MATR Newsletter – November 23, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana Pay the Most for Internet in 2020

Competition is good for consumers. Areas that give people multiple options for internet providers give people the option to comparison shop and go with the best deal. But a lot of the US population has access to only one or two internet providers—so they have to choose from whatever is available.

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What Biden’s Plan for Universal Broadband Means for Your Business

The Biden administration has stated that it will support cities and local governments that want to build their own municipally-owned broadband networks.

What 80 Innovation Leaders Say About The Power Of Storytelling

The stories we tell about our innovations hold the potential to “make or break” the adoption, success, or failure of innovation initiatives. Yet the techniques, skills, and systems required to successfully communicate innovations — both internally and externally — are often not taught or prioritized among innovation teams.

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Corona Virus Information

‘Pandemics Come in Predictable Cycles. If I’m the Smartest Guy in the Room, We’re in Big Trouble’
World War Z author, Max Brooks, talks about how science fiction turned him into a disaster expert, Donald Trump, and growing up with parents Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.

Come Home Montana

Montana Career Opportunity – Executive Director – Downtown Bozeman Partnership
The Downtown Bozeman Partnership is a member-managed limited liability corporation. The member organizations include the Downtown Bozeman Association (DBA) Business Improvement District (BID) and Urban Renewal District (URD) which established the Partnership as an incorporated management agency. The Partnership provides combined operational support in the form of offices and employees for the three member organizations. As such, the Partnership is…

Montana Department of Commerce

‘Yellowstone’ show spends big in Missoula
The economic impact of a well-funded Hollywood production coming here has been sizeable, as local small businesses and workers take advantage of a studio payroll.
Commerce Announces $2.5 Million to Preserve and Build New Affordable Homes in 5 Montana Communities
“We continue to work alongside our statewide housing partners to support the development and preservation of safe and affordable homes for Montana families and individuals,” Commerce Director Tara Rice said.

Great Falls Development Authority

Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 for 11-22-20
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has nothing on the Great Falls Montana Christmas Tree!

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

What 80 Innovation Leaders Say About The Power Of Storytelling
The stories we tell about our innovations hold the potential to “make or break” the adoption, success, or failure of innovation initiatives. Yet the techniques, skills, and systems required to successfully communicate innovations — both internally and externally — are often not taught or prioritized among innovation teams.
Advance Your Association’s Organizational Capacity with a Global Mindset
Innovative associations multiply these connections into value creation on a local, regional, and global scale. As connections grow and impact scales, associations can discover critical topics for society and gauge solutions’ effectiveness.
How Entrepreneurship Can Thrive In Small Communities
Demographics have a huge part to play in innovation, and here are three core ways they impact a country’s creative output
The Kansas Experiment
In addition to budget problems, Kansas was lagging behind neighboring states with similar economies in “nearly every major category: job creation, unemployment, gross domestic product, taxes collected”.
A new report is out that tells the data story of the strain the pandemic has put on child care businesses and the workforce affected in Montana.
The diversity of the people at the table and their shared interest in thriving families which support a thriving economy, is truly inspiring!

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana Pay the Most for Internet in 2020
Competition is good for consumers. Areas that give people multiple options for internet providers give people the option to comparison shop and go with the best deal. But a lot of the US population has access to only one or two internet providers—so they have to choose from whatever is available.

Montana Business

CBS Sunday Morning – The oldest Chinese restaurant in America is in…. Butte, Montana
The oldest continuously-running Chinese restaurant in the U.S. isn’t in San Francisco or New York. It’s in, of all places, Butte, Montana.

Incubators and R&D

Study offers “indisputable” link between Alzheimer’s and gut microbiome
Last year, Chinese authorities even approved a novel drug designed to treat the disease by modulating a person’s gut microbiome that became the first Alzheimer’s drug to reach the market in almost 20 years.

Idaho News & Events

Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Launches New, More User-Friendly Website
“This has been a goal of the department for years; it’s great to see it finally happening!

2020 Montana Politics

Guest view: Oh, Montana, you’ve really stepped in it now
On election day Montana voters decided that our political status quo should be burned to the ground. We wrecked the balance of power that has governed the state for sixteen years: Republican Legislatures and Democratic governors.
Daniel Kemmis Interview – Citizens Uniting to Restore our Democracy
Kemmis’s latest book, Citizens Uniting to Restore our Democracy, is a response to today’s even more deeply divided times.

Non-Profit News

Missoula, Montana based Boone and Crockett Club pushes climate solutions for wildlife
“Hunters are attuned to fluctuations in and stresses on big game populations and their habitat, and are seeing significant impacts to our forests, streams and coastlines … (T)he Boone and Crockett Club is committed to policies that reduce greenhouse gases and combat their effect on climate.”

Miscellaneous Ramblings

The Probability of Humans Having Immortal Life
People who believe in extending human life to eternity fall into two categories: healthspanners and immortalists.

Transportation

Lessons from Canada: How To End Mandatory Parking Minimums
Land is a finite, valuable resource, and minimum parking requirements saddle North American towns and cities with unproductive, empty parking spaces. Land that could be an engine for prosperity and well-being instead becomes a costly burden on homeowners, small businesses, and taxpayers.
The Future of Transportation, Buildings, and Power.
We chat about buildings can get to net zero energy, the changing structure of public utilities in an electric vehicle future, and how different cities around the country can work towards energy conservation based on their local conditions.

Cool Stuff That’s Coming

New Device Can Charge Your Phone Wirelessly Across the Room
Say goodbye to plugging your devices in!

Energy and Climate Change

Why this Vancouver suburb is putting 950 new homes right next to a farm
Why this ‘agrihood’ integrates suburban living with farming, so people are more connected to their food.

Other Economies

Startup founders and investors form Wisconsin Startup Coalition
Several startup founders and investors from around the state have formed the “Wisconsin Startup Coalition,” an organization whose mission is to advocate for policies that advance growth in Wisconsin’s startup ecosystem.