MATR Newsletter – October 25, 2021
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• State of Montana announces Request for Information on broadband mapping platforms

  The state announced on Thursday that it is seeking a third-party contractor to create a map that identifies areas in the state where broadband bands needs are not being adequately…

• Montana Reaches Record High of Employed Workers, Unemployment Rate Falls to 14-Year Low

  The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties is provided for your convenience.

• Montana Career Opportunity – Blackstone LaunchPad Manager , Accelerate Montana – University of Montana

  Accelerate Montana invites applications for a Blackstone LaunchPad Manager. This position will collaborate with the Blackstone LaunchPad Director to manage the Blackstone LaunchPad on the UM campus. This position will oversee…

• Montana Career Opportunities – Economic Development Specialist , Community Housing Program Coordinator – City of Bozeman

  As a City of Bozeman employee, you will be part of a team that is committed to impacting and serving the community. This great opportunity also provides enrollment in an…

Great Falls Development Authority

• Great Falls Economic Development Top 10 for 10-24-21

  Invest in Downtown Great Falls is this Thursday, 10/28. Want to know more about the Downtown Great Falls Market? Participate in Invest Downtown from 10-noon both in person at the Newberry and via Zoom followed by property tours. Register here. Because of the generosity of our sponsor, NorthWestern Energy, this event is free to you!

• A Delicious Partnership: Malteurop Malting Company and Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company

  Just this month, Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company was chosen as the 2021 Value Added Ag Manufacturer of the year by the Montana Chamber and the Montana Manufacturing Association.

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

• Kalispell Chamber Conducts Childcare Survey

  In an effort to alleviate employee shortages, chamber launches public initiative to identify childcare needs

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Tourism Town Hall Meetings in Glacier Country – 11/4-15 – Various Locations

  For everyone who lives in the 8-county region of Glacier Country, I invite you to attend one of the 16 town hall meetings being held where you can share your…

• Tell Me Something I Don’t Know – Montana Economic Developers Fall Conference, All are Invited – 11/15-17 – Kalispell

  Montana Economic Developers Fall Conference has the unique theme of: Tell me something I don’t know! MEDA attendees will learn of projects, success stories, and news from across the state. Also: MEDA 2021 Impact Awards and Anthony J. Preite Champion of Economic Development Awards Luncheon will be held. Join us at the Hilton Garden Inn, Kalispell.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• How to make remote and hybrid brainstorming less awkward

  On the latest episode of ‘The New Way We Work,’ we learn several methods for creative collaboration and culture-building that work for remote, hybrid, and in-person offices.

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• Montana – Where Facts Were No Match for Fear – New York Times

  Civic boosters in central Montana hoped for some federal money to promote tourism. A disinformation campaign got in the way.

Housing

• The housing crisis and the labor shortage are linked: People can’t take jobs if there aren’t affordable homes nearby

  Numerous studies show that affordable housing improves job growth, while expensive housing can damage local economies.

Montana Business

• Big tech data centers spark worry over scarce Western water

  Now a critical part of modern computing, data centers help people stream movies on Netflix, conduct transactions on PayPal, post updates on Facebook, store trillions of photos and more. But a single facility can also churn through millions of gallons of water per day to keep hot-running equipment cool.

Funding and Building your Business

• CEOs: What you need to know about how your HR team is feeling

  There are some big reasons you’re likely struggling to retain (and grow) your HR team during this time of great change.

• Today’s TED Talk – 3 tips for leaders to get the future of work right

  Work that’s dictated by a fixed schedule, place and job description doesn’t make sense anymore, says leadership expert Debbie Lovich.

The Creative and Cultural Economy

• Author Who Inspired “Maid” on Netflix on How She Survived Poverty and Abuse – A Celebration of Missoula, Montana at the End

  A new Netflix show exposes the harsh realities of living below the poverty line in America.

Regional Business News

• 3 States Limit Nursing Home Profits in Bid to Improve Care

  The states have set requirements for how much nursing homes must spend on residents’ direct care and imposed limits on what they can spend elsewhere, including administrative expenses, executive salaries and advertising and even how much they can pocket as profit.

Careers

• This Montana Prairie Grassland Project Collects Native Seeds and Provides Employment

  The teens and young adults are referred for field work by Fort Belknap Social Services and the 477 Employment and Training Program, a Bureau of Indian Affairs initiative created to reduce tribal unemployment.

Montana Leadership

• 20 Under 40 2021 in Butte, Montana

  Our group of 20 under 40 community difference-makers for 2021 is presented here.
  They are a special group.

Transportation

• Polluting cars now have to pay to drive within 140 square miles of London

  The city is expanding its ultra low emissions zone to 18 times its current size. Here’s how the program is getting real results and saving lives.

Social Media, Connectivity & Communications

• I Used Facebook Without the Algorithm, and You Can Too

  Making your News Feed chronological is an enlightening look at what’s really happening on the platform.

• Facebook reportedly had evidence that its algorithms were dividing people, but top executives killed or weakened proposed solutions

  One report concluded that Facebook’s algorithms “exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness,” according to The Journal.

• Calling within Montana? Get ready to include the 406 area code

  Change is due to new suicide prevention line

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