Streamlining Solar Permitting with SolarAPP+

New in town or a life-long local, here are 5 easy ways to make new friends: Video

2025 Legislature and Politics

• Trump DEI Purge Hits Affordable Housing Groups

  Millions of dollars in affordable housing contracts were canceled after a DOGE review of their websites and social media for terms linked to equity and diversity.

• The Education Dept. was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?

  Without the department, advocates worry the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities.

• Montana State University officials say losing federal grants could have big implications

  Montana State University remains in a holding pattern as it navigates the future of research funding in the wake of federal government cuts.

• Billionaire Carlos Slim Cancels $22 Billion in Starlink Orders Due to Elon Musk’s Outburst

  “More than money, Musk lost his main partner in 25 countries, in addition to giving up all that territory to companies of his competition and, most seriously, causing the USA to continue losing commercial presence and giving it to China,” Monterey Daily Post writes.

• The Urgent Supreme Court Case That’s Not Getting Enough Attention Given Its Destabilizing Potential for Public Education

  This case goes further. It concerns what would be the first fully taxpayer-supported religious school in modern American history.

• More than a thousand rally and march in Missoula for public lands, fired workers – Missoula Resists

  “They say this is about efficiency. This is not about government efficiency at all, so let’s unpack what this is about,” Stone-Manning said, referencing firings made by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person. “As they gut our land-management agencies — the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service — they gut these agencies, they’re going to say, ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t manage these public lands, we have to sell them off.’

• Missoula Resists

  This Missoula Resists group is a coordinating body for like-minded people in the Missoula area who want to make a difference.

• Bill approved by North Dakota House would establish state Office of Entrepreneurship – How About Your State?

  Warrey’s bill has received support from Right to Start, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to expand entrepreneurial opportunities.

• Tariffs to Have Broad Impacts on Northwest Montana Industries – FYI, Montana is the state that is ranked # 1 as the most vulnerable from the tariffs that have been imposed by executive order:

  Economists and industry leaders say the levies will have lasting effects on everything from crop to gasoline prices as trade disputes continue and uncertainty looms

• Elon Musk wants to privatize Amtrak. It would make train travel worse

  ‘The market is exactly the wrong place to put something if you want a rail transportation system that meets the needs of all of America.’

Montana’s Headwaters Tech Hub

• How to Get a Patent in Months, Not Years

  Have you considered fast-tracking your patent application? Here’s what you need to know.

• Why empathy is essential for workplace success

  Simple acts of empathy can build stronger, more resilient teams and a happier workplace

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunities – Editor-in-Chief, Community Coordinator, Membership Manager and more…Montana Free Press

  Montana Free Press (MTFP) is looking for a dynamic, strategic, and innovative Editor-in-Chief to lead our newsroom into its next chapter. If you’re a visionary newsroom leader who thrives on holding power to account, growing audiences, and pushing journalism forward, we want to hear from you! As one of Montana’s most trusted and influential newsrooms, MTFP is at the forefront of independent, high-impact journalism. We’re looking for an Editor-in-Chief who will: Shape our editorial vision and newsroom strategy Lead a high-performing team of editors and journalists Expand our reach and audience across digital platforms Foster innovation in storytelling formats (video,…

• A Case for Turning Tulsa Into the Next Big Tech Hub

  It’s America in miniature.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Streamlining Solar Permitting with SolarAPP+

  SolarAPP+ provides local governments with a standard portal for receiving and processing permit information for residential solar and solar+storage systems. It can be incorporated into existing permitting systems used by jurisdictions.

• Butte receiving $15 million grant for community center from The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation

  “This funding represents a monumental step forward in creating a vibrant gathering space for our community.” J.P. Gallager, Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive

• Montana Economic Developers Association 2025 Spring Conference – 4/22-24 – Livingston, Montana

  We are excited to invite you to MEDA’s Annual Membership Meeting, taking place on April 22-24, 2025 in Livingston, MT. This important event will include the election of new board members and feature a larger variety of engaging breakout sessions designed to inspire and inform. 

• Ditch Your Board Deck.

  Zeck is software that reimagines the ridiculous board meeting process to drive way better decision making with your board and investors.

Missoula Chamber of Commerce

• CBS Evening News – Wildfire researchers replicate “firenado” and other fire conditions in Missoula, Montana lab

  Tucked beneath snow-capped mountains in Missoula, Montana, there’s a laboratory unlike any other in the country, where scientists are starting fires to better understand how they burn and how to manage them. Carter Evans has more on the cutting-edge research.

