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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Sep 15, 2009 |
Hope to see you tomorrow at City Club Missoula "An Economic Development Plan, “Blueprint”, For Western Montana", 09/16, Missoula http://matr.net/events ... =2911 --- "The Western Montana Economic Blueprint - “We can and must do better.” http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html -- Congratulations to Gov. Schweitzer and Evan Barrett for a very successful trip to Europe: "Montana Governor Schweitzer and Chief Business Development Officer Evan Barrett Bring Home Good News from Wind Companies – NaturEner Cements Deal for $800 million Investment" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Vision Net
Come Home Montana
- Cyber-meeting companies soar with recession
Technology advances and the global recession have collided, creating growth opportunities for virtual event companies.
Leadership Montana
- Proud history: Film's director finds pride runs deep in "Butte, America"
"Growing up in Montana, we always knew if someone was from Butte right away - from their mannerisms, the way they talked; it was a place set apart. I wanted to know more of that, and what it is that made that place different."
- A little bit of Hollywood in Anaconda, Montana thanks to Vauthier Ferguson Design Inc.
"It was really important for us to be here," Ferguson said. "We really wanted to give back to our hometown." They both graduated from Anaconda High School in 2005, and never imagined they would be running their own business before they graduated college.
Montana Biotech
- 10 Free Leadership Video Sites
I tend to favor leadership videos that feature real leaders sharing their secrets, lessons learned, and best practices. Here are a few sites I’ve discovered and use now and then:
Montana Business
- Medical Device Pioneer David Auth Seethes Over $40 Billion Industry Tax Idea, FDA Delays
The industry was horrified last week by a proposal from Montana Democrat Max Baucus, the influential chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, that calls for taxing medical device companies for $40 billion over the next decade.
Montana Economic Development
- Questions swirling around Hardin, Montana jail deal
The Two Rivers Detention Center was promoted as the largest economic development project in decades in the small town of Hardin when the jail was built two years ago. But it has been vacant ever since.
Funding and Building your Business
- The Western Montana Economic Blueprint - “We can and must do better.”
Can we organize a sustained effort to implement strategies that will improve our economic competitiveness and enhance our quality of life? This is the challenge faced by economic development organizations in Western Montana. To what extent can we control our own destiny? Join the discussion.
- Second huge wind farm planned for Toole, Glacier counties in Montana
NaturEner already is planning construction of a second wind-power facility called Rim Rock, just to the north of the Glacier project. It would be 309 megawatts — 50 percent larger than Glacier.
- Montana Department of Commerce Director to Present Nearly $1.9 Million to Lincoln County Projects on Monday in Libby
Director Preite will present a total of $838,427 in Quick Start Program funds to Lincoln County school districts for energy efficiency audits and improvements, and a total of $346,635 in Local Government Grant Program funds to area local governments for infrastructure projects.
- Montana Governor Schweitzer and Chief Business Development Officer Evan Barrett Bring Home Good News from Wind Companies – NaturEner Cements Deal for $800 million Investment
“It was a great opportunity to build and grow energy business in Montana and create more high paying jobs for workers in our state,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “The trip brought new opportunities and investments to our state including cementing a deal with NaturEner to bring an additional $800 million investment to Montana.”
Montana Education Excellence
- How not selling out has paid off for Clif Bar
In a region obsessed with financial rewards, Clif Bar of Berkeley provides a model for running a business with a different set of principles.
- Celestial Seasonings turns 40 - Herbal tea company made health food mainstream, spawned Boulder's natural foods industry
"What it took 35 years to do, I thought we would do in 10 years,"
- Six Steps to a Successful Small Business
Ideas, opportunities, and inspiration: Becoming a business owner
- Entrepreneurs 'Tweet' Their Way Through Crises
Twitter has turned out to be a useful tool for some small businesses coping with customer-service or public-relations crises.
- How My Career in Technology Influenced My Fly Fishing Business
What in the world could you learn at an enterprise software company that also applies to a fly fishing lodge business? Here are three big lessons.
- Tech companies rally to alter patent reforms
Dozens of tech companies, many of them from the Bay Area, have joined forces in an effort to head off patent legislation that they fear would slow down the patent process and lead to abuses by infringers.
Regional Business
- University of Montana Awarded $1.2 Million Grant for Native American Pharmacy Program
The program also will establish a consortium of staff, faculty and researchers from UM-affiliated colleges and tribal colleges across the state, as well as several Montana organizations involved in health care.
- Montana Schools Superintendent Juneau Announces the Roll Out of Key Strategic Directions
"We believe these strategic directions will help guarantee that all Montana's students receive a quality education," said Superintendent Juneau. The Office of Public Instruction stands ready to provide the vision, advocacy, support, and leadership for schools and communities to ensure that all students meet today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.
- The University of Montana Launches Classroom Technology Upgrades
“In today’s world, if we’re not using state-of-the-art technology, we’re not giving students the education they need, and we’re not providing the faculty members the tools they need to teach." Provost Royce Engstrom
- Online Services offers education to students without University of Montana campus access
UMOnline provides high-quality University of Montana courses to fit the busy lives of students.
Idaho Business
- States and the recession: Revenue - Montana is one of only 5 states in the "green".
In this Stateline.org map, scroll over any state to see how its total quarterly tax revenues have grown or shrunk compared to the previous year.
Wyoming Business
- Dell pullout a $20 million shock to Idaho's Magic Valley economy
"At the very minimum, we will see our population decline because we simply don't have the jobs for these workers right now," said Jan Roeser, the Idaho Department of Labor's Twin Falls-based regional economist. "What we have needed, and what we need now more than anything, is economic development - something that will create jobs."
Education
- Company uses state grant to recruit Wyoming residents
Jodi Guerin, who's helping the company with its Wyoming outreach efforts, said the state would reimburse the company up to $200,000 for training costs, which is part of the reason the company is recruiting in Casper.
Connectivity & Communications
- Building a Cost-Effective Digital Classroom
With the generous support of NEC Display Solutions, we've put together stories from our archives that will help school leaders manage limited budgets while trying to create digital classrooms that will shape students for life in the 21st century.
- Western Governors University Enrollment Passes 15,000 - 43% Increase in 2 Years for Online University
The growth, more than 43% in just 2 years, is taking place in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in all four of the university's colleges: Business, Healthcare Professions, Information Technology, and Teaching.
- A Virtual Revolution Is Brewing for Colleges
Colleges, like newspapers, will be torn apart by new ways of sharing information enabled by the Internet. The business model that sustained private U.S. colleges cannot survive.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Computer network experts test security at Montana conference
"Computer security gets a D-minus in America," Smith said. "We really don't get security in this country."
Government Technology
- The Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovation Awards
This year's winners include: a tool to identify new disease strains, an artificial hand, a solar-powered base station for mobile phones and paper-thin flexible speakers
- A Device to Spot Autism Early
A new system automatically analyzes vocalizations for signs of autism.
Non-Profit News
- Facebook Page For Government Launches
The federal government launched a Facebook page to give agencies tips and impetus to set up and run their presence on Facebook. The page offers links to agency pages already on Facebook, guides, and updates to government Facebook activity.
- Rallying for a cause - The Going to the Sun Rally Brings Vintage Vehicles to Montana
This year’s group of 35 vintage cars will travel as far north as Great Falls and as far south as Cody, Wyo. The rally was named for its inaugural route through Glacier National Park, but the group takes a different path each year.
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