MATR Newsletter – May 4, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• University of Montana poll: Quality of life down, growth too fast – City Club Missoula – Destination Stewardship: How Can We Keep From “Loving Montana to Death?” May 9 – Zoom

  How do decision-makers ‘keep Montana from being loved to death’?

• Montana Career Opportunities – Loan Funds Manager, FADC Business Specialist – Prospera is hiring, join our team!

  Prospera Business Network is the leading non-profit organization advancing and supporting community-centered economic development in southwest Montana. Our focus is helping people start and grow their business – in turn…

Montana Department of Commerce

• Visit Montana Celebrates the Future of Travel

  A critical driver of the state’s economy, tourism has a far-reaching effect in Montana, with data from the Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research (ITRR) showing an impact that includes:

Great Falls Development Authority

• GFDA Events: SAM Training, Boots to Business, Business Transition and more!

  Whether you’re just getting started, looking for new customers, wanting to grow sales through e-commerce, or focusing on workforce.
  We’re here to help.

  Check out the upcoming trainings

Montana West Economic Development

• Montana West Economic Development May Business Bulletin

  Montana West Economic Development harnesses local resources, skilled workers, and business benefits to promote growth for entrepreneurs who want to relocate, start a business, or expand existing operations. From loans and getting deals done to shovel-ready sites, Montana West’s team connects businesses and entrepreneurs with opportunities to develop and grow their businesses.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• The United State(s) of Broadband

  Tens of billions of dollars in federal funding are poised for new broadband infrastructure deployment over the next five years. But a crucial step in allocating funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program – for states and local governments – lies in knowing where fast, affordable, reliable broadband access currently is, so that they know where to drive new investment. The FCC’s historical and repeated failure to put together an accurate national broadband map threatens to significantly hold up the process.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Gianforte presses to extinguish all fires in 2022 Montana wildfire briefing – “In Montana, we do not, and will not, have a ‘let it burn’ policy,”

  “In Montana, we do not, and will not, have a ‘let it burn’ policy,” Gov. Greg Gianforte told representatives from about a dozen state and federal agencies present at the briefing. “We will respond immediately to fire with one primary goal, and that is to put that fire out as safely and quickly as possible. I appreciate all of your commitment to embrace that strategy along with the state.”

Housing

• Tuesday’s Headlines Are Sick of Sprawl – 105-acre south Missoula property sold in record-breaking deal

  How cities built for car dependence contribute to climate change. Plus, a windfall tax on oil companies’ record profits?

Funding and Building your Business

• 6 of the Best Newsletters for Business Owners (and Busy People, Generally)

  6 of the Best Newsletters for Business Owners (and Busy People, Generally)

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

• Teachers from the NASA-affiliated Montana Learning Center in Helena, Mont. are being lauded as two of the nation’s leading educators. 

  NASA’s Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathway (NESSP) program has been vital to the Montana Office of Public Instruction’s goal of integrating NASA science into classroom curriculums, particularly in underserved communities.

City Club Missoula

• City Club Missoula – Destination Stewardship: How Can We Keep From “Loving Montana to Death?” May 9, 2022 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM – Zoom

  How can we responsibly steward our destination in order to result in more livable and sustainable places?

Transportation

• What Is Automobile Dependency?

  Automobile dependency is a term used to describe households who must rely on private vehicles for everyday transportation, often due to a lack of safe pedestrian infrastructure, ineffective or absent public transit options, and sprawl.

• Ford F-150 Lightning Home Integration System Priced At $3,895

  The Home Integration System that allows a Ford F-150 Lightning to serve as a backup power source has been priced.

• “Extremely fast-charging” battery hits 60 percent in under 6 minutes

  By rethinking a key battery component, scientists in China have come up with what’s described as “extremely fast charging” technology that sees a lithium-ion battery hit 60 percent capacity in…

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

• 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards

  See the 39 inspiring winners, and hundreds of honorees, of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.

Energy and Climate Change

• Understanding the fire paradox: Why we need fire to prevent fire

  In 1911, the Forest Service stopped using ground fires to thin fuels, and in 1935, a new policy went into effect to put out all wildland fires within 24 hours of detection.

  They ditched that policy in the 70s, but now, a new bill introduced by two California Republicans aims to bring that strategy back.

• Monthly recycling event for unwanted electronics in Helena the last Friday of every month from 10 to 6 in the Good Samaritan Thrift store parking lot.

  “This is a great way to take care of outdated, unwanted electronics. We all have that computer, old cell phone we’re not sure what to do with, and that’s the service we provide here and on an ongoing basis, ” says Matt Elsaesser, 406 Recycling owner.

MATR Newsletter Supporters: