MATR Newsletter – November 24, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

America’s Housing Crisis Is a Disaster. Let’s Treat It Like One.

In responding to the pandemic, state and local governments quickly put in place new program infrastructure to distribute housing aid with flexibility and expediency. We need to build on that for the future.

Whitefish, Montana Based Neuro-ID (Behavioral Analytics for Online Businesses) Raises $35 M Series B with Canapi Ventures leading the latest round, and was joined by existing investors Fin VC and TTV Capital, which both led the Series A.

The new capital follows $7 million Series A funding raised in December 2020, bringing the company’s total funding to $49.5 million since being founded in 2014.

See how the Bozeman, Montana based Alosant ResX Platform inspires success for communities across the nation.

Cross Creek Ranch was looking for a standout “amenity” that would distinguish them from other Texas communities. The Cross Creek Ranch app was the perfect fit to ignite the community lifestyle and promote the spaces available for resident use. After launching in 2019, the Cross Creek Ranch App ignited over 10,500 space reservation in its first 9 months.

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Come Home Montana

Montana Career Opportunity – Marketing and Social Media Associate – Gecko Designs
Gecko Designs, a full-service web design and creative agency, is hiring a Marketing and Social Media Associate to help manage both internal and client digital marketing needs, including media planning…

Montana Department of Commerce

Path Ahead Webinar: State Funding for Outdoor Recreation – December 7th, 11:00 am MST
The Latest on Current and Potential State Funding

Great Falls Development Authority

Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 for 11-23-21
Here is our Top 17 for last week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy — Montana’s Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success. Much more to share — will try to catch up in next week’s edition.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

Missoula fabricators, engineers ready to tackle infrastructure work – Missoula County secures NewFields in push to win EPA Brownfields grant
With the infrastructure bill signed into law, one its architects in Sen. Jon Tester joined Missoula city officials and a manufacturing firm on Tuesday to promote what’s anticipated to be a $3 billion investment in Montana’s future.
Great Storytelling in the Montana Quarterly: It Pulls At Our Heartstrings And Holds Communities Together
MoJo interviews Scott McMillion, publisher/owner of Montana Quarterly, praised as one of the best regional magazines still made of paper in America

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

66 former Bay Area residents were paid to move to Tulsa. Here’s how one is finding it.
After researching a series of programs, Rollins settled on the ongoing Tulsa Remote, which encourages remote workers to move to the Oklahoma city with a series of incentives, including a $10,000 grant.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte

Gov. Gianforte Announces Investment of $2.3 million to improve public safety and increase economic stability in Yellowstone County
“Over the course of the pandemic, Yellowstone County has seen a significant increase in drug-related and violent crime, threatening both public safety and the vitality of local businesses,” Gov. Gianforte said.

Housing

America’s Housing Crisis Is a Disaster. Let’s Treat It Like One.
In responding to the pandemic, state and local governments quickly put in place new program infrastructure to distribute housing aid with flexibility and expediency. We need to build on that for the future.

Montana Business

See how the Bozeman, Montana based Alosant ResX Platform inspires success for communities across the nation.
Cross Creek Ranch was looking for a standout “amenity” that would distinguish them from other Texas communities. The Cross Creek Ranch app was the perfect fit to ignite the community lifestyle and promote the spaces available for resident use. After launching in 2019, the Cross Creek Ranch App ignited over 10,500 space reservation in its first 9 months.
Whitefish, Montana Based Neuro-ID (Behavioral Analytics for Online Businesses) Raises $35 M Series B with Canapi Ventures leading the latest round, and was joined by existing investors Fin VC and TTV Capital, which both led the Series A.
The new capital follows $7 million Series A funding raised in December 2020, bringing the company’s total funding to $49.5 million since being founded in 2014.

Montana Biotech

Devious ‘Tardigrade’ Malware Hits Biomanufacturing Facilities
The surprisingly sophisticated attack is “actively spreading” throughout the industry.

Funding and Building your Business

How to Choose the Right Investor, According to a Coffee Entrepreneur Who Raised $100 Million
How Cometeer co-founder Matthew Roberts landed investment partners in the founders of Allbirds, Dollar Shave Club and Warby Parker.
Your Job Listing Is Riddled With Red Flags. Here Are the 5 Most Common
Just because employers are blind to them, that doesn’t mean candidates are.
Quitting Is Contagious. How You Can Prevent It from Spreading at Your Company
Even the best-run companies can succumb to a mass exodus of employees. It’s not an inevitability, though.

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

The state of Montana education
State Board of Education examines shared goals and challenges for students across Montana’s public K-12 and higher ed systems.
Emotionally Intelligent People Refuse to Panic. Here’s What They Do Instead
By refusing to panic, the crew of US Airways flight 1549 worked together to save 155 people. It’s a remarkable lesson in emotional intelligence.
Montana Tech’s mechanical engineering program receives high ranking
Montana Tech is ranked of third place out of 393 universities by the Best Accredited Colleges for mechanical engineering.
The art of glassblowing explored at University of Montana Western in Dillon, Montana
Glass artist Alex Rosenberg, as seen on the Netflix series “Blown Away,” will be an artist in residence at UMW at the end of October and will work with Montana Western students at the glass facilities in the Emerick Art Studio on the UMW campus.

Education News

In the war for control of Montana’s universities between the Legislature and the Board of Regents, a lawsuit over guns is the first battle
In May, the Board of Regents, Montana University System’s ruling authority, sued the state, alleging HB 102 was an unconstitutional breach of power and that the Legislature overstepped its bounds.
Missoula College’s CyberMontana Trains Montana National Guard
Eight guardsmen participated in the daylong training session, which involved three cyber-attack scenarios tasking soldiers with identifying the extent of the cyber breaches, determining the source of the intrusion and remedying the effects of the attacks.

Government News & Events

Mayors Cite Electric Vehicles As Top Climate Tech Priority
A recent survey shows U.S. city leaders are putting net-zero vehicles at the top of their climate agendas, along with public buildings, solar energy and LED lighting.

Oregon Business

Climate change fuels a water rights conflict built on over a century of broken promises
The simple way to think about this crisis: There’s no longer enough water to go around to meet the needs of farmers and Native American populations as well as fish and birds.

Transportation

Is the On-Demand Model Foundational to the Future of Transit?
On-demand transit projects, like Metro Micro in Los Angeles, are proving instructive to how larger fixed-route services can evolve to be more convenient, flexible and equitable forms of mobility.