Come Home Montana

• Kiplinger Personal Finance named Great Falls as one of the 25 Cheapest Places to Live: U.S. Cities Edition!

  Outdoor enthusiaists will find that there is a world to explore just outside their front door. Hiking, skiing, mountain biking and kayaking adventures are just minutes away. Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park are just a few hours’ drive and make excellent weekend getaways.”

• Montana Career Opportunity – Economic Development Director – City of Belgrade, Montana

  The City of Belgrade is seeking a Economic Development Director to join one of Montana’s fastest growing cities, located in the heart of the beautiful Gallatin Valley just ten miles west of Bozeman. Belgrade offers small-town charm, Big Sky views, and easy access to world-class outdoor recreation.

• Montana Career Opportunities – Director, Extension Program Development & Evaluation – Montana State University Extension

  The Director of Program Development & Evaluation is responsible for providing leadership and coordination for, and staff development related to the entire program development process including assessing needs, evaluating programs, reporting outcomes, and communicating impacts.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• One Montana woman’s childcare travails

  Allison Wilson, director of UM’s Institute for Early Childhood Education, said the low wage endemic to the profession are particularly difficult for educators with young families — especially if they’re unable to leverage their jobs in childcare to secure more affordable services for their own children.

• Child Care, Family Benefits Are ‘An Economic Imperative, Not A Personal Problem’ Says Advocacy Group

  Policymakers, activists and business leaders convened at the Moms First Summit in New York to discuss the challenges mothers face in the workforce and what more employers need to do.

• Can’t Find Skilled Talent? 3 Creative Ways to Reach the Workers You Need

  “We have a national narrative that your success in America today is based upon the college that you went to,” Sizemore says. “We’ve got to change our paradigm.”

• This Montana school solved its teacher shortage by opening a day care

  On-site day cares are being used as a recruitment tool. Turns out, they help more than just the teachers.

• Montana Dept. of Commerce announces new members of Montana Main Street Program

  Membership in the Main Street Program provides communities with access to Main Street grant funding, technical assistance, community networking and resources offered through the national Main Street America program to revitalize and promote downtown commercial districts.

• Jerry Seinfeld’s 1,000-Second Commencement Speech Was Set to a 5th-Grade Reading Level. It’s the Best Ever Done – Simplicity tells a story and influences deeply.

  The speech was not only engaging but also remarkably accessible. It’s a master class in human storytelling, primarily because of its low reading level–equivalent to that of a fifth grader.

Big Sky Commerce

• New_Public – Reimagine Social Media

  We are researchers, engineers, designers, and
  community leaders working together to explore
  creating digital public spaces where people
  can thrive and connect.

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top Ten for 6-2-24

  22) We Are Growing Our Awesome Staff Team. Download a description of openings for Director Regional Small Business Development Center and Lending Solutions Specialist. Contact Tracy for more info at [email protected].

  We also made progress with several key client projects this week — another jam-packed week!

Montana Business

• Missoula farm owner seeks $310K in Open Space Bond funds for agriculture preservation

  The Missoula City Council will decide in June whether to approve using $310,000 from the voter-approved 2018 Open Space Bond to help a nonprofit purchase a long-running, 8-acre vegetable farm in the Target Range neighborhood and keep it preserved as agricultural land in perpetuity.

• California Heat Pump Partnership Aims For 6 Million In 6 Years

  The newly launched California Heat Pump Partnership has the answer and they are not kidding around, with the firepower of a collaborative effort that includes the companies covering more than 90% of the US consumer heat pump market.

• 250-pound ‘super-pigs’ are rampaging toward the US border

  The new research suggests that South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota are all facing this super-pig invasion, which could cost billions in agriculture losses.

Housing

• Bozeman’s rental market among most expensive

  Currently, 19,559 households in Gallatin County are renters, and 88% of them make less than the area median income, according to the 2024 Gallatin Valley Housing Report.

TechLink

• Navy looks to partner with private industry on blockchain tech that detects cyberattacks during software development 

  The Navy invention enables traceability and provability in software development

• Techlink – U.S. Army Develops Improved Structural Steel and Concrete for Bridges – Technology Available and more…

  They’ve developed a new structural steel coating that more than triples the bond strength between concrete and steel, preventing corrosion.

Incubators and R&D

• Breakthrough synapse-regenerating ALS pill moves to phase 2 human trials

  A pioneering once-a-day pill that regenerates nerve cell connections damaged by ALS has been FDA-approved for ongoing clinical trials. The drug is now being given to those with ALS and could be a watershed moment in the treatment of the fatal disease.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• The Missoula Food Bank Invites you to Empty Bowls Full Souls – 6/26 – Missoula Fairgrounds

  Join us on Wednesday, June 26th from 5:00-8:00pm at the Missoula Fairgrounds for Missoula Food Bank & Community Center’s annual advocacy event. Guests will hear from LEVL (Lived Experiences Voices & Leaders) participants and enjoy music from Blue Point. Come enjoy delicious soup served in a handmade bowl, check out auction items, and learn more about MFB&CC’s advocacy work.

• Missoula ribbon cutting assembly -Gardenwalk Neighborway Pilot! – 6/13 – ….(what’s a Neighborway?)

  How you can get involved and support Neighborways – 3 opportunities:

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

• Eight Montana school districts to receive funding for clean-air buses

  Sandoval also tells MTN that the new buses are safe and reliable. She says they are able to operate in both cold temperatures and high-elevation climates.

• Missoula County Public Schools cut 47 non-tenured positions

  These cuts, primarily teachers, will take place at the end of the current school year.

  This is after the district passed three of the four levies.

Non-Profit News

• Montana Nonprofit News for May 2024

  We hope you let us know what you need, what questions you have, and how we can continue supporting the incredible work you do.

Tell Us Something

• Tell-Us-Something – Unforgettable Night: Explore “Going Home” with Powerful Narratives – GET TICKETS! – 6/11 – The Glacier Ice Rink Pavilion, which is outside, and covered in case of rain.

  Missoula Pride and Tell Us Something are teaming up to bring you a night of powerful personal narratives, all centered on the theme of finding belonging.

• “Pride Month Stories: Grab Your Tickets for Tell Us Something!” Plus! INBC NA Beer Collaboration and Alumni Spotlight

  In the June 2024 edition of the Tell Us Something newsletter, Executive Director Marc Moss remembers the Missoula Pride/ Tell Us Something collaboration from last year. Keep reading to learn about the next Story Jam and the Imagine Nation Brewing Company/Tell Us Something collaborative NA Beer and check out what our storytelling alumni are up to now.

Transportation

• Driving On Electricity Is Now Much Cleaner Than Using A Gasoline Car

  Replacing gasoline with electricity greatly reduces the carbon emissions from driving. Based on where electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold, driving the average EV in the US produces global warming emissions equal to a hypothetical 94 mile per gallon gasoline car, or less than a third of the emissions of the average new gasoline car.

• 1,300 miles to a charge and refill – BYD’s new electric hybrids don’t care about your bladder

  Yes, you read that correctly, 1,300 miles (nearly 2,100 km) before you have to refuel or charge it. BYD – the world’s leader in EV car sales having recently surpassed Tesla – released its 5th-generation “DM” Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

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