MATR Newsletter – September 18, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

“This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. “Maybe we underestimated the magnitude and speed” at which these events would occur, he said, but “we’ve seen this long freight train barreling down on us for decades, and now the locomotive is on top of us, with no caboose in sight.”

How climate change is fueling record-breaking California wildfires, heat and smog

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“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” Jimi Hendrix – 50 years since his death. Do you feel old now?

Montana Department of Commerce

• Montana Community Development Block Grant Community Planning Grant Applications are being accepted through October 15, 2020. 

  In an effort to support social distancing, electronic submission ONLY of application materials is strongly recommended, hard copy will be accepted, but not required.

Big Sky Economic Development

• Big Sky Finance – September 2020 Newsletter – Montana Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year

  Big Sky Finance is proud to have nominated winner, Kelly King of Mountain Hot Tub, as Montana’s 2019 Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year.

• Legal & Tax Do’s and Don’ts for Businesses – 9/22 – 10AM – Online

  This webinar will go over choosing the right legal structure, business registry, contracts, zoning regulation, business taxation, payroll taxes, withholding, and employee vs. independent Contractor.

Great Falls Development Authority

• Working to eliminate obstacles to growth and development in Great Falls

  “There are going to be projects, that in order to work – they need the support both of tax abatements and tax increment financing,” said Brett Doney, president and CEO of the Great Falls Development authority.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Red Ants Pants, Montana Nonprofit Association set virtual concert

  “While our state and nation are facing challenging times, we believe that in many ways, we are coming together stronger than ever,” said festival producer Sarah Calhoun in a news release announcing the concert. “We hope folks will join us in raising a glass and enjoying some incredible music from festival favorites as we celebrate and recognize the Montana grit that will see us through.”

• Radically Rural: Art as an Amplifier for Community Connection

  Artists and art collectives help small towns with creative problem-solving during the pandemic.

• Charlo, Montana based MT Solar boosts production with game-changing robot

  “We’ve got a shop full of people that will come up with ideas just based on their exposure to it and what we can use robots for.”

• Ducrey Chocolate makes the list of 20 new businesses opening in downtown Missoula this year

  Linda McCarthy, Executive Director of the Downtown Missoula Partnership said Missoula has a sort of entrepreneurship ecosystem.

• Local Solutions by Local People: Building Resiliency through Opportunity Development Cooperatives

  Please join the Montana Cooperative Development Center for a workshop on an emerging cooperative structure that is already proving successful in revitalizing communities, grow local leadership, and create sustainable businesses.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• The Farms of the Future Hinge on High-Speed Internet

  During a recent National Telecommunications and Information Administration webinar, experts dissected the economic potential of and roadblocks to precision agriculture technology in rural America.

Montana Business

• Bozeman, Gallatin County housing prices escalate, median prices approach $600K

  The median sales price of a single-family home in Bozeman proper in August was $584,500. In July, it was $510,000.

Montana Biotech

• Register Now: 2020 Big Sky Business Insight Summit, October 6 – 8, 2020

  The Big Sky Business Insight Summit (Big Sky BIS) convenes cross-sector leaders to define big problems, identify Montana’s strengths to address them, and provide insights on how solutions can grow higher paying jobs, strengthen our statewide economy, and improve our overall quality of life.

Funding and Building your Business

• Pandemic perk: Bay Area companies increase mental health help for remote workers

  Half of the more than 1,000 workers from mostly Bay Area companies who responded to a survey about how their employers are supporting them said they feel their companies could be doing more to bolster their mental and overall health during the pandemic.

Regional Economic Development

• U.S. Department Of Commerce Invests $35 Million To Fuel High-Growth Entrepreneurship Across America Including Los Alamos Commerce And Development Corporation

  U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced today that 52 organizations — including nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and entrepreneurship-focused organizations — from 36 states will receive grants totaling $35 million to support entrepreneurship, acceleration of company growth, and increased access to risk capital across regional economies.

Regional Business News

• The insidious ways building private prisons creates more prisons

  A new study finds that creating more private prison beds causes more people to be incarcerated—and for longer periods.

• Fed vows to keep rates near zero until inflation tops 2%, likely keeping meager rates 4 to 5 years

  The central bank made the market-friendly commitment sooner than many top economists anticipated and it’s likely to cheer Wall Street.

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

• Montana State University fire scientist Dave McWethy featured in New York Times

  For decades, federal policy has reacted to wildfires and sought to extinguish them after they start, rather than engaging in preventative burns or allowing fires to smolder and burn off excess fuel.

• Montana State University offers new master’s program in innovation and management

  “We’re thrilled to offer this new program,” Ranalli said. “We’re confident it will provide our graduates with a professional advantage and set them up for accelerated success in their careers.”

2020 Montana Politics

• Bullying, spying and harassment revealed in Montana Public Service Commission documents

  Bullying at the Republican-controlled agency was grade-school level.

Careers

• Playing it Safe

  Research says that people who take risks are far more likely to achieve their goals and live a more satisfying life.

MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative

• Resilience and Renewal with Carmen McSpadden – 9/24 – 12:30PM – Online

  Feeling overwhelmed? Burnt out? MSU Leadership Institute’s Carmen McSpadden will chat with Kerry Hanson about useful methods to manage stress and succeed.

• Montana State University Leadership Institute sets virtual cross-cultural strategies workshop on Sept. 18 – 9AM 0 Online

  “Lasting Cross-cultural Strategies for Dealing with Today’s Problems,” is co-presented by the MSU Leadership Institute and Honors Presents, and it is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and ASMSU.

Transportation

• GM’s Barra talks flying cars and transforming the automaker

  The idea of flying cars is back on the table at General Motors in its pursuit of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

• Efforts to restore passenger rail in southern Montana, Northern Rockies gain momentum

  State Rep. Andrea Olsen, like other advocates, sees passenger rail as a vital economic tool with untapped potential. But it also serves other goals that don’t get much attention, such as reducing highway deaths in bad weather, addressing climate change, and punctuating the role transportation plays in local economies.

• Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway Names Kathryn Farmer First Female CEO Of Major Railroad

  BNSF is one of North America’s biggest freight transportation companies, operating approximately 32,500 miles of track in 28 states and three Canadian provinces. Berkshire Hathway acquired BNSF Railway in 2010.

• Senate Report Proposes Land Use and Transportation Reforms to Get Americans Out of Cars

  Progress in combating climate change won’t be possible unless Americans drive less. And Americans won’t be able to drive less without changes to land use patterns in the United States.

• The New 5GAA 2030 Roadmap for Automotive Connectivity – Will Your State and Community Be Ready?

  Between now and 2024, connected digital road infrastructure will pave the way for real-time or dynamic traffic updates, hazard warnings, and high-definition mapping services.

Energy and Climate Change

• ‘Game-Changer’ FERC Order Opens Up Wholesale Grid Markets to Distributed Energy Resources

  A huge opportunity for solar, batteries, EVs and other DERs — and a huge challenge to integrate utility grid operations with bulk energy markets.

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