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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Jan 25, 2011 |
"We are trapped by the concept of a degree and the concept of a curriculum. There needs to be a rethinking of what it is we are supposed to be doing in higher education." Alice Stewart - First-place winner of GMAC's Ideas to Innovation contest. " Winning Ideas for the Future of Schools " http://matr.net/articl ... .html
Montana Department of Commerce
21st Century Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Montana Small Business Development Center "Invest In Success" Conference, 4/5-6, Billings, Montana
The conference will highlight three keynote speakers, local presenters, and a variety of business resources. This event will help you refocus your business, goals and ultimately your bottom line.
- Montana Film Office a growing presence at Sundance Film Festival
The Film Office has taken part in the festival in a number of ways over the last few years. They are a major sponsor in one of the event's biggest filmmaker lounges.
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- To Learn Best, Write an Essay
Trying to remember what you've just studied, then writing it down, may be a surprisingly good way to learn.
Come Home Montana
- RightNow agrees to buy Q-go, boosts 4Q outlook
Q-go provides search engines that process common phrases to help visitors search corporate websites. RightNow's main product helps companies manage customers' questions and complaints.
- Minnesota's Angel Tax Credit: "Proprietary Technology" Requirement
Minnesota's Angel Tax Credit (defined in Minn. Stat. 116J.8737) provides an array of investors who are natural persons1 the opportunity to receive a 25-percent individual income tax credit (maximum $125,000 per year per individual or $250,000 for those filing jointly) for investing in small businesses that are primarily focused on technological innovation.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Tech chancellor search nationwide - including candidates without a doctorate who have an extraordinary record of relevant leadership
Montana Tech would consider a person holding a doctorate degree who comes from the private sector for its new chancellor
- Montana Career Opportunity - Engineer/Support/ Sr. Engineer - PPL Montana
PPL Montana http://www.pplmontana.com operates electric generation facilities with a combined capacity of more than 2,800 megawatts in Montana and is seeking highly motivated, qualified candidates for the following positions: Colstrip, MT Engineer/Support/ Sr. Engineer
- Young Professionals Return Home, and Stay - Cities are launching "boomerang" efforts to bring their young professionals back home.
Countrywide, economically depressed regions are targeting the boomerang kids -- the locals who went away to college and may be interested in coming back if they can find the right job.
Montana Business
- Montana high school students get a head start on career path
"These classes at CMR have jump-started my knowledge," he said. "It will be great to be on the cutting edge."
Montana Economic Development
- Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. Is Purchased By Rock-Tenn for $3.5 Billion
The deal is the latest example of how companies such as Smurfit--a maker of containerboard and corrugated boxes that was beaten down by debt woes--are reborn in bankruptcy proceedings that can yield a low-cost sale to an opportunistic buyer.
- Montana Apprenticeship Program Exclusively For Middle and High School Students
What would you think about a job where you can earn money while you learn?
- The Montana Apprenticeship & Training Program
Registered apprenticeship is an important resource for employers and an opportunity for workers in these demanding times.
- Bresnan Communications hiring more workers
Sean O'Donnell, regional vice president for Bresnan, said he couldn't say exactly how many people the company would be hiring, but it is trying to fill 20 positions in Billings now and will continue to expand for several months.
- Smurfit-Stone still selling Frenchtown, Montana plant
"We anticipate the closing of the Frenchtown property will be in the next two weeks."
- Pyramid Mountain Lumber Co. of Seely Lake, Montana practices garner national honors
"By meeting SFI fiber sourcing requirements, Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc. joins a growing number of companies working with landowners and helping improve forestry practices on millions of additional acres of land."
Regional Economic Development
- Maintain education investment to create Montana jobs
"Solid infrastructure, high-quality education and access to world-class health care are each crucial for their long-term economic success."
- Montana Senator Baucus to Lead Montana Farmers, Businesses on Colombia, Brazil Trade Mission as Part of Jobs Agenda
Senator Will Connect Montana Industries with Potential Trading Partners to Promote Montana Exports, Jobs
Bill Payne
- Clusters could raise the bar on jobs
Talent is a lot easier to recruit from afar or train locally when there are concentrations of businesses -- be they tech companies, financial institutions or health care organizations. They can support each other and, together, sustain a substantial pool of skilled workers with similar pay and career expectations.
- States may outsource economic development - "Public-Private Power Grab: The Risks in Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies"
A recently released report http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/powergrab.pdf from the nonprofit research organization Good Jobs First casts a critical eye on the proposals, assessing the experiences of states that have experimented with similar approaches.
Careers
- STARTUP - by Elizabeth Edwards
I heartily recommend this book.
Economic Gardening
- Launch of .jobs Web sites shakes up employment advertising industry
A massive network of employment Web sites - where any company can list job openings for free - launched this week over the protests of newspapers and online recruitment companies, who fear billions of dollars in lost revenue.
- How to get what you want at work
How long should I wait before springing the news that I really want to work in a different department?
Funding and Building your Business
- Economic 'gardeners' seek bumper crop of new Florida jobs
A statewide initiative called the Florida Economic Gardening Institute identifies and helps nurture small private companies with high growth potential in the Sunshine State.
