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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Oct 17, 2008 |
"In time, virtual worlds will become ever more commonplace and millions of Americans will inhabit such worlds for parts of their day -- for communications, for business, for education, for health care, for cultural interests." Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet http://matr.net/articl ... .html
Congratulations to Laurie and Warren Miller on the launch of this important program: "Laurie Miller and her extreme ski filmmaker husband, Warren, kick off the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation after-school program for young entrepreneurs in Missoula" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- if you'd like to learn more about the Plum Creek lands in Montana, "City Club Missoula - Purchase Of 312,000 Acres Of Land from Plum Creek Timber In Western Montana, 10/20, Missoula" http://matr.net/news.p ... soula
Idaho National Laboratory
Montana World Trade Center
- Sensitive laser instrument developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory collaborating with researchers at the University of Montana could aid search for life on Mars
High sensitivity is crucial for NASA's search for life on Mars, says INL scientist Jill Scott, whose team collaborated with researchers at the University of Montana-Missoula on the study.
Boomtown Institute
- Montana World Trade Center October 2008 Newsletter
If you're not a member, this is your opportunity to join MWTC and work with these fine companies and organizations.
Modwest
- The Boomtown Institute - I'm Tired!!
So now, in 2008, I'm looking for a president who gets this and knows that if we as a country can help to expand the world economy, other issues in this country will improve with it as our own tide continues to rise.
MSU Leadership Institute
- Changing a Few Things for the Better at Modwest.com in Missoula
Modwest is launching a customer community dedicated to giving you a voice and building conversations between all of us. We'll open up the Modwest Feedback Community on October 30th.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Welcome to the Montana State University Leadership Fellows Certificate Program!
Designed to challenge students to discover their leadership potential through course work and a variety of experiences. Equipped with critical and ethical thinking skills, these students can become agents of positive change in society.
Leadership Montana
- Laurie Miller and her extreme ski filmmaker husband, Warren, kick off the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation after-school program for young entrepreneurs in Missoula
Though Warren draws the crowds, it's Laurie who provided the drive to bring the young entrepreneurship program to Washington first and now Montana.
Montana Business
- Leadership courses for the public begin Nov. 18 at Montana State University
Participants will examine their personal management skills, leadership strengths and growth opportunities, and how they relate to others at work.
Montana Economic Development
- What We’re Really Doing With Grupthink
Grupthink is a discussion platform that allows people to harness community-powered feedback.
- CNL Properties Inc. to buy Big Sky Resort in Montana
Boyne must make improvements to the resort under conditions of the loan
- Irish wind power company, Gaelectric lays out wind power plan in Montana
Gaelectric, which is based in Dublin and is looking at potential wind power sites in Montana, has identified two spots in the state that could serve as compressed-air power plants.
- SBA Names M3 Meats, Inc. of Sidney, Montana Minority Small Business of the Year
M3 Meats, Inc. (406-433-3410)is the only federally inspected meat slaughter and fabrication plant in eastern Montana.
Regional Economic Development
- Montana Community Development Corp. feels Montana generosity as it helps entrepreneurs
In western Montana, many Main Street storefronts are in operation because of MCDC's loan support and training programs. Its ever-growing list of success stories includes such businesses as Betty's Divine, Big Sky Shavings, Gluten Free Mama and Huls Dairy.
- Bioneers aim to heal at The Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference starting 10/16 in Bozeman
The Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference kicks off Thursday with 35 workshops and more than 15 speakers who aim to educate others about how to use art, green building, music, film, architecture and social organizing to heal the planet.
- Tourism Projects in Billings, Bozeman, Deer Lodge, Helena, Missoula and West Yellowstone Awarded $300,000 in Facility Improvement Grants
"These tourism grant funds are significant investments in Montana's heritage and cultural facilities and communities," said Governor Brian Schweitzer. "These are facilities that highlight Montana's uniqueness, that provide many of our 11 million visitors an authentic Montana experience while enticing them to stay in our communities longer and spend more of their dollars on Montana's main streets."
- Butte Council mulls supercomputer
With no supercomputer in Montana, he said the technology in Butte would allow companies to perform large-scale computing and calculating without leaving the state.
- Kalispell conference zeroes in on economy - 10/17
The evening keynote speaker is Jeff Thredgold, an economic futurist who will provide an entertaining, informative and humorous “tour” of the U.S. and Montana economies.
Careers
- Cockatoo No. 30 - October 2008
Industry collaboration & connectivity systems - investment attraction - innovation - education & training – export development - SMEs & multinational enterprises - infrastructure & capacity building – understanding & influencing government policy.
- Green Collar Job Training Program Focuses on At-risk Youth
The Green Collar Job Training Program's aim was to develop a community response to the rising drop-out rate and the difficulty many local business face finding qualified local employees.
