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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Jan 25, 2008 |
“It’s like turning the Titanic. We need to start turning now.” University of Montana Nobel Laureate Dr. Steven Running on Climate Change
As Montana suffered through a a regrettable episode, "Canceling Steve Running speech to high school students in Choteau, MT by the Superintendent a close-minded decision. "Who needs that Globul Warming Guy?" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html it was wonderful to see the intelligence of our students come through: Cancellation of Steve Running speech in Choteau, Montana sparks debate http://matr.net/articl ... .html--- Even nicer to read another story on the quality of character that is so much more prevalent in Big Sky Country: "Montana's Greg Mortenson making friends, not enemies in Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools and goodwill" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html and "Montana's VisionNet puts military families face to face" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Come Home Montana
Come Home North Dakota
- Town of Garryowen, Montana for sale for $6.5 million
The letter suggested a corporation might consider buying the unincorporated tourist stop across the Little Bighorn River from the National Park Service's Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
- Semitool Recruting Software Engineers, 1/28, Missoula
Semitool is headquartered in Kalispell, Montana and a world leader in innovation and manufacturing of precision semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Come Home Wyoming
- Center for Innovation at the University of North Dakota - a shining example of what can be done to develop an entrepreneurial state thanks to 24 for years of great leadership from Bruce Gjovig
Twenty-four years later, one of the first entrepreneur outreach centers in the country has earned national attention, helped more than 400 start-up companies, manages two technology incubators, has formed three angel investing networks in the state and is home to the Dakota Venture Group the only student-managed venture fund in the country where students make investment decisions.
Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities
- Youth movement: Gillette, Wyoming aims to become more attractive to young people
Attracting young people is becoming more of a challenge for cities across the country. But Ruth Benson said the key to attracting the younger generation to the area is listening to them and creating a community where they'd want to live.
Funding and Building your Business
- Idaho at the forefront of the Gentrification of Rural America. Real estate market attracting local and out-of-state buyers to Cut Bank, Montana
Baby boomers and the previous generation are moving to rural areas in increasing numbers.
University TechTransfer
- Towards the Knowledge Economy II
A sophisticated IT infrastructure - with the vast amounts of information and services it makes possible - is necessary but not sufficient for a business to succeed in our global, knowledge economy.
- InnoVentures sets aside $12M in venture debt investment in early-stage service, manufacturing and technology companies.
InnoVentures is a licensed Small Business Investment Company that invests in small companies in Utah and surrounding states by providing subordinated debt to start-up and growing businesses.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: What angel investors aren't looking for
Now that you know what can scare off investors, make sure you don't make it easy for investors to give you the fast "no." Be flexible and creative. You can do it.
- Physiognomy and success. What the boss looks like determines how he performs
It looks as if knowing a chief executive disrupts the ability to judge his performance.
Connectivity & Communications
- Proof of Concept Centers - Accelerating the Commercialization of University Innovation
In an increasingly dynamic and global economy, the institutional infrastructure is inefficient at moving university innovations to the marketplace.
- Camera in a pill from the University of Washington offers cheaper, easier window on your insides
"Our technology is completely different from what's available now. This could be the foundation for the future of endoscopy."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Yellowstone launches streaming Webcam of Old Faithful
A five-minute audio message plays with the live video stream, providing information about various hydrothermal features in the park.
- 4G Will Cause Market Disruption
Who will survive the broadband wireless wars?
Montana Business
- IBM to Release Mashup Software
A new product lets workers combine simple bits of software to create business tools.
- Readius bends to needs of e-mail, calling or pocketing
The 5-inch display of Polymer Vision's Readius is the world's first that folds out when the user wants to read news, blogs or e-mail and folds back together so that the device can fit into a pocket.
- 10 New Technologies IBM Is Cooking in Its Innovation Labs
IBM Research is responsible for some of the greatest innovation in IT history.
Montana Economic Development
- Montana's VisionNet puts military families face to face
Across Montana — people can come into studios, whether it is at the VisionNet office in Great Falls or a school in Eastern Montana that utilizes the company's services.
- Columbia Paints & Coatings manufacturing plant in Helena closing
The local plant manufactures white and light tinted water- and latex-based paints for both interior and exterior use. Conway declined to say how much paint is produced locally, but it represents about a quarter of Columbia’s total output, and sales for the firm surpassed $30 million a year a decade ago.
