|
|
|
| MATR Newsletter - Tue Nov 28, 2006 |
Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise." Norman Fitzroy Maclean "A River Runs Through It"
There are many excellent jobs and talented people in Montana. There are also many who would like to enjoy the wonderfulness (is that a word?) of our state. MATR is happy to post career opportunities and resumes along with reasons to consider Montana as your career destination at http://www.matr.net/jobs.php "Jobs and employees and other reasons to Come Home to Montana" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Boomtown Institute
Come Home Montana
- The Agurban from Boomtown Institute "Characteristics of Catalytic Community Development" Issue 103, Nov. 28, 2006
The catalytic development model focuses on mobilizing local talent and leveraging local resources and networks to find local solutions, and ultimately foster development in and of communities.
Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities
- Career Opportunity - Marketing Specialist - Montana State University - Bozeman, Montana
Establish & accomplish marketing initiatives, write & edit copy for university publications, Web sites, & advertising, assist in the development & implementation of marketing communications strategies.
- Columbus, MT artist, Scott Morrison, creates Rocking Chairs and Custom Furniture meant to be handed down for generations
"My dream was to move to Montana. It's been fantastic. Fantastic,"
- PrintingForLess.com in Livingston, Montana has immediate opportunities http://www.youcanlivehere.com
This position requires a strong technical aptitude, exquisite communication skills, customer service orientation, teamwork and flexibility. BA/BS or equivalent and 5-10 years professional experience required.
- Wheat Montana in Three Forks, Montana is seeking an Accountant
ARE YOU LOOKING TO BE PART OF A GROWING AND INNOVATIVE COMPANY?
- With vultures ruling the roost, family is moving to Montana
They are going to try to start fresh in Montana.
Montana Education Excellence
- Rebuilding America’s Productive Economy: A Heartland Development Strategy
In contrast to the picture of emptying towns and embattled farmers so often conveyed in the media, we see the Heartland as a potential hotbed of capitalist creation and innovation. It is a reality already taking shape in the “technology corridors” in the Dakotas, the “hidden tech” belt of western Massachusetts, and the revived communities along the eastern Cascades, and with the growth of ethanol and biomass facilities across the country. America’s economy may well be on the verge of a great resurgence largely unacknowledged by pundits, academics, and the media. The Heartland will play a critical role in that resurgence—if we develop the right policies.
Education
- Program to bring Turkish students to study at Montana State University
Montana State University has won approval of a program to bring students from Turkey to study bioengineering in Bozeman.
Montana Economic Development
- States give failing grade to graduation rates
For every 100 ninth graders, only 18 will enter college and finish within six years.
- "Stepping Stones to a Degree: The Impact of Enrollment Pathways and Milestones on Older Community College Student Outcome"
Results suggest that reaching milestones such as obtaining 20 credits or completing 50 percent of a program is a more important positive factor affecting graduation probabilities for younger students than it is for older students.
- Report: States need to step up on higher ed
States must take the lead in the movement to fix the higher education crisis, a report released Monday by a commission of state legislators said.
- Tougher standards drive dropout rate in Great Falls, MT
Erwin asked what an acceptable dropout rate would be. "Zero," responded Kuntz. "One kid out on the streets and not in school is unacceptable."
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- "Kids Count" report / Montana Economy leaving children behind
Four years ago, 19 percent of Montana children living below the federal poverty income level had no health insurance, Seninger said. In 2005, that figure had grown to 29 percent.
- Jobs and employees and other reasons to Come Home to Montana
There are many excellent jobs and talented people in Montana.
- The Salish Kootenai College's Highway Construction Training School recruits women, minorities for Montana road construction jobs
The program recently received almost $400,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation's On-the-Job Training Supportive Services Program. The program focuses on recruiting minorities and women to the highway construction fields.
- Tapping Montana’s ‘green’ energy
“Montana has more potential for energy development from existing and untapped diversified sources than any other state in the nation,” Gov. Brian Schweitzer
- Missoula Incubator To Feature Alternative Energy, 12/05, Missoula
The Hydrogen and Alternative Energy Training Site at MonTEC has been under development for several years and is being established to provide hands-on training for alternative energy technicians and those needing training in hydrogen and alternative energy safety.
Funding and Building your Business
- 'Angel' investors have nerves of steel, hearts of gold
These venture capitalists are in it for profit – and social change.
Regional Business
- Hiring your first employee? You'd better prepare for the interview, too
Hiring any employee, but especially your first one, is one of the most important decisions you will make in your small business.
- What's to Be Done About Performance Reviews?
What can we do to make performance reviews more productive and less distasteful?
- Google expects major Web business growth in decade. Convenience to fuel move, exec says
Google Inc., the world's most-used Internet search engine, expects as much as 40 percent of business transactions to be conducted on the Web, or influenced by it, in 10 years time as more consumers go online.
- Wayne Brown Institute Presents: 23rd Annual Investors Choice® Venture Capital Conference - February 8, 2007, Salt Lake City, UT
This opportunity will help you or your portfolio companies learn the venture process, build a fundraising presentation and meet with venture, corporate and angel investors.
Regional Economic Development
- Visionary Leases Seattle Fiber for Affordable Bandwidth for Montana and Wyoming Clients
The overall costs for both circuits were lower than Visionary would have paid carriers who provide service in Montana and Wyoming.