Montana World Affairs Council

• The Big Synch: Energy, New Era Economy and Innovation – Missoula – 3/26 – The Keep

  We hope you can join us for this special dinner and discussion with journalist and founder of Concept Elemental Jennifer Warren.

Northwestern Energy

• Coal-fired secretive data centers: NorthWestern Energy responds to state inquiry

  The energy company, Montana’s largest regulated monopoly utility, says that serving these new “large load” customers “can bring significant benefits” to all of its customers by supporting future capital investments and infrastructure improvements. In essence, NorthWestern is saying that they’ll be making money off these new data centers and will use that money to improve the energy system in Montana.

Prospera Business Network

• Prospera Annual Ignite Luncheon – 4/22 – Bozeman

  We are excited to announce the speakers for Prospera’s 2025 Business Ignite Luncheon! This year you will hear from some of the most innovative and creative business and community leaders in southwest Montana!

Montana Business

• A Great Idea Means Nothing Without the Right Market — Here’s How to Find It

    Building momentum without an existing user base is hard. But if your business is going to succeed, it has to be done.

Housing

• Poll: 3 in 4 Montanans concerned about being able to afford housing over the next five years

  According to the Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll, 2 in 5 Montana households spend more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage.

Visit Montana

• Waterless camping toilet electrically seals waste out of sight

  After finishing up, one presses the button on the face of the Sunny to kick on the electromechanical system that uses a thermo-compression process to hermitically seal the top of the film, then cut it, creating that human-grade dog poop bag we promised way back in the first few words. At that point, the bag can simply be thrown in the trash.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• How do you win a pitch competition? The blueprint

  Here’s the exact process those successful, competition-winning startups followed. Start with your audience:

Biotech

• Eye surgeons turn to teeth in astonishing vision treatments

  From what I know about surgical methods that use one part of the body to help treat another, such as skin and tissue grafts for fixing burns and reconstructing breasts after mastectomies, this might be the most advanced one on the list.

Incubators and R&D

• Quantum Research Funded projects at Montana State University

  Quantum Computing research, entrepreneurship and success is booming at Montana State University

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• New in town or a life-long local, here are 5 easy ways to make new friends: Video

  Americans are suffering from a loneliness epidemic, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned in 2023. “Most of us probably think of loneliness as just a bad feeling,” he told USA TODAY. “Loneliness has far greater implications for our health when we struggle with a sense of social disconnection, being lonely or isolated.”

• 4 Days Packed Full of Music and Tango! Register for Villarreal Crom Today! – 3/21-24 – Missoula, Montana

  There is an event for everyone: Dancers, musicians, film lovers, foodys, you name it!  https://tangomissoula.com/villarreal-crom

• Missoula’s Celtic Dragon Pipe Band – 2025 St. Patricks Day Weekend Itinerary 3/15 and 3/17 St. Patrick’s Day – Rotating Locations

  Let’s Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Loud & Proud in Missoula, Montana in the heart of the Rocky Mountains!

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

• Gifts from Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, Lone Mountain Land Co. complete Montana State’s $22.5 million fundraising goal for first-ever on-campus Gallatin College MSU building

  “The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation is pleased to support this project that will provide Gallatin College a dedicated home,” said Jon Bennion, executive director of the foundation. “This new facility will be an important place where students will receive a great education and training for the careers of today and tomorrow.”

• Montana State to celebrate World Quantum Day on April 14; educators invited to apply for free kit

  Montana State University will celebrate its second World Quantum Day in the weeks surrounding April 14 by supplying Montana middle and high school teachers with free kits and downloadable resources to help students learn about quantum science.

Hellgate Venture Network

• Hellgate Venture Network – 3/20 – Missoula

  Networking for the Missoula area start-up and small business community offering peer support for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Careers

• Columbia student creates AI tool to easily land offers from Amazon, Meta, TikTok and more

  After Lee posted his Amazon interview online, Columbia received a complaint accusing him of cheating, leading to disciplinary action. Lee, however, is leaving the university and believes AI will soon make many intellectual jobs obsolete. His story has gone viral, and he is now selling subscriptions to his AI tool.

Transportation

• How to Turn Cities Into Biketopias? Make it Harder to Drive There

  In New York and other cities where congestion pricing policies, bike infrastructure projects, and car bans have been put in place, cyclists are finding the streets more welcoming.

Energy and Climate Change

• In a historic first, wind and solar combined overtake coal in the US – Streamlining Solar Permitting with SolarAPP+

  To meet the rise in demand, clean generation needs to grow faster. Unlike solar, wind’s growth has been slow. Clean energy is able to meet rising electricity demand alone – without raising bills, sacrificing security of supply, or further relying on gas.

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