|
|
|
| MATR Newsletter - Fri Apr 27, 2018 |
"Life is a shipwreck, save what you can." Voltaire
iGraduate Montana Challenge Fund grants awarded to fifteen communities http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Gov. Steve Bullock
Northwestern Energy
- Under Governor Bullock, Montana's Middle-Class Growth Fastest in the Country
"In Montana we've made record investments in public education, expanded apprenticeships, increased access to healthcare and streamlined regulations to help small and large businesses create more jobs for Montana workers and families," said Governor Bullock. "We're working hand in hand with the private sector to identify opportunities for growth, and as a result our economy is stronger, wages are increasing and more Montanans are working than ever before in our state's history."
Great Falls Development Authority
- The Best Lighting Retrofits Now And The Future Impacts - 5/17 - Billings, Montana
You'll be able to learn directly from one of Lighting Wizards' experts, whose experience and insight can help your facility save energy and money.
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
- GFDA Top 10 - Here is our Top 12 for last week, celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy.
Met with executives of eight Japanese food/ag companies in Tokyo to make the business case for processing operations in the Great Falls trade area, with an emphasis on new opportunities created by rapid growth in Montana pulse crop production and the potential for continued increases.
- Great Falls Development Authority CEO Brett Doney speaks out on Madison Food Park: 'Wait until we have the facts'
While Doney acknowledged that a significant number of opponents to the Madison Food Park are simply expressing honest concerns for their community, he also said that some of the rhetoric is overblown and not entirely based on fact.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Kalispell Chamber Announces Support of $1M Elementary School Levy Request
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce announced its support for a 'yes' vote for the upcoming $1M elementary school levy request on May 8.
Visit Montana
- The Future of Education in 20 Years
I hope you graduate from high school with a diploma that looks more like a resume, or portfolio of experiences, projects, and applied academics, than it does a basic transcript of letter grades and seat-time credits. Your diploma is a reflection of who you are and what you can do.
Big Sky Commerce
- Sunrise Fly Shop - From Gear to Guides - Southwest Montana's Finest
The Most Experienced Fly Fishing Guides on the Big Hole & Beaverhead Rivers
Energy and Climate Change
- Missoula Economic Partnership was pleased to find that Big Sky Commerce offers a more competitive fee structure while simultaneously supporting the regional economy.
Interested to know more about how Big Sky Commerce can assist your business or organization to reduce payment processing fees?
Come Home Montana
- Hawaii Gov Signs Performance-Based Ratemaking Into Law
The new law will link utility revenues to hitting various customer-focused performance metrics, including the interconnection of solar and energy storage.
- Wind, solar deliver stunning 98 percent of new U.S. power capacity in January, February
Renewables to provide 69 percent of new capacity by March 2021, as dozens of coal plants are retired
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunities - Engineering Recruiter, Backend Engineer, QA Lead, Customer Experience Associate, and more... - ClassPass Missoula, Montana
Why work at ClassPass?
- Montana Career Opportunities - Director, Solutions Consulting, Engagement Manager, Solutions Consultant - commonFont
At commonFont, we serve the world's leading companies by helping them connect with and learn from their customers.
- Request for Proposals (RFP) - City of Missoula Legislative Management Solution Legislative Management System
Our ideal vendor/partner can provide all the services required in the RFP with one integrated solution rather than a piecemeal approach.
- This Tiny Montana Town Is One Of The Happiest Places In America
Montana is a happy place. Poll results have shown that we tie with Alaska as the most prideful population in the country, and most Montanans report being satisfied with where they live and the lives they're leading.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Executive Director - Montana Board of Investments
The Montana Board of Investments (the Board) directs the investment activity and administration of approximately $18.5 billion in state assets, including pension, trust, insurance reserves, operating funds, and certain local government funds.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance, Director of eLearning and Academic Technology, Director of University Communications and more... - University of Montana Western
It is located in Dillon, Montana in the scenic Rocky Mountains and has been awarded numerous top national rankings for delivering high quality, affordable education.
- Casting call in Missoula this weekend (4/28-29) for Montana-based feature film
Montana Studios, LLC, and the Missoula Food Bank will host an open casting call for background actors at the Food Bank, 1720 Wyoming St., on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Montana Business
- Push for "innovation ecosystem" gains momentum - and ideas - in Missoula
Whatever your pleasure, leaders from a number of sectors, cities and nations agreed on this: It's the right moment in time to invent the next chapter in Missoula's future.
Montana Economic Development
- Montana Made: RoBarr - coffee and tea replacement beverage
Many people drink coffee or tea every day, but a company in Conrad has created a replacement out of barley.
- Missoula-based Dermaxon - Further exploring the brain-skin connection for a better life
Our goal at DermaXon is to slow the underlying biological mechanisms of aging and delay or prevent the onset of age-related and skin diseases.
