MATR Newsletter – June 23, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Montana Governor Greg Gianforte’s Goal: One Year, 10,000 Jobs, 50K Salaries

  The Comeback Plan strives to boost the state’s economy, cuts taxes, roll back regulations, expand concealed carry of firearms and restrict access to abortion, among other social and fiscal policies.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Paralegal – Disability Rights Montana

  The Paralegal works under the supervision of the Attorney Work Group of Disability Rights Montana to support and assist the staff attorneys to carry out the legal priorities, objectives, and casework of the agency.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Talent Acquisition Specialist, Client Delivery Manager, Marketing Operations Manager, Java Engineer and more… – Zoot Solutions

  Zoot Enterprises is a global provider of advanced origination, acquisition and decision management solutions for financial institutions. We offer comprehensive and flexible platforms for specific business needs that include loan origination, fraud detection and prevention, data acquisition, and more.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana Department of Commerce Awards $25 Million of Infrastructure Grant Funding to 47 Montana Communities

  “Commerce is proud to partner with Montana communities to ensure the affordability of important projects like these,” Commerce Director Scott Osterman said. “These grants will help local communities address infrastructure and public facility needs while promoting the health and safety of residents across Montana.”

Northwestern Energy

• Largest in Montana: Missoula County inks agreement for solar array atop jail

  The financing model with Serock is unique in Montana, though it has been practiced in other states. The arrangement enables the county to get into a sizable system without investing much capital up front.

Big Sky Economic Development

• Big Sky Economic Development begins renovation of new entrepreneur center Rock31 in Billings

  “We’re 10 months away from opening a fresh set of doors into a new space for entrepreneurs to connect,” said BSED executive director Steve Arveschoug.

• Join the Govmatch 2021 List – Match Your Business with Government Contracts – 7/27 – 9AM – 3PM – Virtual

  MT PTAC advisors are standing by to help you get prepared to put your best foot forward when you meet VIRTUALLY with attending government agencies.

Prospera Business Network

• Learn how to Manage People and be a Better Leader – Managing with a Coach Approach – July 30 – In-person

  This course is based on a management book called, “Coaching Illustrated,” by Mark David. The course highlights four specific principles in the book and breaks them down and applies them to real life management scenarios you may face in your day to day work environments. During the course, you will learn strategies to effectively grow and develop your team using a coaching style to management.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Cities Must Act to Curb Delivery Van Congestion – Does Your Community Need a Delivery Hub?

  With more and more products available for doorstep delivery, Janette Sadik-Khan argues that policymakers have to proactively face the imminent “delivery deadlock” and take control of curb management.

• LISTEN: Out West Podcast explores the economic benefits of developing electric vehicle charging stations.

  In this episode, WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss speaks with Scott Bricker, the Interim Vice President of Destination Development at Travel Oregon, and Jim Chen, the Vice President of Public Policy at Rivian, to learn how everyone from small communities to large manufacturers can tap into the EV market to expand economic growth.

• Changing Someone’s Mind: A Powerful New Approach

  The Goal: To change minds, organizations, industries, and the world — stop trying to persuade, and instead, encourage people to persuade themselves.

• Lincoln Prosperity pitch goes to Montana’s Congressional delegation for review

  The pitch comes even as Lincoln is seeing growing interest in outdoor recreation. RVs are everywhere. And more and more through mountain bikers, and hikers off the Continental Divide Trail, are using Lincoln as a supply stop.

• Can Disney’s Customer Service Model Work in Government? (or NonProfits or Your Company?)

  “Being customer-friendly in your plan review and permitting and inspection processes translates into more business and more revenue for your city,” he says. “It’s a direct correlation, and it’s really huge.”

• INC. is Calling all women founders who kicked butt in a tough year

  If you’re an inspiring, creative, tenacious, trailblazing role model in entrepreneurship, we want to celebrate all that you’ve accomplished.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Workers are saying ‘screw you’ to their leaders. Here’s why and how to fix it

  A master executive coach says ‘If you’re calling this attitude entitlement and ignoring it—or retaliating with tighter constraints on where and when your employees work—you’re missing a huge opportunity.”

• These Startups Are Betting on a Remote-First World

  These startups begin to reimagine how the future will look if more people can uncouple where they work and where they live: “How does the world change if more people work remotely? How do countries, families, education, and daily life change?”

• Hybrid work doesn’t have to destroy productivity. Here are 3 ways to make it work

  The right balance of remote and in-person work takes effort and open-mindedness from both employers and employees.

• Deloitte tells staff they can work from home forever

  “It has also shown that we can trust our people to make the right choice in when, how and where they work.”

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• 3 Key Components Define Effective State Broadband Programs

  3 Key Components Define Effective State Broadband Programs – Dedicated offices, planning and technical assistance, competitive grant programs are essential to expanding high-speed internet access

• CenturyLink customer to county commissioner: ‘It’s a mess in Wibaux’, Montana

  “I don’t know what your authority is exactly, but if you can force them to actually provide the service they’re supposed to provide or allow somebody else to do it, it would be amazing, because it is dangerous,” Stenson said.

Housing

• How Can Missoula Solve the Homeless Challenge? What Are Your Recommendations?

  Do you have a solution-based idea to recommend to the team for consideration?

• Blackstone Bets $6 Billion on Buying and Renting Homes

  Deal for Home Partners of America, owner of over 17,000 houses in U.S., is latest sign Wall Street believes housing market will stay hot

Funding and Building your Business

• The 9 Fundamental Components Of A Startup Pitch Deck

  It’s not a good idea to cut out any one of these 9 components because investors expect to receive this information.

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

• National Archery in the Schools Program aims to introduce kids to the sport

  “The national program has taken a look at kids and surveyed them and found that this program has actually helped with their attendance because they came to school when they were shooting and it also helped with their grades because it showed them something new that they learned and could be successful at and helped them with other things in their life too and their confidence,” added Schmaltz.

Government News & Events

• $75 Billion ‘Connect US’ Plan Would Expand Amtrak Service All Over the Country – (Except for Montana!)

  New attention for a plan to greatly expand Amtrak service in dozens of cities and regions around the United States.

Tell Us Something

• Call for Storytellers for the next in-person Tell Us Something event “Forward to Better” – 8/10

  Tell Us Something is calling for *YOU* to pitch your true personal story on the theme “Forward to Better”.

Transportation

• Why Pedestrian Deaths Are Rising – Pedestrian Deaths are an Epidemic

  Jarrett Walker offers insights into “Right of Way,” a book written last year by Angie Schmitt that is influencing the traffic safety conversation and pushing the fields of planning and engineering in new directions.

• Electric Flying Taxis Could Transform Air Travel by 2024

  With new backing from American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Microsoft, UK electric aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace is innovating to make environmentally-friendly, accessible urban air travel a reality.

Energy and Climate Change

• Why Utilities Want to Control Your Smart Thermostat Sometimes

  Don’t mess with Texans’ air conditioning. Here’s why some customers in the state had their thermostats remotely controlled.

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