- Jobs for college grads plentiful
Employers expect to hire 17.4% more new college graduates in 2006 and 2007 than in 2005 and 2006, according to a new survey by the Bethlehem, Pa.-based National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Idaho Business
- Jobs and Economic Development - Focus shifts to developing workers' skills
"What economic development is realizing more and more is that they have to retain what they have before they go out and try to attract more people,"
- America’s High Schools. The Front Line in the Battle for Our Economic Future. --- An Action Agenda for Improving America’s High Schools
This paper is a “call to action” for the nation’s governors and business and education leaders to combine that understanding with an appropriate sense of urgency — and to turn the nation’s high schools into a path toward economic success for all students.
- Missouri DED Creates Job Skill Database
"This unique and innovative collaboration will enable Missouri's job seekers to identify and hone the workplace skills required by an increasingly competitive workplace. It's a win-win for Missouri's employers and potential employees."
- The Low Cost Housing Trade-Off: High Commuting Costs
NATIONALLY, FOR EVERY DOLLAR a working family saves on housing, it spends 77 cents more on transportation. For some, commuting to suburbs costs more than monthly mortgage
- Missoula, Granite, Lake, Mineral, Ravalli and Sanders counties included in five-valley transportation study
“If we come up with a viable plan for providing intercity public transportation, it would give residents of the Bitterroot and the other areas involved in this study potential additional options for going back and forth to Missoula and cities in between. And obviously that has some benefits for air quality and congestion on U.S. 93, and it also gives people a way to save money.”
Washington State Business
- Boisean expects revenues from $99 Wi-Fi device he created to hit $2 million in 2007. MetaGeek, LLC
Take a look at his business card and you'll see the title "chief geek."
Other Economies
- Software "bug" finder to open in Spokane, WA - Critical Logic Inc.,
Critical Logic considered several cities for its first branch office, including Salt Lake City, Utah; Reno, Nevada; and Olympia, Wash., and chose Spokane for its low operating costs and abundant labor pool, MacAllister says.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Texas Council Will Address State Competitiveness. Governor Urges Pension Fund to Invest in Emerging Tech Companies
The Competitiveness Council will be charged with designing an overall framework for cooperation between public and private organizations involved in economic development.
Incubators and R&D
- Second Life's First Millionaire - That's millionaire in real U.S. dollars.
Anshe Chung's achievement is all the more remarkable because the fortune was developed over a period of two and a half years from an initial investment of $9.95 for a Second Life account by Anshe's creator, Ailin Graef.
- Beginner's Guide to Digg
If you have ever felt like you had to dig around the Internet for good content, you might want to look at something called Digg (http://www.digg.com).
University TechTransfer
- Honeybees join the bomb squad
An open-air application with released bees may be used to detect land mines. Analyzing where bees cluster using a laser device reveals the presence of mines in U.S. Army-funded field tests, says entomologist Jerry Bromenshenk of the University of Montana-Missoula. Other research, Bromenshenk says, finds that bee behavior changes in the presence of toxic airborne chemicals.
- Rocky Mountain Laboratories Researchers discover toxin not guilty of a disease
“The Staphylococcus aureus bacterium is a growing global public health menace because of its rapid spread from hospital settings into communities of healthy people,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Schools Boost Support For Campus Start-Ups
"A lot of institutions have looked at their peers and have said, 'Holy cow, these guys are making big bucks.' "
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Montana State University Billings College of Business Senior Students are looking for area businesses that need business plans.
Teams of four-to-five senior students will begin developing the plans this January for completion in April. They will select the projects based on information provided by the businesses. Each team will meet with its business owner to prepare a written client commitment promising specific accomplishments and full confidentiality.
- Apply Now for 2007 Americorps Vista Projects in Montana
Positions are available in Whitefish, Missoula, Great Falls, Lewistown, Livingston, Kalispell, Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Havre, Glendive, Miles City, Boulder, Browning and Polson.
Careers
- Ski Movie Music.com is the holy grail of ski movie soundtracks
If you’re in need of a new song to make the chair ride a little shorter or want to make McConkey's theme song yours, then head on over to SkiMovieMusic.com and check it out.
Non-Profit News
- CIA crafts online test with humorous bent to seek out all types of job applicants
"You don't have to know karate or look good in a tuxedo to work at the CIA," the personality quiz says.
- Sharpen Your Aim When Job Hunting Online
Here are ways to make an online job-search effort more effective:
Energy
- America the charitable: a few surprises
Charitable giving plays an even larger role in the economy than is suggested by some $260 billion in annual contributions. Each dollar of giving appears to create $19 of extra national income, according to a book released this past weekend.
Transportation
- Wind generation pledge being met in Western states
Proving that its promises weren't just a lot of hot air, Mid- American Energy Holdings is making good on its pledge to increase the amount of electricity it generates from wind power for its Utah customers.
- University of Idaho Professor, Pam Shapiro devises new form of solar cell - "Quantum Dots"
So far, Shapiro's team has created a compound called a "quantum dot" that is made of elements that include copper, indium and selenium. Shapiro said that the quantum dots would be embedded between layers of a solar cell and would absorb energy that is otherwise wasted due to overheating.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Berkeley Lines Up For Circles
"For me, the main thing I've noticed is that they bring the neighborhood together,"
- The day may be coming when cell phones will replace credit cards, cash and checks
``There has to be a killer application that drives people to say, `Oh, I get it.'
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page