Careers
- ClassPass CEO: Missoula checked all the right boxes in company's national search
ClassPass CEO: Missoula checked all the right boxes in company's national search By Martin KidstonApril 25, 2018 ClassPass CEO Fritz Lanman details the company's plans for growth, its keys to success and why it chose Missoula over 900 other cities it considered during a presentation held earlier this year. (Missoula Current file photo) Wage inflation in New York and San Francisco and their high cost of living sent ClassPass on a mission last year to find a new location for its third North American office. After a lengthy search that placed Missoula, Bozeman, Provo and Fort Collins on the short list, Missoula rose to the top by checking all the right boxes - a talented workforce, low facility costs, a business friendly government and a strong university. But Fritz Lanman, ClassPass CEO, said it also offered atypical assets, including progressive community values and a high quality of life. Oddly, he added, it required a layover when traveling from most major metros - cities inundated with companies fleeing their coastal digs for a more cost-friendly environment. "If there was a layover to get to a place, other people who didn't care about the community as much wouldn't be willing to do that, so I thought it was a positive filter," Lanman said Wednesday. "I hope other companies come here, and if they do come here, they're not just choosing it because of what an Excel spreadsheet says about the local talent supply, the wages and facilities, but because they fall in love with the region and the community."
- Basecamp Butte - Economic development advocates to launch one-stop-shop Butte recreation website
Fisher describes the website as an "all-encompassing" one stop shop where visitors and locals will be able to learn about all of Butte's recreational amenities in a single online resource.
Canada Business & Economic Development
- High-Paying Trade Jobs Sit Empty, While High School Grads Line Up For University
As for his friends from high school, "they're still in college," he said with a wry grin. "Someday maybe they'll make as much as me."
Business Plan Forums
- Canada Is Going To Be The Next, Great, Entrepreneurial Tech Country
Canada has a huge, near-term competitive opportunity over to the US.
Government
- MSU student entrepreneurs secure business funding and awards at startup challenge in Missoula
All three teams of Montana State University student entrepreneurs who competed at a startup competition held recently in Missoula earned awards and funding to support their startups.
Oregon Economic Development
- Map: As Net Neutrality Officially Ends, States Rush to Pass Workarounds
Governors in Montana, Vermont, New Jersey, New York and Hawaii, meanwhile, have used a different workaround. These governors issued executive orders that require ISPs to abide by net neutrality principles if they want to seek a contract with their respective states.
- Bill Gates' dire warning: U.S. could lose its global leadership role under Trump
If the U.S. diminishes its role providing aid to poor countries, it could both disappoint allies and allow rival superpowers to step in and exert their influence overseas, he says.
Other Economies
- Rural Oregon joins push for faster internet
The internet provided wouldn't quite match the fiber optic connections offered in bigger cities, Cikanek said, but it would be a major boost for rural areas across the country, many of which have yet to emerge from the copper-cable, dial-up era.
Regional Business
- Finland paid unemployed people a basic income of $685 every month. It didn't work out
The program, which started January 2017, was the first of it's kind in Europe.
- This Small Southern City Is the Most Innovative in the Country
While the report does rank cities, the ultimate goal is to offer them best practices and improve their ability to innovate.
Regional Economic Development
- How Big Is the Minimum-Wage Workforce in Your State?
Differences in wage laws and costs of living explain why they're more common in some places than others.
- The single-family house: An American icon faces an uncertain future
When Pulte died last month at 85, he was among the last living members of the generation of builders who created the single-family suburb. He'd also lived long enough to see their creation called into question.
Workforce Development
- Rather than become the next Silicon Valley, cities need to be themselves
To truly embrace what makes your community special, follow three simple steps.
- Politicians, Listen Up: Outdoor Rec Brings Big Money
A new Outdoor Industry Association report details outdoor rec spending by congressional district. Lawmakers should take note.
Wyoming Business
- Economists offer suggestions to tackle Montana's looming severe workforce shortage
Over the next 10 years, Montana is expected to add about 4,500 workers a year but that's not enough to cover the 5,500 new jobs that are projected to be added every year.
Montana Education Excellence
- ENDOW's missing piece - People do not come to Wyoming to look at oil and gas wells.
Steps to enhance Wyoming's outdoor recreation that won't cost money:
- Kawasaki and Japan may invest up to $9 million researching coal in Wyoming
"I am excited to welcome Kawasaki, a highly esteemed company to Wyoming," Governor Mead said in a statement Tuesday. "This announcement is the culmination of many hours of research, strategic planning and vision."
- First of its kind greenhouse offers fresh produce and jobs for the disabled in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Montana and Wyoming are well known for agriculture, but a new method of farming being utilized in Jackson Hole is one of the firsts of its kind in the world.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- University of Montana Western in Dillon offers students the ability to receive a BS in Natural Horsemanship.
