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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Mar 11, 2016 |
If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don't particularly like. -Soichiro Honda, industrialist (17 Nov 1906-1991)
Montana's Business Plan: 8 Key Industry Network Final Recommendations from the Main Street Montana Project http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Main Street Montana Project
- Kalispell Chamber's Monthly Luncheon Series To Feature Top Education Leaders, 3/14
The March installment of the Kalispell Chamber's Monthly Luncheon Series will feature the Flathead's top education leaders for a report on how they are meeting our valley's current and future educational workforce needs.
Montana Department of Commerce
- 8 Key Industry Network Final Recommendations from the Main Street Montana Project
The Main Street Montana Project Report is a blueprint for action. Accordingly, the report takes each pillar and identifies a series of more specific goals, objectives and tasks, as well as implementation leaders. The Governor's Office plays a key leadership role in every objective in this report.
Montana Governor's Office of Economic Development
- Billings-based Avitus Group receives $490K worker training grant, congrats from Bullock
"It would have been so easy for you all to kick your feet up and say we're doing well," Bullock said. "Just as Avitus Group doesn't say good is good enough, just as Big Sky EDA doesn't say good is good enough, we at the state level aren't saying it's time to kick our feet up. Here in Montana, when things are going well, we say, 'How can we do better?'"
Montana World Affairs Council
- Missoula: And Through It All, a River Runs
There's this place that's a college town with a vibrant, walkable downtown and a laid-back population of makers, doers, and adventurers.
- Governor Bullock announces Second Main Street Montana Project "Innovate Montana Symposium" Billings, July 13-14
Business leaders from across the state will present and exchange ideas for growing and supporting the next generation of small businesses and commuÂnity leaders who are innovating in their industries.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Announcing the Montana World Affairs Council's new Executive Director - Alex Sobin
The Montana World Affairs Council welcomes Alex and is excited about the dynamic background that she brings to the Council.
Montana Ambassadors
- Great Falls Growth Highlights 3/8/2016
Montana's first Accredited Economic Development Organization.
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- Montana Ambassadors Look Toward Montana's Economic Future at Conference
he first day of the event featured keynote speaker Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney, who presented current updates and progress on the Main Street Montana Project.
Energy and Climate Change
- 9 incredible places in Montana you've probably never heard of
3. Fire lookouts (all over)
Come Home Montana
- America's year without a winter: The 2015-2016 season was the warmest on record
Alaska logged its second warmest winter on record, almost 11 degrees above average. At the end of February, Anchorage had no snow on the ground for the first time on record during the month.
- MSU Extension to present spring 2016 Sustainability Workshop Series
The free, public workshops do not require pre-registration.
- Boston Uses Big Data to Make Electric Grid Predictable, May Apply Model in Other Cities
By predicting how much power each building in Boston will need during any given hour, the city hopes to transform its electrical grid.
- Solar energy rolls out like a carpet with groundbreaking Roll-Array photovoltaics
"It is like a microgrid in a box. It has all of the components integrated into it that you need to run a 24 hour microgrid."
- Report: Farmers Should Diversify to Adapt for Climate Change
Higher temperatures, less summer precipitation could lead to 25,000 jobs lost, $736 million in labor earnings
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunity - Food and Agriculture Development Center Director - Bear Paw Development Corporation
The position is responsible for the outreach and development of value-added agriculture and alternative energy projects and programs within the region.
Montana Business
- Home for Hackers Lets Startups Grow in Kansas City, Kansas
Thinking that gigabit speed might give their startup ventures an extra jolt, tenants have come from as far away as Boston, Beijing and Bangladesh.
Montana Economic Development
- D.A. Davidson to merge with Smith Hayes Cos.
"We are eager to reach our full potential in the Nebraska and California markets with greater resources and a consistent brand in those regions." Jim Kerr, president and chief executive officer of D.A. Davidson & Co.
- Battle of the breads: Montana's Great Harvest bread sues Panera Bread
The company's slogan reads "Bread. The way it ought to be." Panera Bread is being sued for its use of the slogan "Food as it should be."
- Made in Montana Tradeshow brings 143 exhibitors to Helena
"This show represents a great opportunity for store buyers and Montana sellers to come together and get the maximum number of local products on store shelves." Department of Commerce Director Meg O'Leary
TEDx Events in Montana
- 2016 Montana Economic Report - A Year of Strong Growth
What's Driving Growth?
Next Generation Broadband in Montana
- Today's TED Talk This computer will grow your food in the future
Get to know Harper's "food computers" and catch a glimpse of what the future of farming might look like.
City Club Missoula
- Seattle plans release of digital inclusion action plan to help bridge Internet divide
"We stipulated that anyone coming in, looking to build in Seattle must have 30 percent of their build in so-called 'digital divide' areas," Mattmiller said.
Regional Economic Development
- City Club Missoula March Forum - Refugee Resettlement, 3/14, Missoula, Montana
What are the implications of welcoming refugees to Missoula?
Washington State Business
- Brookings Institute: Times to Rethink Economic Development
The goal: To put a regional economy on a trajectory of higher growth (growth) that increases the productivity of firms and workers (prosperity) and raises standards of living for all (inclusion), thus achieving deep prosperity--growth that is robust, shared, and enduring.
- Austin, Texas, Works on Prototype for Communities Competing in a Global Marketplace
In order to thrive, cities must strengthen untapped and underutilized assets and deliberately rectify disparities by race, place and income.
