MATR Newsletter - Tue Jun 28, 2016 |
"Education is your greatest weapon. With education, you are the white man's equal, without education you are his victim and so shall remain all of your lives. Study, learn, help one another always. Remember there is only poverty and misery in idleness and dreams - bit in work there is self-respect and independence." Chief Plenty Coups (Crow)
Big Sky Economic Development
Gov. Steve Bullock
- Big Sky Economic Development
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) was able to take a client from being non-bankable to bankable in a few short months. As a result of the work the SBDC did with our client, we transitioned from what may have been a loan turn down into extending a $1.2 million dollar loan to fund their new business venture. Ty Elkin Yellowstone Bank President, Billings Homestead Bank
Montana Politics & Legislature
- Governor Bullock's Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt
"Today's decision affirms that placing onerous restrictions on Montana women and women across the nation violates their constitutional right to make private medical decisions in consultation between her family, her doctor, and her faith and to access proper and comprehensive care."
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- Montana's gubernatorial candidates hold first debate - Full Debate Video
Gov. Steve Bullock and his Republican challenger, Bozeman businessman Greg Gianforte, tussled Sunday over the economy, infrastructure, river access and an array of other topics during their first gubernatorial debate.
Big Sky Commerce
- Voices of Montana Tourism - June Tourism News You Can Use
Did you know that 60% of the overall economic impact to Montana's tourism economy occurs between June and September?
- 10 Reasons Montana is the Most Beautiful Mountainous State in America
Mere words can't do it justice.
- Travel and Marketing Trends for Montana - June 2016 - Montana Office of Tourism, Department of Commerce
Summer is in full swing, and tourism is booming. Destinations are putting their money on specific targeting and specialization. Companies are capitalizing on years of brand awareness and shying away from "over advertising." In this season where consumers are bombarded with travel choices, we've noted the marketing trends that rise above the swarm.
Energy and Climate Change
- Big Sky Commerce Celebrating 13 Years With These Great Clients
Big Sky Commerce is excited to be celebrating 13 years of doing business in the payment processing space, and we'd like to thank some of our clients for their support:
Come Home Montana
- "Noise loggers" save water by listening for leaks
"Noise logger" devices are able to spot underground leaks to an accuracy of 99.5 percent.
- Power Security - Microgrids offer a grid-edge solution.
As described by the US Department of Energy (DOE), microgrids are localized grids that can disconnect from the traditional grid to operate autonomously, help mitigate grid disturbances for faster system response and recovery, and strengthen grid resilience.
- A New Power Monitor Keeps Tabs on Your Home's Energy Suckage
Because--let's face it--all those smart appliances (to say nothing of your dumb ones) might be turning your power bill ugly. And, oh, yeah, the planet. Won't someone think of the planet?
- The Missing Link in a City's Path to Smarter Street Lights
To optimize the money and energy they spend lighting their streets, cities need a lot more data. These MIT researchers have figured out how to get it.
- U.S., Canada and Mexico vow to get half their electricity from clean power by 2025
"In all three countries, there is a significant move toward a clean energy economy."
- Can Nanotechnology Turn Windows Into Solar Panels?
A team of U.S. and Australian researchers recently unveiled a new nanowire material that gathers both heat and light -- doubling the efficiency of standard solar cells -- and also glows in the dark.
Leadership Montana
- Montana Career Opportunities - Customer Service Representative, Product Support Analyst, Data Center Director, Senior IT Project Manager and more... - Education Logistics
Education Logistics, Inc. is the original school bus routing software company and has been providing Routing and Planning software solutions to districts across North America since 1977.
- Montana Career Opportunities -Data Integration Engineer, Frontend Developer, Senior Software Engineer and more... - SoFi
Empowering Financial Greatness
- 10 things newcomers learn after moving to Montana
Montana is a great place. The people are a lot warmer than the average temperature. The scenery is amazing. The fishing, boating and skiing are world-class. The history is profound.
Montana Business
- Leadership Montana is excited to announce the 44 Montanans who will comprise the Class of 2017.
Our 13th class includes leaders from 18 communities and industry sectors like agriculture, business, health care, government, non-profit, and education. Please join us in welcoming these extraordinary new members.
Careers
- Columbia Falls, Montana reeling with another major loss of jobs
State Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, spent part of Thursday writing a letter and returning a $170 donation Weyerhaeuser Co. made to her political action committee.
- Vines in the valley: Couple plans Bitterroot's first commercial vineyard, winery
The pull of Roxann's native state brought them home to Montana where they found that right soil and mild weather high up on a bench overlooking the Bitterroot Valley just north of Corvallis.
- Fashion in cycling: Hamilton, Montana entrepreneur launches company to create high-quality bicycle clothing for women
"We've done everything we can to focus this on marketing it to women globally,"
- Female entrepreneurs on leadership and what it takes to own a business in Bozeman's booming economy
There is a mentality that gets brought to Bozeman from locals," said Audrey Wooding, market and economic research specialist with consulting firm TechLink. "It's in the air and we're all breathing it. Montana attracts people who are predisposed to that attitude."
