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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Feb 19, 2010 |
"We are rapidly becoming the fat, complacent Detroit of nations. We are milking aging cows on the verge of going dry and losing our collective sense of purpose along with our fire, ambition, and determination to achieve." John Kao, former Harvard Business School professor. "Start-Up Nation"
"10:30 Today ! - Sen. Baucus - Roundtable On Jobs, 2/19, Missoula" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- "Frontier Fund deadline for startup funding consideration in March approaching" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- "What should Missoula City Council goals be for 2010?" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Glacier Raft and Outdoor Center
Montana SBA
- Glacier National Park Centennial eNews- February!
Our community-driven program has a line up of over 100 commemorative and educational programs in hope to engage a wide range of people.
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Prospera Business Network announces the opening of the new Montana Women’s Business Center in Bozeman.
“This new business assistance program will be a great resource for Montana’s women in business,” said SBA Montana District Director, Michelle Johnston. “The training and counseling provided by the Women’s Business Center fills a gap in the existing business assistance resources available in Montana. We are delighted to see a Women’s Business Center established in Montana,” continued Johnston.
- The Small Business Advocate from the SBA Jan/Feb 2010
Free Tax Help Available Nationwide
Idaho National Laboratory
- Dorsey & Whitney LLP. - Blogging, Online Employee Comments, and Online Endorsements: Complying with the FTC’s New Guidelines Just Got Easier
For companies that have been trying creatively to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s new endorsement guidelines (effective December 1, 2009), help may have arrived this week.
Highway 12 Ventures
- Idaho National Laboratory teams with Mayo Clinic, local school for student workstation study
"Schools are becoming increasingly concerned with the rise in student obesity and inactivity, and they have been trying to find opportunities to help students become healthier," explained INL study lead Brad Snedden. "We hope our impact analysis study will provide some data for one option that may influence both student health and academic performance."
MAPS™ : Media Arts in the Public Schools
- My New Role as Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Highway 12 Ventures in Boise, Idaho
One benefit of having Highway 12 Ventures in Boise is the ability for an entrepreneur to validate an idea with smart folks who see hundreds of ideas each year.
Come Home Montana
- The MAPS Media Institute is opening doors for filmmaking students in the Bitterroot Valley
Whether it’s a high school student, a continuing ed adult, or a member of Trapper Creek Job Corps, Rosten said the philosophy at MAPS is to get each student involved in all aspects of filmmaking.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunity - Community Development Specialist - Big Sky EDA
Wanted: Team-oriented communicator, skilled in detailed, persuasive writing.
Montana Business
- Connecting the dots for entrepreneurs – EntreDot business mentoring
Focused on rural communities in North Carolina, our objective is to increase the chances of entrepreneurial success by helping them create high impact companies.
Montana Economic Development
- Semitool founder Ray Thompson shares his business lessons with the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Thompson said the integrity and trustworthiness of those employees is why the company set up shop in Kalispell in the first place.
- Zoot Reports Continued Profitability and Growth in 2009
Company increases client base, releases new solution, receives industry recognition
- Missoula-based Aqua Blue pool company looks at Darby for plant
Marty Birkeneder, who is helping Aqua Blue access the federal money, said the opportunity to bring dozens of jobs to Darby was one commissioners ought not pass up. “We’re talking 150 jobs in four years,” she said. “That’s huge.”
- Montana Manufacturing Extension Center - Forward Focus Feb. 2010 Newsletter
Tools and News for Today's Manufacturers
Regional Economic Development
- Senator Baucus Economic Roundtable in Helena (Video)
Under a new jobs bill, Baucus would like to create a payroll tax credit for new hires, meaning any business person who hires someone new will get a full payroll tax credit.
- Montana Development Council selects Growth Through Agriculture projects
The Montana Agriculture Development Council has offered funding totaling $401,167 to 13 agricultural development projects under the state's Growth Through Agriculture program, according to council Chair David Tyler.
- 10:30 Today ! - Sen. Baucus - Roundtable On Jobs, 2/19, Missoula
The roundtable discussion will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce, 825 E. Front St.
Careers
- Five RURAL-based Toolkits
Rural Dynamics Inc has posted the following FIVE Northern Plains Conference Toolkits on their website
Funding and Building your Business
- Why you should be a team of one
One of the best exercises a working person can do is this: spend some time doing the jobs of the people you work with.
Incubators and R&D
- Frontier Fund deadline for startup funding consideration in March approaching
Frontier Fund invests in Montana companies that have ambition to scale, good management teams and proprietary products and services.