Incubators and R&D
- Ten Golden Insights From Successful Entrepreneurs
You can be a leader without being the best at everything.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Business incubator could aid area's job situation
Downtown Medford, Oregon may be able to hatch a flock of new technology ventures after a business incubator scheduled for a spring opening gets up and running.
- New research on honeybee illness from the University of Montana
Ecologist Colin Henderson co-authored a study that may have identified the cause of the honeybee illness that has plagued U.S. bees since 2006. Henderson, 59, is an associate professor of biology at the University of Montana.
University TechTransfer
- Montana State University-Northern's College of Technical leaders share excitement - Ted Turner to Speak at Commencement
Turner is the perfect speaker for Northern, with his interests in conservation and environmentalism reflected largely in Northern's programs in bio-energy research.
Idaho Business
- Young inventors prompt colleges to revamp rules
Tony Brown didn't set out to overhaul his college's policies on intellectual property. He just wanted an easier way of tracking local apartment rentals on his iPhone.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Website shows Idaho apprenticeships
"Over 250 Idaho employers, associations and labor unions have implemented apprenticeship programs that are boosting their profitability and providing more than 1,200 Idahoans good jobs that enable them to take full advantage of the quality of life our state has to offer," said Labor Director Roger Madsen.
- Sun Valley Marketing Alliance to shift advertising focus to young affluents
"This place is an original but we lost relevancy as we stopped being an original."
- Idaho National Lab establishes new Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
INL's program lets recent Ph.D. graduates propose and work on their own research -- as long as it advances the lab's energy security mission.
- Hoku CEO says Wells Fargo deal for Pocatello plant should be 'poster project' for U.S./Chinese Business Relationships
"This should be the poster project on how to bring investment to the United States and balance our relationship with China."
South Dakota Economic Development
- Small North Dakota town might have more deer than people
About 150 people live in the town, and residents estimate that between 200 and 300 deer have taken shelter there this winter.
2011 Montana Legislature
- Dakota Rising: Cultivating Entrepreneurs - Strengthening Businesses - Sustaining Communities
Once again, it is time to renovate the landscape and invest in individuals' dreams for change. Dakota Rising http://sdrei.org/dakotarising/index.php , an exciting new rural entrepreneur fellowship program, sets the foundation for making those visions possible.
Education
- Cyber expert: Montana Legislature a lesson in wireless insecurity
"Most people have no idea that once they send their data in the air, I can just reach out and grab it," said Smith, director of Helena's Computer Institute of the Rockies.
- Build new Missoula College of Technology to bolster economy: Let Legislature know we need new facilities to train workers
Tell Montana's legislators that you expect them to support a budget for higher education that includes funding for a new COT in Missoula.
Government
- Kalamazoo Leads Michigan's Education System
The "Kalamazoo Promise" is a program funded by anonymous donors who provide scholarships for students who attend and finish high school in Kalamazoo.
Other Economies
- Mayor Krauss: Bozeman, Montana must create jobs
"This is a place where steel rises above the destruction."
- Helena, Montana - "State of the City Speech" - Mayor yields to musical interlude
Mayor Jim Smith had cautioned that his 10th State of the City address was going to be "different" Monday night. Indeed, he managed to "mix it up a little bit."
Community
- Lower taxes are not the key to luring business
It's education, transportation and other quality of life issues.
- Network to connect investors, start-ups
Entrepreneurs looking for ways to finance their ideas will have a new resource to tap later this year.
- Iowa considering creating economic development authority
Gov. Terry Branstad wants to scrap the existing agency for a public-private partnership that would be more responsive to new and existing businesses that are interested in generating jobs.
Connectivity & CommunicationsEnergy and Climate Change
- Web Tool On Firefox To Deter Tracking
The announcement makes Firefox the first Web browser to heed the Federal Trade Commission's call for the development of a do-not-track system.
- Where High Speed Internet Meets Smart Grid
The utility will go head-to-head with providers such as Comcast to offer its existing customers an ultrahigh-speed internet connection at a whopping one gigabit per second -- more than 200 times faster than the average U.S. download speed.
Legislative Newsletters
- 100 Percent Renewable Energy is Possible by 2030
Despite the "green" movement that has taken over the country in the last few years, more than 80 percent of the world's energy supply still comes from fossil fuels.
- Developing a 'Smart Grid' in Chicago
Chicago invented the skyscraper. Can it pioneer the best urban sustainable-energy strategies as well?
- Melting glaciers may affect recreation
"The glaciers are attractive to people, but the things that will affect people most, it's the climate changing," said Daniel Fagre, a research ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey in the Northern Rockies.
- Montana Senator Max Baucus' Statement Regarding GE CEO Jeff Immelt's New Post as chairman of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
"Jeff's got a lot of great experience and ideas which is why I brought him to Montana. From his experience in Big Sky Country, he knows how hard we're working to create good-paying jobs. I wish him the best in his new post and will keep working with him and others to create new manufacturing opportunities and jobs for Montana."
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