The State with the Best Education Wins!
	MATR Newsletter - Wed Sep 29, 2010

This MATR newsletter sponsored by: Add an event... Upcoming Events "Trends In Raising Capital" With Bob Okabe, 9/30, Spokane, WA Call For Presenters - The Orton Family Foundation - CommunityMatters’10, 10/5-8, Denver, Colorado 2010 Montana Chamber Of Commerce Annual Meeting, 10/6-7, Billings, Montana MATR supporter: New Events "Trends In Raising Capital" With Bob Okabe, 9/30, Spokane, WA "Measuring Effective Mathematics Teaching", 10/8, Montana State University, Bozeman Webinar: How To Reduce DTP And Translation Costs With FrameMaker 9 And DITA, 10/12 A Supervisor's Primer - Disability In The Workplace, 10/13, Missoula Making The New Healthcare Laws Work For Montana, 10/21, Bozeman Montana Independent Telecom Systems - MITS Annual Symposium, 11/8-9, Helena, MT The 2010 SBIR National Conference, 11/8-10, Oklahoma City MATR supporter: MATR Web services provided by: To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page

“We truly believe the state needs to set an expectation that every student graduates. If we don’t have that expectation, I don’t know why we would be sitting here in public education.” Montana Superintendent Denise Juneau

Montana Department of Commerce

• Register Now for 2011 Made in Montana Marketplace Special Deals
  "The Made in Montana Marketplace is a fantastic opportunity for Montana producers to sell their products to wholesale buyers and network with other producers. It's also a one-stop-shop for wholesale buyers looking for something authentically Montana," said Dore Schwinden, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. "Register now. This show is not to be missed."

Come Home Montana

• Montana Career Opportunity - Control Systems Engineer - Industrial Automation Consulting
  IAC has openings in both engineering and sales.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• The Entrepreneurial University
  But before we attempt to define the entrepreneurial university, let’s agree on what it’s not.

Montana Business

• Juneau to Address State Chamber's 78th Annual Meeting October 6 in Billings
  The Montana Chamber of Commerce is the state's leading business advocate, representing more than 1,500 business members and approximately 35,000 employees across Big Sky Country on state and federal issues.

Montana Economic Development

• Calif. push for renewables could blow across West
  Montana and other states in the West could wind up being the unintended beneficiaries of an aggressive push to decrease fossil fuel use in California, industry representatives and others say.


• Leaders from Great Falls, Montana look to glean ideas for growth at Ohio meeting
  "We need to be aware of what the competition is doing, what are the cutting edge ideas and what other communities are doing to attract private investment."


• Anaconda, Montana still moving forward
  "There is new business activity here, which is surprising because it's not really happening anywhere else yet."

University of Montana & Montana State University Tech Transfer

• University of Montana Awarded $1.5 Million DOD Grant Studies Drug To Limit Brain Injuries
  Joe Fanguy, director of UM's Office of Technology Transfer, said, "Dave's efforts offer a prime example of how technology developed in a University research lab has the potential to become a life-saving or life-improving product."

Funding and Building your Business

• This Week's Meet the Angels: With Special Guest Brad Feld
  We believe that if we can help you to become better entrepreneurs, we will become better investors, and together we can build better companies. Entrepreneurs with high-growth, and game-changing ideas, deserve partners with startup experience and unwavering support. This is why we are proud to introduce the "Meet the Angels and VCs" online event to give you easy access to us for insight, advice, feedback and for us to learn about your ideas and team.


• Howdy, Partner: Teaming Up In Business
  Launching a business with a partner can be a lot like getting married, for better or worse.


• Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started
  "The best part of blogging is the people you will meet"- Hugh MacLeod

Incubators and R&D

• Greenhouse business incubator opens with three companies
  The city said the rest of the building is expected to fill in the months ahead. Several dozen applications have already been received.

Montana Education Excellence

• Senator Baucus Announces Montanans To Participate In First-Ever White House Sponsored National Community College Summit
  At the request of Baucus, President of Flathead Valley Community College, Dr. Jane Karas and Fort Peck Community College Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Janine Pease, were selected to share their perspectives during a summit highlighting the critical role community colleges play in developing America’s workforce and educational goals.

Montana Education/Business Partnerships

• University of Montana Student-Produced Program on Sept. 30 Features Montana Businesses
  Businesses highlighted in the program include Amaltheia Organic Dairy Farm in Belgrade , JuJu Gear in Big Sky , the Montana Emu Ranch in Kalispell , HCR Industries in Lewistown , Nine Fingers Mustard in Laurel and Montana Monster Munchies in Bozeman .

Developing an Angel Network in Montana

• Rainsource Capital set to launch big push on angel investor funds
  Key to the effort is Rainsource’s plan to recruit and train 50 certified “Rainmakers” to establish and support the funds.

Idaho Business

• Horizon contract to bring 100 jobs to Kootenai County, Idaho
  "We're in the process of adding 75 new direct employees to the maintenance organization, and about another 25 contract employees, 100 overall."

2011 Montana Legislature

• New revenues, not cuts solution to budget
  Current revenue projections do give cause for concern and all state agencies are preparing for cuts but it would be foolish, for example, given our need for a sound education system, not to find new revenue.

Education

• Spokane hopes to establish a school-based health clinic - Students who are well learn better and nurses are stretched thin
  “A growing body of research indicates that school nurses – when present every day – advance the twin goals of improving health and educational outcomes.”


• Will America’s Universities Go the Way of Its Car Companies?
  America’s universities lost their way badly in the era of easy money. If they do not find it again, they may go the way of GM.

Other Economies

• Group's blueprint for Wisconsin calls for innovation, statesmanship. "Refocus Wisconsin"
  A project of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Refocus Wisconsin was developed with the belief that Wisconsinites born in recent years are facing a starkly different life than the one their grandparents enjoyed. Concerned about our slow, little-noted descent, Refocus Wisconsin hopes to open more people’s eyes to the real issues facing our state, so together, we can envision some genuine solutions.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

• Unaware of Our Unawareness
  "I'll know it when I see it," runs the popular refrain.

Government Technology

• Top Digital States Use Technology to Face Fiscal Challenges
  The Digital States Survey, launched in the mid-1990s, is the nation’s only sustained assessment of how well state governments are using technology to streamline operations and improve service delivery. It initially focused on the number of online services offered by state governments.

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