MATR Newsletter – September 30, 2022
The state with the best education wins!

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Montana food economy supports $158M in sales, but processing still lags

  “The study delivers a comprehensive look at the Montana food value chain,” said Jan Tusick, director at Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center in Ronan, and a member of Grow Montana’s steering committee. “The study will be a critical tool as we continue to build local food economies and the economic benefit to our Montana communities.”

• Tech Summit takes Bozeman to show off the future of business in Montana

  The Montana Startup Summit takes place Friday 9/30 and Saturday 10/1 at several venues across Downtown Bozeman.

• Rural Workforce Solutions Roundtable – 10/6 – Online

  We have an amazing and diverse lineup of solutions stories from Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. These carefully selected stories reflect the rural landscape of our states and any of these programs could be replicated most anywhere.

The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana

• Remote Work Drove Over 60% of House-Price Surge, Fed Study Finds

  The shift to work-from-home policies drove more than 60 percent of the dramatic recent growth in U.S. house prices, according to a Fed study.

Montana Business and Govt. Agency Collaboration Success

• Employer sponsored childcare program coming to Great Falls with help from Alluvion Health

  Casey Schreiner, vice president of strategy and innovation at Alluvion Health, talked about the $417,000 grant which was received by the Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and the hopeful solution it can bring to the community.

• Workshop shares ideas for changing Midtown Missoula

  People gathered at the Missoula YMCA on Tuesday to dream about what Midtown could look like in the near future.

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

• From books to beanbags, Montana’s teachers turn to crowdfunding for supplies. You Can Help

  Montana educators have long dipped into their own pockets to pay for classroom essentials. A national nonprofit is helping alleviate that strain

• Montana group gets grant to organize against privatized education

  “People in Montana love their schools, they have always loved their schools and supported them across the state,” said Moffie Funk, the director of Montanans Organized for Education. “Unfortunately, in more recent years, people have come in wanting to privatize. They see Montana as ripe for the picking, that this is a place where they can come in and privatize and truly undermine our public education system.”

• A simple word change, or a larger scheme to undercut public education in Montana?

  While it may seem like the politicians are taking a microscopically small knife to split these slight hairs, there’s a much larger concept at play in public education.

• Montana State introduces new app to improve communication with students

  A new app launched this fall called navMSU gives students a central platform where they can locate campus resources, call up class schedules, make appointments with advisers and even contact classmates to set up study sessions or prepare for tests through the tap of a screen on their mobile phones.

2023 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Independent Gary Buchanan could take the Eastern Montana Congressional race

  Buchanan comes to the eastern district House seat as a veteran state government staffer who has served six Montana governors under titles as diverse as Department of Commerce Director, Chairman of the Montana Banking Board, Chairman of the Board of Crime Control and as the former Chairman of the Nature Conservancy of Montana.

• Western U.S. House candidates square off in Butte

  Democrat Monica Tranel, an attorney and past Olympian; Republican Ryan Zinke, former Secretary of the Interior and Montana’s previous congressman; and Libertarian John Lamb, a Norris resident who farms and works in construction; spent an hour answering questions and offering responses.

Government News & Events

• Missoula should be targeted with any power brownouts, says Republican PSC member Randy Pinnocci

  “The ratepayer is asking me to find out some answers on this because I think we’re seeing for the first time, maybe in the history of Montana, to be prepared for this. I noticed some Missoulian people here, that they didn’t mind if their power shut off now and then. So, Maybe Missoula is the one to turn off. I think in the event that happens at 20-below, they’re gonna have a very different attitude.”

City Club Missoula

• City Club of Missoula Presents: Election 2022 Ballot Measures – 10/18 – In Person and Streamed

  Join us at City Club Missoula on Tuesday, October 18 to learn about two important ballot measures that will appear on your ballots this fall.

Montana Leadership

• Five Missoula conservationists honored – Missoula ‘s Reserve St. Public Working Group (Kevin Davis) Meets Every Tuesday at 9:00 on Zoom

  Through six volunteer cleanups this year, 74 volunteers helped remove over 67 tons (instead of 40 tons) of trash from the Clark Fork River riparian area by the bridge.

Transportation

• Not All Roundabouts are Created Equal When it Comes to Bicycle Safety

  “The end goal of Vision Zero, of course, is that we want to reduce injuries and deaths on our roadways. But the process of getting there matters, so we wanted to assess perceptions of comfort and safety as well.”

• Engineers Should Not Design Streets

  Engineers are not good at building streets nor, I would argue, can the typical engineer readily become good at it.

Energy and Climate Change

• New webinar will examine geothermal exchange heating and cooling systems – 10/6 – 2PM MST

  As part of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ WGA Chair Initiative, The Heat Beneath Our Feet, WGA will tour several geothermal facilities throughout the West. Following each tour, WGA’s policy advisors will host a webinar with local experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by the various forms of geothermal use.

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