MATR Newsletter – July 6, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• The log cabin syndrome

  We thought we’d start our Labor Day getaway with a trip to Lewistown and a visit to the Bear Gulch pictographic site. Montana COVID numbers were low in August, so it took a while to process the discovery that site would nevertheless be closed; that viewing centuries-old Native American art at an outdoor site, 20 miles from town might still constitute a valid risk. And yet, there it was; irrefutable proof that, even in the heart of Montana’s Judith Basin country, we were dealing with a plague like no other.

• NBC’s Today Show Puts Bozeman, Montana in the Spotlight

  In early June, The Today Show visited Bozeman and interviewed a woman that moved from Oakland, CA to Bozeman with her family during the pandemic. The video below highlights many of the perks that Bozeman has to offer for those wanting to escape city life.

• Missoula, Montana man turns love for river surfing into business, one board at a time

  If you have ever walked through Cara’s Park and seen the Missoula summer staple — Brennan’s Wave — you have probably wondered “what, how, where do they get those boards?” Of course with the question of “how do they get up?”

• When I knew I had made it home

  his is a story I’ve told many times before, or maybe I only think I have, because it’s so deeply written inside my blood and bones and skin. It is a kind of love story, because it is a story about looking and longing for home, and I believe all stories about seeking a home are, or ought to be, love stories.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Department of Commerce Welcomes Relocating, Expanding Businesses to Montana

  “As the leading economic development entity in our state, the Montana Department of Commerce is focused on building strong partnerships with companies considering expansion and location in Montana,” said Commerce Director Scott Osterman.

Big Sky Economic Development

• SBA Stands Ready to Assist Montana Businesses and Residents Affected by the Severe Storm and Flooding

  Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Montana businesses and residents as a result of President Biden’s major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Ekalaka Workshop Focusing on Community, Energy, Business & Lender Assistance – 7/19

  On July 19, 2022, USDA Rural Development will be partnering with Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation to present a variety of small business funding opportunities at a free workshop in Ekalaka, Mont.

• National Park Service has $21.8 billion worth of backlogged repairs

  National parks hold a special place in many hearts. Fly fishing, camping, and wildlife, it’s all part of the experience. But keeping the parks pristine while accommodating around 300 million…

• The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Annual Summit – July 24-28 – Calgary, Alberta

  PNWER is recognized as the model for regional and bi-national cooperation, providing a platform for collaboration among public, private, academic, and non-profit stakeholders to work together as a region in pursuit of common goals. ​

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Five broadband trends shaping the future

  We’ve come a long way, but where broadband is headed will change everything.

• FCC authorizes SpaceX to bring Starlink internet to airplanes, ships, and more

  From now on, people will always be reachable.

• “The State with the Best Internet Wins!” – U.S. states with the fastest internet

  The COVID-19 pandemic brought into focus an indisputable fact: access to quality internet service is key to full participation in society and the economy. But inequitable access to high-speed internet has been an issue for much longer than the last two years. Policymakers and business leaders—especially those from low-income and rural communities—have long advocated for increased investment in broadband infrastructure to unlock greater economic opportunities in underprivileged areas.

Montana Businesses Seeking Investment or For Sale

• Why founders need to think hard about where their money is coming from

  Founders need to recognize that not all dollars come in the same shades of green, and should act accordingly.

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• ‘Yellowstone’ filming in Hamilton great for business, mayor says

  Between renting City Hall and the Justice Center, Hamilton made $24,000.

Montana Economic Development

• Economists Don’t See Flyover Country and Whole Economy Pays the Price

  This major problem with the “experts” who run America’s economy has had real consequences. By now, it’s accepted wisdom that an early and urgent red flag from economists trusted by the fed and the Biden administration could have helped us avoid the inflation conflagration that now seems to be burning down the American economy, coast to coast.

Housing

• How Rents May React to Rising Interest Rates

  “​​When we look at the price of renting versus the price of a mortgage [in the Bay Area] this is the largest divide we see across the country. It’s almost three times more expensive to pay for a mortgage than to rent, so we’ll likely see rent rise as a result,” Nicole Bachaud, an economist with Zillow, said.

Montana Business

• Missoula, Montana’s M-80 Chicken expands in time for National Fried Chicken Day

  Shortly after opening, they began receiving an overwhelming amount of event requests and other opportunities, like stops down the Bitterroot.

• ‘Gold mine’: Southeastern Montana wind farm poised to become Montana’s largest

  If you’ve driven between Miles City and Jordan lately on Highway 59, then you may have spotted the huge metal structures that are now sprouting from the ground like skyscrapers out in the distance.

