MATR Newsletter - Tue Sep 5, 2017 |
"If the nation expects to be ignorant and free it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Montana Ambassadors and Friends of Montana: Come Hear From Montana's Governor - Steve Bullock - 9/25 - Seattle, WA http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- Montana has the highest rate of female business owners. You and your business should be here. http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Montana Politics & Legislature
Flathead Valley Community College
- Gov. Bullock: Legislature could have prevented budget cuts
Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday in Bozeman that up to $227 million in budget cuts facing state colleges, public health and other services over the next two years could have been prevented by the 2017 Legislature.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Free Prep Classes for High School Equivalency Test begin Sept. 5
In addition to HiSET preparation classes, FVCC offers free English Language Acquisition classes for non-native English speakers.
- Former Governor Marc Racicot To Headline FVCC's Inaugural Mansfield Lecture - 9/18 - Kalispell
FVCC invites the community to the inaugural Mansfield Lecture on September 18, featuring former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot. Free and open to the public, the lecture will begin at 7 pm in the Arts and Technology Building on campus.
Montana Ambassadors
- GFDA Top 10 for 9-4-17
Here is our Top 16 for last week, celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen our regional Great Falls economy.
Visit Montana
- Montana Ambassadors and Friends of Montana: Come Hear From Montana's Governor - Steve Bullock - 9/25 - Seattle, WA
Please join us for an evening of networking with fellow "friends of Montana" who share a professional and personal interest in Montana business and economic development and a desire to forge strong ties between Montana and the Pacific Northwest. The event is free of charge thanks to our sponsors.
Energy and Climate Change
- GoFundMe Campaign - Help rebuild the historic Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park!
We wanted to get started to help send the message that we care, we want rebuilt and we are here to help! Please donate now!
- Video: The Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper - Come to the Maclean Festival! Sept 8-10th in Missoula, Montana
What is not to love about that movie, that writer, and that river?
Come Home Montana
- Clear, Liquid Coating Turns Windows Into Solar Panels
SolarWindow Technologies says it can harvest energy from sunlight by applying a transparent film to glass or plastic.
- Here's How We Can Actually Stop Wasting So Much Food
Consumer awareness of food waste is "spreading like wildfire."
- Love of Coastal Living Is Draining U.S. Disaster Funds
Some members of Congress would like to use a reauthorization vote to enact reforms, including perhaps kicking the most flood-exposed homes off the rolls.
- Green Roof Initiative qualifies for Denver ballot, would require gardens atop new buildings
The ballot measure would require most new buildings of at least 25,000 square feet to have gardens, solar panels or other "green roof" components cover at least 20 percent of their roofs' surface, depending on a building's size. Roof replacements on existing buildings also could trigger the requirement.
- Best Fire and Smoke Tracker Available
"Wow, this is the best interactive smoke and fire map I've seen!
Montana Business
- Montana Career Opportunity - Chief Marketing Officer - Adventure Cycling Association
We seek a person who is passionate about active travel and cycling, and will work with our talented team to boost Adventure Cycling's brand visibility as well as increase membership and sales of the programs, services, and products we offer.
Careers
- Video: Tradition of "The Winston Way" at the R.L. Winston Rod Company in Twin Bridges, Montana
Even though winter is several months away, our culture remains the same throughout the year. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who work hard to make Winston a success.
Idaho Business
- True leaders know it's better to be part of the parade than walk at the head of it
True power was not "getting" people to do what I wanted. True power was giving them a reason to choose to follow my lead.
- Jason Fried of Basecamp on the Importance of Writing Skills
For people going into business, I'd say get a sales job to learn how to sell. Your entire career is going to be filled with sales in some way. You have to sell yourself. You have to learn how to persuade people.
- Making a first impression last
Experts say it takes between five and 15 seconds for someone to form a first impression about a person.
- How To Answer The Question "What Do You Do" Without Boring Anyone
It doesn't have to be so awkward.
- Research Shows Doing This One Easy Thing Is the Best Way to Get People to Trust You
While living in a world of noise where we receive messages 24/7, it is easy to overlook the importance of connecting, engaging and building trust with our listeners.
- Most TV computer scientists are still white men. Google wants to change that.
Google says the way computer science is portrayed in popular culture can profoundly shape career choices.
Oregon Business
- Idaho schools chief seeks boost in education spending
"Overwhelmingly, I'm hearing from educators and the public that Idaho is headed in the right direction for supporting students and teachers," Ybarra said in a prepared statement. "Idaho is seeing the positive impact of our investment evidenced in the huge increase of students taking college level classes in high schools, the early positive gains in reading, as well as districts making strides in attracting and retaining teachers."
Utah Business
- Federal panel recommends rejecting Lattice Semiconductor's sale to Chinese investors
Lattice is Portland's biggest tech company.
