MATR Newsletter - Tue Jan 10, 2017 |
People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used. — Unknown
Gov. Steve Bullock Announces job-training grants for Montana firms http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Gov. Steve Bullock
Montana Politics & Legislature
- Gov. Bullock announces more cabinet appointments
With Friday's announcement, vacancies remain in two departments: commerce and corrections.
Northwestern Energy
- Solar users support bill to lock in net metering contracts
Net metering allows those who produce their own electricity to feed it back into the power grid and get credit against the energy they use.
Artificial Intelligence and The Internet of Things
- NorthWestern Makes Changes to Customers Bills; Specific Tax Information Added
Beginning in early January, NorthWestern Energy customers in Montana will see changes on their monthly bills, highlighted by a specific breakout of the amount of property and other taxes included in the charges.
Energy and Climate Change
- Autonomous drones are being called the biggest thing in military technology since the nuclear bomb.
Now, a new generation of drones is coming.
- Tech Giants Bring Artificial Intelligence, Reality-Altering Devices to Market
Widespread use of these technologies may still be a ways off, but early pilots have begun to hint at their vast potential in government.
Come Home Montana
- Nissan, Honda Tease New EVs With Grid Services Capabilities
Will vehicle-to-grid applications soon become mainstream?
- AT&T To Test Power Lines for High-Speed Internet
The technology uses low-cost plastic antennas and devices placed on power lines so that the existing infrastructure is a guide for broadband signals.
Montana Business
- Hog Heaven Cattle Company - Montana Flathead Lake Property for Sale
Flathead Lake/Cromwell Island. Inc. 750' of Lake waterfront with boat ramp. Home is approx. 10,000 sq ft with 5 car attached garage with shop & 1000 ft of deck.
Montana Economic Development
- Amgen leads Series B investment in Bozeman, Montana's SiteOne Therapeutics, Montana's Next Frontier's 1st Investment
The company, with HQ in Bozeman and offices in San Francisco, is developing non-opioid analgesics; the ability to treat chronic pain without habit forming side effects.
- Great Harvest Bread Co. announces new 'hub and spoke' Bakery Café Franchise Model - looking to expand in all areas of the United States, primarily in the Northeast region.
"Our customers love us for that. We continue to grind wheat berries ordered from local Montana family-owned farms."
- Bozeman biotech firm SiteOne Therapeutics raises $15 million for development of opioid alternative
“I hope that we can use and leverage SiteOne’s success to attract more biotech companies to Montana,” Abel said. “It’s a wonderful place to live, there is a thriving tech industry in Bozeman and it’s a great environment for business.”
City Club Missoula
- Headwaters RC&D to Host Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Meetings Throughout Region
Looking to help guide the direction of the local economy in your community?
- Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development Corp. talks economic development, infrastructure
Tuss, who has been executive director of Bear Paw since 2000, said the community development portion of the organization's work includes helping find money through grant programs for infrastructure upgrades of water systems, bridges, community halls, walking trails and other projects.
- Gov. Steve Bullock Announces job-training grants for Montana firms
"Our economy is growing and businesses are expanding," Bullock said in announcing the grants. "I'm pleased that we can help these Montana businesses build the talented and trained workforce they need."
Government
- Montana Telecom head Geoff Feiss lauds state's rural providers during City Club Missoula Forum
Feiss, general manager of the Montana Telecommunications Association, praised the state's rural telecom providers Monday during a presentation before City Club Missoula. But he panned a local effort to establish an open-access broadband network as something of a foolhardy dream.
Idaho Business
- Senator Jon Tester - Rural Montana could be badly hurt by repeal of ACA
How would a potential partial or full repeal of the ACA impact your community?
- Montana government's mythical spending spree
So how accurate is all of that? Has Montana been on a spending spree? Well, by some measures, it's actually worse than the two House members depict.
Incubators and R&D
- Idaho governor wants task force to study higher education
"Where are we anemic, where do we need to have more purpose?"
Wyoming Business
- Innovative Technique to Study Blood Vessels in 3D Provides Insight into Brain Function and Disease
Using experimental animal models, this technique will allow scientists to study how such diseases develop in the brain and help them identify, through examination of blood vessels, potential warning signs of illnesses before symptoms appear.
- DARPA's Biotech Chief Says 2017 Will "Blow Our Minds"
The Pentagon's research division is betting its high-risk, high-reward programs will change medicine
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- University of Wyoming offers 3 new scholarships to attract transfer students
If you're a non-Wyomingite attending community college here or in a nearby state, the University of Wyoming wants you -- and is willing to pay to bring you to Laramie.
Education
- How one mother discovered a problem with special education and got legislators to help try to fix it
Data suggests that by the time students with learning disabilities are referred for special-education services, wide achievement gaps already exist.
Montana Education Excellence
- Why surging high school graduation rates might be a mirage
In many schools, these quick fixes allow students to substitute a few weeks of work online for a course that usually takes months in a classroom.
Funding and Building your Business
- MSU Billings faces Day of Reckoning as enrollment drops 20 percent
Enrollment on the main campus has decreased 20.2 percent in the past decade, while the two-year City College enrollment, following national trends in community and vocational colleges, has experienced an enrollment increase of 28.9 percent in the past decade.
Connectivity & Communications
- How to Destroy the Business Model of Breitbart and Fake News
Many companies don't know that their ads are appearing next to abhorrent content. Tell them.
- 6 Key Leadership Habits Required For Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs are well positioned to become the new leaders, because they perceive problems as opportunities, and have the mental mindset to innovate and execute.
Government Technology
- The real story about broadband in rural Montana
James Grunke is mistaken.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Public Sector Must Embrace Change to Embrace Data's True Value
Before data transformations can occur in government, researchers argue the institutions using it must embrace strategic change.
- Uber to release ride data for city planners
Uber, the ride-hailing company, appears to be changing course on privacy.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Society Could Collapse In A Decade, Predicts Math Historian
The end of the world as we know it could be near ― possibly just years from now, according to a scientist who uses historical and mathematical modeling to predict events.
- Society Could Collapse In A Decade, Predicts Math Historian
The end of the world as we know it could be near ― possibly just years from now, according to a scientist who uses historical and mathematical modeling to predict events.
- Two Google Home speakers are chatting and it's the best thing ever
When we see digital assistants like Alexa or Siri, it's usually humans talking then getting a response. But what happens when they talk to each other?
- This app will notify you if Trump tweets about a company you're invested in
Trump's tweets are proving again and again to have the capacity to make significant waves.
Transportation
- 5 Emerging Technologies Making Their Way into the Mainstream
Tomorrow's technology will enhance citizen services while improving how government functions.
Events
- When Will Electric Cars Go Mainstream?
"The moment for a tipping point for electric vehicles is not here -- yet again." But there are also "some developments that make me think it's not back to zero."
- Billings airport adding non-stop daily flights to Dallas beginning June 2
John Brewer president and CEO of the Billings Chamber of Commerce said the community has been asking for direct air service to the southern United States for a long time.
- Now flying from Bozeman, Montana: Non-stop to Chicago
The Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport announced today that American Airlines will offer a new, non-stop seasonal service to Chicago O'Hare Airport.
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