MATR Newsletter – June 7, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Montana State students to benefit from privately run hotel on campus

  “Having a fully integrated hotel here on campus will provide opportunities for students enrolled in our four-year and associate of applied science degree programs. This partnership will boost enrollments of these high-demand areas, which is something the state’s hospitality industry has asked us to do,” said Alison Harmon, vice president of research and economic development.

• 10 new Montana nonprofit jobs

  Executive Director Disability Rights Montana – Helena, Montana   More….

• Coming soon: Dvele showcases coming $80 Million foundry in Butte that could employ hundreds.

  The Dvele facility will make modular homes that can be built in months and then shipped out for placement. They can be built at 30% to 40% less cost than traditional houses, the company says.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Executive Director – Meagher County Stewardship Council

  The Meagher County Stewardship Council seeks a full-time Executive Director responsible for overseeing and implementing all Council activities. Salary: $60,000-$80,000 commensurate on experience Benefits: Health insurance reimbursement, flexible time off

• Record business growth continues in Montana

  Roughly 5,400 new businesses registered with the Secretary of State’s Office during the month according to the Secretary of State’s Montana Business Economic Report.

Great Falls Development Authority

• GFDA Top 10

  Here is our Top 10 for this week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy — Montana’s Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success.

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Kalispell Chamber to depart Depot Park, citing homeless activity

  “In order for us to serve our members we have to keep our doors open, and there’s activity that is making our guests uncomfortable,” Clarno said. “It’s reached a volume that is definitely impacting our productivity.”

Zoot Enterprises

• Zoot Enterprises and Prism Data Announce Strategic Partnership

  The Prism Data partnership and the connection to their innovative CashScore product will directly enable our clients to make smarter decisions with growth in mind.”
  — Zoot’s Head of Partnerships, Bob Lonergan

Montana Business

• With Montana property taxes climbing, drumbeat for a tourist tax grows

  Later this month, Missoula homeowners and others around the state will receive what they may dread the most – the state’s latest appraised value of their property.

• C2M SPRING Showcase🍾🎉 Join us at The Chateau BOZEMAN! – July 11

  As a treasured member of the C2M Beta community, we would be overjoyed if you could join us for our Spring Showcase Event.
  Hear pitches from our 6 entrepreneurs and celebrate their 12-week program completion with us!

• Montana Career Opportunity – Financial Professional – Advanced Electronic Designs, Inc. (AED)

  Who We Are Advanced Electronic Designs, Inc. (AED) is an engineering product design and development firm located in Bozeman, Montana. Founded in 1994, AED thrives on solving intricate design challenges…

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• After Tester’s Push, Montanans Will Finally Have More Accurate High-Speed Internet Connectivity Maps

  New interactive maps will allow Montanans to search for their home coverage and lodge an agency complaint if it is inaccurate

• First look: New version of the National Broadband Map – How Is This Acceptable Montana?

  The big news is the projected allocation of the $42.5 billion. NTIA plans to release the allocations at the end of June, so it is more than likely that with the release of this data, the allocation levels are now set.

Housing

• Even in Libby, Montana’s housing crisis having an impact

  New housing project aims to ease rising costs in Lincoln County that once had ample affordable housing.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Bill Gates Loves This ‘Amazingly Well Done’ TV Series That I’m Obsessed With Too

  It can teach you a lot about leadership and power.

Visit Montana

• An all-in-one platform for planning travel itineraries

  Stippl has created a platform for travellers to easily create, organise, and change travel itineraries

Biotech

• Three companies agree to pay more than $1 billion to settle ‘forever chemical’ claims

  The family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS – linger in the environment and the human body, where they can cause serious health problems, and are found in everyday products including fast-food wrappers, makeup and carpeting.

Funding and Building your Business

• 3 New Rules of Modern Branding

  Rion Harmon and his team at Day Job have created nearly 100 brand campaigns and concepts. Here’s what he thinks you need to know.

• Research Indicates the Large Potential Benefits of Parking Cash-Out Laws

  ‘Free’ employee parking increases driving. Parking cash-out laws reward commuters who use climate-friendly modes, which increases fairness and reduces traffic problems.

Come Home Wyoming

• Entrepreneurs are the key to Wyoming’s future

  Don’t think of economic diversification as a complete 180. It’s about building off who we already are.

• Garth Brooks To Narrate TV Show About Grand Teton National Park And Grizzly 399 This Week 6/6/23
  The first episode of National Geographic’s second season of “America’s National Parks” will focus on Grand Teton National Park and Grizzly 399. Garth Brooks is the executive producer and narrator of the series, which debuts this week.

Wyoming Business

• Wyoming Business Council Newsletter – Please Join Us! Additional Virtual Broadband Meeting June 13

  Following a week of in-person meetings around the state, the Wyoming Business Council Broadband Office is hosting an additional virtual listening session on Tuesday, June 13, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Government News & Events

• Lawmakers and Big Tech clash over the fate of self-driving semitrucks in California

  “Rather than doing the responsible thing and waiting to see what a co-equal branch of government is doing, (legislators) are stepping in the middle and lighting a stick of dynamite,” said Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.

Government Technology

• Cybersecurity Program for Montana Businesses Extended

  Through the program, Commerce reimburses small to medium-sized Montana businesses up to $8,000 for investing in cybersecurity measures through an accredited Montana cybersecurity company.

• Community Issues Curb Management Plan

  The plan reorients the city’s priorities from vehicle throughput and parking to transit, bike infrastructure, and other public amenities.

Non-Profit News

• Cruise will start ‘rescuing’ extra food from San Francisco restaurants

  The AV venture is partnering with Replate, a meal-finding nonprofit, to save excess food from going to waste.

• Montana Nonprofit Association 2023 Annual Conference – In Person in Missoula: September 19th – 21st | Missoula Online: September 26th – 28th

  We’re excited to announce that our Opening Keynote at this year’s in-person conference is Donna Murray-Brown, Vice President of Strategy and Development at the National Council of Nonprofits.

Transportation

• How To Train an Army of Sustainable Transportation Advocates

  So why do so many people stay on the sidelines, and what will it take to get them into the fight?

• Tesla Will Have Its “ChatGPT Moment” With Full Self-Driving Cars, Says Elon Musk

  “I think Tesla will have sort of a ChatGPT moment, if not this year, I’d say no later than next year,” Musk said during the interview.

• Is It Time for America to Break Up With the Private Car? An Interview with Lime’s Wayne Ting

  Between 42,000 crash deaths a year and rising tailpipe emissions that are swiftly killing the planet, America’s long love affair with the privately owned car has been a toxic relationship.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• How wireless energy from space could power everything

  Learn how this technology could power everything — and light up our world from space.

Energy and Climate Change

• Nobel Peace Prize winner spearheads “Climate Change Week in Billings.” 6/5-8

  Dr. Steven running was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change team, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.The panel focused on reporting the connection between global warming and human activities.

• Stop Complaining About Debt Limit Permitting & Climate Law — Devote Your Energy To Decentralization!

  Decentralization will promote decarbonization by deploying distributed energy resources, shrinking energy losses, and enabling energy storage.

• New solar project in southwestern Montana will double solar production in state – Electric cooperatives contract with Montana’s largest solar project

  The array located along U.S. Interstate 15 near Dillon is the second Montana project of this size and doubles the amount of commercial solar production in the state.

• Next-generation risk management for extreme weather events

  The analysis uses physics and AI to assess risk in real time up to 100 years into the future

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