MATR Newsletter – November 2, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

25% faster and 40% better. This is how managers can leverage the productivity promise of generative AI

Montana’s Tech Hub Effort

• Montana Governor Greg Gianforte looking to expand photonics cooperation with Taiwan

  Montana has one of the highest concentrations per capita of optics, photonics and quantum computing companies in the U.S., Gianforte said at the meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

Come Home Montana

• 18 Montana Nonprofit Career Opportunities

  Career Opportunities in Montana’s Nonprofit Economy

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• 25% faster and 40% better. This is how managers can leverage the productivity promise of generative AI

  A new report from Harvard Business School and BCG reveals the most successful companies using AI achieve over 20% of earnings from AI before interest and taxes.

• Northwest hydrogen hub backers (Oregon, Montana and Washington) tout expected economic benefits

  The Northwest hub, which includes Oregon, Montana and Washington, is slated to be home to eight “nodes,” where hydrogen is produced, each with “downstream projects” where the hydrogen will be transferred for use nearby or across the region. One facility will be in St. Regis, Montana near the Idaho border, three are slated for Oregon and four for Washington.

• High Country News November News – The Climate Crisis Is Everywhere

  The climate crisis affects everything, from where we live to what we eat to how we deal with crime. In Washington, extreme weather and COVID-19 pushed over-strained prisons to the brink, leading some to ask: Why not let people out? In Kasigluk, Alaska, buildings are succumbing to rising sea levels and melting permafrost, but relocating entire communities isn’t easy.

• Montana’s outdoor economy to suffer as climate change worsens

  The effects of climate change are already affecting Montana’s outdoor recreation, but with predictions of even more heat and drought by 2050, the outdoor recreation industry stands to lose thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in earnings, according to a new report.

• New Fed ‘Basel’ rule could wipe out Montana’s small business, ranches and farmers

  The basic proposal is this: The Fed is proposing that banks be required to hold as much as 20% more capital (cash) than they are presently required to hold.

• Key Takeaways from the Final Day of the 2023 MEDA Fall Conference!

  Reflecting on the Inspiring Talks, Valuable Connections, and Memorable Moments!

Prospera Business Network

• Prospera Pulse – Small Business Saturday November 25, 2023 and more…

  You do not need to be a member of Prospera or Downtown Bozeman to participate. Any businesses based in Gallatin and Park Counties are welcome to be listed. Online businesses are also welcome to participate.

Montana Business

• The November Newsletter from Montana West Economic Development

  MWED Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program

• Microsoft and Missoula, Montana based Submittable to collaborate on the future of social impact in the cloud

  Among the first offerings to be rolled out by Submittable is a new-to-market set of tools to further the mission of AI for good and improve the application process for grant givers and seekers. These tools include:

• Montana State to host immunologist Jay Evans for lecture on Nov. 7

  Evans is the co-founder of Inimmune, a Missoula biotechnology company that focuses on a diverse array of immune modulators. Current work at Inimmune includes treatments for cancers, food allergies, upper respiratory infections and autoimmune disorders, among others.

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• Butte chief executive blames state for rising property taxes

  “I’m not trying to pick a fight with the governor, but the governor has said that local governments are the cause of the property taxes going up and that’s simply not true,” said Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.

• Here’s a novel way for contractors to pitch ideas to the Defense Department

  And let’s talk about this year old effort on videos, and just to get a progress report, how many videos have been presented and what are you generally getting in from vendors and what types of products are they pitching in this manner?

Montana Economic Development

• Why the Nature Conservancy is investing some of its $3 billion endowment in startups
  “It made sense for TNC to be a leader in climate tech, given the mission of the organization,” says Bola Olusanya, vice president and chief investment officer at the Nature Conservancy.

Housing

• The Way You Pay to Buy or Sell a Home Is About to Change

  In a report released ahead of the verdict, Ryan Tomasello, a real-estate industry analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, predicted that the lawsuits could lead to a 30% reduction in the $100 billion that Americans pay in real-estate commissions every year and push well over half of the almost 1.6 million agents out of the industry.

Montana Manufacturing Extension Center

• As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots

  At machine parts producer S&D Blech, the head of the grinding unit is retiring. With Germany’s acute labour shortage leaving few candidates to take on the skilled but dirty and hazardous manual work, the company will replace him with a robot.

Funding and Building your Business

• Rocky Mountain Development Council’s Head Start program struggles with staffing shortage

  If they can’t fill those positions, Pena-Larsen said they could lose slots permanently because staffing helps determine federal funding.

Incubators and R&D

• Supercritical CO2 pilot aims to make steam turbines obsolete

  Steam turbines still produce most of the world’s power, but supercritical carbon dioxide promises to be much cheaper, and 10% more efficient as a medium than water, using 10X smaller turbines. A US$155-million pilot plant is now complete in San Antonio.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• The new film ‘Tatanka’ and the many narratives of the buffalo

  Oglala Lakota Richard Two Bulls discusses his new project, which documents the restoration of the buffalo and the revival of a language.

Come Home Idaho

• Idaho National Laboratory opens application period for 2024 K-12 education grants

  INL cultivates Idaho’s education landscape by leveraging partnerships and resources to grow science, technology, engineering and math opportunities for all.

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

• Bad grammar cause real physical stress, study finds

  A new study has shown, for the first time, what many of us have long felt: that observing grammar mistakes can trigger negative physical reactions, including one that stems from the part of our sympathetic nervous system that initiates the fight or flight response.

• Dual enrollment program at Helena College offers options for students

  It’s never too early to start pursuing your career goals. Helena College’s dual-enrollment program allows high school students the opportunity to pursue the trades while simultaneously obtaining their high school degree.

Hellgate Venture Network

• Save the Date – Hellgate Venture Network – 11/16 – Jorge Watson – The Whole Group

  October Event Wrap-Up Thanks to everyone who attended our October event at 1st Interstate Bank. It was a gorgeous fall view of Missoula, great company, fun raffles and more. We’d like to thank Paige Pavalone, Executive Director at Missoula Works. It was great learning about the organizations journey and how HVN played a tiny role in it.

Transportation

• The Worst of Pedestrian Safety Month

  “Instead of spending the month of October pre-blaming pedestrians for getting hit by cars, these agencies [should] actually do something to improve pedestrian safety.”

• Shifting Gears: Toward a New Way of Thinking about Transportation by Susan Handy

  She speaks to us about the widening freeways, burgeoning bike lanes, and curiously counterintuitive thinking that drive her new book, Shifting Gears: Toward a New Way of Thinking about Transportation.

• Build the Bike Lanes and the Delivery Bikes Will Follow

  Cargo bikes are quickly becoming the next innovation in the logistics industry. As such, cities and the private sector will need to work together to create new rules and the right infrastructure.

TED and TEDX Talks

• AI is dangerous, but not for the reasons you think

  Practical solutions to regulate our AI-filled future — so it’s inclusive and transparent.

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