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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Jul 14, 2006 |
Two articles that are must reads for anyone intersted in the future of Montana: "Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer stresses early education. “Education begins when you are born in Montana and it ends when you die in Montana.” http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html ------------ "Montana Board of Regents OK Strategic Plan for 2006-10 aimed at retaining students and assisting in the expansion and improvement of the state's economy through the development of high-value jobs and diversification of the economic base." http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
2006 Montana Elections
Montana Education Excellence
- Wikipedians Take On Elections
The candidates who will win elections in the future will be the candidates who build genuinely participative campaigns by generating and expanding genuine communities of engaged citizens."
Montana Meth Project
- Montana Board of Regents OK Strategic Plan for 2006-10 aimed at retaining students and assisting in the expansion and improvement of the state's economy through the development of high-value jobs and diversification of the economic base.
Its goals: “To increase the overall educational attainment of Montanans through increased participation, retention, and completion rates in the Montana University System; assist in the expansion and improvement of the state's economy through the development of high-value jobs and diversification of the economic base; improve institutional and system efficiency and effectiveness.”
- Going Global. UM's international efforts link Montana to the world
“I like this place very much, because Missoula is small and, in my opinion, a very safe city,” she says. “I like the research possibilities at the campus, and the faculty is very helpful, very understanding – and very demanding, as well.”
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Teenagers Blanket Montana with More Than 650 Works of Anti-Meth Art in the Paint the State Contest
The contest calls on teens to take action in the fight against Meth abuse by creating highly visible public art that illustrates the dangers of methamphetamine, the state's leading drug problem. Every entry uses the "Meth: Not Even Once" logo, tagline, or other anti-Meth theme.
Education
- Local group helps startups take flight. Angel investors put faith in little companies’ big ideas
Bellingham reflects many of Washington state’s positive results from the WTC report. Washingtonians are innovators. The state leads the country with the generation of new ideas and the translation of these ideas into commercially successful products and services. Washington had the highest rate of new company formation for five years running until neighboring Idaho recently took the lead. Montana ranks third. This strong performance by Northwest states exemplifies that this region is a clear leader in entrepreneurial growth. As groups like the Bellingham Angel Group invest in this innovation by helping startup companies, more jobs are created and, ultimately, the region benefits from a more robust economy.
- Burt Chojnowski, Managing Partner, Brainbelt Consulting, Fairfield, Iowa proposes the "Entrepreneurial Development Corporation"
Building a “serial entrepreneurial class" to sustain new business enterprises and produce significant revenue growth and expansion.
- Entrepreneurship education attracts interest
“The university as entrepreneur is an important part of our transformation into a New American University.”
Montana Business
- Draft Report from Commission on the Future of Higher Education Accuses U.S. Higher Education of Mediocrity
The report finds "equal parts meritocracy and mediocrity" in a national educational system that has become "increasingly risk-averse, frequently self-satisfied, and unduly expensive."
- SAF Grants Over $221,000 to Montana Organizations
“Access and success after high school takes many forms, and we’re honored to work with such talented individuals and organizations that are making a huge difference to Montana students,” said Jim Stipcich, president of SAF. “This pool of grantees reflects efforts taking place all across Montana to help students succeed.”
- Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer stresses early education. “Education begins when you are born in Montana and it ends when you die in Montana.”
“We have to compete in the world economy,” Schweitzer said. “We are no longer competing with Idaho - we are competing with India; we are no longer competing with Colorado - we are competing with China.”
- School just a click away
The majority of statewide virtual schools, which mostly are geared toward high school students, offer courses that supplement traditional brick-and-mortar schools. But a growing number of virtual charter schools are offering high schoolers the option of earning their diploma the digital way, without ever stepping foot in a classroom.
- Middle school students can learn to be an engineer at LEAP Camp
Room is still available for middle school students from 24 eligible communities wishing to enroll in the Learning Engineering by Application (LEAP) Camp, July 30 - August 4 on the campus of Montana State University.
Montana Economic Development
- Sage Spa Living Selects Helena’s Great Northern Town Center for First Spa Living Development Site
Stillwater represents the first in a series of spa living residential development projects focused on natural health and design.
- Bozeman Company Plans First "Spa Living" Development in Montana
age, which operates spas in Bozeman, Whitefish and Billings, announced its plans today to begin its series of "spa living" developments by working with Helena developer Alan Nicholson and Artisan LLP to design and develop a 3,000-square-foot spa and lifestyle store and six luxury residences in Helena's Great Northern Town Center.
