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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Dec 19, 2008 |
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"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights." - Maya Angelou
Big ups to our outstanding ambassadors for Montana on their quest for national championships - University of Montana Grizzly Football team plays tonight http://missoulian.com/ ... 1.txt and the Carroll College Fighting Saints play tomorrow. http://www.carroll.edu ... ball/ Go Guys Go!!! Make Montana Proud --- Have you registered? "Montana Chamber Of Commerce - Business Days At The Capital 2009, 1/5-6, Helena, Montana" http://matr.net/events ... =2561 --- Congratulations to all those involved with this effort to improve the Montana economy " Bootstrap Montana Celebrates One Year Anniversary " http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- and something we should all think about: "Why Montana should include internet connectivity and communications in our "shovel ready" projects for President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus program." http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Urban Mountain Development
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Location, Location, Location – Reduce/Reuse/Recycle! Urban Mountain Development
Urban Mountain Development’s vision for creating sustainable urban communities in Montana should be a model for other western towns. Whether it is easy or not, everyone should be doing it.
Idaho National Laboratory
- Patenting Business Methods – The Rules Change, but the Game is the Same
This article discusses the evolution of business method patents and the new standard set out by the Federal Circuit in the Bilski case.
Come Home Montana
- Idaho National Laboratory creates opportunities for Idaho businesses
"The vision of Idaho National Laboratory is to target, shape and retain Idaho small businesses for work at the laboratory,” said Dana Storms, INL Small Business Program manager. “We want to keep our state and regional economies strong.
- Idaho National Laboratory proud of its history of giving
Idaho National Laboratory's contractor and employees donated more than $1.25 million to community programs in 2008 and well over $3 million since the Battelle Energy Alliance took over the INL contract in 2005.
Highway 12 Ventures
- 10 Great Places to Retire for Winter Sports Nuts - Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman has at least 23 trails for hiking activities, as well as some of the best fly-fishing in the world.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Emergency Mental Health Professional - Missoula, Montana
Emergency Mental Health Professional to provide 24-hour mobile mental health emergency/crisis intervention services in Missoula County.
- New doctor and his family enjoying life in Lewistown, Montana
Finding the right community for their children was an important reason why the Suras chose Lewistown.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Starting up: 12 tips on the most important aspects of managing your business - Mark Solon - Highway 12 Ventures
7. Enjoy the journey. It's not about the exit or the liquidity event. If you're doing it just for the money, you'll never make it through the hard times.
Leadership Montana
- Commerce Department Boosts Global Entrepreneurship Online Partnership Sharpens Competitiveness of High-growth Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
“This partnership provides policymakers with models that demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship and gives SMEs the tools to help them thrive in a global economy.”
Montana Business
- Can We Talk? A Community Conversation, 1/30, Billings, Montana
In learning the concept of Gracious Space (hospitable space), participants are invited to join in a community conversation on behalf of positive change.
Montana Economic Development
- Montana Physicians cite growing demand for care
"A new frontier in cancer care is coming to Billings,Montana" Dr. Patrick Cobb
- Locations for Meetings in Missoula
Need a place to hold a meeting in Missoula?
- Montana lends hand to Sun Mountain Lumber Mill with the deferral of loan principal and interest payments for two years.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer is heavily involved in obtaining an economic stimulus package for the wood products industry.
- The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis says that the regional economic outlook is optimistic for Montana
“Montana is pretty strong after being battered by a five-year drought,” Madden said. “And recently it is pretty strong on the energy, mining and tourism side of things,” he explained. “With natural resources being strong over the last few years, Montana and the Dakotas are faring pretty well compared to the rest of the district.”
- Entomologist: Cold spell not enough to kill pine beetles
Low temperatures around 35 degrees below zero are needed for several days running before they’ll knock back the beetles.
- Blackfoot Telecommunications Group Fulfills $2500 Holiday Wishes to Missoula Children in Need
“In September, we learned that young teens and pre-teens wishes were the most overlooked and oftentimes they went without a gift during the holiday season. As a locally-owned business, we care about our Missoula families that are struggling over the holidays and knew that we needed to help,” said Joan Mandeville, CEO of Blackfoot Telecommunications Group.
- RightNow Offers Low-Risk Option for Companies that Want to Use On Demand CRM To Reduce Customer Service Costs
The RightNow Customer Service Rescue Program includes: A 60-day program, with free software. A dedicated RightNow implementation specialist who will examine content and help establish a knowledge foundation. Training and support to ensure success.
