obtain permission before heading to any of the visa-required countries like Spain, France, and Greece. It’s kind of similar to a visitor visa a traveler would have to get before entering the U.S.

Incubators and R&D

• Computer chip with built-in human brain tissue gets military funding

  Last year, Monash University scientists created the “DishBrain” – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes. Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes.

• Wireless charging technique boosts long-distance efficiency to 80%

  This could help usher in that useful future of devices that effectively self-charge over the air, without needing purpose-built rooms.

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

• “Lean In” – Many girls don’t see themselves as future leaders. A new program looks to change that.

  The program is focused on teaching girls ages 11 to 15 to “embrace their superpowers” and reject stereotypes about what girls can’t do. The program is also a call to action to remove the obstacles in girls’ way and encourage them to lead.

Government News & Events

• Montana FWP works to increase firearm shooting ranges across the state

  FWP put out a survey to find out if Montanans are interested in the shooting ranges.

Non-Profit News

• Montana Nonprofit Association Update

  Together We Are a Force For Good

Hellgate Venture Network

• Hellgate Venture Network – 8/17 – Missoula

  Montana Networking Opportunities – Come see who else is in town and what they’re doing.

Careers

• Heat Pumps & Floating Wind To Lead Zero Emissions Campaign In Maine

  The state of Maine has ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction goals. But more than that, it is training the workers of tomorrow.

Transportation

• Why Legislatures Across the US Are Challenging Parking Mandates More Than Ever Before

  Parking reform is gaining momentum across the U.S. Here are a few recent victories.

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

• Artificial Intelligence is the Crack Cocaine of the Digital Age

  Tech oligarchs themselves – Reid Hoffman, John Doerr and much of the venture ‘community’ – see AI as what may ‘save humanity’. This is the line taken by the Financial Times, suggesting the dawn of a new boom that will benefit humanity, albeit with the loss of a mere 300 million jobs.

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