Workforce Development
- Inland Northwest Economic Developments, Winter 2016
The following are projects, initiatives and economic developments making news in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.
Wyoming Business
- A Future Without Jobs? Two Views of the Changing Work Force
In the utopian (dystopian?) future projected by technological visionaries, few people would have to work. Wealth would be generated by millions upon millions of sophisticated machines. But how would people earn a living?
- Kansas Recruits Volunteers to Mentor Welfare Recipients
Modeled after a successful anti-recidivism program, Kansas has a new volunteer mentoring program to help people on welfare find work.
Education
- John P. Ellbogen $30K Competition nurtures Wyoming start-ups
The contest, now in its 15th year, offers students the chance to pursue an idea and learn what it takes to turn that idea into a business.
Montana Education Excellence
- Mentor platform links applicants with current students for advice
StudentConnect matches college applicants with student mentors who have similar majors, interests and ambitions, so they can receive course advice.
- Americans Don't Read... and that's Affecting our Elections
When "50% of adults can't read a book written at an 8th grade level", how can they engage in the debate of ideas?
Community
- University of Montana revamps recruitment, looks ahead to 2016 fall enrollment
"We're significantly up over where we were last year,"
- Montana Girls STEM Group Launches Mini-Grant Program
Teachers, community groups and other organizations committed to collaborating, informing and motivating girls are encouraged to apply by March 31.
- Registration open for MSU's Expanding Your Horizons for girls
Workshops are taught by MSU faculty and community members and cover topics such as robotics, archaeology, engineering and more.
- The future of science education in Great Falls, Montana - Great Falls College MSU NANSLO Lab
The lab opened in 2014 and is the only one of its kind in the U.S. This year, the NANSLO expanded their reach to high school students in rural communities.
Funding and Building your Business
- Jeff Bridges talks Montana ties ahead of Missoula concert
Bridges and his band the Abiders perform at the Wilma Theatre on Tuesday, March 15, as a fundraiser for the re-election of Democratic Governor Steve Bullock.
- 'Save the Merc' - Missoula community uses social media as platform to support Mercantile
A new Facebook page called 'Save the Merc' has become the platform for Missoulians to vent their frustrations with the proposal to demolish the 140-year-old Merc. Over the last couple of days, it's gained more than 15-hundred likes.
- Small-Town America Is Facing Big-City Problems
The affordable housing crunch and fire-breathing NIMBYism often associated with America's rapidly gentrifying cities has reached our resort towns -- from the Rocky Mountains to Northern Michigan. Small towns, they're just like us!
- Your City Is Not the Next Silicon Valley
"Over the past 50 years the U.S. economy has shifted decisively from financing the exploitation of natural resources to making the most of human talent."
Connectivity & Communications
- Is Bookkeeping Only for Filing Taxes?
Outsourcing a bookkeeper is one of the best ways to increase the amount of time an owner can spend on their business.Find out where the biggest costs are, and how a small business owner can save.
- Stuck in a Box? Take the Pain Out of Growing Your Business with Cascadia Business Development
Colleen Rudio, Chief Strategist and founder of Cascadia Business Development has designed the P5 Capacity Building Program to deliver this new comprehensive business development program and help regional businesses grow responsibly.
- 3 Reasons Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Lawyer (who's practice focuses on entrepreneurs)
Do not be the entrepreneur who is trying to look for a lawyer after their business has been sued. Not carefully selecting the right lawyer can increase your chances of losing the lawsuit.
- Small Businesses Shouldn't Overpay on Their Taxes
How much more could you be saving at the end of the year?
- Facebook engineering director describes what it's like to go through the company's 6-week engineer bootcamp
The point, Fedorov said, is to get engineers doing real work, not standardized training, from day one.
- Facebook uses a unique intern evaluation question to find the best young talent
Facebook has the highest-rated internship program in the US, according to a report by Glassdoor.
- When it comes to social media marketing, engagement is key
You have a short time period to make an impression.
Government Technology
- Google's 'Project Fi' Opens $20 Unlimited Talk, Text to Everyone
If you're in need of a new cellphone service, we might have a solution for you. Google is officially opening up its cellphone carrier service to anyone and everyone.
Non-Profit News
- Microwave Repairs Might Annihilate Zombie Potholes Once and For All
Crews patch them, just to see these recurrent potholes come back again. New research focuses on microwaves zapping patches to make a more permanent pothole fix.
- 6 Ideas to Help Government Realize Open Data's Transformative Power
Open data isn't a $2 side of guacamole that adds flavor to the burrito. It's the restaurant's mission statement.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Fundraising Expert Will Conduct Statewide Lecture Tour
Join the Montana Nonprofit Association and the Montana Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in welcoming fundraising expert Tom Ahern to Montana!
- Google.org Thinks It Can Engineer a Solution to the World's Woes
Google.org approaches poverty and inequality as an engineering problem.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Group looks to position Missoula as media-arts hub
"This could be the media-manufacturing hub," said Staggs, the film commissioner with the Montana Film Office. "It could be the place for startups, a place for content, digital-education tools, app makers, designers and coders. You could build Missoula to be the Austin of Montana - the startup tech center. Nobody is serving this industry."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Overpopulation - The Root Cause of Our Problems - Why Is It a Taboo Topic?
The population explosion is here now, and it is causing problems.
- Circret Bracelet - Make Your Skin Your New Touch Screen
With the Cicret Bracelet, do whatever you want on your arm.
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