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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Mar 9, 2010 |
“A person’s ZIP code should never limit their access to learning, high-quality health care or a chance to grow a small business,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. “Broadband access is no longer a luxury, it’s a must. …” http://matr.net/articl ... .html
You can help: "Missoula to apply for Google ultra-high-speed Internet project" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- "Huls Dairy of Corvallis, Montana nets national small business award - VOTE TODAY!!!" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Idaho National Laboratory
Highway 12 Ventures
- Department of Energy Announces $40 Million to Develop the Next Generation Nuclear Plant
If successful, the NGNP Demonstration Project will demonstrate high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology that will be capable of producing electricity as well as process heat for industrial applications and will be configured for low technical and safety risk with highly reliable operations.
- New Idaho National Laboratory institute to foster lab/university nuclear energy research
"The goal is to bring strength of the universities and the strength of the lab and focus them on the long-range needs in nuclear research and development," said Dave Hill, INL deputy lab director. "The strengths of the universities and the lab really complement each other. The universities really concentrate on basic research and the lab's strength is applied research."
City Club Missoula
- Leadership, Idaho and Breaking Down Barriers
Sharon Allen has earned the highest levels in business, all while doing it the right way. She is a leader in every sense of the word and during her career has continually been “first”. I am proud to say she if from Idaho and congratulate her with her latest award.
MAPS™ : Media Arts in the Public Schools
- City Club Missoula - Missoula youth advocate, Layci Nelson of the Missoula Forum for Children and Youth says parents, kids need to be media literate
"Everyone has heard about predators on the Internet," Nelson said. "But sometimes it's not the traditional way we think about it. Sometimes the predators are the advertisers."
Come Home Idaho
- “2010 MAPS MOVIES PREMIERE” 3/27, Corvallis, Montana
On Saturday, March 27th at noon, MAPS http://www.mediarts.org will host a premiere of its 2010 student films at the Pharaohplex Theaters in Corvallis. Admission is free - young and old alike are invited to attend.
Come Home Montana
- Keeping, attracting talent for Idaho
Pooling talent resources will become increasingly important in the coming years.
- Fuel Boise lights way for young professionals
“I think Boise is sheltered,” he said, noting its conservative nature. “It’s divided into two sets: young people involved in the downtown nightlife and married couples.”
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- The Failed State of California - The Changing Landscape of America
What happened to the Golden State? What's happening in Montana?
- PLACES: Hot Springs, Montana
Located about 90 minutes southwest of Kalispell, the tiny community of Hot Springs is a pretty great day trip for anyone feeling truly chilled to the bone by winter.
Montana Business
- Heart of the Valley Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is especially hard to measure, for it doesn’t focus on traditional profit and loss, the stuff economists measure with precision. But, as Thomas Sowell reminds us, what economists measure best is not what matters most.
Montana Economic Development
- Montana Manufacturing Extension Center - Winter 2010 Forward Focus newsletter
If you are not a subscriber to the web-based version of this newsletter (5 issues annually), you can subscribe FREE at http://members.questline.com/Guest.aspx?accountID=4540
- Montana Main Street Conference Announcement and Survey
As the Montana Department of Commerce’s Main Street program observes its 5th anniversary this year, we would like to announce the upcoming annual conference, assess how to make our program even more effective, and invite more communities across Montana to come on board.
- Grub on the go: Montana entrepreneurs confront challenges reliably delivering local food
It may be easier to buy food from China or Uruguay than from the American Family Farmer down the road. While Big Food loves to include pictures of Family Farmers in their advertising, that’s mostly just for show.
- Huls Dairy of Corvallis, Montana nets national small business award - VOTE TODAY!!!
Many are hoping that people will take a moment to go to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Web site (http://www.uschambersummit.com/cea-award) and vote for Huls for the “Community Excellence Award.”
Regional Economic Development
- "The Best Place Project" - Getting job done for economy: Mayor, business leaders are taking right steps to help Missoula grow
For far too long, the city’s various development groups, private businesses and government agencies have operated in a piecemeal fashion. While that may have been fine when the economy was booming and Missoula was simply coasting along with it, now that the financial tides have turned it is simply not enough to ride the waves of fortune.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Broadband Can Close the Education Loop for Rural Communities
Education increases chances for employment. Distance learning increases educational opportunities for rural residents. Rural development these days means broadband and online classes.
Funding and Building your Business
- New funds would seek to create more venture investors in Michigan
“There’s been a dearth of early stage investment capital in the state in the past, and there’s been plenty of opportunities here,” Grogan said. “From our perspective, if we can fill an important role in the availability of capital, we can get some wins.”
Montana Education Excellence
- An Entrepreneur’s First Co-Founder: The Community
To do great work, you need community. I don’t think people generally comprehend just how important it is.
- Forming a Partnership
Like a sole proprietorship, a general partnership doesn't protect against personal liability— and in addition, partners are held responsible for the actions of the other partners.
University TechTransfer
- University of Montana forms presidential search committee
Clay Christian, Board of Regents vice chair, at the direction of board chair Steve Barrett, has selected the 20-member search committee tasked with finding the successor for University of Montana President George M. Dennison, who intends to retire Aug. 15 after two decades at the helm.
- 'Avatar' creatures carry Choteau, Montana animator Eric Reynolds into Oscars' glow
Reynolds' interests were also influenced by teacher Gary Betcher, who outfitted Choteau High School with a room full of Radio Shack TRS-80s, one of the first personal computers. Ralph Paulus also had an early Apple II, and after Reynolds finished helping with farm work, he would spend hours programming games.
