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| MATR Newsletter - Fri May 25, 2018 |
Be who you needed when you were younger
Great Falls Development Authority Is Hosting "What's Up With Great Falls Economic Development" Session - 5/29 - http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
2018 Montana Politics
Montana Department of Commerce
- Montana Board of Regents prepare for lean legislative session in 2019
Montana is at or near the bottom in the nation when it comes to support based on need. Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian
PFL
- Commerce Director Haxby-Cote Presents Export Award to SRS Crisafulli of Glendive
"I applaud the staff at SRS Crisafulli for their work bringing high-quality Montana products to markets across the globe. Their success illustrates what's possible with a strategic export plan, and they have a positive impact in their local community and on Montana's economy." Department of Commerce Director Pam Haxby-Cote
Montana West Economic Development
- PFL - Get Noticed and Drive Results with EDDM®
Ready to get started? Get our EDDM® Success Kit or call your team today.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Following Decade of Increased Air Service, Glacier AERO Launches New Campaign
Glacier AERO encourages businesses in all industries to consider how improved air service to the Flathead has positively impacted their business when deciding at what level to invest in the effort.
The Telecommuting and Gig Workforce in Montana
- Much at stake for Montana and Alberta as NAFTA talks drag on
Next week, officials with the Great Falls Montana Development Authority (GFDA) will be touring Alberta looking to make connections and grow businesses on both sides of the border.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- California ruling will cause 'seismic shift' in gig economy
The ruling will likely increase the number of workers eligible for benefits under state wage laws.
Visit Montana
- OK Go Sandbox - an online resource for educators
OK Go Sandbox is an online resource for educators that uses OK Go's music videos as starting points for integrated guided inquiry challenges allowing students to explore various STEAM concepts.
Energy and Climate Change
- Downtown Missoula Partnership Reveals New Historic Guided Walking Tours Program - Unseen Missoula
Unseen Missoula is a program that offers weekly Downtown historical guided walking. Two tours will be offered initially - Basements & Back Alleys and the River Walk tour.
Come Home Montana
- Solar-power mandate will hurt California utilities. Or it won't!
Here's what two Wall Street credit-rating agencies had to say recently about how this initiatives may impact the financial health of electricity providers.
- After the fire, scientists brace for climate change
A century of putting out every forest fire possible has unbalanced forests.
Montana Business
- Modified Bid Posting 2018 Missoula Area Community Transportation Plan
The primary inputs to this plan will be stakeholder input, analysis of existing crash data, as well as the implementation of "best practices" in safety programs, safety data management, funding opportunities, emerging technologies, and program management/implementation.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering - Ascent Vision
Our vision is clear, to be the Best Lightweight Gimbal Company in the World.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Director of Business Development and Marketing, Information Technology Internship, Software Engineering Internship and more... - Anderson ZurMuehlen
We're a Montana firm with offices in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Havre, Helena and Missoula.
- The Boutique in downtown Great Falls closing unless buyer is found
Morley has been working for The Boutique for three years and has seen customers come in from all over the world, including Spain, Asia, Canada and France.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Digital Marketing Manager - Submittable
The digital marketing manager will be responsible for executing and optimizing search engine marketing campaigns that dramatically increase the top of our lead funnel.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Backend Software Engineer, Sales Representative, Data Verification Specialist - ClientHub
For sales and marketing professionals around the world, ClientHub provides verification as a service (VaaS) to bridge inbound marketing with sales using its advanced technology and highly-trained network of verification professionals.
Montana Economic Development
- Montana Made: Montana Hydraulics
"We take great pride in producing a product here in Montana," said Mark Ehlke. "We cover most of the U.S. We export north of the border. We employ Montana people, our neighbors."
- Hulteng Inc. Commercial Construction in Billings, MT
Established in 1989, Hulteng, Inc. specializes in general contracting services including commercial general construction, interior and exterior renovations, building additions and construction management.
- Charter shuts down some services in Billings call center; 70 positions cut
"For employees who do not choose to remain with the company, we are working directly with them to provide comprehensive severance benefits, including salary continuation, health insurance and outplacement services."
- Media management, co-working space opening soon in downtown Great Falls, Montana
He's moving his small staff into the building, but also creating a co-working space, particularly with creatives in mind, but it's open to anyone.
