• A New Jersey city that limited street parking hasn’t had a traffic death in 7 years

  Street parking was already scarce in Hoboken, New Jersey, when the death of an elderly pedestrian spurred city leaders to remove even more spaces in a bid to end traffic fatalities.

Come Home Montana

• State to celebrate 40 years of Made in Montana Program at tradeshow in Helena

  he Montana Department of Commerce will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Made in Montana Program at the Made in Montana Tradeshow for Food and Gifts on Friday and Saturday at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds.

• Bozeman hiring for dozens of summer worker positions

  The positions range from full-time to part-time, and fall under several city departments, including aquatics, parks and recreation, forestry, water conservation, library and solid waste, among others.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Public Affairs Specialist – USDA Rural Development in Montana

  The Public Affairs Specialist administers a statewide public information program to maximize public exposure and affirm the mission and objectives of Rural Development in Montana.

• ‘Hush of the land’: Friendship stokes embers of Smoke Elser stories packing into The Bob Marshall Wilderness

  “Hush of the Land” is not a memoir, although Arnold Elser does recount much of his biography growing up in Ohio, getting nicknamed “Smokey” while working as a wildland firefighter at Ohio State University, and how Montana outfitter “Howard Copenhaver thought it wasn’t much of a name for a packer and changed it to ‘Smoke.’”

• People are incredulous that an ordinary house in rural Montana is on the market for over $1 million

  The seller said the asking price is due to Whitefish’s growing appeal to wealthy out-of-staters.

• Passenger Rail in Southern Montana Gaining Steam – 3/8 – Zoom

  Jason Stuart, vice-chair of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, and Dan Bucks, chairman of the authority’s Development and Strategic Engagement Committee, will discuss the history of passenger rail service in Montana and current efforts to reestablish passenger rail service across southern Montana.

• Frontier to launch Missoula to Phoenix service in May

  “We’re excited to welcome Frontier Airlines back to Missoula,” said Winton Kemmis, chair of Missoula County Airport Authority. “This growth in air service at MSO offers our community another convenient and affordable travel solution that caters to the diverse needs of our region, enhancing travel opportunities for everyone.”

• Montana Career Opportunity – Electrical Engineering Manager – Advanced Electronic Designs, Inc. (AED)

  Who We Are Advanced Electronic Designs, Inc. (AED) is an engineering product design and development firm located in Bozeman, Montana. Founded in 1994, AED thrives on solving intricate design challenges and developing innovative solutions for a diverse clientele.

Bear Paw Development

• Workplace generation dynamics discussed at Bear Paw Development meeting – Event’s keynote speaker, Rick Edwards, director of community connections at NorthWestern Energy

  Edwards said, for the first time in history, five generations have substantial representation in the U.S. workforce as older generations are increasingly going back to work.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• MMEC events – Leap into new training opportunities around the state!

  See the full calendar of MMEC events.

• State of Montana Finalizes Priorities for Reducing Emissions through Innovative, Non-Regulatory Measures

  Since receiving a $3 million planning grant last year, DEQ has engaged a wide range of stakeholders to identify emission reduction measures that will cut pollution and improve the lives of Montanans.

• How Montana agricultural production stacks up with other states

  Cattle and calves were the top earners in 2022, pulling in $1,609,835,000, with wheat close behind at $1,259,195,000.

• 26 Native American-owned small businesses awarded grant funding

  The funding comes from the Indian Equity Fund (IEF) Small Business Grant Program, and it’s meant to help businesses grow. This year, businesses in Helena, Browning, Billings, Box Elder, Ronan, Polson, Crow Agency, Harlem, Ekalaka, Wolf Point, Floweree, Butte, Great Falls, Lame Deer and Busby will get grant funding.

• Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition sets up shop in Bozeman

  A nonprofit working to assist innovators attempting to acquire coveted Department of Defense contracts has set up shop in partnership with MSU’s Montana Manufacturing Extension Center.

• BUSINESS BRIEF: Another Milestone for the Headwaters Tech Hub

  The Headwaters Tech Hub is a unique coalition that is centered around business, academia and government—all working together to put together an application that demonstrates how well – we as Montanan’s work together toward a common goal.  If awarded this grant, Montana and the larger region, will become a gravitational center for global businesses looking to apply the technologies of sensors and photonics to their specific needs and opportunities.

• More Than Three-Quarters of Economists Predict This Year Will End With a Soft Landing

  A new outlook from the National Association of Business Economists predicts stronger economic growth, lower inflation, and rate cuts in time for summer.

