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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Aug 6, 2010 |
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt
"The Governor’s Forum On Adult Credentialing In Montana, 8/12, Kalispell, MT" http://matr.net/events ... =3309
"Montana's Race To The Top - The State with the Best Education Wins!"
Visit Montana
- Montana must do more to keep kids in school
Montana recently made a top-10 list that no state wants to be on. The annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks our state 44th for having one of the highest (worst) rates of teens who are out of school with no high school diploma.
- Juneau Announces New Tool for Montana Schools to Measure Academic Success After Graduation
“By providing an accurate and consistent way to measure student achievement, we can help educators better prepare Montana students to compete and succeed,” said Juneau.
- Gazette opinion: Community key to preventing school dropouts in Montana - Graduation Matters!
Juneau proposes a statewide campaign for communities to become involved in preventing local dropouts. She wants to model Graduation Matters Montana after Graduation Matters Missoula, a partnership involving Missoula Public Schools, the University of Montana, city and county government and the business community.
Come Home Montana
- Iowans 'get lost' in Montana — on purpose
When the state tourism office started telling folks to "Get Lost" in Montana, Jody Kelly took it to heart.
MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association
- Montana Career Opportunity - Multiple Opportunities - DemocracyInAction
Locations include Washington, DC, Seattle, WA, or Missoula, MT.
Montana Business
- Now open: Registration for 2010 MEDA Fall Conference - “Energizing Montana’s Economy”, 9/14-15, Butte, Montana
Our theme is: “Energizing Montana’s Economy” with a focus on our in-the-field role in Montana’s economic recovery.
Montana Economic Development
- Niche marketing about finding, meeting needs - Logisys of Missoula, Montana
"From a theoretical perspective, niche marketing starts from the idea that nobody can satisfy everybody and nobody can satisfy all of the consumers."
- Bacterin of Belgrade, Montana Closes Private Placement With Total Raise of $9.2 Million
Bacterin International Holdings, Inc., a developer of anti-infective coatings for medical applications and revolutionary bone graft material, today announced that it has closed its private placement offering raising total gross proceeds of $9.2 million from the sale to accredited investors.
Careers
- $800 million in renewable energy project coming to Montana
The 309 megawatt wind energy project called Rim Rock is being financed through San Diego Gas and Electric, which will receive renewable energy credits for their investment.
Funding and Building your Business
- Boomers Take Up the Plow
Baby boomers are leaving regular jobs and opening small farms. It's not only a new way of life, some are making a little money, too.
Incubators and R&D
- Information on the Department of Defense Open Business Cell
Last year, the Department of Defense launched a new effort to fund innovators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and businesses large and small that have good ideas. It is the Open Business Cell and its associated website is http://DefenseSolutions.gov.
- Google CEO Eric Schmidt: "We celebrate our failures"
"We celebrate our failures. This is a company where it is absolutely OK to try something that is very hard, have it not be successful, take the learning and apply it to something new."
- Report: Is Human Capital the New Venture Capital?
Venture capital is likely the most oft-cited figure for measuring the potential for a new business' success, but research firm CB Insights aims to change that misconception in a new report measuring human capital--not venture capital.
Montana Education Excellence
- Montana State University team publishes cell findings, notes implications for cancer treatment
It's unusual for undergraduates to co-author articles that run in scientific journals.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Montana State University earns accolades for taking research to the bank
Montana ends up near the bottom of too many economic and social science rankings. We here in southwest Montana, however, have shown our ability to prosper. And that's true in no small part thanks to the success of MSU research.
- The University of Montana Makes Princeton Review's List Of Best Colleges
“Life at UM combines a love for the Grizzlies with the outdoors. Academics at UM are facilitated by great instructors [who do] anything and everything for their students.”
- The University of Montana College Of Technology Launches Two New Programs
The carpentry program will accept 20 students for an Associate of Applied Science degree program. The welding technology program will accept 20 students for a similar degree program.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- The Tiernan DancersBusiness ed program to expand in Billings, Montana
They’re bringing business to the classroom.
Universities and Economic Development
- DOE Announces $188 Million for Small Business Technology Commercialization - SBIR Phase II - Congratulations to Resodyn Corp. of Butte, Montana
“Small businesses are a major engine of innovation and job creation in our economy,” said Secretary Chu. “Bringing these innovative technologies to market will help spur economic growth and reduce the country's energy use.”