Workforce Development
- Rural Utahns hope new push to create jobs means they don't have to leave home to be employed
"The idea is ultrasimple: Create rural jobs while filling the needs of the urban company that can't find adequate talent on the Wasatch Front," said Joel McKay Smith, CEO of Accelerant Business Solutions Provider.
Wyoming Business
- Colorado apprenticeship program turns the factory floor into a classroom
CareerWise, the nation's first statewide youth apprenticeship program, links students to industries and addresses manufacturers' demand for skills, while offering employment, academic credit and support for college.
Education
- Lander Economic Development Association's enterprise park gets first tenant
Wyoming is known for having a boom or bust economy that largely hinges on the energy market, but the Lander Economic Development Association is hoping to lessen the effects the next bust will have on the western Wyoming city.
- Air Wyoming? State explores behaving like an airline to ensure regular service to cities
The agency wants to contract with airlines to provide regular service to airports in the state, similar to how large airlines like United contract with smaller carriers like GoJet to provide regional air service.
- Casper College offers new online programs in office management
The academic program includes a mix of software, human resources and business courses.
- Economic diversity committee releases first report, but real challenge is yet to come
What did we all know? That Wyoming's workforce is ill-equipped to support a move away from the energy industry into areas like business and professional services, which are underrepresented in the state compared to the rest of the nation.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Silicon Valley Courts Brand-Name Teachers, Raising Ethics Issues
They attract notice through their blogs, social media accounts and conference talks. And they are cultivated not only by start-ups like Seesaw, but by giants like Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, to influence which tools are used to teach American schoolchildren.
Funding and Building your Business
- Gallatin College trains labor force for laser industry
Now starting their second year of classes in photonics and laser technology, Roth and six Gallatin College classmates are working toward their associate of arts degrees -- and already have jobs at Bozeman's laser manufacturers.
Connectivity & Communications
- What Google's Open Communication Culture Is Really Like
The situation that exploded a few weeks ago--with former employee James Damore's contentious memo causing internal and public fallout--makes me wonder if this is the breaking point for Google's unique ethos of open communication.
- These Are the Best States for Women Entrepreneurs - Montana has the highest rate of female business owners.
Come To Montana!
- 2 women entrepreneurs who invented a fake male cofounder say acting through him was 'like night and day'
They're glad to see that the story of Keith Mann, their fictional cofounder, is bringing more attention to sexism in tech and in the workplace.
- Startup Marketing Should Skip Traditional Advertising
Startups need to remember that even zero paid media doesn't mean that marketing is free.
- 'Get Sh*t Done' Is This Company's Rallying Cry. Maybe It Should Be Yours, Too?
As leader, you need to walk the line between aggressive work and supportive leadership. Here's how to do that.
- Interest in cyberinsurance grows as hackers target small businesses
Small and medium-size businesses are hit by nearly two-thirds of all cyberattacks -- about 4,000 a day, according to IBM.
- 15 Great TED Talks for Sparking Creativity
From graphic designers to painters to writers, these TED Talks are bound to give your creativity a boost.
- This app will do all the SEO heavy-lifting for you
Your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy is key to not only landing on the first page of Google search -- usually the starting and stopping ground for most users when they query -- it's also essential when it comes down to increasing your overall traffic.
Government Technology
- FCC's Broken Comments System Could Help Doom Net Neutrality
The broadband industry is now using the chaos of the comments process to claim that the public actually supports repealing Title II.
- When annoying ads hijack your internet browser, here is how to shut them down
Tips for mobile browsers too!
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Bots Flood FCC with Millions of Comments About Net Neutrality
The confusion generated by the fake comments left powerful telecommunications and cable companies battling with citizen advocacy groups over the true nature of public sentiment ahead of an open FCC meeting Sept. 28. Both sides said public opinion was on their side.
Transportation
- Video gamers tasked with helping develop new molecule for controlling CRISPR
A new follow-up game has just been launched, and this time players are challenged to create a new RNA molecule that can essentially function as an on/off switch for the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing process.
- Nanomachines that drill into cancer cells killing them in just 60 seconds developed by scientists
"Once developed, this approach could provide a potential step change in non-invasive cancer treatment and greatly improve survival rates and patient welfare globally."
- Meet The Millennial Who's Trying To Save The Labor Movement With A Facebook For Unions
Organized labor may be in a decades-long slump, but at least among the commentariat it appears to be making a comeback.
- These Wireless Earbuds Provide Real-Time Foreign Language Translation
Waverly Labs is among a wave of companies developing wearable translator technology aimed at the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors.
Events
- Oregon Launches EV Rebates Funded by Auto Sales Tax
Oregon is one of five states that has no sales tax, but that will change on January 1, with Gov. Kate Brown's signature on a landmark transportation funding bill that applies a half-cent sales tax to auto sales and increases gas taxes by 10 cents.
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