MATR Newsletter – October 5, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

Come Home Montana

• Missoula County Public Schools looking to hire additional staff

  Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) are looking for paraeducators, substitute teachers and other essential jobs to help out in their schools. The coronavirus forced MCPS into a hybrid model of learning and most of the substitutes were hired for the Montana Online Academy. By: Jaurdyn Johnson

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montanans Can Still Respond to the 2020 Census

  “The next ten years of Montana’s future depend on a complete count – our fair share of federal funding, accurate representation in local school and voting districts, and even the addition of a second U.S. House seat. So don’t wait: do it now!” Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, the chairman of the Montana Complete Count Committee.

• An inaccurate census has major implications for Indian Country

  Indigenous people are frequently undercounted, undermining political power and representation.

• Idaho (99.9%), 6 other states report highest census response rate

  Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia and Puerto Rico joined Idaho at the top of the response rates.

Great Falls Development Authority

• GFDA’s Top 10

  1) Great Falls was nationally recognized by LendEDU as one of the most affordable cities for veteran homebuyers amongst 25,000 American cities. 15.09% of Great Falls’s population is comprised of veterans and active military members, and only 22.98% of the houses in Great Falls have a mortgage that costs 30% or more of the household income.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Montana Childcare Advocates: Pandemic Illuminates Need for Public Funding, Expanded Access

  “There are so many options,” Buenz said. “It’s about encouraging legislators to think about funding for early education, but it’s also about bringing companies together, corporations. It has to be everybody at the table, community members, the agencies, the parents.”

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Plan Bay Area 2050 Proposes 60% Telecommute Rates for Office Workers

  A drastic and unprecedented measure included in the draft Plan Bay Area 2050, released this summer, would require 60 percent of all workers in Bay Area office jobs to telecommute.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Seattle Unsure if Students Have Proper Tech for School – How About In Montana?

  How many kids actually need the technology? And does it work well enough to meet remote learning demands?

• Pacific Northwest Rural Broadband Alliance

  The Pacific Northwest Rural Broadband Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to building community powered fast and affordable broadband networks for communities across the Pacific Northwest region, focusing particularly on under-served and un-connected rural communities.

• Missoula Valley Internet Co-op Community Call – 10/10 – 6PM

  Connect to a faster, cheaper neighborhood network. Most users get 50Mbps or better

• USDA Seeks Applications for Community Connect Grants to Fund Broadband in Unserved Rural Areas

  The program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide broadband service in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service does not exist.

Montana Businesses Seeking Investment or For Sale

• Stevensville, Montana’s Medicine Mountains Scrub Company LLC. – Sustainable Scrubs for Women in Medicine Raising Funding on Kickstarter

  A supremely functional + sustainably sourced performance set of scrubs. Designed by nurses, inspired by the mountains. Made for women.

Funding and Building your Business

• Companies seeking out potential employees with autism – 60 Minutes on CBS

  Many adults with autism have a hard time finding a job, but more companies are discovering the unique skills and potential people with autism offer. Anderson Cooper reports.

2020 Montana Politics

• Montana Governor hopefuls differ on plans for economic recovery – Montana Election Guide

  Unlike Gianforte, Cooney would like to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.

Non-Profit News

• University of Montana Announces New Certificate of Nonprofit Administration

  The mission of our department is to provide a cutting edge public sector education for our students from high-quality faculty committed to applied research and teaching.

Transportation

• Carnage on the Roads During the Pandemic – Road Fatality Rates Reach Highest Level in 15 Years

  “the federal agency blamed the bloodshed on everything but bad road design.”

• Making the Commute of the Future Happen – MaaS offers an extraordinary opportunity that can spare the myriad costs of private transportation

  This integrated alternative to private car transportation is the core idea behind MaaS platforms, which are designed to promote alternatives to private transport with a digitally delivered array of customised options for getting from A to B.

• Officials have no plans to address Missoula’s Reserve Street traffic concerns – Let’s Improve Reserve Street

  Montana Department of Transportation officials told us they recognize the traffic and congestion in the area, but right now there are no projects in the works to combat it.

Energy and Climate Change

• How a Single UK Turbine Could Prove a New Smart Grid Use Case for Wind Power

  Centrica’s Cornwall Local Energy Market (LEM) project has installed solar panels, battery storage units and other smart energy devices at 100 homes and 125 businesses across the county. These provide the network with flexible demand, generation and storage when requested.

Privacy, Hacking and Virus Alerts

• The Cyber-Avengers Protecting Hospitals From Ransomware

  As medical facilities strain amid the pandemic, they’re especially vulnerable to cyberattacks. A global coalition of volunteer experts has stepped into the breach.

• White Hat Hacker Gains Access to Tesla’s Servers and Its Entire Fleet

  The hacker, who could command any vehicle to go anywhere he wanted, reported the vulnerability to Tesla which earned him $50,000.

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