- FALL 2008 Washington Technology Center NEWS & INFORMATION
In honor of Washington Technology Center's 25th anniversary, we're happy to report that our work continues to spur the next generation of technology advancements.
- Land Banks and Affordable Housing
This article will focus on three municipal land banking programs that, aided by state statutes, have been successful in utilizing tax-foreclosed properties to produce affordable housing.
- Branding Sustainability
Is it a good thing that “smart growth” can so easily bleed into the realm of being a luxury brand?
- The Future of Manufacturing
A forward-looking analysis of the trends, management strategies and best practices that will help U.S. manufacturers compete successfully.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Master the art of asking good questions
When you ask yourself questions, you direct, influence and energize your own thinking.
- Key to a New Retired Life: Get Involved
RUTH COY remembers the advice someone gave her for creating a new life in a new place: “The magic words when you move to a new town are, ‘What can I do to help?’ ”
Funding and Building your Business
- Angel investors assess role in financial crisis
As entrepreneurs scramble for financing in this dark economic time, many will be tempted to look at angel investors for the capital they need to grow, or perhaps to merely survive, as financing and credit sources dry up.
Incubators and R&D
- Providing work to challenged workforce
Verizon Communications Inc.'s push to compete with Comcast Corp. is providing jobs for an unusual group of workers - schizophrenics, mentally troubled and depressed, recovering substance abusers, homeless, ex-offenders and the developmentally disabled
- Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2009
Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.
- SBA how-to for global expansion
The 30-minute course, entitled “Global Enterprise: A Primer on Exporting,” is a self-paced guide to exploring international markets.
- Starting up: Running a business is a roller-coaster ride - but it's worth it
That is how I took $50 and turned it into Industrial Insulation Systems, a $2-million-a-year industrial contracting and manufacturing business that's about to launch a newly patented product line that may change the world!
- The Contribution Revolution: Letting Volunteers Build Your Business
Every day, millions of people make all kinds of voluntary contributions to companies—from informed opinions to computing resources—that create tremendous value for those firms’ customers and, consequently, for their shareholders. When I first encountered this idea, several years ago, it struck me as unfathomable: Volunteerism was for charities, not for red-blooded, profit-making firms.
- Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy
It's the people that matter. And for a given set of people working on a given technology, the time to act is always now.
- 10 Signs That You're an Uninspiring Boss
If any of the examples below sound familiar, you've got work to do
Montana Education Excellence
- Short-Changing Our Future: America's Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish Approach to Supporting Tomorrow's Scientists
It may be an old refrain, but the future of American scientific and technical research is in jeopardy.
- University of Montana Center Earns $4.25 Million Grant to improve the ability of people with disabilities to live independently in rural America
“Some 56 million Americans live in rural areas, and nearly 20 percent of those live with a disability,” said Tom Seekins, director of RTC:Rural. “While rural America is their home, living there can place them at a disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts.”
- Brain nerve cells can directly control stimulation of paralyzed muscles through an artificial connection
What was exciting about this direct stimulation, said Dr. Eberhard Fetz, University of Washington professor of physiology & biophysics and a researcher at the Washington National Primate Research Center at the UW, is that it avoids the complex process of decoding neural signals to control a computer or robotic device.
- 2008 Lasker-Koshland Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science award given to Hamilton, Montana's Rocky Mountain Laboratories scientist Stan Falkow
The Lasker Awards, which are considered the U.S. equivalent of the Nobel Prize, are this country’s most distinguished honor for researchers in basic and clinical medical sciences.
- National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases awards University of Washington nearly $17 million for systems biology research on emerging respiratory viruses
The team will receive about $17 million over five years for the development of computational models of the host response to H5N1 avian influenza virus ("bird flu") and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- University of Montana launches new, improved Web site
The University of Montana launched a new, easier-to-navigate Web site on Wednesday focused on better accommodating and attracting perspective students who, these days, rely heavily on the Internet to research colleges and universities.
- Alternative online education program to assist Montana students. PLATO Learning System
“We always have a student here or there that will quit high school needing one or two credits to graduate. So, hopefully, we’ll be able to retrieve some of those students and bring them back in and get them the necessary instruction to get the diploma.”
- MSU, UM groups promote physical activities for people with disabilities
Physical activity is just as crucial for people with paralysis and other disabilities as it is for any individual, according to spokeswomen for two organizations at Montana State University and the University of Montana.
- Fairfield, Montana taps into alternative energy through Wind for Schools program
The project is part of the Wind for Schools program set up by the federal Department of Energy and coordinated by Western Community Energy. NorthWestern Energy pitched in $12,000 to cover the cost of the turbine in Fairfield.
Idaho Business
- State Superintendent Linda McCulloch Launches Warren Miller Freedom Foundation Project 10/15 in Missoula
The Warren Miller Freedom Foundation strives to instill in young people the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship and to teach the essential skills necessary to become successful and ethical members of the business community.
