MATR Newsletter – March 23, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Cascade County, Montana approves financing program for energy related projects – CPace – What is your county doing?

The program was established during the 2021 Legislature and allows local governments to “designate an area of the territory of the local government as a district within which an authorized local government official and the record owners of a privately owned commercial or industrial facility, covered multifamily housing accommodation…or agricultural property may enter into written contracts to impose assessments on the property to repay the financing by the owners of energy conservation projects,” as defined under state law.

56% of Missoula workforce near retirement

“If we think our labor shortages are only because of COVID, we’re missing a really important part of what’s happening in our community,” Kier said. “It means we are in for a strain. We’ve really got to be focused in as a community on what we can do to attract and retain good talent here, so that we have the workers that our business can use to continue to grow and succeed in Missoula.”

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Come Home Montana

The Planetizen Jobs Board lists career opportunities in urban planning, urban design, and other related fields. Search for or post your next job today.
Post your career opportunity or search for your next opportunity
onX of Missoula plans dozens of new hires, signs lease for Riverfront Triangle project – Career Opportunities
“We’ve gone from essentially 100 employees in 2018 and we’re now closing in on 300. It’s been pretty rapid growth.”
Montana Career Opportunities – Camp Cook, Packer/Wranglers, Hunting/Fishing Guide, Camp Jack – Bob Marshall Wilderness Outfitters
Are you looking for a seasonal job working in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana? Does spending the summer & fall on horseback riding through this spectacular mountain country appeal to…
Worker Shortage Hits MT Nonprofit World Hard
Liz Moore is the executive director of the Montana Nonprofit Association. She said nonprofits have some built-in disadvantages that make it harder to recruit workers.

Montana Department of Commerce

Cascade County, Montana approves financing program for energy related projects – CPace – What is your county doing?
The program was established during the 2021 Legislature and allows local governments to “designate an area of the territory of the local government as a district within which an authorized local government official and the record owners of a privately owned commercial or industrial facility, covered multifamily housing accommodation…or agricultural property may enter into written contracts to impose assessments on the property to repay the financing by the owners of energy conservation projects,” as defined under state law.

Montana West Economic Development

Developing a Successful IT Strategy Tuesday, March 29, 1 – 2 p.m. – MWED Conference Room, 44 2nd Ave. W, Kalispell
In this series we’ll spend time understanding and discussing 4 key pillars to laying out a successful IT strategy: Setting up an IT strategy to get started, IT Security as an enabler, Using data and analytics to understand your company and your customer, social selling and creating a web presence.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

The secret to women’s leadership that can drive such a positive impact
We found that by driving more engaged employees, women leaders save their organizations $1.43 million for every 1,000 employees.
Missoula-based Dolce Software acquired by payments provider SpotOn
SpotOn announced its acquisition of Dolce Software late last year. Dolce was co-founded by Peter Lambros and Glenn Kreisel and is based in Missoula, though the acquisition received little local attention.
Big Sky Business Insight Summit May 18 – 20, 2022 in the ALI Auditorium at University of Montana.
This year’s Summit will address specific challenges to cultivating and sustaining a healthy workforce: housing and childcare.
56% of Missoula workforce near retirement
“If we think our labor shortages are only because of COVID, we’re missing a really important part of what’s happening in our community,” Kier said. “It means we are in for a strain. We’ve really got to be focused in as a community on what we can do to attract and retain good talent here, so that we have the workers that our business can use to continue to grow and succeed in Missoula.”
Missoula Maker’s Market aims at providing support to small businesses – A collective created by makers, for makers.
The goal of the monthly markets? To not only get artists selling their craft, but to build a local support system. “Number one goal was to be approachable.

Montana Businesses Seeking Investment or For Sale

Montana’s Historic Izaak Walton Inn on Glacier National Park’s Southern Border Listed for Sale
“Preserving the historic integrity of the Izaak Walton Inn is part of the deal, and anyone who takes over this property is going to have to be good stewards,” Brian Kelly, whose family purchased the Izaak Walton Inn in 2006, said.

Housing

Bozeman, Montana’s The Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) incorporates new approach to housing for the homeless using trauma-informed design
HDRC applies a housing-first model to homelessness, but at the same time, the Housing First Village is designed to help relieve the stresses and anxiety that affect homeless individuals.
Utah’s Walkable ‘15-Minute City – The Point’ Could Still Leave Lots of Room for Cars
Plans describe a live-work community with some 7,400 residential units and at least 30,000 jobs, all located just a short walk from schools, workplaces, retail, restaurants and recreation.
Rural America Loses Affordable Rental Housing at an Alarming Rate
In the last five years, more than 20,000 rental units have left the USDA’s affordable housing program — nearly three times the predicted number. Tenants of these properties can lose USDA rental support and see rent prices rise simultaneously.
How the pandemic housing market spurred buyer’s remorse across America
According to Real Estate Witch, home values increased nearly 20% between September 2020 and September 2021, with many millennials maxing out their budget and then later regretting it. NPR heard from a lot of first-time homeowners who made compromises to secure a house of their own, in part because they wanted so badly out of the high rental market.

Montana Business

War-Fueled Global Hunger Catastrophe On The Way With Solutions Tough To Come By
Disrupted exports, drought, refugees to feed and record-high fertilizer prices conspire to spread food insecurity worldwide.

Visit Montana

The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone’s Underdog (The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone)
Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves—but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back,…

Funding and Building your Business

7 New Opportunities Based On Trends And Demographics
Autos for drivers: Waning market demand. American’s long love affair with owning and driving a car is over. A recent survey shows that 45 percent of Generation Y, the largest generation ever, consciously seek out alternatives to driving. Here technology is stepping up to the plate with driverless vehicles, resulting in big opportunities all around.

Government and University TechTransfer

Blocky – Startup with Montana State University ties wins $1 million to commercialize software
Following up on a first round of SBIR funding the company received in 2018, the new grant will allow Blocky to refine its software and expand the range of its applications and services, which focus on increasing throughput and decreasing costs of blockchain transactions, according to Heinecke, Blocky’s CEO.

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

Code Girls United gets $50k to bring computer programming to Montana tribal communities
The grant was made possible through House Bill 219. Introduced by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, HB 219 provides training and incentives to students in Native communities for computer coding and programming courses.

Government Technology

Snowplow Management Gets a Lot Smarter in Syracuse, N.Y. – How’s Your Community Doing?
Snowplows in Syracuse, N.Y., have been equipped with fleet management technology from Samsara to improve snow removal operations and give residents a real-time picture of the city’s street conditions.

Careers

Arkansas Tries a New Strategy to Lure Tech Workers: Free Bitcoin
With a new twist on its worker incentive program, the Northwest Arkansas region is also marketing itself as crypto-friendly.

Transportation

Taiga Begins Deliveries of its Electric Snowmobile – Quiet gliding through the woods
Now that deliveries have begun, it’s safe to say Taiga is the real deal!

Energy and Climate Change

GE produces world’s largest recyclable wind turbine blade
A consortium led by the company has manufactured the world’s largest thermoplastic blade, designed to serve as full-scale example of a fully recyclable wind turbine blade.