MATR Newsletter – March 29, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Live in Great Falls Talent Attraction Initiative Unveils First Video

  In the first video we meet Valerie and Salina, Meghan, and the Drazich Family. All chose to relocate to Great Falls, Montana. This is part of a broader digital media campaign to put Great Falls, Montana on the national stage. And this is just the beginning!

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 for 3-28-21 – Our first talent attraction video is LIVE – watch it on YouTube now!

  Here is our Top 26 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.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Bozeman summit highlights women in tech

  WTM’s Bozeman chapter co-founder Lindsey Hanna was the only woman technical engineer in her entire company until recently.

• Bosses Are Clueless That Workers Are Miserable and Looking to Leave
  A Microsoft study finds 41% of workers may quit this year, while business leaders are “out of touch.”
• Some cities are paying people up to $16,000 to move there—this online directory will help you find them

  Dozens of cities are offering up to $16,000 in cash incentives, homebuying allowances, tax credits and money toward local goods and services in hopes of enticing pandemic movers to relocate there.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Drop the Zoom video? Audio-only communication boosts group IQ

  The findings suggest video cues may in fact lower a group’s collective intelligence by disrupting interpersonal synchrony.

Funding and Building your Business

• Why and How the Chief Information Officer Role is Changing

  Business competitiveness rules and technologies are constantly changing, and with them, the role of the CIO.

• Dick’s Sporting Goods to open new experiential store – The Future of Retail?

  If a wave of experiential stores hits, that alone could do a good job of helping mall and shopping center operators begin to solve the vacancy crisis they’re already dealing with. It could also help malls and shopping centers better thrive in the long run.

2021 Montana Legislature and Politics

• From Wounded Knee to Pipeline Access, the Lakota’s Enduring Power

  The recent Senate confirmation of the first Indigenous American, Deb Haaland, to lead a Cabinet department gives us reason to rethink our assumptions about First Nations’ relationship to power. A new book can help.
  Clay S. Jenkinson, Editor-at-Large

• In Montana, Bears and Wolves Become Part of the Culture Wars

  The politics of predators seem poised to enter a new chapter in the state, which now seems intent on reviving some of the practices of a century ago that virtually exterminated wolves from Montana.

Careers

• 3 things you must do if you want to land your dream job

  Organic CEO Cathy Butler believes the secret sauce is all in building skills outside of the box.

Transportation

• Robotic Parking Systems has been named as one of the CRE Tech Influencers for the year.

  In 1994, the company coined the term ‘robotic parking’ to describe its patented automated lift and run parking technology.

• New Publication: Cycling for Sustainable Cities

  MIT Press has released Cycling for Sustainable Cities, a new book focused on how to implement infrastructure, programs, and policies to make cycling safer, more practical, and convenient for urban residents.

Energy and Climate Change

• World’s First Plant to Recycle All Forms of Plastic Begins Construction

  The new facility will be able to process 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year.

• Bioplastic made from wood powder entirely degrades in three months

  Motivated by our growing problem with plastics, which are environmentally damaging both to produce and after they’re disposed of, scientists are tinkering away with more eco-friendly forms of the material.

Other Economies

• Citrus Heights home receives 122 offers in one weekend, sells within three hours

  Real estate agent Deb Brittan decided to make a “little friendly wager” when she listed a home for sale in a sleepy Citrus Heights cul-de-sac.

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