• 9 charts that show US factory farming is even bigger than you realize

  Factory farms are now so big that we need a new word for them.

Great Falls Development Alliance

• GFDA Top Ten for 3-3-24

  As part of our commitment to best practice and to maintain our status as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) the GFDA staff team participated in our annual Economic Development ethics training. We spent 2 hours together learning about and discussing ethics in the context of our profession and reviewing case studies. To read more about the codes of ethics we abide by, please check out the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) code of ethics.

Housing

• Montana economists say densification may be key to state’s housing crisis

  Hernandez says the best path for building out of Montana’s housing crisis isn’t sprawling and spaced-out single-family homes but adding more housing to urban areas.

• Investor Appetite for Affordable Homes Hits Record High Amidst Housing Shortage

  High interest rates and record-high prices are driving investors to focus on homes in the lower price tier, exacerbating inventory shortages and pushing regular home buyers out of the market.

TechLink

• TechLink February Pulse – Can You Feel the Love?

  See this month’s top licensing opportunities from DOD and VA labs.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• Missoula Community Access Television offers recording opportunities for local artists

  Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT) recently opened up one of its studios for local artists to record their music and have a video taken for them — and it is completely free.

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

• Montana’s public virtual school releases guidebook to help educators incorporate AI

  As educators grapple with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and the ways it’s changing how students learn, the guide tries to help them leverage the potential benefits of the technology while also safeguarding against some of the risks it brings.

• Slow Down to Fall in Love Again

  “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
  ~ Winnie the Pooh

• Montana State University working with Fort Peck on $5M buffalo restoration grant

  The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded the four-year grant with funding from the America the Beautiful Challenge. Fort Peck Community College, Defenders of Wildlife and Montana State University are the other collaborators on the grant.

Government News & Events

• A New Jersey city that limited street parking hasn’t had a traffic death in 7 years

  Street parking was already scarce in Hoboken, New Jersey, when the death of an elderly pedestrian spurred city leaders to remove even more spaces in a bid to end traffic fatalities.

American Prairie

• American Prairie Field School Adds More Outdoor Education Opportunities For Students

  While the residential program offered in May is full for this year, there is still room available for students to attend the Field School’s day programming at the American Prairie National Discovery Center at 302 W. Main in Lewistown, Montana this spring.

Careers

• The 5-hour rule: How to turn a wasted day into a successful one

  We each have the same 24 hours in the day. How will you spend yours?

• 33 Powerful Books That Might Change Your Life

  Don’t just take my word for it though. Read on for my summary of all 33 books and see for yourself how your next read might just change your life.

Transportation

• Understanding Car Culture ‘Denialism’ Can Help Safety Advocates Respond

  Opponents of change sow confusion with fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations (moving goalposts), conspiracy theories, and selectivity (cherry picking). We can fight back.

• US Military Eyeballs Super-Sporty Electric Vehicles For All-Terrain Duty

  The US military’s long, slow ride into the electrified world of the future has shifted gears, now that the Army Corps of Engineers is in the driver’s seat. The USACE has set itself a goal of developing dual-use electric vehicles that can support both itself and the Army on disaster response missions, and they are getting an assist from off-road experts at the Texas-based EV startup Volcon.

• The White House Warns Cars Made in China Could Unleash Chaos on US Highways

  As Chinese automakers prepare to launch in the US, the White House is investigating whether cars made in China could pose a national security threat.

• US Road Trips In Electric Cars About To Get Much Easier

  The second big thing is that Choice Hotels, a major hotel chain, will be getting thousands of Tesla chargers at hotels across the country. As part of that, the company will also make it very easy to find hotels that have these chargers.

Energy and Climate Change

• Good Climate Solutions Need Good Policy—and AI Can Help With That

  Climate Policy Radar’s tools scan global environmental laws to see what works and what doesn’t. What its AI is discovering today will help shape the regulations of tomorrow.

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

• Your brain needs a really good lawyer

  Can new legislation protect us from the companies building tech to read our minds?

• We’ve been here before: AI promised humanlike machines – in 1958

  A roomsize computer equipped with a new type of circuitry, the Perceptron, was introduced to the world in 1958 in a brief news story buried deep in The New York Times. The story cited the U.S. Navy as saying that the Perceptron would lead to machines that “will be able to walk, talk, see, write, reproduce itself and be conscious of its existence.”

• Montana Office of Consumer Protection warns of crypto scam

  The Montana Office of Consumer Protection says a cryptocurrency scam is targeting businesses that took out Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic.

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