This is a huge story with national/international implications in natural horsemanship.
- University of Montana Western Offers Scientific Glassblowing program
On Montana Western, Souza felt that the facilities for the glass courses were "an amazing place," and that the Experience One program facilitates artistic and technical breakthroughs for students, which he felt "is what makes learning great."
Community
- Montana State University faculty vote no on Koch-funded research center
The Faculty Senate voted Wednesday against a proposed economic research center at Montana State University funded by a $5.7 million grant from the controversial Charles Koch Foundation.
- iGraduate Montana Challenge Fund grants awarded to fifteen communities
"To be relevant in the 21st Century, the learning environment must include a full range of options for youth. That starts with students making use of technology to expand their academic options and integrating career readiness programs, with the ultimate goal of giving our youth the knowledge and skills to pursue their dreams. iGraduate Montana is uniquely designed to meet these goals," said Mike Halligan, Executive Director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.
Funding and Building your Business
- Call for stories - Do you have a "Risk" story you want to share? 'Tell Us Something' would like to help you.
The June 13 Tell Us Something isn't very far away and we are accepting story pitches now! Pitch deadline is MAY 13!
Montana Biotech
- Maximize Growth Potential by Building a Board of Advisors From the Start
Change the thinking around building a board of directors -- right to begin with. Instead, think of this as creating a board of advisors.
- Growing Your Team with Submittable
From planning and recruiting to reviewing and hiring, Submittable's software and job-sharing resources make finding the right candidate simple and successful.
- MIT Study Says the Average Age of Successful Entrepreneurs is 42
It turns out the everlasting myth of the 20-something billionaire entrepreneur is just that; a myth.
- St. Louis group that supports women-led startups expands into six new cities
"With Brazen's help, we hope women entrepreneurs will realize their growth aspirations, regardless of labels or definitions they choose to wear."
- 3 keys for selling a small business
Eric Nerad owned and operated B&E Auto Repair for 36 years before selling the company. He shares three keys for making the process a success, starting with compiling multiple years' worth of financial information.
- 3 Completely Random Interview Questions That Are Actually Incredibly Revealing
Adam Bryant, the Managing Director at Merryck, talks about the questions he uses to get to know potential new employees.
Connectivity & Communications
- Rocky Mountain Labs research team discovery could help in testing for new Lyme disease vaccines
The research team's findings could be used to eventually help verify the effectiveness of any new vaccine for the disease.
- How to bet and win on biosciences ... outside established hubs
For municipalities looking to stoke an innovation ecosystem, an anchor industry can provide the needed spark. One of the best anchor-industry bets around is biosciences.
Non-Profit News
- Kansas Governor Signs Bill Creating Task Force to Bring Broadband to Every Corner of the State
Earlier this week, Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a bill into law creating a task force to map locations statewide that are in need of a broadband boost.
- Idaho Counties Consider Banding Together to Buy New Fiber Optic Network
Commissioners are meeting with an emergency communication officer from Lewiston to determine which areas in the county are most in need of fiber.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Giving locally in Montana? There's an app for that, now
PHIL https://www.philtheneed.com/ , short for Philanthropy, a website and smart phone app that helps nonprofits tell their stories to potential donors, and helps donors find agencies and projects they would be most interested in supporting.
- The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation - Investing in people to improve the quality of their lives
The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation supports a broad spectrum of worthy organizations benefiting at-risk youth, economically and socially disadvantaged individuals and families, and those with special needs.
Transportation
- Major Gmail revamp includes snoozing, smart replies, and self-destructing emails
As well as a visual overhaul, Gmail is getting confidential emails, the option to snooze messages, and smart replies, among other new features.
Events
- Take this online survey assessing bicycling and walking in Montana
There will be opportunities for public engagement and meetings. Be sure to stay in the loop and get your voice heard.
- JetBlue to land in Bozeman
It's the first-ever scheduled service by the airline in Montana.
- World's fastest EV charger gives drivers 120 miles in 8 minutes
Swiss company ABB has launched its Terra High Power DC fast charger, which can put out an impressive 350 kilowatts, charging at nearly three times the rate of Tesla's Superchargers. It'll enable super fast car charging - but only once cars are ready to handle it.
- How the U.S. Could End Traffic Fatalities by 2050
"This is our moonshot"
- Say goodbye to the Ford sedan
Ford plans to bring 16 battery-electric vehicles to market by 2022.
- Things I hate about driving in Great Falls, Montana
Every city has its traffic issues, but from an Angeleno's perspective, Great Falls' traffic problems are laughable.
- "Where Montana Technology Meets The Outdoors" - 5/17 Bozeman, 5/31 Missoula
- The Silk Road/Risho Rummage Sale! - 5/5- Missoula, Montana
- Backpacker's Ball To Benefit Glacier National Park - 8/2 - Columbia Falls, Montana
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page