- Montana's the Place to Be - Economy slower, but not too slow
His overall message could be summed up in three words: “Up With Montana.”
Regional Economic Development
- "Why Montana should include internet connectivity and communications in our "shovel ready" projects for President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus program."
On a state, regional or county basis, we must develop internet access master plans for improving such access where it is missing, expensive or unreliable. We must do this quickly so that we can take advantage of any funding opportunities that may arise out of President-elect Obama’s stimulus plan.
- Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc., Completes First Phase of Montana Conservation Sale - The Montana Legacy Project
Plum Creek received $150 million in cash for approximately 130,000 acres of Montana forestlands in the first phase of the three-phase transaction.
- Bootstrap Montana Celebrates One Year Anniversary
By reaching over 300 of Montana’s rural entrepreneurs via the loan program, it is with honor that Bootstrap Montana celebrates its inaugural year. The program will continue to gain success and provide effective funding for rural entrepreneurs. Bootstrap Montana plans to expand its loaning capabilities to further rural Montana business development.
Careers
- Investing in the Invisible Infrastructure
The country’s economic health and security depend on smart technology — not just roads and bridges.
- Speak Your Piece: What's With This Dismissal of Rural America?
What concerns us here at the Yonder is how easily it appears now for some to sweep rural America out of the conversation about the future.
- IT Jobs Will Be Hot With Obama In The White House
"This will be the second best of times for IT people," after the dot-com boom." Obama's initiatives related to revamping the nation's roads, bridges, transit system, and extending rural broadband also will fuel the creation of new tech-related jobs needing telecommunication engineers and computer-aided drafting expertise, predicts McGovern.
Funding and Building your Business
- Best Career for 2009? Urban and Regional Planner
U.S. News and World Report picks Urban Regional Planner as one of thirty careers 'that offer strong outlooks and high job satisfaction.'
Incubators and R&D
- How to Get More From Your Board of Directors - The Board’s Role in Corporate Strategy
One of the manifestations of boards’ increased involvement in corporate strategy has been a shift from periodic involvement in corporate strategy to ongoing, real-time engagement. Increasingly, boards are involved in corporate strategy in a continuous way, with a shift from a model of management reporting on its strategy from time to time, to a model in which management and the board collaborate in developing and monitoring corporate strategy.
- That He Not Busy Being Born Is Busy Dying
It’s not that Steve Jobs is fearless, but rather that he’s afraid of not changing.
- Dave Desch, Executive Director Of The Montana Board Of R & C Technology, 1/13, TechRanch, Bozeman, Montana
Please join us as Dave Desch, Executive Director of the Montana Board of R & C Technology (MBRCT), talks to us about the R & C Board and the criteria the board takes into account when considering proposals for funding.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Attorney can help keep secrets
Inventors should meet with intellectual property attorneys before making any kind of disclosures before filing a patent because inventors can learn the factors that would help them maintain their strongest intellectual property coverage.
- TechRanch Receives Murdock Trust Grant
TechRanch can now provide an in-house software development service to its clients pursuing ventures in the high technology markets.
Montana Education Excellence
- Michigan State University Wins $550 Million Nuclear Physics Facility
FRIB research will involve experimentation with intense beams of rare isotopes-short-lived nuclei not normally found on earth. That research is expected to advance critical applications in the areas of materials science, medicine, and stockpile stewardship.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- The Montana State University Billings College of Technology took ownership of its new Mobile Energy Training Laboratory on Monday.
John Cech, dean of the College of Technology, said the mobile lab will broaden the COT's opportunities for work force training and provide opportunities for partnerships with educational institutions and industry statewide. The mobile lab also will be available for training demonstrations at K-12 schools.
- University of Montana Recognized for Community Engagement by the Carnegie Foundation
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching announced today that it was awarding its "community engagement" classification to 119 colleges as part of an effort to encourage more higher-education institutions to reach out to the world around them.
University Business Plan Competitions
- MSU-Northern Receives Continuously Variable Transmission from AGCO
“It is incredibly important for our programs because it allows us to infuse current powertrains, electronics and hydraulics into our curriculum,” said Wane Boysun, Associate Professor of Ag-Mechanics and Diesel. “It’s industry support like this that allows our programs to stay current.”