- Butte call center set to close. SatoTravel laying off about half the center's 54 employees.
About half its Butte agents will be allowed to keep their jobs and work from home, said Mary Ann Norman, local human resources director.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Boom to Bust in Bozeman, Big Sky and Missoula?
Rampant growth isn’t quite as apparent in Missoula, yet. It’s a larger town so it absorbs development better and the changes are less noticeable. But with a city growth policy that’s going backward, not forward, and no zoning in the county, Missoula’s day of reckoning is coming.
- A home of their own. Five families move into Rural Development homes in Lewistown, MT
“Rural development can build a community from the ground up,”
- New Great Falls, MT BID director resigns fter just one official day on the job. Top candidate surfaces in search for new GFDA president
He said improvements already made in the downtown left it “poised to really take off.” Graff also predicted that more out-of-state residents looking for places to live with outdoor recreation and culture might start moving to Great Falls as places like Missoula and Bozeman became more expensive.
- "Plumm Summer" announces stars. Henry Winkler and William Baldwin will anchor the movie being filmed in Bozeman and Livingston this summer
"A Plumm Summer" is based on a true story about two brothers and a neighbor who search for a kidnapped frog puppet named Froggy Doo, the star of a Montana TV show. The film is set in late 1960s Montana.
GIS Technology
- 2nd Annual Venture Conference For The Northern Rockies, 8/24-25, Big Sky, Mont.
This year, the 2nd Annual Venture Conference for the Northern Rockies is being held in Big Sky, Mont., on August 24-25 at the Summit Hotel. The goal of the conference is to provide valuable introductions for both venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
- 3rd Annual RAIN®makers Conference For Angel Investors, 9/28-29, Mankato, MN
The RAIN®makers Conference is only open to RAINâ fund members, as well as angel investors who are interested in learning more about the RAIN® funds or forming a fund.
- Angel investors giving blessings to more companies from Colorado
"I think investment has picked up considerably," said Jim Arkebauer, founder of Denver-based Venture Associates and co-chairman of the Rockies Venture Club. Although no hard data on deals exists, "I would say it's twice the rate of a year ago," he said.
Montana Biotech
- Glacier County EMS using hi-tech GPS Street Pilot to respond faster.
Then along came Glacier Electric with a huge database they had created listing every Glacier Electric customer and how to locate them.
Funding and Building your Business
- Seven Finalists, including Ligocyte of Bozeman, Montana, Selected for The BioWest 2006 Venture Showcase Competition, Presenting World-Changing Technologies
LigoCyte (Bozeman, Montana) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic drugs and vaccines for preventing or treating human diseases within specialty markets.
Global Telework
- How to Market A Green Company
What actually sells most consumers on environmentally conscious goods and services aren't the altruistic, feel-good reasons such as reducing toxic waste or saving endangered species.
- Your business with a lousy name wouldn't smell sweet to anyone
Your company name is more than just a moniker: It's the cornerstone to building your brand and reflects the larger business picture. Your name should reflect the spirit and meaning of your business.
- Hear the Latest Reports On Small Business Success Secrets
Insights for starting and running a small business from reporters at the Wall Street Journal and Startup Journal and experts in areas including management, finance and personnel.
- Friends and Family Funding Your Startup?
Before you approach anyone about investing in your new venture, make sure you've done your homework with the help of trusted experts. "These investors must sign documents attesting to being accredited investors, or you could be opening yourself up to potential lawsuits." Although startup entrepreneurs often are not familiar with the rules about investors, that doesn't exempt them from liability if a deal goes sour and investors seek legal recourse, Cowen says.
- Driving Traffic to Your Site. When it comes to e-marketing, the simplest methods prove most effective
To learn more, visit our complete FAQ on Driving Traffic to Your Site
- Promise and peril in corporation to corporation mentor programs
Many government contractors establish mentor-protégé relationships under programs set up by individual agencies and the Small Business Administration.
- Street Smarts: The Most Important Resource
When they think about the risk they're taking, they look only at the money they might lose. But losing money is not, in fact, the biggest risk in a start-up. After all, if you work hard enough, you can eventually earn it back. There's another resource that, once you lose it, you'll never see it again. I'm talking about time.
- Board of Directors: The Duties and Responsibilities of The Chairman
In the public company arena, more and more companies are separating the Chairman of the Board position from the CEO. It turns out that this trend has benefits for earlier stage companies too.
