MATR Newsletter – March 10, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Corona Virus Information

• “Before I came down with the virus, I was one of those jackasses who thought the virus would disappear the day after the election. I was one of those conspiracy theorists.”

  Russell once thought the coronavirus wasn’t a real threat. He didn’t believe in masks. All that has changed.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – Executive Director – The Poverello Center

  The Poverello Center, Inc. (Poverello) is seeking a full-time Executive Director to lead the Poverello in providing food, shelter, help, and hope to all who ask. The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to work strategically and foster coordination and collaboration among multiple stakeholders.

Big Sky Economic Development

• Big Sky Economic Development – March Upcoming Trainings

  Women on the Rise: My Kids Ignore Me, And You Think I Should Have Employees?
  – March 17th

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• New report shows substantial increase in rate of new entrepreneurs in 2020, but …

  This report on early-stage entrepreneurship in the United States in 2020 presents national trends, as well as trends for specific demographic groups when possible.

• Where Have All the Metropolitan Statistical Areas Gone?

  Officials in some of the cities included in the list of 144 are expressing concern that the change would affect federal funding for programs tied to MSA designation, like housing, transportation, and Medicare reimbursement programs, and create more competition for funding devoted to rural locations.

• How L.A. based Montana-born Bethany Yellowtail elevates Native artists — and women — through fashion

  Fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail grew up “riding horses and running in the fields and swimming in the river and being around [her] people” on the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations in southeastern Montana.

• Pat LaPointe of Frontier Angel Investors says Montana Governor’s business-startup tax incentive needs more incentives to attract capital

  “Every single state in the country is doing something to try to attract better business startups,” Pat LaPointe of Frontier Angels told MTN News in a recent interview. “We need to stimulate the (startup) ecosystem, and stimulating the ecosystem means we need to make sure there are investors who are properly incented to want to put money into Montana companies.”

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Wisconsin Tethered Drone Project to Expand Rural Broadband

  This month marks the beginning of a unique pilot program in Wisconsin where tethered drones will boost Internet connections for students living in rural areas within the Northland Pines School District.

• Elon Musk wants to connect RVs and trucks to the internet through SpaceX’s Starlink satellites

  “This application would serve the public interest by authorizing a new class of ground-based components for SpaceX’s satellite system that will expand the range of broadband capabilities available to moving vehicles throughout the United States and to moving vessels and aircraft worldwide.”

Senator Jon Tester

• Tester gets $166 million for Amtrak. Highline daily service to return in 90 days

  Service along Amtrak’s Empire Builder long-distance passenger line, which serves 12 communities along Montana’s Hi-Line, was cut from seven-days a week to just three last October

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Montana joins 11 red states in suing Biden over Green New Deal emissions costs

  “The power to regulate is the power to destroy, and our Constitution does not vest in the president the unilateral authority to regulate virtually every aspect of the American economy,” the states say in their complaint.

Housing

• COVID-19 exposed rampant loneliness in America. Can housing design combat it?

  Inspired by his work as a nurse at a psychiatric hospital, architect Andreas Tjeldflaat developed a housing design concept that fosters social interaction.

Visit Montana

• Polebridge, Montana Prepares for Glacier Park Visitation Blitz

  Formerly a quiet, remote corner of Glacier National Park, visitation along the North Fork is steadily increasing, with a pandemic-related surge likely to continue this summer

Funding and Building your Business

• We decided to give our team every other Friday off. Here’s what happened

  Looking to help its pandemic-stressed employees strike a better work-life balance, this tech startup went to an alternating four-day workweek.

• Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein Applied the Concept of ‘No Time’ to Boost Their Creativity. What Does It Entail?

  According to neuroscience, taking a break from our busy schedules and devoting some time to doing absolutely nothing is key to fostering creativity.

• This Husband-And-Wife Duo Increased The Valuation Of Their Startup 10x To $220 Million In Eight Months

  The husband-and-wife founder duo had a much easier time with AgentSync’s new Series A funding round, a $25 million round that valued the business at $220 million — up 10x from its valuation just eight months ago. This time, the startup, which tracks insurance broker licensing data for agencies and carriers, raised without needing an updated pitch deck.

City Club Missoula

• City Club Missoula: Major TV shows could be filmed in western Montana in 2021

  “We’re excited to introduce the landscape of Montana to the world,” she said. “Our job is to promote Montana worldwide. We want (production companies) to know that Montana exists, that we’re a viable opportunity for them and we have the resources and visuals they need.”

Transportation

• What happened when Waymo reenacted real fatal car crashes with its autonomous vehicle

  Waymo’s autonomous vehicles were put through the gnarly paces of 72 simulations of fatal crashes for safety research.

• European electric flying car edging closer to commercial availability

  Slovak engineering company Aeromobil successfully completed its latest flight testing for its flying car. The car has been in development for over a decade, but is expected to become commercially available by 2023.

Energy and Climate Change

• Batteries Will Store and Send Excess Power to Maine Households

  950 lithium-ion batteries will not only store excess output from solar and wind power plants, they will also ensure the electric grid is more reliable. Lawmakers want to encourage more projects like this.

VR/AR, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Artificial Intelligence and The Internet of Things

• Scoop: University of Montana Alum Jim Messina aims to shape cryptocurrency future

  Former Obama aide Jim Messina is joining the board of Blockchain.com in anticipation of enhanced regulation from the Biden administration and other governments for its business trading and processing digital coins.

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