MATR Newsletter – May 9, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Applied Materials formally marks opening of Evergreen, Montana facility in former Shopko building

  The manufacturer’s Evergreen facility is expected to bring as many as 200 jobs to the region.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana Office of Tourism – Friday Flash – 5/6/22

  Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) Meetings—The Council meetings and all committee meetings are open to the public. Information about the Council and upcoming or past meetings can be found at MARKETMT.com.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Group discussing potential childcare cooperative for downtown Great Falls, Montana

  Jason Nitschke of the Great Falls Development Authority, said that the childcare survey commissioned by GFDA found a “tremendous need for childcare in this community.”

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Apple’s Director of Machine Learning exits over return-to-office policy

  I expect to see more of this. Work is not everything

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Major internet providers to slash cost of broadband service for low-income Americans

  Millions of low-income Americans will be able to get high-speed internet service for no more than $30 a month under an agreement the Biden administration has reached with major internet providers.

• The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a U.S. government program that helps many low income households pay for broadband service and internet connected devices.

  What is the Affordable Connectivity Program? The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a U.S. government program run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to help low-income households pay for…

• Introducing the American Association of Public Broadband – Episode 504 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

  This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined live from Broadband Communities by Bob Knight (CEO, Harrison Edwards) and Kim McKinley (Chief Marketing Officer, UTOPIA Fiber).

  During the conversation, the three discuss the newly announced American Association of Public Broadband (AAPB). They talk answer what the group is, why it’s needed and how people can get involved.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

• Governor Gianforte’s $700,000 ‘Come Home Montana’ push collides with housing angst

  “It feels like it’s trying to appeal to white conservatives who might be, quote, unquote, fed up with the crime and diversity in whatever urban areas or suburbs they’re living in now and trying to message that Montana is still a white space for you to come back to,” she said.

Montana Ambassadors

• An Evening with Montana Ambassadors: State of the State – Seattle companies successfully expanding into Montana – 6/9 – Seattle

  Our Speakers Include: Scott Osterman – Director of the Montana Department of Commerce, Lee Rhodes – Founder, glassybaby, Ty Ueland – Vice President of Business Development, SeaCast, Inc.

Montana Business

• The White House Wants to Protect Old-Growth Forests

  President Biden issued an Executive Order on Earth Day highlighting forests’ critical role in addressing climate change.

• Missoula, Montana’s Risho family: Keeping life spicy and delicious – The Silk Road Spices

  The Silk Road offers 10 varieties of spices, sold in colorful 2 oz. tins, each with a quick and easy recipe on the back. The spice blends are the product of Ray’s incredible knowledge of world flavors. All blends are 100% natural, non-GMO, contain no salt or sugar, and are gluten-free and vegan.

Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana

• More angel investors are entering venture capital – Frontier Angels – A unique Montana-based investment network.

  According to PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association, more than 3,000 new angel investors are projected to make their first deal this year, up from 2,725 last year, with the amount of money angels are investing into start-ups reaching $2.1 billion in the first half of this year, compared with $2.6 billion for all of 2020.

Montana Biotech

• Montana Bioscience Alliance – BioScience under the Big Sky Spring 2022 Newsletter

  Inimmune Named in Top 20 Innovative Immuno-Oncology Companies in the US

Funding and Building your Business

• Just 4% Of Employers Are Making Everyone Return To The Office Full-Time, Survey Finds

  If it seems like the same Wall Street banks keep getting mentioned again and again as examples of companies requiring full-time, in-office work, there may be a reason: They don’t have much company.

• 10 Key Business Domains Where ‘Big Data’ Looms Large

  Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data — much of it unstructured and far beyond the capability of conventional databases. Hence one segment of the opportunity is the need for new database technologies, like Hadoop, a distributed file system originally designed for indexing the Web. Data capacity is measured in petabytes (1000 terabytes), or soon even yottobytes (1024).

Metaverse

• What Is the Metaverse’s Future in K-12 and Higher Ed?

  Virtual and augmented reality tools are gaining traction in both K-12 and higher-ed institutions, but experts say more planning and collaboration are needed to make the content practical and useful.

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

• UM Pre-Med Students Reach 70% Medical School Acceptance Rate

  The American Association of Medical Colleges reflects a national average medical school acceptance rate of 41%. At UM, the acceptance rate for pre-med majors so far this year is 70%.

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