MATR Newsletter – October 21, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

I am on a grapefruit diet. 

I eat everything but grapefruit.

[Professional golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez]

Corona Virus Information

• The New York Times – Mask Mandate? In a Montana Town, It ‘Puts Us at Odds With Customers’

  The employees wear masks, but patrons are not required to. Most don’t. It feels almost normal. As if the pandemic had never happened.

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity – Chief Marketing Officer – Adventure Cycling Association

  As Adventure Cycling Association’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) you will be responsible for creating innovative marketing strategies that build our brand by engaging, expanding, and diversifying our community. Our ideal candidate possesses effective communication, leadership, and consensus-building skills, with proven success in traditional and innovative campaigns across the broad spectrum of marketing channels. We are…

• Montana Career Opportunity – Payroll-Benefits Supervisor – U of M/Western

  The Payroll/Benefits Supervisor is responsible for all biweekly payroll processing and adjustments using Banner software. This position is also responsible for new employee data input into Banner, payroll time entry, insurance enrollment, maintenance of records, processing payroll deductions and responding to all payroll questions. This position must have a thorough knowledge of all collective bargaining…

Northwestern Energy

• City of Billings receives $90,000 energy efficiency incentive from NorthWestern Energy for state-of-the-art energy improvements at wastewater treatment plant

  During the last 10 years, the City of Billings implemented 62 energy efficiency projects;
  qualifying for $967,050 in energy efficiency incentives from NorthWestern Energy.
  These projects resulted in an estimated 5.82 million kWhs saved per year, equating to
  about $455,000 in annual electric cost savings.

Montana Department of Commerce

• Governor Bullock Announces $32.4 Million to Develop Affordable Homes in 5 Montana Communities

  “Access to affordable homes are vital for our communities to grow and prosper. These homes will provide a safe place to live and needed stability for many Montanans in communities across the state.” Governor Bullock

iConnect Montana

• iConnect Montana – Our Data Centers feature state-of-the-art technology and an extremely low geolocation risk.

  iConnect provides the ideal solution for maintaining your critical data operations while freeing up premium resources that can be dedicated to your core business. You get sophisticated service — simply delivered in one of the world’s lowest risk, lowest cost data center locations — along with an abundant, highly reliable energy supply.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• New homes on the range: Weary city dwellers escape to Montana, creating a property gold rush – “I’ll be really curious to see what all of these buyers think of our winters.”

  “We’re running around like lunatics,” said Amy Hyde, a mortgage broker in Bozeman. “People have done a month in an RV, and they’re saying they want to move to Montana. The number of out-of-state cars in our town right now is insane.”

• When local news isn’t local – Montana, are you watching this happen?

  While Montana’s media landscape has for years included left- and right-leaning political blogs authored by resident partisans, Big Sky Times and eight other Montana-focused sites affiliated with Metric Media represent a new trend: digital news outlets that present themselves as community news sites even though they operate without a local editorial staff and appear to promote a political agenda.

• Manufacturing is a Ticket to Rural Prosperity

  Manufacturing businesses are essential contributors to our economic health and wellbeing, infusing $2.38 trillion annually into the national economy.

• A New App Helps Identify 15-Minute City

  The new 15-Minute City App generates maps which show the number of services and activities within a 15 minute walk, and and therefore whether an area can be considered a 15-minute neighborhood.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Showcase these 5 essential skills to show you’re a standout remote worker

  Showing you have the essential skills needed to be an effective communicator in different areas can help you land the job you’ve been eyeing—especially if it’s a remote position.

Funding and Building your Business

• How Google’s ‘Hybrid’ Work Model Could Work For Your Business

  If you’re pondering the same in your organization, don’t be binary in your definition of hybrid.

2020 Montana Politics

• Counting the Vote – The workers behind Missoula’s election

  “We will be working for days on this in November, but we probably will not have everyone counted by the end of election day,” Coyan said. “I was up till 3 a.m. on the night of the primary, and I had to come back at 8 a.m. the next morning.”

• City Club Missoula – Western Montana’s PSC candidates debate energy regulation, climate change

  While a number of issues separate western Montana’s two candidates for the Public Service Commission, the largest division may lie in their views on clean energy and the state’s transition to the energy future.

• Washington Post – Montana governor’s race epitomizes a state changing along with its politics

  Mike Cooney has been on the grassy trail only a few minutes, his face partly obscured by an “I ♥ public lands” pandemic mask, when a couple approaches to tell him they’ve donated to his campaign and need him to win the race for governor.

Government News & Events

• Montana passenger rail commission grows to 10 counties; Tester eyes infrastructure bill

  “We do have some bipartisan support for rail in the Senate to continue to put pressure on Amtrak after the election, regardless of the outcome, to make sure we maintain rail service,” Tester told Missoula County commissioners on Tuesday. “We’ve got to get it to a point to get a commitment after the pandemic.”

North Dakota Business and Economic Development

• North Dakota State Agencies Eye COVID-Related Lease Savings

  More than 7,200 out of 8,500 state employees continue to telework, providing the state an opportunity to shrink its office footprint, and potentially saving $1.2 million annually in Bismarck office rental payments.

Transportation

• Ennis, Montana finishes Main Street traffic calming test project

  Ennis Mayor Blake Leavitt stressed that something must be done about the speed of oncoming traffic.

• Senator Jon Tester on ‘unacceptable’ Empire Builder Cuts: Amtrak Needs to Give Montanans ‘clear answers’

  Senator secured a Commerce Committee hearing on Amtrak oversight this Wednesday, Havre economic development advocate to testify

Energy and Climate Change

• Plant-based meat sales exploded during the pandemic. Here’s how to keep consumers coming back

  Four in five consumers say sustainability matters, but taste and health both rate higher.

• Missoula County backs Republic Services’ proposed gas-to-power project at landfill

  While details are few and the project isn’t yet firm, county officials said the proposal by Republic Services would go far in helping the Missoula urban area achieve its goals of operating off 100% clean electricity by 2035.

• Breakthrough in ‘Miracle Material’ Gives Next-Gen Solar Power a Huge Boost

  Perovskites, the miracle material, are paving the way towards efficient solar photovoltaics.

• Funding the Next Generation of Efficient, Electric, Grid-Interactive Communities

  Department of Energy provides $65 million for “connected communities,” expanding projects to embed clean energy and grid services in new buildings.

• I Fully Converted a Home to Electricity. Here’s How It Worked — and What It Cost

  Currently available solar, battery and heat pump technology means every building under two stories with a sunny roof can be a net generator of energy.

TED and TEDX Talks

• The secret to being a successful freelancer – The Way We Work, A TED Original Series

  Too often, freelancers are told they have to choose between being creative or making money. Financial advisor Paco de Leon debunks this thinking — and gives practical advice on how you can set yourself apart and get paid what you deserve.

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