MATR Newsletter - Fri Dec 24, 2010 |
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May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace, The gladness of Christmas give you hope, The warmth of Christmas grant you love.
21st Century Initiative - "You Should Care..."
Montana Department of Commerce
- Giving Student Teachers More Classroom Experience
A nationwide pilot program is set to increase the amount of classroom experience student teachers receive in education programs.
- Our schools are lagging behind the rest of the world. Why is that? How did we fall so far behind?
For 90 percent of the teachers in America there's no feedback.
- Teachers turn learning upside down
'Inverted learning' allows students to practice what they learn under the guidance of their classroom teacher
Northwestern Energy
- 2011 Made in Montana Marketplace Exhibitor Space Already Half Reserved
"The Made in Montana Marketplace is a prime opportunity for producers of Made in Montana products to gain immediate and widespread exposure to wholesale buyers," said Dore Schwinden, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. "In 2010 the Marketplace sold out and exhibitors were on a wait list to get in - it's popular because it works."
- Coming in January 2011 - Montana Governor Schweitzer's Energy Interns
Starting in January 2011, students who complete a 200 hour internship with your business or organization can receive $2,000 credit toward a Montana higher education institution in which they are enrolled.
Highway 12 Ventures
- NorthWestern Energy Reminds Customers to Remove Snow and Ice from Meters and Exhaust Vents
Blocked appliance vents could result in a loss of heat or buildup of deadly carbon monoxide in the structure.
Montana Community Finance Corporation
- Drive - The Great Equalizer
I've always been fascinated by the common threads that bind successful people and one story in particular on the subject.
MSU Leadership Institute
- NEW! Low Noise Quantum Cascade Laser Driver from Wavelength Electronics - Improve Your Chemical Sensor Performance
Wavelength Electronics http://www.teamWavelength.com has simplified advanced laser diode drive and thermal control technology for OEM and research applications since 1993.
Come Home Montana
- Lessons in Leadership
Want to be a better leader? Here's our guide, featuring step-by-step how-tos, related Wall Street Journal stories and video interviews with CEOs.
Cleantech
- Montana Career Opportunity - Transmission Operator - Northwestern Energy
Responsibilities include controlling, scheduling and monitoring flows on the NorthWestern Energy electric and natural gas transmission system.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Human Resources Manager - Jore Corporation
Jore Corporation is seeking an experienced Human Resources Manager to to direct the activities for our manufacturing organization.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Executive Director - Women's Opportunity and Resource Development
- Montana Career Opportunities - Loan Officer, Client Accounting Advisor - Montana Community Development Corporation
The MCDC mission is to provide business financing that can transform the lives of individuals and strengthen community prosperity.
Montana Business
- Clean-Tech Entrepreneurs Eye Funding Shift
Start-Ups Bank on Transition in Loan-Guarantee Program From Big Solar and Wind Projects to Emerging Technologies
Montana Economic Development
- Boeing lands in Helena - "Boeing Helena"
"In every community that Boeing is involved in, we are committed to that community and the people," said Eric Smith, who will head the new Boeing operation.
- JSEC 2011 Missoula Employer of Choice Award
We want to know what Missoula businesses are doing to create great workplaces!
- 3 Key Things to Add To Your Inbound Marketing Strategy for 2011
Three key things to add to your businesses inbound marketing strategy for 2011 to drive growth and increased sales.
Regional Economic Development
- Custer Country, Montana reorganizes, continues its focus on entire region
"Nobody says 'Let's go to Montana and see Billings,'" she said. "Billings needs the rest of the region as bad as the region needs Billings."
- West Yellowstone, Montana Economic Development Council Purchases Property for Education Project
"For the past year, we have been developing the Yellowstone Studies Center project and it was time to truly kick-start that project rather than to keep talking about it and to do so it needed a home base. This building is a perfect fit," said Glenn Hales, President of WYED.
Careers
- Education system helps attract doctors to St. Luke's
If it's not the first thing doctors ask about, it's the second or third.
- Rural Innovation Fund Program - Category 1: Rural housing distress and community poverty in rural areas; and Category 2: Economic Development and Entrepreneurship for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes.
HUD is making available awards in two funding categories
- 5 Ways Cities Are Using Social Media to Reverse Economic Downturn
Here are five ways cities and regions are using social media today.
- Report adds fuel to debate about state business recruitment incentive programs
"Incentives can be beneficial for targeting specific industries or achieving specific goals, but should not be relied on for overall economic growth,"
Funding and Building your Business
- Today's Tip Boost Your Emotional Intelligence
Research suggests that EQ accounts for 85 percent of success at work--outweighing both expertise and technical intelligence.
Incubators and R&D
- 5 ways your start-up can get better hires
Finding good people for your start-up is tough when you don't personally know many candidates, aren't well connected or well known and don't have a lot of money to pay a recruiter. But sometimes, a group effort can make the process easier.