- Clean tech generating buzz with money crowd. Big payoffs seen as possible in broad sector
Clean tech generally includes water purification, solar power, biofuels, materials based on nanotechnology and clean coal-use technology to name just a few.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Startup cash is out there; learn how to find it
"I can't raise money for my business!"
Regional Economic Development
- Out of College, but Now Living in Urban Dorms. Community of the overeducated and underpaid in New York.
“To the degree that housing costs become a barrier to that group, it can in the long run sap us of that creative potential that we would otherwise have.”
- Most With Option to Telecommute Prefer to Drive
"With national gas prices hovering near $3 a gallon, American workers could suffer less pain at the pump if they took advantage of workplace telecommuting policies,"
Utah Business
- Community Wealth & Energizing Entrepreneurship NEWS
- Denver Mayor sketches out "Greenprint" vision. Speech touts trees, hybrids, preschool. John Hickenlooper's initiative would stretch 20 years into the area's future. The plan draws praise from industry.
"I'm glad he is thinking big like this," City Councilman Charlie Brown said. "That is the future and the future is now."
Utah Economic Development
- MediConnect acquires rival ZEROP and raises $15MM.
MediConnect Inc. on Tuesday announced a $15 million funding round from private investors, the addition of prominent people to its board of directors and the closing of the acquisition of another medical record retrieval company.
Government Technology
- Utah braces for aging boomers. Looking toward 2030: The governor directs agencies to prepare for the challenges of an older population
By 2050, one in five Utah residents will be age 60 or older. Last year, only about one in 10 Utah residents was age 60 or older. Baby boomers are those born from 1946 to 1964.
Idaho Business
- Blogs Blocked In BlueGrass State
The home of the derby and Mint Julips is now the center of a national debate over what Internet content employees should be able to access. In Kentucky, however, the argument has taken on political tones.
- States failing to secure personal data
The 11 states with breach notification laws that don't apply to government agencies are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas and Utah.
- State Department Releases Details Of Computer System Attacks
The State Department confirmed that attacks last month on some of its computer systems originated in the East Asia-Pacific region, targeting U.S. embassies there, and worked their way toward State's headquarters in Washington.
- National Governors Association: Use IT Tools for Homeland Security
States should employ a variety of information-technology tools to strengthen their homeland-security strategies, according to a new issue brief from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.
Washington State Business
- Media moguls back in own private Idaho
This year's powwow, which began Wednesday with a series of closed-door meetings, is expected to attract 18 billionaires with a combined net worth of $140 billion — exceeding the individual gross domestic products of more than 170 countries, including the likes of Morocco, Singapore and New Zealand.
Wyoming Business
- Washington State workers to get windfall. State workers claimed they were paid less than other government employees in the same kinds of jobs.
Brian Smith, spokesman for the state Department of Personnel, said 141 job classifications are included in the lawsuit settlement. He and Garfinkel said they includes nurses, custodians, paralegals, dietitians, cardiologists and a wide range of other occupations.
Other Economies
- Wyoming Technology Organization Hires Shawn Mills as New Executive Director
"There seems to be a growing number of science and technology entrepreneurs who are making things happen in Wyoming. Many of them are working quietly below the radar. We'd like to engage these folks in a greater dialogue-one where we all benefit.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- PayPal setting up shop in Valley. Scottsdale offices will house expanded technical staff of 300
"Scottsdale and the surrounding area is home to a large and skilled workforce, many of whom can find great opportunities at PayPal's new technology center," McGuire said. "We look forward to working with this large base of talented professionals and supporting the growth of the local community."
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- SBIR Impact - June 2006 - For small businesses interested in the USDA-SBIR program
SBIR Impact is a quarterly newsletter for small businesses interested in the USDA-SBIR program and for institutions and organizations that support the small business community and rural America.
Universities and Economic Development
- Blogger Succeeds in Bartering a Paper Clip for a House
After one year of bartering everything from a snow globe to free rent for a year, Kyle MacDonald has acquired a home in Canada.
Incubators and R&D
- $2MM for UM economic development program to assist developing countries in Central Asia clears Senate panel
The exchange program, spearheaded by UM professor Mehrdad Kia, provides two main services between Montana and the central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
University TechTransfer
- Research Roundup at Montana State University (#261), No smoke, just salt, Fish and microchips, Horn fly photos, Back from the field
"I love it so much I would stay on this project forever," Gower said after her seventh winter in Yellowstone. "We see some amazing things out there."