• FDA rules stop Montana pharma company from helping formula shortage while foreign brands welcomed

  As America continues to scramble for more baby formula following a Michigan plant shutdown that hobbled the nation’s supply, a Montana manufacturer in Billings stood by, ready to ramp up production only to be stymied by federal red tape, and then watched the market welcome foreign products.

• Sunday storm floods Last Chance Gulch and causes damage in Helena

  Pictures and video provided by Helena resident Andy Shirtliff showed water rushing down Last Chance Gulch up to the top of wheel wells on cars as people held doors shut tight on businesses to limit water coming into establishments.

• 3-D Printing Grows Beyond Its Novelty Roots

  With the technology improving and costs falling, 3-D printing could be poised to play a major role in manufacturing.

Visit Montana

• Get to know Missoula’s Rocky Mountaineers

  “We have members ranging from probably within a family from four or five years old up to some individuals in their 80s now and everything in between. We welcome everybody and try to have some offerings for everybody.”

• Whitefish, Montana is United Around the Transcontinental Bicycle Tour Divide

  Every summer, members of Whitefish’s cycling community rally around long distance cyclists covering a transcontinental route from Canada to Mexico

Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana

• Seattle’s Alliance of Angels aims to get deals done faster with new fund

  The new fund is sector agnostic, with about 70% of investments expected to go toward Pacific Northwest companies.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• How marketing leaders can steer their brands through inflation

  Marketers have the opportunity to not only curb inflationary pressures, but to also come out ahead as leaders in the industry by making the right performance improvements with the right marketing resources and tools.

Incubators and R&D

• Algae-grown limestone could be the key to ‘carbon negative’ cement production

  By using biogenic limestone instead of quarried limestone as the filler, the cement mixture as a whole could even be considered to be ‘carbon negative’. Not only would production of the cement have a neutral effect on atmospheric CO2, the filler would actually store away CO2 extracted by the algae.

• Baldness discovery paints molecule as potent stimulator of new hair growth

  Scientists probing the intricate machinery behind hair growth have made a key discovery around the behavior of key cells in follicles. The study uncovers a previously unknown role for a signaling molecule, whose messages were found to be critical to new growth and could be leveraged to address hair loss in humans.

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

• How 3D printing is changing education

  . When schools use technology to improve the quality and quantity of educational content, learners will thrive.

• Missoula’s Turner Farms summer camp teaches kids value of agriculture

  The big theme behind camp is taking stuff from the garden and the field and turning it into food- teaching them the inner workings of agriculture.

  “Teaching kids lessons you really can’t learn in school or anywhere else,” said Turner. “And so it’s really rewarding for us to show that to kids in the community.”

Rural Communities

• Big Events in Small Places Seek a Balanced Relationship with Their Hosts

  Some festival organizers who see rural and remote locations as uniquely attractive to their audiences want to make sure the communities that host them can benefit from the crowds.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Tax increases likely: City of Missoula fighting inflation, state’s ‘broken’ tax system

  The state’s current tax system may be the biggest outlier facing local governments across the state. The Legislature has consistently rejected a number of proposals that would help local government find additional revenue without relying solely on property taxes.

  The Legislature has killed a proposed tourist tax every session and it recently revoked the local option fuel tax passed by voters, which would have helped fund road maintenance and repairs.

Careers

• How to leave a leadership legacy

  In connecting with, nurturing, and inspiring your people, you can generate a positive and long-lasting legacy far beyond your tenure.

Transportation

• Safe, Autonomous, Airborne: What Will Roads Look Like in 30 Years?

  From electrified pavement that can charge vehicles and delivery robots that collect data to flying taxis, transportation experts sound off on what we can expect highways and byways to look like in 2050.

• Singapore’s Sky-High Car Prices Are Warning for Global Cities

  Singapore media professional Ellie Lim gave up her plan to buy a new Volvo SUV to ferry her newborn baby when she realized it was going to cost her more than S$200,000 ($142,000).

• ‘Surreal’: Cruise’s driverless cars block traffic for nearly two hours in San Francisco

  “The first thing I say to my coworker is that they’re getting together to murder us.

• Bacteria-made biofuel packs higher energy density than jet fuel

  This increased energy density could help vehicles go farther on a single tank, or reduce the amount of fuel needed for rocket launches, saving more space and weight for cargo. At the same time, producing the fuels from bacteria cuts right down on their environmental impact.

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