MATR Newsletter – October 26, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

People will accept your idea much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Rural Teacher Corps Focuses On Training, Attracting Teachers To Rural Settings
The program brings together future teachers In rural areas through training, meetings, and community.
Montana Career Opportunities – CDL Drivers, Container Delivery Drivers – Grizzly Disposal and Recycling
Providing Reliable Garbage and Recycling Services Depend on a local garbage and recycling company serving the Missoula, MT area On the hunt for a local garbage and recycling company?…

Montana Innovation Partnership receives FAST award! What you can expect in this new year.
MTIP has again been named Montana’s FAST partner as part of the cooperative agreement with the SBA, Montana State University, and the Montana Department of Commerce.

The Last Mile, a computer coding education program for prison inmates that boasts a 0% recidivism rate among its graduates, is officially up and running at Montana State Prison outside of Deer Lodge.
The 22 participants are just over a month into the year-long program, moving through the curriculum together. Their teachers, many former participants themselves, log into a computer remotely and guide them individually through the coursework.

Housing Market Collapse: ‘Forceful’ Slowdown In Home Prices As Warning Signs Become ‘Eerily Similar’ To 2000s Crisis
Home prices continued to decelerate at the fastest pace on record in August—intensifying a decline since this spring that has some experts worried the abrupt turnaround in the housing market could ultimately push the economy into a recession.
Deep Dive: Records reveal hundreds of Treasure Valley homes owned by out-of-state investors – How about your community?
Nothing about this change in the market is illegal, but it changes the dynamics of how supply and demand shape prices when growing families are bidding against Wall Street firms who can afford to pay cash, thousands over the asking price of homes.

Portland General Electric Company Buys Into Montana Wind Farm
Portland General Electric’s (PGE) portion of the Clearwater Wind project is scheduled to be operational by December 31, 2023 and will provide PGE customers with additional power for approximately 125,000 homes.
Minnesota company (Bozeman Daily Chronicle owner) purchases slew of small-town Montana newspapers
Adams Publishing Group, the privately held national newspaper chain that owns the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, announced Monday it is purchasing the 13 small-town Montana newspapers of the Yellowstone Newspapers chain.
Study: Economic impact of Cognizant ATG in Missoula hits $122M, supports 814 jobs
One of Missoula’s fastest growing companies is also pushing its way onto the list of the city’s largest employers, and its economic impact on the region is now measured in nine figures.

The quiet manufacturing revolution that’s transforming America – The Titanium Economy
Unsung, highly innovative companies all over the U.S. are proving that it’s still possible to make things in this country.

What the Alzheimer’s Drug Breakthrough Means for Other Diseases
The CEO of Japanese pharma company Eisai says the medication’s success can advance treatments for conditions with similar causes.

Google’s ad sales take a beating, a bad sign for wider economy
Summertime revenue growth at Google’s corporate parent slipped to its slowest pace since the pandemic jarred the economy more than two years ago, with advertisers clamping down on spending and bracing for a potential recession. Analysts said that’s a worrisome sign for the economy.
Networking is a necessary — and misunderstood — skill. Here’s how to hone it.
Networking gets a bad rap, but it doesn’t have to be overly scary, shallow, or corporate.

Cities Rethinking the Value of Parking
After Toronto allowed some on-street parking spaces on main roads to be used as patios during the pandemic, an analysis suggested that this generated far more revenue than in their original use.

Has Berkeley declared a ‘war on cars’? One bike lane has come to symbolize a larger battle
Across the region, cyclists are demanding safe, unfettered access — and in some cases, a complete redesign of cities’ busiest arteries. Motorists and business owners push back, invoking a “war on cars” and even accusing urban planners of demagoguery.
Researchers develop technology for 10-minute charging EV batteries
Adding a nickel foil to EV batteries could speed up charge time while also reducing battery size and saving resources, time, and money

Hug Your Super-Efficient Water Heater On Heat Pump Water Heater Day
Heat pump water heaters are the silver bullet to this problem. They are 2–4 times more efficient than a fossil gas or electric resistance water heater, emit little if any CO2 (depending on your electricity mix), and cost you around $100 a year to operate, which saves the average family of four $470 a year. And they heat water faster than electric resistance water heaters, which are in half the homes nationwide.