Business Plan Forums
- Ohio State Commits $100M for Global R&D Impact
The programs chosen are ones that will provide the greatest return on our investment, elevating not only the university's academic stature but, ultimately, the quality of human life, OSU Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder said.
- Montana State University offers four new technologies for licensing to entrepreneurs
A way to precisely place an electrode in the brain, a microscope small enough to fit inside a needle and a way to distinguish live from dead bacterial cells are among four new technologies developed by faculty at Montana State University.
- “UW campuses are well known as centers of teaching and innovation. Now the challenge is to enhance their capacity for the next generation of academic research and development."
"Regions that have successfully built innovation economies have historically had universities with world-class faculty that are focused on building entrepreneurship and technology-transfer functions and that contribute to developing the regional economy." Lou Tornatzky
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Students Develop Sensor Network To Monitor Forest. The network, which won first prize in a Microsoft competition, can sense humidity, sound, temperature, carbon monoxide levels, and tree poachers.
Many companies probably haven't considered monitoring the status of environmental resources through sensor networks because these types of applications aren't motivated by profit, he suggests. Many of the applications the students demonstrated might have otherwise slipped under the radar, he adds.
Energy
- Maine Issues Guide for the Creative Economy
The state's Creative Economy Council estimates that 8.3 percent of Maine's workforce is made up of creative workers. These workers include artists, artisans, engineers, entrepreneurs and researchers. In Maine, this group has an average income 33 percent higher than the rest of the workforce. Florida and other theorists have described this creative class of workers as a decisive factor in determining regional success.
- Montana made; NYU film student from Helena seeks support for latest project
Shot in Helena and featuring several local actors and many recognizable locations, “The Indigenoid” is a look at the subtle ways in which Indian culture has seeped into the mainstream, and how they affect the life of a modern Indian young man on a day-to-day basis. Swaney would really like to shoot her next project in Montana, but will need to generate financial support and other resources locally in order to do so.
- Fans embrace Montana writer Ivan Doig's latest novel. "The Whistling Season"
"I'm an overnight success — after 11 books," said the compact Montanan, whose Scottish roots are legendary among readers.
Connectivity & Communications
- Building in climate problems in U.S. Homes, offices responsible for most energy consumption
Buildings consume 72 percent of all electricity and 54 percent of the natural gas
- Californians May Soon Be Cooking With Cow Power GOT GAS?
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has signed an agreement to distribute a form of natural gas derived from cow excrement collected at Central Valley dairies.
Commuter Rail Development
- Download Net on your laptop? Maybe someday
So you're on an airliner over Butte, Mont., which, without the "e" would be Butt, which in turn suddenly makes you think of Zinedine Zidane's World Cup head-butt and wonder whether head-butts are common in soccer because maybe soccer players don't use their hands even when fighting.
- Low-income French families to get PC, Internet for 1 euro a day
About half of French homes have a home computer — a figure that Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wants to boost to 68 percent in three years.
- Win98 Train Wreck Is Finally Here
Here are some strategies for dealing with whatever transition you might have left.
- A Visionary Seeking to Connect the World, Wirelessly. Marshall Brown
He foresees a universe where “the end point is that all the major cities are covered by the Internet umbrella, there is world-pervasive computerization, and people get all content all the time.” Yikes. And, to paraphrase a Carpenters tune from the last century (sorry), he’s only just begun.
Leadership Montana
- Santa Feans Take Ride on the Future Transit Light Rail Link to Albuquerque
"It's a great day for New Mexico and the city of Santa Fe,"
- The Younger Crowd Wants Transit. Hidden in Plain Sight: Transit-Oriented Development's Role in Enhancing Affordability
"The U.S. is in the midst of a transit-building boom, with almost every metropolitan region planning or building some form of urban rail, busway or streetcar system. The competition for federal funding is so intense that the wait to get a proposed new project funded is almost 50 years. As a result, some regions aren’t waiting. Last fall voters in Denver, for example, approved a local sales-tax increase to fully build out their transit system in a dozen years, improving their bus system and adding six light rail lines, three commuter rail lines, and 70 stations."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Leadership isn't a popularity contest
Leadership is all about getting results and meeting goals and objectives.
- Brain Chips Give Paralyzed Patients New Powers
A neural implant allows paralyzed patients to control computers and robotic arms -- and, maybe one day, their own limbs.
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