- Citi closes Great Falls, Montana mortgage operation, 80 jobs lost
"They've been a good employer and we hate to lose them, but in the big picture, this is not a major disaster for the economy," he said. "A few years ago, this would have been a major issue, but now, with all the things happening in Great Falls, I think those employees will be absorbed pretty quickly in other sectors of the economy."
- Trailer treasure: S&P Conversions of Missoula turns horse rigs into plush traveling homes
“The rodeo people will use them seven to eight months out of the year. They hit three rodeos a weekend and live in these trailers,” he said. “The horse trailer world is like the automobile world; people see something new and flashy out there and they want it.“
- Chester, Montana based Earl-Fisher Bio-fuels joins with Peaks and Prairies at cutting edge of bio-technology
This partnership will be great for the advancement of the bio-fuels technology and it will provide another opportunity for Montana Agriculture to lead in energy and renewable and biodegradable oils and lubes. It is great to have two Hi-Line companies working together on this.”
Utah Economic Development
- EQC to seek Public Commets on Montana's Climate Change Recommendations
The public will be asked to rank each recommendation on a scale of 1-5 from the most important to the least important and to offer comments on each one. The survey should be online from February 1st – February 29th with responses due by March 1st.
- Montana World Trade Center E-News January 2008
In the entire state of Montana, and well beyond its borders, there is no other source of information and access to global trade opportunities that is comparable to the Montana World Trade Center.
Washington State Business
- Initial Utah Fund of Funds Results Overwhelm Early Champions Expectations
Utah Fund of Funds portfolio firms had invested $127 million in 25 Utah companies In total, Utah FoF portfolio firms helped these Utah companies raise $365 million These 25 companies have created a total of 1,006 jobs, with an annual average salary of $60,000 – far above the Utah average wage
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Gov. Gregoire taps Milbergs to implement Washington's business plan
"Next Washington," - "we can create even more family wage jobs in Washington by streamlining our state economic development initiatives." Gov. Gregoire
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Bill Gates Issues Call For Kinder Capitalism
"We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well."
- Brad Feld spends $25K to get his name on a plaque in a CU bathroom. - where creative techies do some of their best thinking.
It's an offer the University of Colorado couldn't flush away.
Non-Profit News
- Montana businesses scramble to find quality workers
Joe Unterreiner, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce said, business leaders are increasingly looking to partner with high schools, community colleges and universities, hoping to help educate the work force they so badly need.
Energy
- Montana's Greg Mortenson making friends, not enemies in Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools and goodwill
People also are buying Mortenson’s book, which has spent 47 weeks on The New York Times best-sellers list. And the readers aren’t just peaceniks. The Army is requiring 5,000 officers attending the U.S. War College to read Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations…One School at a Time.
Montana Education Excellence
- UN Warns of Biofuels' Environmental Risk
"Biofuels have become a flash point through which a wide range of social and environmental issues are currently being played out in the media," Suzuki told delegates at the forum, sponsored by the U.N. and the Thai government.
- Nationwide 'teach-in' planned to address climate change
The creative tactics are designed to draw students into a series of events this coming week known as Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America.
- University of Montana lecture series to eplore climate change solutions
The lectures will explore how society can meet the challenges of climate change - one of the most pressing environmental and social issues of the 21st century.
- Canceling Steve Running speech to high school students in Choteau, MT by the Superintendent a close-minded decision. "Who needs that Globul Warming Guy? "
Running did deliver a speech in Choteau that day, and it was a familiar one to anyone who's heard him speak in recent months. It's about climate change, mostly, but it's also about people's irrational reactions to bad news. We find that ironic, as well as the fact that St. John canceled Running's second speech to avoid controversy. Far worse than the pressure Choteau escaped by bowing to its most close-minded community members is the national attention that's now embarrassing the entire school district. (and Montana)
- Cancellation of Steve Running speech in Choteau, Montana sparks debate
Coccoli and Moore both said the main concern callers had was that the school would be allowing a special interest group - the Sonoran Institute - that has been accused of promoting anti-agricultural land-use policies in Montana and other states - to bring a potentially controversial speaker to the school.
- Big Sky Pathways helps Montana students find careers
One part of this plan is to provide career planning tools and identify high-skill, high-wage, and high demand occupations to serve as guides for students and educators in planning these current or emerging occupational opportunities.
- Schools vote to take the State of Montana back to court
“We don't have any other option than to demonstrate to the court that the work is not yet done.”
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