South Dakota Economic Development
- Start-Ups Give Idaho An Identity Beyond Potatoes
“Some 70 percent of Idaho’s economy is in high technology.”
- Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Award finalists announced - Awards Luncheon 0ct. 29
Sponsored by the Idaho Business Review and supported by accounting firm Cooper Norton, the awards recognize Idaho’s most forward-thinking firms, entrepreneurs and technologies.
- For the love of (seed) money in Idaho
What we are lacking is true seed level funding.
Washington State Business
- Sioux Falls-based Raven Industries has been named to the 2008 Forbes Magazine list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America.
Forbes ranked Raven as the 45th top U.S. small company and 27th based on return on equity. This is the third consecutive year Raven has made the list.
Wyoming Business
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Local (Seattle) help for small businesses
Three business-enriching resources that are available to local startup entrepreneurs, small-business owners and emerging nonprofit organizations.
Government
- Tradition, Expression and Creation in Wyoming - Creative Opportunities in the New West
Sheridan and Johnson counties in Wyoming represent the best of the Old West art, with outstanding leatherwork, sculpture, visual art and historic sites. But the “Old West” image doesn’t capture the breadth of creativity in the region represented by New Western arts, the digital artists, designers, and artists from the coasts attracted by the arts community, the natural terrain, openness and wildlife. The report recommends expanding the economic impacts of and opportunities for creative enterprises, including new roles for Sheridan College.
- Wyoming trolls for workers in budget-challenged states
So far Wyoming has repeated its historical contrarian position in the face of national economic downturns.
- Consultant says Wyoming shouldn't miss high-speed train
Colorado is considering investing more than $10 billion in commuter rail on the Front Range and into the mountains on the Interstate 70 corridor
Other Economies
- A Slow-Motion Train Wreck - States know how to care for the mentally ill. Why aren't they?
"There are things that happen in the mental health care system you couldn't imagine happening in the so-called 'health system'."
Community
- Waterford Crystal to fire most of its Irish workers
At its height, Waterford Crystal employed 3,200 people in Ireland at two plants but in 2002 began a rapid fall into debt. Its smaller plant shut down three years ago as executives began subcontracting production to plants as far away as Brazil.
Connectivity & Communications
- Cities and Ambition
A friend who moved to Silicon Valley in the late 90s said the worst thing about living there was the low quality of the eavesdropping.
Energy
- Government Consortium to Investigate Virtual World Best Practices. $148.5m invested in virtual worlds in Q3
"In time, virtual worlds will become ever more commonplace and millions of Americans will inhabit such worlds for parts of their day -- for communications, for business, for education, for health care, for cultural interests." Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
- The Internet & the Developing World
"For the developing world, the Internet experience is going to be a wireless experience,"
- An innovative approach to outside accessibility
Microsoft showroom is meant to give employees and visitors a sense of how the disabled and elderly use technology
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Pint-Size Eco-Police, Making Parents Proud and Sometimes Crazy
Ms. Ross’s children are part of what experts say is a growing army of “eco-kids” — steeped in environmentalism at school, in houses of worship, through scouting and even via popular culture — who try to hold their parents accountable at home.
- Schools' wind turbines power learning - Wind for Schools
Now, a program called Wind for Schools is aiming to bring smaller turbines to six states: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is the first program to use smaller turbines with a mission of educating students and the community about wind power,
- It's a Breeze: European Firms Bring Years of Experience to U.S. Wind Power Market
The inroads that electricity-generating wind turbine technology has made in the U.S. are due in large part to the efforts of companies based in Europe.
- Register by Oct. 21 for annual carbon sequestration meeting 10/28-29 in Spokane, WA
The Big Sky region consists of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, South Dakota and the eastern part of Washington and Oregon. The BSCSP engages in cutting-edge carbon sequestration research and development, economic and regulatory analyses, public education and outreach, and regional demonstration projects.
- We've got the wind, but not the lines in Montana
Mother Nature has done her job, but others have work to do.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- 8 tax goodies in the bailout plan
The $700 billion bill offers more than just relief for the banking system - it's a sweet deal for John Q. Taxpayer too.
Government Technology
- Army developing ‘synthetic telepathy’ - Similar technology marketed as a way to control video games by thought
"I think that this will eventually become just another way of communicating."
Hydrogen News
- How to Build Legislative Support for Technology Projects
It's crucial for CIOs and their teams to engage elected officials in regular, substantial conversations about IT.
- "Hydrogen Safety for First Responders" training sessions available at Alternative Energy Technologies (AET) in Missoula, Montana or at your site.
The need for hydrogen as the clear solution to our energy conundrum is becoming more clear every day. We know that the foundation to this new energy future starts with education that is rooted in safe practices and principles.
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