- Small Business News: Business Innovation 101
The key to being successful at innovation in business or in life is to never quite be finished with it.
- Want VC cash? Learn to hone your pitch
If you find yourself trying to shoehorn your 35-slide presentation into a "VC-ready" format, you don't know enough yet. And you won't know any more by sitting in your office surfing the web and writing more slides.
- 5 New Year Resolutions To Be More Innovative
To be more innovative, then, you need more diverse sources of information and inspiration.
Montana Education Excellence
- University of Montana Researcher Ken Dial Investigates What Birds Can Teach Us About Flight
Ken Dial works and lectures around the globe, speaking to everyone from kindergarten students to neurosurgeons to NASA, Boeing and the Air Force about flight, air safety and evolution. "I want to share with them what we are discovering, so they can take it down avenues that I can't. So I am hoping to be a spark plug for some new ideas.
- Montana State University researchers net grant to study fuel-producing fungi
Discoveries are "kind of like being the first person to climb Mount Everest," he said, "but they're better because you immediately realize that what you've found could help someone else."
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Montana Schools Chief Wants to Raise Compulsory Attendance Age to 18
"It would raise the expectation that we expect every student to graduate."
Regional Business
- Expanding Gallatin College Programs will benefit the region, say administrators and community members
Daryl Schliem, president and chief executive officer of the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce, said additional one-year and two-year educational and workforce training programs would lead to a more robust, vibrant and diversified community that offers more opportunities for both employers and employees.
University TechTransfer
- SBA Unveils New Website and Launches SBA Direct - A New Tool Delivering Personalized and Targeted Resources
http://www.SBA.gov Demonstrates Agency's Commitment to Transformation - Giving Small Business Owners Quick and Easy Access to the Resources they need to Succeed and Create Jobs
Idaho Business
- Stanford's tech transfer ideas generate $65.1 million in revenues
In the past three decades, the number of patents obtained by universities jumped from 250 to about 3,000 a year, according to the Association of University Technology Managers.
Education
- Wind turbine manufacturer Nordic Windpower gets $5.6 million in incentives from Missouri for the company to leave Pocatello
Carbone said the company picked Kansas City from among 14 metro areas in 11 states because of the city's "strong sense of community," its talented work force and proximity to transportation and the company's client base.
Government
- Private-school vouchers return to education agenda
Today, there are 18 voucher programs in 12 states.
- Idaho lags behind most states in per-student funding
Even before the economy went south, Idaho was hardly a bastion of well-funded public schools.
- Nearly 1 in 4 fails military exam
The report by The Education Trust bolsters a growing worry among military and education leaders that the pool of young people qualified for military service will grow too small.
- 8-Year-Olds Publish Scientific Bee Study
"I certainly don't think this is something that only we could have done. It's something that lots of schools could do," he said. "It would be lovely to have this sense of community around learning all over the country and all over the world."
Other Economies
- Alabama Town's Failed Pension Is a Warning
It stands as a warning to cities like Philadelphia and states like Illinois, whose pension funds are under great strain: if nothing changes, the money eventually does run out, and when that happens, misery and turmoil follow.
Community
- Nebraska Global venture capital fund unveiled, website goes live
Nebraska Global prides itself on being a successful combination of "nerds and money" by creating a venture capital fund that focuses on investments with software companies capable of influencing Nebraska's technology environment.
Connectivity & Communications
- SEVEN New Grant announcements
- Futuristic Ideas for Smarter Cities
From a plant-based city to redesigning transport services while on the move, a host of ideas are being inspired by smart-city thinking
Energy and Climate Change
- Internet Gets New Rules of the Road
Consumers Guaranteed Right to View Content; Service Providers Allowed to Sell Faster, Priority Speeds for Extra Money
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- How SunRun Applies Financial and Software Muscle to Home Solar Installation
I was expecting to hear a lot about the latest ways to engineer solar panels to produce more power--but I came away with a notebook full of thoughts about power purchase agreements, tax equity financing, and pricing engines
- Missoula, Montana Target store (and every other Target store) takes glass for recycling
Missoula's Target store has been accepting glass for recycling for months.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Funny Prayer about Getting Old at the Caregiver of the Year Dinner
- Best Luck of 2010 May you be as lucky in 2011
You won't believe how lucky these people have been.
Government Technology
- IBM researchers predict the future
"In an era when pessimism is the new black, a little dose of technological optimism is not a bad thing."
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- More Funding Needed to Secure States' Computers, Audit Shows
A recent Deloitte and National Association of State Chief Information Officers study found that many state chief information security officers lack the funding, programs and resources to adequately protect vital government data, including constituents' personal information, especially compared to counterparts in private-sector enterprises.
Transportation
- Aesthetic influence
How Montana arts fare is important to more than just artists and art lovers. They play a significant role in both the local and state economy.
- Why we get the transportation projects we don't want ( unfortunately true but still hilarious)
Conversation with an engineer, street project (hilarious):
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