MATR Newsletter – November 6, 2023
The state with the best education wins!

TODAY – State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act Town Hall – 11/6 – Online

This program allocates funds for Commerce’s distribution to eligible incorporated cities and towns. Grant recipients may use these funds together with a required local cash match to maintain or repair certain types of existing local government infrastructure.

Relax… nothing is under control

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Come Home Montana

Montana Career Opportunity – Amazon Delivery Station Warehouse Associate – Missoula
You’ll be part of the dedicated Amazon team at the delivery station – the last stop before we deliver smiles to customers. Our fast-paced, physical roles receive trucks full of orders, then prepare them for delivery.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

Loneliness Is a Policy Problem. A Big One. What Is Your Community Doing? — City Club Missoula – Monday, November 13, 2023
Lack of human connection is bad for your health. Responding to an advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General that a loneliness epidemic is affecting half of all Americans, San Antonio has been pushing out resources to help build bonds between community members.
Deepak Chopra Shares His Formula for Successful Leadership, and How to Make Your Own
At the 2023 Inc. 5000 Conference, the alternative medicine advocate, coach, doctor, author, and speaker shared his advice for leaders — and spoke about the importance of being prepared.
Hoopa Valley Tribe and State of California Embark on Historic Collaboration For High-Speed Internet Infrastructure
With the grant now secure, Hoopa Valley is on the cusp of building out a fiber network and more reliable wireless infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to over 1,000 on-reservation homes currently without service.
State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act Town Hall – 11/6 – Online
This program allocates funds for Commerce’s distribution to eligible incorporated cities and towns. Grant recipients may use these funds together with a required local cash match to maintain or repair certain types of existing local government infrastructure.
Montana to launch language, educational exchange programs with Taiwan
The first group of Montana Tech students studied abroad in Taiwan this summer thanks to 2022 MOU between the university and Minghsin University of Science and Technology in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
NADO News | November 2, 2023
Events, Conferences & Online Training
MEDA’s Lunch & Learn Video From 10/31 Now Available!

Flathead Valley Community College

FVCC, Flathead Electric to host forum on GIS technology – 11/15- Kalispell
While the event is intended for GIS pros, members of the public are encouraged to attend.

Great Falls Development Alliance

GFDA Top Ten for 11-5-23
Investing in economic development means creating opportunities, fostering innovation, and establishing a foundation for sustainable success. Nobody understands this more than our committed team of investors and public partners. Learn more about our supporters and what drives them

Housing

CBS 60 MinutesTexas company 3D printing houses on Earth, partnering with NASA to 3D print infrastructure on the moon
What you’re watching is the building.. actually, the printing, of a 4-bedroom home. On this construction site, there’s no hammering or sawing, just a nozzle squirting out concrete — kind of like an oversized soft serve ice cream dispenser — laying down the walls of a house one layer at a time. It’s the brainchild of a 41-year-old Texan who’s rarely without a cowboy hat, Jason Ballard.
Montana one of the least affordable states to buy homes
Montana’s median home value is over four times higher than the state’s median income, ranking 10th highest among all states for home value relative to household income, according to an annual economic report published by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Funding and Building your Business

How a First-Time Entrepreneur Secured Six Figures of Funding by Applying to Grant After Grant
Brianna Arps has raised more than $200,000 in nondilutive funding for her nascent fragrance brand, Moodeaux.Deck
Why a Business’s Best Advocates Are Its Employees
Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder of ActOne, is known as the first Black woman to own and operate a billion-dollar company. She spoke at the 2023 Inc. 5000 Conference about the difference between marketing and advertising.

Wyoming Business

USDA Invests Nearly $145,000 to Help Wyoming Rural Business Owners and Ag Producers Lower Energy Costs, Generate Income and Expand Operations
Five Wyoming agricultural producers and rural small business owners will make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments to lower energy costs, generate new income and strengthen the resiliency of their operations.

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

‘A sense of urgency’: Conservatives push for climate action at MSU panel
The panelists represented the American Conservation Coalition, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action and the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
Montana Technological University celebrates opening of SAP Next-Gen Lab
The lab is one of only 13 nationwide, and offers students access to a number of System Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP) proprietary software programs that perform data analytics and export graphics that give business professionals easily digestible information to makes decision easier.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

Economic Affairs Interim Committee to meet on November 14 – Helena and Zoom
The committee will continue its statutory duties and hear presentations for its assigned study on viticulture and committee topics on workforce and housing issues. Agenda items include:

Government News & Events

Missoula’s Mountain Line concerned with U.S. House amendment targeting Zero Fare
An amendment added to a transportation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could cut federal funding to transportation agencies that provide zero fare service, including Mountain Line in Missoula.

Come Home North Dakota

North Dakota’s Direct Current Fast Charging Network Has Improved Drastically, EA Opens First Station
Today, both I-94 and I-29 have decent coverage. Several other parts of the state north of I-94 have one, too. The Bismarck area has several fast chargers, as does Minot and Grand Forks. Now, another town has a second station, providing important redundancy, greater capacity, and faster charging speeds