- Montana universities offering more online classes as technology advances
MSU Billings, among the first campuses in Montana to offer classes over the Internet, remains a leader in the state, with 17 certificate or degree programs completely online.
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- U of M is open for business. Are there customers?
The traditional methods for measuring tech transfer- invention disclosures, patents-don’t mean anything unless you actually do something with them.
Idaho Business
- Dodd Bill Could Drain Angel Pool, Make Startup Financings More Confusing
Not surprisingly, the National Venture Capital Association and the Angel Capital Association oppose Dodd’s proposed changes – arguing that they would drain the angel investor pool at a time when seed-stage capital is already at a premium.
Oregon Business
- Boise State University's high-achieving students partner with entrepreneurs at the "Watercooler" to grow Idaho’s creative economy
“Interns here are real colleagues. They lead projects, make decisions, learn by actually doing. There are some very talented students here that are making a real difference in these companies.”
- Idaho Looking To Attract Companies From Oregon & Washington
"As the Governor mentioned, as soon as the Oregon folks went ahead and passed over $700 million in taxes, our phones started ringing over here. Not only at the Governor's Office, but over across the street at the Department of Commerce," said Otter's Press Secretary Jon Hanian.
Oregon Economic Development
- Angel Oregon picks two winners -- DeltaPoint and Enjoy Life
Investors at the annual Angel Oregon conference picked two winners this afternoon:
Utah Economic Development
- SBA broadens Portland entrepreneurial outreach program
"This initiative is designed to accelerate the growth of companies that are poised for sustained expansion."
Wyoming Business
- Proactive Recruitment Effort Generates Interest in Utah
"This is an exciting new chapter in our economic development efforts," says EDCUtah President & CEO Jeff Edwards. "Our proactive recruitment efforts are generating some interest in Utah and we expect to see some significant project work come from the numerous prospects we've been working."
Education
- Eleutian Technology of Ten Sleep, Wyoming to open center in Casper plans to hire 100 teachers
A Wyoming-based company that provides English instruction in several Asian countries plans to hire about 100 teachers to work in its new Casper teaching center.
- Wyoming schools help prep Korean teachers in English Communication skills
"I always joke that someday, there will be an anthropologist who says, 'Hey, why, in this little corner of Wyoming, did they know so much about South Korea?"'
Government
- A Teacher In Your Pocket: Learn How To Build A 24/7 Classroom, 3/24, Webinar Online
Districts across the county are implementing educational technology to attempt to address this diversity and transform the educational experience, but what is the real ROI of all of this technology?
- Fire teachers in failing schools? It may work
Mass teacher firings are tried in about 20 to 30 schools annually.
- California Education: "a denied dream"
California's public university system is the model for the rest of the nation.
Other Economies
- Amazon Fires Its Affiliates in Colorado (Including Me) Because of Colorado HB 10-1193
Colorado just got a big black eye as a “place that is friendly to business, especially high growth technology companies.”
Community
- Economic development focus shifts for state agency from recruitment to retention and entrepreneurship
Moret said the change is being made because the business-retention program, which was launched two years ago, has proved extremely popular.
Connectivity & Communications
- 'Good Neighbor Handbook' available to rural Montana landowners
The handbook encourages stewardship of the land and offers tips and resources for landowners in their efforts to maintain healthy vegetation on their land, enjoy living among wildlife without conflicts, understand the working landscapes of Missoula County, and more. The Open Lands Citizen Advisory Committee hopes that the Good Neighbor Handbook can help support and inform land stewardship efforts throughout the county.
Energy and Climate Change
- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's cloud-computing e-mail to employees
In conjunction with his UW speech, Ballmer also sent an e-mail to employees about Microsoft's commitment to the future of computing. Read more about his philosophy here.
- Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
A $4.7 billion federal program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to bring broadband infrastructure to underserved rural areas and encourage adoption of broadband services.
- High-Speed internet grant will extend access into Gorge - Grants help rural networks
“A person’s ZIP code should never limit their access to learning, high-quality health care or a chance to grow a small business,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. “Broadband access is no longer a luxury, it’s a must. …”
- UTOPIA Applauds Governor Herbert’s Support of Google High Speed Fiber Network Partnership Bid
“UTOPIA is a good candidate to partner with Google in the new project and to bring the experiment to well-prepped ground”
- Missoula to apply for Google ultra-high-speed Internet project
"It could be a huge jump-start to economic development," said Matt Ranta, a marketing manager in Missoula. "The technology businesses that will be attracted to cities where Google launches this program will be large in number."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Have a small renewable-energy project? Rocky Mountain Power will fund it
When a customer commits to buying a certain amount of renewable energy, Rocky Mountain Power promises that a similar quantity of electricity generated from wind farms or other renewable resources will be put onto the regional distribution grid.
- Consumer Goods Suck Up Surprising Amounts of Water
A $20 bag of dog food takes more than 4,000 gallons of water to make.
Legislative Newsletters
- New digital signs target people by age and gender
"If you come by a sign and it's playing something you're not interested in, it's noise to you," said Joe Jensen, a manager at Santa Clara-based Intel, which touts the ability of its chips to provide visually appealing ad images and to process the audience data the signs capture. But if the message is tailored to a specific individual's needs, he added, the person often will welcome the information.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Montana Senator Tester's email newsletter - Talking jobs and opportunity in Montana with Ag. Sec. Vilsack
Welcome to Senator Tester's email newsletter. Emails like this are a great way to stay in touch with Jon and his work for Montana.
- 'Sweetgrass' - story of the last Montana sheepherders
I think one of the most gratifying things I have heard people say is that they never thought that they could be so transported by a film about sheep.
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