MATR Newsletter – June 26, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• MEDA is hiring for a new Leadership and Administrative Services Position!

  The Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA), now in its 30th year, seeks professional services to fill executive director/association management roles and responsibilities. We anticipate responses from individuals and association management…

• Study: Missoula is the 10th Best-Run City in the Entire U.S.

  The financial website Wallet Hub says Missoula is the 10th best-run city in the United States; not just the 10th best SMALL city, but the 10th best of 150 cities across the country.

SweepLift

• ChatGPT Isn’t Coming for Your Marketing Business

  In short, AI may be able to output content at an unmatched pace of delivery, but it won’t understand what matters to your audience when it comes to gaining new business leads and converting them into customers.

Great Falls Development Authority

• The latest news for you — GFDA Top 10 for 6-25-23

  We extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of our INVESTORS and public partners for their support and commitment to our mission. They have been instrumental in driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and creating opportunities for success in our community.

Montana Business

• The World’s Empty Office Buildings Have Become a Debt Time Bomb

  From San Francisco to Hong Kong, higher interest rates and falling property values are bringing the commercial real estate market to a perilous precipice.

• The Unstoppable Force Of Agrivoltaics, Now With Tiltable Solar Panels

  Researchers at Purdue University have patented an agrivoltaic array with solar panels that tilt for farm equipment to pass through.

• The Median Age in the U.S. Just Reached a Record High. Here’s What That Means for the Workforce

  Companies that make adjustments to accommodate multigenerational workforces will benefit in the long run.

• Montana property taxes, explained — with pictures

  Property values have risen dramatically in Montana, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll pay higher property taxes. Here’s why.

• Lack of affordable child care pushes Montana workers out of labor force

  According to Child Care Aware of America, the average price of infant child care in a center-based program in Montana was 103% more than the average annualized cost of rent in 2020.

• Red Ants Pants Music Festival awards $30K community grants

  To date, the Red Ants Pants Foundation has granted over $160,000 to more than 100 entities across nearly every corner of Montana thanks to a portion of the proceeds from past Red Ants Pants Music Festivals. Tickets to the event are on sale now

• Community Development Block Grant Pre-Application Trainings – 7/12,19 and 26 – State Capital and Zoom

  These presentations will focus on criteria from the CDBG Application Guidelines found on Community MT’s website. The next application round of CDBG Public and Community Facilities funding closes on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 5 p.m. MST.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Tester: Investment in rural internet access “game-changer” for Montana

  Watch the interview

Montana Businesses Seeking Investment or For Sale

• A wave of small business owners are about to retire. They should sell their companies to their workers

  Baby Boomers own 2.9 million businesses across the U.S. It’s a unique opportunity to sell those business to employees and have a big economic impact.

Senator Jon Tester

• Senator Jon Tester Secures Nearly $25 Million for Infrastructure Upgrades in Downtown Missoula 

  Tester worked across the aisle for months to negotiate the IIJA with a group of five Republicans, four Democrats, and the White House.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Governor Gianforte to continue 56 County Tour in Prairie and Dawson counties – 6/26 – Terry & Glendive

  Traveling to Terry, Gov. Gianforte will meet with students participating in the Prairie County 4-H program at 2 p.m. at the Prairie County Fairgrounds

• Montana lawmakers override governor’s veto of appropriations bill tied to marijuana revenue measure

  Legislators overrode another veto issued by Gov. Greg Gianforte this week, this time an appropriations bill that includes the mechanism to send marijuana tax money to a habitat improvement program through another vetoed bill that several groups have sued over.

• States With Abortion Bans Are Losing a Generation of Ob-Gyns

  Half of US counties have no ob-gyn, and post-Roe laws prevent new doctors from getting required training. It’s only going to get worse.

Housing

• Kalispell struggles to address growing homeless population 

  City plans to deter people from sleeping on public benches, but homeless advocates say bigger issues need to be addressed.

Montana Ambassadors

• Montana Ambassadors Present Trailblazer Speaker Series – Invite Only – 7/14 – Butte, Montana

  Ambassadors, join us for a reception to kick off the Montana Folk Festival in Butte. As part of the trailblazer speaker series, this VIP event will be held on Friday, July 14th from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Funding and Building your Business

• How to Implement a Four-Day Workweek–According to One Business That Successfully Made the Change

  Tampa-based social media agency Brick Media made a permanent switch to an abbreviated work schedule after a test run earlier this year. Here’s how it made the transition.

• Facebook’s Median Pay Is Now $296,000. Here’s What Other Big Companies Are Paying

  Rising salaries and perks make it even harder for small businesses to compete for employees.

• How ChatGPT can help your business make more money

  This piece will outline the challenges and opportunities to leverage gen AI for business gains, unveiling the lay of the AI land for entrepreneurs, corporate executives and investors looking to unlock the technology’s value for business.

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

• Montana health department receives $24 million childcare grant from federal government

  The state said it will focus efforts in underserved communities with vulnerable populations.

• OPI hosts virtual forum on Montana’s charter school bills – Legal challenge launched against charter school law, alleging violation of state Constitution

  The complaint laid out a string of arguments alleging that House Bill 562 violates the Montana Constitution in its use of taxpayer funds to support charters and the exemption it grants those schools from compliance with existing teacher licensing and school quality regulations.

City Club Missoula

• City Club Missoula Presents Drug Trafficking in Missoula Monday, July 10, 2023

  City Club Missoula’s July forum will feature members of the City’s law enforcement community, who will share their experiences in combating illegal drug trafficking; the toll narcotics take, including increased homelessness and ancillary crime; and their perspectives on future trends.

Careers

• How ChatGPT could replace IT network engineers

  At present, ChatGPT can’t replace experienced networking professionals for even slightly complex issues, but it wouldn’t be alarmist to suggest that it might result in the obsolescence of many subreddits and Stack Overflow threads in the coming years.

• Individuals making less than $105,000 classified as ‘low income’ in San Francisco

  If you’re looking for a more affordable corner of California, a number of smaller, more rural counties have a four-person household median income of $83,800. In Siskiyou County, for instance, a single person making $46,200 is classified as low income; that number goes up to $65,950 if four people live in your household.

Transportation

• Are airborne taxis the future of transportation?

  German company aims to have ‘flying taxis’ in the air at 2024 Paris Olympic Games

• Are you a gas guzzler? The government might try to persuade you to switch to an EV

  Research shows the top 10% of drivers in the U.S. use almost one-third of the nation’s gas.

• Enhancing transportation: Missoula explores shared scooter program

  Micromobility refers to a technology-based shared vehicle system, connecting small-scale vehicles such as pedal or electric bikes and scooters through technology. The vehicles are typically rented for short, point-to-point trips on public trails.

• City of Missoula eyes federal funding for Reserve Street safety study

  Congratulations to Kevin Davis and the Missoula citizens who have been working tirelessly for several years to first analyze the problems with Reserve St. but then also to discuss and publicize these to bring them to the Montana officials responsible for the safety of Montana’s citizens.   I hope that more will join the Tuesday morning discussions at 9 on Zoom.

• Arizona ‘Car-Free’ Neighborhood Nears Opening

  Culdesac Tempe bans personal cars in exchange for access to scooters, bike facilities, and free transit. Is that enough to reduce car ownership in auto-centric Arizona?

Energy and Climate Change

• Cooking on gas stoves is like standing over a car tailpipe, research finds

  “We would never willingly stand over the tailpipe of a car, breathing in its pollution,” said Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Stanford and the study’s principal investigator. But that’s essentially what happens when cooking over a gas flame, he said at a media briefing Tuesday.

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