Careers
- MoFi Offers New Down Payment Resources for Montana Homebuyers
MoFi has expanded its popular HomeNow down payment assistance program to make homeownership more accessible and more affordable to working Montanans. Among the new program options is a 0% interest deferred loan to cover down payment and closing costs -- it comes with the benefit of lower monthly mortgage payments and doesn?t need to be repaid until a buyer sells or refinances their home. The program is also expanding its scope to provide assistance to purchasers of manufactured homes.
- Leaders hope Opportunity Zone designation draws investment to downtown Helena
Through the program, investors will be able to create Qualified Opportunity Funds. They can then defer taxes on gains from other investments, if they reinvest the money in one of the designated Opportunity Zones.
- Missoula Economic Partnership sees healthy increase in companies looking to locate, expand to Missoula
Already this year, two outside companies have launched operations in Missoula, including 4Cast - an Israeli division of Eltel Technologies - and ClassPass, which plans to fill 150 local jobs over the next two years.
Government
- Use this one-paragraph cover letter to land your next job interview
Most recruiters just skim cover letters, so here's how to craft a short and effective one that can be read in 60 seconds or less.
Idaho
- Appeals court upholds Montana's landmark campaign-disclosure law - Here is the link to the Trailer for "Dark Money"
A federal appeals court has upheld Montana's landmark law to force disclosure of campaign spending and fundraising by so-called "dark money" groups - and others attempting to influence elections here.
- Movie Trailer: "Dark Money" the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials
The film takes viewers to Montana--a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide--to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the US Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
- President Trump Signs Montana Senator Jon Tester's Bill to Cut Regulation and Create Jobs but Doesn't Invite Him to the Signing Ceremony.
Tester wasn't invited to the signing ceremony, but Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) was, though he is not a member of the Banking Committee.
- Senator Tester Works Across the Aisle to Strengthen Montana's #1 Industry, Protect Clean Water
Senator Fights to Deliver Vital Agriculture and Water Funding to Rural Communities
Incubators and R&D
- Idaho State government hacked twice in three days
Scant months after the state of Idaho took steps to beef up its cybersecurity, state government computers fell prey to two attacks in a matter of days.
Other Economies
- Injectable hydrogel helps brain tissue regrow after stroke in mice
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed an injectable hydrogel that can coax healthy tissue to patch up damage by helping regenerate new brain tissue, nerve fibers and blood vessels.
Regional Economic Development
- City launches Advisory Board on Entrepreneurship and Start-ups
"There have been entrepreneurs who've said they want to start a pizza shop or a local deli. And we as a city need to support those smaller businesses, because they create more neighborhood jobs and bring stability to a neighborhood."
- It's clear to everyone that Silicon Valley has to change--except the people who live there
What does it mean that the Valley still thinks of itself an exceptional home to axis-tilting ingenuity?
Wyoming Business
- "The Great American West." Montana, other western states change their branding for international markets
A group of five western states that banded together nearly three decades ago to market the region internationally is changing its brand.
Education
- Wyoming makes rush for hyped new tech, results still virtual
As for how many of these new businesses will get off the ground in Wyoming or anywhere else, time will tell. So far, only a small fraction of them exist as more than electronic paperwork.
- Spotlight: IEDC's National Economic Development Week Celebrations
The Wyoming Economic Development Association encouraged economic developers to grab orange "That's WY" flags and plant them at local businesses and projects that have benefited from economic development efforts.
- Wyoming tries to attract blockchain business
The state, dependent on fossil fuels, hopes to diversity its economy by attracting tech businesses.
Montana Education Excellence
- How Higher Ed Became a Partisan Wedge Issue
As states debate the purpose of public universities, some say politics is playing an outsized role.
- This Map Shows How Low States Education Spending Has Gotten
State policymakers who discover that they put less of a premium on education than Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad may want to rethink their budgets for 2019.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- University of Montana announces finalists for enrollment and communications vice president - Public Feedback Invited
"I encourage all members of the university and Missoula communities to attend and provide feedback to the committee," Riley said.
Community
- Does Your Community Want to Host a Career Day? - Career Exploration Day For Middle School Students - 5/25 - Corvallis, Montana
The event is designed to engage students with career pathways in their community - particularly in high-priority workforce sectors such as manufacturing, small business, health care and forestry/environmental management.
- Helena school district contracts with Shodair to enroll students with severe needs
The goal is to eventually reintegrate students back into the regular classroom.