University TechTransfer
- Columbia University Spin-Off Takes First Place in Start-Up Competition
Beating out more than 400 entrants from across the country, StackSafe was awarded first prize after a rigorous assessment by an online panel of over 300 venture capitalists, angel investors, and university judges.
Idaho Business
- University of Texas System Combines Support for Teaching and Commercialization Excellence with $15 Million Initiative
The center is intended to increase the number of successful start-up companies and shorten the time to market for university discoveries.
- Scotland Universities to Direct Nearly 11 Percent of Funding on Pursuing Innovation
The Scottish Government announced last month a funding plan for the university system that directs more than 10 percent of current funding into a new Horizon Fund created to make targeted investments in research, technology transfer, and entrepreneurial development.
- Three new technologies now available for licensing from Montana State University's Technology Transfer Office
Technologies that could help monitor water safety, prevent leaks from underground gas storage sites and reduce the waste left over from producing biodiesel are now available for licensing to interested companies and entrepreneurs through Montana State University's Technology Transfer Office.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Governor sketches economic plan for Idaho
"It's going to have every one of my department heads, it's going to have all 26,790 employees of the state looking at their mission and are we truly involved in the proper roles of government." Gov. Butch Otter
Alberta Business and Economic Development
- Renewable Energy Recommendations For North Dakota Legislature
The North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy says it`s time for the state to truly invest in our renewable energy potential.
Education
- Alberta wind power in line for $1.38b grid boost - Transmission loop would add capacity
The operator of Alberta's electric power system is proposing a $1.38-billion transmission "loop" to add up to five times as much wind power capacity to the provincial grid over the next 10 years.
Making the Most of the American Prairie
- Obama’s $10 Billion Promise Stirs Hope in Early Education
Major philanthropists including Bill Gates; Warren Buffett’s children; and George B. Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil billionaire, are financing education efforts for the very young. And the chairman of the Federal Reserve and many governors have said that expanding early childhood education should be a national priority.
Government
- Grasslands Foundation 2010 E-Newsletter #6
This is the sixth installment of the Grasslands 2010 e-newsletter. Grasslands 2010 is a joint project of the Nebraska-based Grassland Foundation and World Wildlife Fund's Northern Great Plains , in collaboration with other partners.
Montana Meth Project
- States, cities spar over stimulus money
The disagreement over the stimulus money partly reflects the increased tension between state and local governments during a worsening recession.
Other Economies
- Montana Governorn Schweitzer Asks for More Information on Montana Meth Project Study
The Governor’s 2010-2011 budget includes $500,000 for the program.
Connectivity & Communications
- Caterpillar Moving Primary Manufacturing Facility To Texas
“Companies around the nation are taking notice of the great climate for business we have in Texas,” Speaker Tom Craddick said. “By holding the line on taxes and promoting growth, we've created an economic climate that is the envy of America. Because of our strong economy, state government has a budget surplus at a time when most other states have a shortfall. This did not happen overnight, and it did not happen by chance. I congratulate the people of Seguin and South Central Texas on this great news.”
Energy
- PSC Approves Rate Relief and Expanded DSL Service for Montana Qwest Customers
A monthly decrease of $4.72 is in store for 85% of Qwest residential customers with basic service.
- Qwest cuts top-end Web rates
Qwest has cut the price of its fastest residential Internet connection by $40 a month.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Idaho Building Efficiency Update
It has been another productive year, and we are pleased to announce that, as of December 15, the Building Efficiency program has paid nearly $850,000 in incentives, resulting in an estimated combined savings of nearly 6.6 million kWh/year. This is enough energy to power approximately 470 average-sized homes.
- Plan for geothermal development in West OK'd
"Geothermal energy will play a key role in powering America's energy future." Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Firm highlights the top data disasters
Some of the silly ways to damage a data storage device.
- Vote for the Sexiest Geeks of 2008
But which nerds really moved the sexy needle in 2008?
Government Technology
- The Future of the Internet
Here are the key findings in a new report -- The Future of the Internet III --- based on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:
Non-Profit News
- Government's SECOND LIFE -
More than ever, Web 2.0 technologies offer governments a way to improve citizen services and communication.
- Software That Opens Worlds to the Disabled
Project:Possibility - 8 Groups + 2 Days = Amazing Computer Programs for the Disabled
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