MATR Newsletter – September 25, 2020
The state with the best education wins!

The world is changed by your actions, not by your opinions.

Today’s MATR Newsletter is sponsored by:

Google Maps now shows COVID-19 hot spots
To check it out, open Google Maps, tap on the layers button in the top right corner, and tap on COVID-19 info. Note that the feature is rolling out gradually, so it may not be available for you yet.
6 Montana companies to produce ‘Montana Aware’ masks
The six companies to produce the masks at their Montana-based facilities are: Montana Robe Company in Belgrade, Glacier Clothing Company in Columbia Falls, Rebekah Jarvey in Havre, 406 Creative Vibe in Missoula, REcreate Designs in Polson, and Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs.

Montana Career Opportunity – Accounting Manager – Kampgrounds of America, Inc.
We are in search of someone who will bring their passion and enthusiasm to our exciting and continuously growing company.
Request for Qualifications – Montana Developmental Center Campus Concept Plan & Preliminary Architectural Report – Boulder, Montana
The primary focus of reutilization is a veteran education support center that would provide training opportunities matched with workforce needs.
Montana Film Office posts casting call for Missoula movie on Saturday, September 26th in Missoula’s Silver Park.
The movie is filming from November 1 – 16. They are looking for several speaking roles and several “extra/background” actors. Some of the needed roles to be filled are as follows:

Montana Nonprofit Association Co-Hosting Census Events to Increase Montana’s 2020 Census Count
“Getting as many Montanans counted as possible in these final days of the 2020 Census is critical for our state’s future,” said Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, chairman of the State Complete Count Committee. “A big thanks to the Montana Nonprofit Association and so many partners across the state that are running through the finish line to help Montanans fill out the Census in low-response communities.”

Progress made toward planned Praxis Center in Butte, Montana – National Center for Health Care Informatics
A global leader in simulation training and manufacturing will invest $6 million in equity toward the planned Praxis Center and has agreed to operate the facility once it is up and running in Uptown Butte.
How Typical Economic Development Kills Community Character
An economic development pro makes an argument for an approach to economic development that prioritizes the urban design decisions that favor community character.
Rocky Mountain Airways is based in Bigfork, Montana announces plans to provide flights to Canada
“We’re excited, we think there’s certainly a market there, we think that it makes sense, and we’re looking forward to having more conversation to work out the details,” said Cris Jensen, Missoula International Airport director.
MSU TechLink receives federal grant to help high-tech companies
The program places particular emphasis on helping women and socially or economically disadvantaged individuals, and applicants from underrepresented or rural areas compete in the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
SEC Updates Accredited Investor and Qualified Institutional Investor Definitions
The adopted amendments are meant to expand the number of persons eligible to participate in private offerings based on knowledge and sophistication versus the prior rules focus on income and net worth.

Montana Learning Center and Carter County Museum Partner Provided an Unforgettable Learning Experience for Young Paleontologists – Stay Tuned for the Next Camp Announcement
The Montana Learning Center and Carter County Museum partnered this summer to provide students in 8th to 12th grade an unforgettable learning experience as working paleontologists.

Blue Cross Blue Shield reaches a tentative $2.7 billion antitrust settlement
They alleged that the member companies violated the Sherman Act and other antitrust laws by, among other things, dividing up health insurance markets to avoid competing with each other.

The Top 5 Leadership Soft Skills You Need to Empower Your Team
The leadership traits that will inspire your workforce to do their best work.

What Happens to Cities When the Arts Go Dark?
For decades, cities relied on performing arts groups to help drive revitalization. Now nearly every company in the country has been shuttered for months, acting as a drag on local business.

Child Care and Economic Recovery: What are States Doing?
Remote learning and reduced, or no, in-person instruction can keep working parents off the job. A number of recent bills attempt to fill the child-care gap.

Montana University System launches central app for all campuses
“It’s going to save Montana residents a lot of time and money,”

Facebook is out of control. If it were a country it would be North Korea
This is a company that facilitated an attack on a US election by a foreign power, that live-streamed a massacre then broadcast it to millions around the world, and helped incite a genocide.

China’s cities will soon be crawling with self-driving robotaxis
The Chinese government’s investments in autonomous cars and 5G are supporting a series of new pilot programs in densely populated Chinese metropolises—a bid to stay competitive with the U.S.
Autonomous door-to-door concept vehicle reimagines mass transit
Created for both passengers and cargo, the vehicles help passengers stay safe from the coronavirus while experiencing the advantages of public transport
California Plans to Ban Sales of Gas-Powered Cars by 2035
The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, 80 percent of smog-forming pollution and 95 percent of toxic diesel emissions – all while communities in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley see some of the dirtiest and most toxic air in the country.
The Growth Ponzi Scheme – We deprive our communities of prosperity, overload our families with debt and become trapped in a spiral of decline.
It is only in the last two generations that we have scaled places to the automobile.

China plans to go carbon-neutral by 2060
China, the world’s biggest source of carbon dioxide, is aiming for carbon-neutrality by 2060. President Xi Jinping announced this goal while speaking to the UN General Assembly by video. Xi took the assembly by surprise.
Sustainable beehive made from mushroom-based material
A beehive made partly from mycelium has won a national Dyson Award for its focus on sustainability