MATR Newsletter – July 7, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Small Cities Struggling to Pay for Infrastructure Projects

  Towns with shrinking or stagnant tax bases can’t keep up with the costs of aging infrastructure without state and federal support.

• Montana is ground zero for Native American voter suppression — and the fight against it

  Per the National Congress of American Indians, the turnout rate amongst Native voters is up to 10 percentage points lower than any other racial group. In 2019, the Brennan Center reported that restrictive voting laws throughout the country continue to disproportionately impact Native communities.

• VERY IMPORTANT! – Montana-wide Districting and Apportionment Commission – 7/8 – 1-6 – Online

  We need a plan that builds a legislature representing the rich diversity of Montana’s communities. All Montanans deserve an opportunity for fair representation at the legislature.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunities – Product Specialist, Finishing Operator, Early Childhood Teacher-Full Time, Customer Success Manager and more including remote opportunities… – PFL

  Consumers today much prefer to experience a brand in-person, at the site of their choosing, with full intention. PFL’s immersive, multi-sensory branded moments of delight, delivered at the perfect time and place, will capture the recipient’s full attention in ways no digital experience can. PFL’s Hybrid Experience blends the digital and analog, using digital intent…

• Montana Non Profit Career Opportunities

  10 new nonprofit jobs

• Montana, the sold-out state New Yorkers can’t get enough of

  The coveted crown of the “It Spot” goes to Montana … if you can get in.

• Montana Career Opportunity – I.T. Business System Analyst – The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

  The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a non-profit, wildlife habitat conservation organization seeks a team player with strong customer service and technical skills to work with staff to proactively identify technology needs and coordinate organizational resources to facilitate efficient solutions. Ensures user needs are met through initiation, implementation and continued support phases of new technology projects. Trains users on…

• Hurdles remain in effort to bring manufacturing back to Libby, Montana

  The factory could employ more than 150 workers in a county that routinely posts a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the state.

Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development

• “Recreate Responsibly in Montana” – Marketing campaign urges outdoor users to be on “best behavior” in Montana

  Tips to stay safe while getting outdoors

PFL

• FORBES – Smart And Sustainable Print Marketing: Livingston, Montana’s PFL

  “We create a smarter way for organizations to incorporate direct mail as an intentional part of the customer journey versus batching and blasting. Our solution works with existing CRMs and marketing automation platforms like Salesforce, Oracle or Marketo and enables marketers to send personalized, targeted, and trackable collateral to create a memorable and engaging experience for the customer.”  Andrew Field – PFL CEO

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• The climate is changing fast. Infrastructure should, too. Plan Ahead!

  Public officials want to repair and rebuild. What they need to do is rethink.

• With employment up, more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs

  More than 900,000 people quit their jobs in June, the highest number since 2016 – a “great reassessment of work in America.”

• Today’s TED Talk – The past, present and future of Native American food – Are There Native American Food Restaurants in Your Community?

  When you think of North American cuisine, do Indigenous foods come to mind?

• Fewer working-age people may slow economy. Will it lift pay?

  Consider that the number of working age people did something last year it had never done in the nation’s history: It shrank.

• Hamilton, Montana kicks off process for new comprehensive plan

  A steering committee comprised of 11 members, city staff and consultants from the firm, Logan Simpson, met to discuss the process of the new plan, which is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

• Montana-based Vision Aerial – Using Drones for Search and Rescue Applications

  This article outlines the step-by-step process for performing a search and rescue with a drone. You’ll also learn more about SAR payload options, Vision Aerial platform versatility, and some of the legal considerations for SAR drone operators.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Los Angeles Times Editorial: Close the digital divide, but don’t trap people in the slow lane

  At issue too is how to provide broadband to the millions of Americans who can’t afford it. What’s the point in subsidizing the construction of more extensive networks if they’re priced too high for a sizable portion of the population?

Housing

• Ketchum, Idaho considering tent city for workers amid ‘crushing inequality,’ scarce affordable housing

  These are the people who work at your school. These are the people that work at your local business. These are the people who serve you.”

Montana Business

• Brown trout become addicts in waters polluted with methamphetamine

  Aquatic environments fed by streams of discharged wastewater are inherently prone to pollutants from human activity, and that can include the consumption of drugs, legal or otherwise.

Funding and Building your Business

• Training For Customer Service Empathy: How To Bring Its Power To Your Organization

  What exactly is customer service-specific empathy? And how do you go about training employees in it (if, in fact it can be trained for) and deploying its power at your company?

• Interview questions you must ask to spot red flags (or reveal a great potential employer)

  The VP of HR at ModernHire cautions that higher starting wages and sign-on bonuses can make an employer look very attractive. “Don’t lose sight of your initial reasons for changing jobs and the kind of work environment that will be most healthy for you.”

Incubators and R&D

• California teenager invents AI-powered tool for early wildfire detection

  In any scenario where an environmental disaster can start from a high-risk location, our early detection and growth prediction platform can be utilized to help preserve the environment.

Regional Economic Development

• New Mexico Career Opportunity – Executive Director – MainStreet Truth or Consequences

  The MainStreet Executive Director coordinates activities within a downtown revitalization program that utilizes historic preservation as an integral foundation for downtown economic development. He/she is responsible for the development, conduct, execution and documentation of the MainStreet program.   The Executive Director is the principal on-site staff person responsible for coordinating all program activities and volunteers,…

STARS Montana Early Education Program

• Senator Tester Secures $5.3 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding for Montana Head Start Programs

  Funding secured in the American Rescue Plan will support early childhood development, education programs across the Treasure State

American Prairie Reserve

• The Bureau of Land Management Advances American Prairie’s Bison Grazing Application

  Alison Fox, CEO of American Prairie, says the proposed action is consistent with past BLM decisions and in this instance, approval will create opportunities to collaborate with local officials and neighbors in Phillips County, while the Montana-based organization advances species and habitat restoration efforts.

City Club Missoula

• City Club Missoula – It’s Too Hot! It’s Too Smoky: How we’re addressing Missoula’s changing climate Monday, July 12th, 2021 – 11:30 – Online

  Missoula’s climate is changing. How are we building resilience and making sure our entire community is prepared?

Tell Us Something

• Get Your Tickets for a LIve In-Person Tell Us Something – “Forward to Better” – 8/10 – 6:00PM – Bonner Park, Missoula

  We are so excited to be able to return to in-person live storytelling. Seating is limited, so get your tickets now!

Miscellaneous Ramblings

• Ingenious new search and rescue drone finds people by listening for screams

  They have kitted out drones with microphone arrays, some smart artificial intelligence algorithms, and an onboard computer in order that it can recognize the sound of screams and detect their precise location.

Transportation

• Moving autonomous vehicles from R&D to mass production is closer than you think

  “The technology is moving from experience-level to application,” Peng says. “The first half of the game is to build stable and mature products and accumulate experience. The second half is to move from R&D to mass production and scale, in addition to achieving commercially viable products.”

Energy and Climate Change

• A Massive Water Recycling Proposal Could Help Ease Drought – USDA declares drought emergency in 15 more Montana counties

  Members of Congress from Western states are pushing for $750 million to turn wastewater into pure water. Here’s how that works.

• Solar Is Dirt-Cheap and About to Get Even More Powerful

  After focusing for decades on cutting costs, the solar industry is shifting attention to making new advances in technology.

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

• The future of bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and NFTs, according to 30+ experts

  We asked venture capitalists, security experts, futurists, startup founders, and others for their thoughts on the likely trajectory of cryptocurrencies in the post-pandemic world.

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