Government
- Finally, jobs for new college grads, just maybe not the jobs they wanted
The rate of unemployment for recent graduates is under 5 percent and job prospects are finally brightening.
- 7 Steps To Ending Your Internship With A Job Offer In Hand
Aiming to turn your summer internship into a full-time job? Good news: Your employer wants that, too!
- Free tech training for veterans
The Indiegogo campaign aims to raise funds to provide equipment, teachers and free membership for participants. How else could veterans be supported through education?
Utah Economic Development
- Rebuilding our Democracy Constitutionally - We must pass a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reverse Citizens United
Since Citizens United, advocates of big money power both inside and outside of Montana are using Citizens United to rip apart any constraints and big money is starting to taint our elections.
- A guide to your national parks
There are many reasons that residents of the upper Great Plains states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming should feel lucky.
- A Tricky Task: Government Tries to Define the Gig Economy
Before the government can measure the size of the gig economy -- or is it the sharing economy? The digital economy? -- the sector needs to be defined.
- Helena, Montana plans for limiting utility costs to homeowners
The city can't allow itself to end up like the Helena School District, he noted of the tens of millions of dollars needed for school facility upgrades and new construction.
Wyoming Business
- How the tech industry grew a rural Utah town by 417 percent in just one year
Vineyard's story is one example of Utah County's extraordinary growth and the impact its prosperity can have on cities trying to keep up with housing demand.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Top 5 states to make a living in 2016
Middle of America, perfectly rectangularly-shaped, home to Harrison Ford, Dick Cheney and zero major professional sports teams, Wyoming takes the lead this year for best state to make a living.
Education
- Forest kindergarten
A forest kindergarten is a type of preschool education for children between the ages of three and six that is held almost exclusively outdoors.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Department of Education launches new data website
The five focus areas has a separate team at the department working on it, and those teams will update the website monthly with the progress toward their goals.
Funding and Building your Business
- UM partners with growing high-tech sector to create high-paying jobs, keep talented graduates right here in Montana
As Montana increases its footprint in high-tech businesses, more job opportunities become available, reversing the trend of talented graduates leaving.
Government Technology
- The Soft-Skills Gap You Haven't Heard Of
It isn't just individual job candidates who need soft skills in order to succeed. So do the companies themselves.
- Kellogg venture capital fund to invest $100M in startups
Kellogg Co. has launched Eighteen94 Capital, a venture capital fund, that plans to invest $100 million in startup businesses pioneering new ingredients, foods, packaging and technology.
- Hillary Clinton to offer debt forgiveness to young entrepreneurs
Hillary Clinton will propose allowing entrepreneurs to defer making student loan payments, as part of a technology agenda she plans to introduce on Tuesday.
Non-Profit News
- 4 San Francisco Projects Highlighted During the National Week of Making
The city partners with the White House to recognize initiatives from grassroots manufacturers in the makers movement.
- Bringing Together Disparate Data Sets Can Make Them More Useful
A project out of Seattle called AccessMap -- which will soon expand to other cities -- is demonstrating what can happen when different data sets are brought together.
- Sneak Peek: Examining the California Innovation Lab
The lab is being billed as a "tech habitat" that will boost engagement and transparency by giving state employees and their partners a place to build, test and deploy open source technologies in a cost-effective and efficient way.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Butte-Silver Bow Community foundation seeks grant requests from nonprofits
"Through giving for the benefit of others, makes us a stronger community which improves the quality of life that we all enjoy here,''
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Here's how to opt out of Windows 10
If you're tired of being badgered to upgrade to Windows 10, you can permanently opt out.
Transportation
- Google co-founder Sergey Brin favors nano technology
"I think the notion that the materials that we use could just be dramatically better...I think that's very powerful," Sergey Brin
- Kill All the Mosquitoes?!
New gene-editing technology gives scientists the ability to wipe out the carriers of malaria and the Zika virus. But should they use it?
- The Internet of Things in Action
Here are a couple of ways the Internet of Things is currently being used, and how it has affected citizens and cities.
- Six New Medical Technologies Worth Watching
From growing blood vessels in labs to applying advanced nanotechnology to cancer testing, here are some emerging technologies that could have a big impact on medicine in coming years.
- Sweden cuts the ribbon on electric highway for trucks
Not only is the system claimed to cut energy consumption by half, but it has the added advantage of reducing local air pollution.
- Nation's First Solar Roadway Coming to Historic Route 66
Missouri's Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has announced plans to install solar panels at a rest stop alongside the iconic Route 66 as part of the department's "Road to Tomorrow Initiative."
- A new device could help bikers catch cars that drive too close to them
A new technology adopted by law enforcement in Ottawa could help enforce legal distance between bikers and cars on the road.
- Why Columbus, Ohio Won the Smart City Transportation Challenge
The Ohio capital beat out 77 other cities, including techie San Francisco, with its plans to use technology to solve transportation problems.
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