- Why Venture Capitalists Avoid Innovation: They Like Making Money
"We invest in teams that have done it before" (Greylock partner, 90's), or "We look for the second time around" (Sigma partner, 90's). It doesn't take a genius to understand what they are saying.
Montana Education Excellence
- Radical new directions needed in food production to deal with climate change
"I grow increasingly concerned that we have not yet understood what it will take to feed a growing population on a warming planet."
University TechTransfer
- Record Number of Montana Students Take Advance Placement Exams
Darby, Stevensville School Districts Rank Among Top 13 Districts for Highest Percentage of Students in Advanced Placement Programs
- University of Montana starts search for new president
Those interested in following the search process can check http://www.umt.edu/potumsearch/SearchProcess.aspx for more information.
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- The U. now nation's best for launching businesses
Since 2005, when the U. established its tech commercialization office, the U. has spun off 83 companies that employ 400 people and have attracted $240 million in capitalization.
Oregon Business
- Flynn's Harp: Reflecting on the impact of women angel investors
In fact, couples investing may be the trend, as Liz Marchi, fund coordinator for the Frontier Angel Fund in Whitefish, MT., and coordinator of the Montana Angel Network, suggests. "We encourage couples to be involved together in the process and have found that creates a good culture of inquisitiveness," notes Marchi., though she touts the talent individual women bring to her group.
Wyoming Business
- Founder of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods transfers business to employees on his 81st birthday
"We're still learning all of the details, but it's very humbling to be part of a company that cares this much about its employees."
Education
- Cheyenne, Wyoming one of 3 finalists for for $750-million-plus computer data center
The fact that Cheyenne even made the short list for the data center indicates that the city is already reaping economic dividends from luring in the National Center for Atmospheric Research's new supercomputing center.
Government
- How well are U.S. colleges run?
"People aren't convinced that colleges are spending their money wisely and well."
- Plan Would Let Students Start College After 10th Grade
In an experiment that could reshape American secondary education, high schools in eight states will introduce new courses next year, along with a battery of tests for sophomores, that will allow students who pass to get a diploma two years early and immediately enroll in community college.
- Schools with fed funds can give public Web access outside school hours
The E-Rate program, which also funds Internet access in libraries, had required schools to use the Web connections only for educational purposes. But that meant they went largely unused at night, over weekends and during other breaks.
Community
- Montana budget chief proposes $40 million in cuts - Full list available here.
Budget analysts estimate that unless cuts are made, most of the $282 million the 61st Legislature set aside in general fund reserves would be depleted by the end of the budget cycle in June, 2011.
- Governments experimenting with "results-only work environments"
What we expect to get as a county is an increase in productivity.
Connectivity & CommunicationsEnergy and Climate Change
- New data: 40% in U.S. lack home broadband - FCC chairman calls for ultra-high-speed broadband
The Obama administration and Congress have identified universal broadband as a key to driving economic development, producing jobs and bringing educational opportunities and cutting-edge medicine to all corners of the country.
- What Google Broadband Can Do for You
With promises of Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than average American households (about one gigabit per second), the excitement of those vying to be part of the "experiment" is close to that of kids in a candy store.
Grupthink
- Utilities' transition to smart grid has promise, but potholes, too
The two scenarios underscore the promise and pitfalls that consumers and utilities could face as utilities make a move to the so-called smart grid and make the biggest upgrades ever to the nation's decades-old electrical grids. It's an undertaking President Obama has compared in significance to the building of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
- Small Nuclear Reactors Generate Big Hopes
A new type of nuclear reactor—smaller than a rail car and one tenth the cost of a big plant—is emerging as a contender to reshape the nation's resurgent nuclear power industry.
- Flexible solar cells that soak up the sun more efficiently developed at California Institute of Technology (Caltech),
“These solar cells have, for the first time, surpassed the conventional light-trapping limit for absorbing materials,”
- Bill Gates talks energy at TED (video)
His goals? Avoid global catastrophe from climate change. Eliminate worldwide carbon emissions by 2050.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- What should Missoula City Council goals be for 2010?
What do you think? Add your ideas or vote on ideas from others.
Government Technology
- How To Stream the 2010 Vancouver Olympics From Anywhere
True fans of the Winter Olympics will need more than a television broadcast schedule to stay current.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- New York firm offers to create video content for Ravalli County Web site
The company would add as many as seven short videos trumpeting the county’s economy, attractions, quality of living, educational opportunities, history and culture, real estate and more.
- Missoula BarCamp 2010 Session Suggestions - Planning meeting on 2/23
Missoula BarCamp is about making a difference with technology and art. What topics would you most like to see?
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