MATR Newsletter – March 20, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

Montana’s Tech Hub Effort

• Senator Tester Presses Biden Administration to Bring Regional Tech Hub to Montana

  “Great ideas don’t just come from big cities along the coasts” Montana Senator Jon Tester

Come Home Montana

• New study ranks Montana #8 in the nation for gun-related deaths

  According to a new study by Stacker composed of data from the CDC, Montana was ranked number eight in the nation for gun-related deaths from 2017-2021.

Big Sky Economic Development

• {Just Dropped!} Episode 6 of ‘The Vault’ from BSED

  Learn more about what led Joel to the work he is doing today in Food and Ag Development, the grants and services Beartooth RC&D has available across their 5-county region, and some fun facts about Joel and our hosts!

Five Valleys Archery Club

• CBS Sunday Morning – Hunter and “MeatEater” host Bozeman, Montana -based Steve Rinella

  Steve Rinella is a hunter trying to teach his own children, and the public, about respecting natural resources, and in part he’s doing it through food. He’s creator and host of the popular TV and web series, “MeatEater,” in which he cooks the game and fish he’s caught himself. Correspondent Lee Cowan talks with Rinella about how he grew to see himself as a conservationist.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 (really 26- Amazing!!) for 3-19-23

  At Charlie’s March Roundup Friday night at The Newberry, the C.M. Russell Museum of Great Falls announced the amazing success of its Art and Soul Campaign, blowing past its $25 million goal by raising $40 million. Congratulations!!!

Montana Business

• This simple formula can help you introduce yourself like a pro—and not be forgotten

  If people forget your name, it may be because you simply haven’t given them a good reason to remember it.

• More Students Are Turning Away From College and Toward Apprenticeships

  Today, colleges and universities enroll about 15 million undergraduate students, while companies employ about 800,000 apprentices. In the past decade, college enrollment has declined by about 15%, while the number of apprentices has increased by more than 50%, according to federal data and Robert Lerman, a labor economist at the Urban Institute and co-founder of Apprenticeships for America.

• Coaster Electric Cargo Trikes Made in Missoula, Montana

  It’s a great time to be shopping for an electric cargo bike.

• USDA awards more than $2.3 million in grants to support 17 Montana ag producers

  Seventeen ag producers across the state received the funds through the USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant Program that helps businesses generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities.

• How AI is driving the future of technology

  Coupled with human talent, software can be delivered at 6X the speed and one-quarter of the cost.

• Work-Based Learning Expands in Flathead County

  As demand for career and technical education grows, Flathead Valley high schools are redefining what learning means for their students

• CBS Sunday Morning – Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Launch Production Company Designed to Increase Streaming Profits for Artists

  “As streamers have proliferated, they have really ended back-end participation, and so this is partly an effort to try to recapture some of that value and share it in a way that’s more equitable,” Affleck said. “Not just writers and directors and stars. But also cinematographers, editors, costume designers and other crucial artists who, in my view, are very underpaid.”

• Stop requiring college degrees for jobs that don’t need them

  Employers are finally tearing down the “paper ceiling” in hiring.

• Rural States Are Moving Ahead With EV Charging Infrastructure

  The federal infrastructure package is making electric vehicle charging a reality — even in states with few registered EVs. In Montana, the need for this infrastructure is driven, in part, by tourism from other states.

• Awash in Asphalt, Cities Rethink Their Parking Needs

  In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.

• Fort Peck tribes plan ambitious hydrogen project

  Should the development advance, Fort Peck Reservation would play host to a hydrogen plant producing fuel for the trucking industry, as well as a carbon sequestration site and wind farm.

• First Security Bank plans $23.5M facility in Missoula’s Mid-Town built from cross-laminated timber. Could be the first of its kind in the region.

  Once the project is finished, taxes on the property will more than doubled to around $280,000 annually. That funding will be further reinvested into other public projects throughout the Midtown area.

• M0ntana automation loan program accepting applications

  The Montana Department of Commerce announced on Thursday it is accepting applications for the Montana Automation Loan Program, that will provide loans to Montana manufacturing businesses.

C-Pace – Property Assessed Commercial Energy Enhancement program.

• Kalispell and Yellowstone County Businesses Now Eligible for Energy Efficiency Upgrades through C-PACE

  C-PACE is a new financing tool which can help Montana businesses save money through energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy investment or water conservation.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Maine Leaders Discuss Whether Public Broadband Investments Should Support National Private Providers

  Millions of Maine’s fiber dollars is going to a mix of government entities, regional internet service providers, and large, out-of-state companies. Some worry these national companies have not worked well with communities in the past. Others say the investments should be evaluated on what they deliver, not who gets the money.

Housing

• If Congress Cuts Section 8 Housing, These States Will Suffer

  The Housing Choice Voucher program helps 2.3 million households pay rent. Biden has called for small increases to the program, while GOP leaders are eyeing cuts that will hit some states especially hard.

• Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need

  In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. The reason: The country applies the “Housing First” concept. Those affected by homelessness receive a small apartment and counselling – without any preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected thus make their way back into a stable life. And: All this is cheaper than accepting homelessness.

• Montana Dept. of Commerce announces end of pandemic-era emergency rental funds

  MERA recipients can go to housing.mt.gov for resources on other assistance programs administered by the Montana Department of Commerce that will remain available after MERA ends.

• Developer one step closer to bringing 3D-printed homes to Montana

  3D printing drastically cuts down the build time, and Stark said using this technology can also cost around 30% less than a traditional home build.

  “You’ll see a single-family home, a 2,000 square foot home, [can be completed in] 40 hours or less depending on the temperature and conditions,” Stark said.

• Decade’s worth of affordable housing poised to open this year in Missoula

  “We have over 500 new apartments coming online in the next year that have restricted rents,” said Karissa Trujilo with Homeword. “It means the rents are capped to ensure they’re affordable for people making 40% to 60% of our area median income.”

Visit Montana

• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation celebrates Missoula visitor’s center reopening

  The redesigned space doesn’t just showcase interactive exhibits for you to learn about elk country, but it also shares the role the Foundation plays in conservation efforts.

Incubators and R&D

• Scientists create mice with cells from 2 males for 1st time – Let the memes begin……

  Scientists have created baby mice with two fathers for the first time by turning male mouse stem cells into female cells in a lab

Come Home Idaho

• 20 Idaho Towns You Should Stay Away From And Twin Falls Is Near The Top
  You can ask the residents of Idaho which cities they think are the worst and you’ll get a different answer depending on who you ask and where they are from. That’s why, using science, we now know which are actually the top 20 worst cities in Idaho.

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

• Top 10 Must-Have Technology Skills for Every Employee in Today’s Digital Landscape

  In today’s highly digitized world, technology skills have become essential for almost all employees, regardless of their job roles or industries. Here are some of the technology skills every employee should have today:

Tell Us Something

• Tell Us Something – “The First Time” -LIVE EVENT – Missoula • March 30, 2023
  TellUsSomething brings live storytelling back to The Dennison. Eight storytellers will share their true personal stories without notes on the theme “The First Time”.

Transportation

• Car-centric landscapes come at an enormous cost, including the deaths of children and the grief of parents.

  Traffic deaths for children under 15 have doubled since 2018. They and their parents are paying the price for sprawl and car dependency.

• How Elon Musk knocked Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ off course

  In May 2021 Tesla announced it was eliminating radar on new cars. Soon after, the company began disabling radar in cars already on the road. The result, according to interviews with nearly a dozen former employees and test drivers, safety officials and other experts, was an uptick in crashes, near misses and other embarrassing mistakes by Tesla vehicles suddenly deprived of a critical sensor.

• Reclaiming Our Space: The Battle for Open Streets

  The growth of pedestrianized spaces and car-free streets depends on a transformational shift in thinking about what—and who—public spaces and streets are for.

• President Biden will let California lead on electric trucks, despite industry protest

  The EPA plans to grant California a waiver that will allow the state to phase out diesel-powered trucks, helping communities burdened by truck pollution

• Electric Vehicles Tantalizingly Close to Price Parity with Gas Burners

  Due to a variety of factors, the costs of producing EVs could drop drastically over the next few years, and given the competitive nature of the auto industry, automakers are likely to pass on much of the savings to buyers by lowering prices.

• Cruise for Good: Providing free rides in driverless vehicles to late-night service workers in San Francisco

  Today, we’re excited to announce a pilot program providing free rides for late-night service and hospitality workers in San Francisco – a community that fueled our city throughout the pandemic, and even prepared many of the meals delivered to people in need during that time.

• Why are there NO Roundabouts on Missoula’s Reserve Street?: An Informational Guide 2nd Edition – US Dept. of Transportation

  A roundabout is an intersection that uses a circular junction instead of stoplights or stop signs to manage traffic flow. Instead of every car stopping, they enter the roundabout slowly, and traffic moves almost continuously.

• Video – Fully Automated Parking Systems, Featured on The Travel Channel

  AUTOParkit™ was a featured segment on the Travel Channel series, “Extreme Parking.” As seen on the show, take a look here as Christopher Alan takes you through the history and…

Energy and Climate Change

• Never Mind The Bottlenecks, Wind Farm Repowering Is Taking Off

  Repowering an existing wind farm is one way to get around the anti-wind movement and keep pumping more clean kilowatts into the grid.

• Which States Generated the Most Renewable Energy in 2022?

  Even though no congressional Republican voted for the biggest climate bill in the country’s history, red states were among the leaders in green power generation last year.

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