Funding and Building your Business
- Using 'Radical Playfulness' to Bring Communities Together
Firestarter Ashley Hanson and her cohorts use town-square theater, karaoke, bonfires and musicals to bring communities together and address civic problems. They find the process is cathartic
- What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities
Amid widening gaps in politics and demographics, Americans in urban, suburban and rural areas share many aspects of community life
- THREE New Grant Opportunities
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- How to Start a Business: A Complete Guide for Startup Entrepreneurs
Starting a business isn't one of those "if you build it, they will come" situations.
- When to Raise a Series A
One of the hardest questions to answer when considering an A is "when is my company ready?"
- How great leaders inspire action TED talk video by Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek presents a simple but powerful model for how leaders inspire action, starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?"
- Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business. The Entrepreneurial Operating System®
Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you?
- "The One Thing" - Presentations from the University of Montana College of Business Advisory Board Members
What was your "One Thing"?
- It's Only Failure If You Go Home: Lessons From A Serial Entrepreneur
Either you're near the top of the mountain and it's sunny and you've brought a picnic lunch, or you're down at the bottom, with a storm brewing, carrying a heavy pack, and you're not sure you'll ever get to the top.
- New Advocacy Fact Sheet Highlights Some Reasons Why Businesses Close
With the next top reasons being opening another firm and illness/injury, it shows that many owners close for personal or health reasons not just business reasons.
- Will the EU's GDPR Rules Launch a New Era of Data Protection? If your company has any contacts in Europe are you ready for May 25?
GDPR rules impose strong restrictions on how businesses and governments could store, process, use, and monetize their personal information, and for how long they could retain such data.
- GDPR, the EU's new data protection law, shakes up the Internet in Europe (and the U.S. for those companies doing business with Europe)
A Twitter user described it as "doomsday."
- Why Creating a Business Plan Is a 'Waste of Time'
"Empirically, it appears as if you don't need a business plan."
- ClassPass' Founder on How Marketplace Startups Can Achieve Product/Market Fit
She should've been living the startup dream. The only trouble was, no one was using her product.
- Why you should care about GDPR, even if you don't live in Europe
New data privacy rules go into effect as of Friday, May 25, which means companies everywhere are scrambling to bring their own policies up to speed with the new rules.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Actor Ed Harris scouts film locations in Belt, Montana, says its a 'nice town'
"No one even acknowledged him, they just thought he was someone I knew," she said.
Transportation
- Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall-and Those Fighting to Reverse It
How and why major American institutions no longer serve us as they should, causing a deep rift between the vulnerable majority and the protected few, and 2) how some individuals and organizations are laying the foundation for real, lasting change.
Events
- Roughly half of all Americans expect self-driving cars to become the norm within the next 10 years
Considering the number of well-resourced entities putting money and time towards the effort, the 53% of Americans polled here might not be far off.
- EV Experts Say Buses Should Electrify First. Can They Rise to the Challenge? Missoula eyeing Volkswagen settlement funds for electric bus conversion
"Montana is receiving $12.6 million as part of the Volkswagen settlement. A smart use of those funds would be to consider the feasibility of adding more electric buses and charging infrastructure - anything to promote electric vehicle usage in individual cars or mass transit."
- BP Invests $20M in Tech to Charge EVs in 5 Minutes
BP announced Tuesday it plans to invest $20 million in StoreDot, an Israeli startup that claims to offer 5-minute electric-vehicle charging with a new generation of lithium-ion batteries.
- Wi-Fi in the road? Kansas City tech start-up is wiring pavement for safety -- and fun
"Smart pavement is a factory-produced pavement system that transforms the road into a sensor, data and connectivity network for next-generation vehicles."
- Madrid Takes Its Car Ban to the Next Level
The days when cars could drive unhindered through central Madrid are coming to a close.
- Emergency Braking Was Disabled When Self-Driving Uber Killed Woman, Report Says
The safety board said the Uber car's computer system spotted 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg pushing a bicycle across a road at night in Tempe, Ariz., six seconds before impact.
- Twilight Zone: Implications & Opportunities Of An Aging Global Population - 5/30 - Missoula, MT
- FSMA Overview &/or HACCP workshop, 06/13, Kalispell
- Essentials of Lean Workshop, 07/17, Missoula
- FSMA Overview &/or HACCP workshop, 12/19, Great Falls
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