University TechTransfer
- University of Utah Eccles School of Business Unveils ‘The Foundry,’ Launched to Create Battle-Ready Entrepreneurs
In the first few months since its May 2010 launch, the program is already having a profound impact on many of its participants.
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- Experts: Link universities, businesses - Innovation Council looks to diversify state’s economy
Evans heads InCenter Inc., an Austin, Texas-based firm developing the first online service that matches the needs of innovators with university labs in a 10-state region
Idaho Business
- Angel investor Ron Conway: Every entrepreneur should get funded
There should be more angel investing, not less. He said he hopes that any entrepreneur that has “the guts” to start a company gets funded.
- Lessons for Budding Angel Investors from Y Combinator’s AngelConf
You’ve been a part of the startup world for a while, and you’ve had a successful exit or two. You have some money laying around that you don’t know what to do with. You feel a vague sense of owing something back to the technology community, and you want to keep a hand in the startup world. So you’re thinking about becoming part of that mysterious and elusive breed—the angel investor.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- The ultimate ATV - Production of the All Terrain Amphibious Vehicle to begin in southern Idaho
"We were looking for manufacturing space, and required (existing) 45,000 square feet, plus 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of office space," said Rand Lewis, chief executive officer of ATAV Inc., a subsidiary of Transnational Strategic Solutions. "We were not interested in capital investment."
Utah Economic Development
- University System Focuses on Importance of Community Colleges
A little more than 10,000 students attend the state`s five community colleges and they say it`s for good reason.
Wyoming Business
- USTAR Announces Two New Rounds of Regional Technology Commercialization Grant Program
With a typical award size of $30,000, these grants assist faculty to prototype, test, assess markets, and commercialize new products and services in high-growth markets.
- Adobe to get $40.2 million from Utah to expand Orem operations
Software giant Adobe Systems Inc. plans to significantly expand its presence in Utah by investing $100 million to build a new facility and hire as many as 1,000 people during the next 20 years.
Education
- Gosar proposes business incubators at Wyoming's community colleges
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Pete Gosar's economic plan would focus on community-developed business plans that emphasize current and future needs.
Connectivity & Communications
- Idaho dropouts could be headed for boot camp
The Lewiston Tribune reports that the National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program would bring about 60 new jobs to the remote rural community of Pierce.
- Milwaukee teachers union seeks court order for Viagra in its health plans
It is the latest round in a unsuccessful two-year legal campaign charging that the board's policy of excluding erectile dysfunction drugs discriminates against male employees.
Energy and Climate Change
- Montana gets another $90 million in Internet stimulus grants
Another $90 million in federal stimulus funding to expand high-speed Internet is coming Montana's way, for projects on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and rural Gallatin County, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today.
Legislative Newsletters
- Montana Public Invited to Comment on Potential Biomass Legislation
Based on the information the council has gathered and the public testimony it has heard, it has identified two possible pieces of biomass legislation that it wishes to propose during the 2011 session. They are:
- New solar energy conversion process discovered by Stanford engineers could revamp solar power production
A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology.
- Flynn's Harp: David Allen, executive vice president of McKinstry, says energy conservation deserves focus
The thing that concerns Allen is that “all the good things coming, like large-scale wind and solar energy, electric cars and all the benefits they’ll deliver won’t happen in our generation. There needs to be a better focus on what we can do now.”
- Biomass Fuel Deemed a Viable Renewable Energy Source for Western Montana
“NorthWestern Energy is pleased to be a leader in evaluating biomass potential. The study did an excellent job of clarifying how much biomass is available to fuel potential generating projects in Montana,” said John Fitzpatrick of Northwestern Energy.
- California college is first to go 'grid positive'
Butte College is poised to become the largest collegiate producer of solar power in the world, generating enough electricity to power 9,200 homes.
Transportation
- Denny Rehberg`s E-News Roundup - Listening to Montanans
You're invited to attend any of the listening sessions to ask questions, make comments or just listen.
- First electric car filling station opens
Oregon’s largest utility and a private corporation on Thursday officially opened North America’s first public-use, quick-charge station for electric vehicles.
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