Corona Virus Information

• Custer County, Montana strongly considering moving back to Phase 1 restrictions

  Custer County’s first case in a county resident was confirmed exactly one week ago on June 11th, and the county has since added 18 cases, 15 of which are active at the time of this writing.

• Track the economic impacts of COVID-19 on people, businesses, and communities across the United States in real time.

  How has COVID-19 impacted your community?

• Governor Bullock Announces New Loan Deferment Program for Montana Businesses and additional support to increase state census count

   “This funding will support the state over the long term and ensure we do everything we can to get a complete count and our fair share of federal funding over the next decade.”

• Bitterroot FabLab designs reusable mask thanks to support from the Rob and Terry Ryan Foundation

  Bitterroot College’s Fabrication Laboratory, funded by the Rob and Terry Ryan Foundation, encourages entrepreneurial endeavors and creativity by providing tools, materials and time accessible to the community.

• Sorry, it’s too soon to stop quarantining. Here’s how to design a bubble that keeps you safe

  Creating a quaranteam can help mitigate risk while still providing social interactions.

• Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over Covid-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants

  One CEO described social distancing as “a nicety that makes sense only for people with laptops.”

• For This North Dakota Grocery, the Pandemic Is Personal

  Rural grocery stores are struggling, undercut by box stores and dwindling population. But business has surged during the crisis, as people seek the safety of smaller crowds and friendly faces.

• Missoula-based LaunchPoint Software Systems designs app to help detect COVID-19 symptoms

  The app creators’ mission is basic to assist businesses, schools or essentially any organization in returning to a safe environment.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – General Manager – Kampgrounds of America, Inc.

  When you join KOA as a General Manager you’re not just joining a camping company, you’re joining the largest network of privately-owned campgrounds in the world where you’ll receive multi-faceted training and support with an organization that believes in great customer service and exceptional quality. And it all takes place in the great outdoors!

• Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development – Launches list of Montana business closings. Are you interested in buying a company or do you know of one for sale?

Montana Department of Commerce

• If you didn’t get a chance to join us yesterday for the Lifting Voices conversation on the 2020 Census, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

  “This is a huge social justice issue for Montana, because we’re in danger of whole communities being invisible.”

• Montanans urged to fill out US Census form

  “We are quite concerned that our rural and native communities in the state are way behind in terms of responding to the Census, and we hope that will improve over the coming months,” said Jeff Essmann

Big Sky Economic Development

• Big Sky Finance – June 2020 Newsletter – SBA 504 Loan Debt Refinancing With Expansion

  Debt refinanced loans are structured like SBA’s traditional 504 loans and offer low, long term fixed interest rates.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Have your sales been affected by COVD19? If you could, would you increase your revenue, sales, traffic, and profitability? – 6/30 – Online for 8 weeks.

  You will define your unique positioning statement about products and services you do better than anyone else.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• How San Rafael, Calif., Built a Wi-Fi Network During a Pandemic

  Officials in the San Rafael tech shop were able to build a mesh Wi-Fi network to connect students in the dense Canal Neighborhood with the help of volunteer expertise and funding from across sectors.

Montana Business

• Missoula, Montana’s Old Sawmill District gearing up for tech campus to house Cognizant ATG

  The firm plans to create 68 new jobs over the next two years in addition to the 68 jobs it created last year in partnership with the University of Montana.

• Electric cooperatives contract with Montana’s largest solar project

  Roughly 400,000 Montanans receive power from the state’s customer-owned cooperatives.

Visit Montana

• Third Season of Unseen Missoula Guided Walking Tours Begin in June

  Unseen Missoula is currently comprised of two main tours: Basements & Back Alleys and Hotels & Hooligans.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• 5 Reasons Two Founders As A Team Are Better Than One

  I’m a proponent of capitalizing on your strengths, rather than focusing on fixing your weaknesses.

Funding and Building your Business

• 6 steps to upskilling your people

  A comprehensive way to build talent and fill jobs in our rapidly changing digital economy.

• Universities Step Up the Fight for Open-Access Research

  Today’s deal between the University of California and publisher Springer Nature is a big milestone on the path to dismantling paywalls around academic journals.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• Whitefish author Laura Munson Bridging Communities in Montana

  Munson’s retreat draws attendees from around the world, ranging from Istanbul to New Zealand.

Regional Business News

• Walmart tests a cashier-free store in Arkansas, no employees will be laid off at the location

  Customers can still choose to have an employee scan and pack their groceries, however.

Government News & Events

• Fifty-State Study Shows Property Tax Inequities from Assessment Limits Continue to Grow

  The 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study explores several key factors influencing property taxes, providing a comprehensive analysis of effective property tax rates—the tax paid as a percentage of market value—in 123 cities in every U.S. state and Washington, DC.

MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative

• Simon Sinek’s Advice to Leaders: Check In. And Truly Listen.

  ‘The biggest mistake that leaders make is that they think they need to have all the answers,’ says the popular author and business coach.

Connectivity & Communications

• Facebook Groups Are Destroying America

  They’re built for privacy and community—and that’s  what makes them dangerous.

Transportation

• Why Car-Free Streets May Be Here to Stay – Excellent Video

  Dramatic changes triggered by pandemic shutdowns may lead to significant and permanent modifications to how we live, work and get around.

• Upstart Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority nearly official with second county on board

  “We’ll continue trying to add some additional counties to the list over the next couple of weeks before we roll into adoption. Suffice it to say, though, we’ve reached a significant milestone in getting this over the finish line.” Missoula County commissioner Dave Strohmaier

• Ford will debut its own hands-free driving system with Mustang Mach-E

  Ford is taking on Tesla with its own advanced driving system that’ll debut with its first all-electric vehicle.

Energy and Climate Change

• Canadian Grocery Store Grows Its Own Organic Veggies on Rooftop

  More than 30 kinds of organic produce are grown on the 25,000-square-foot roof=top farm, including heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, radish, kale and basil.

• New technology could harness energy from trees

  New research shows that drawing energy from trees could help power future cities.