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| MATR Newsletter - Fri May 13, 2005 |
Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm
Roundtable With John T. Riley – Outsourcing, Global Economy, TCS - Present And Future Impact In Montana, 5/27, Missoula http://www.matr.net/article-14584.html ********** Congratulations to all who participated in the The 16th Annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition at the U Of M Missoula last night. Unfortunately I had to leave before the results were announced. If you have information or comments on the event, please send them along and I'll post a story. Thanks, [email protected]
Come Home Montana
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Featured "Come Home Montana" Community~OPHEIM
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Career ~ Accountant
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Talent Desired Field: Human Services Worker
Education
- "High Technology in New Hampshire: The Future is Now,"
"Innovation is as important to us as oil is to the Middle East,"
- Montana Chamber to recognize Billings High School Business Challenge Winners
- Hole in the Wall one-man gang - Thanks to Hellgate senior Braxton Giffin, DECA store reopens
Hellgate High School’s DECA students opened the school’s first store in 10 years Wednesday in what had been an old storage closed, and, in an even earlier life, a ticket booth.
- America’s Entrepreneurs: A History of Ideas
he history of enterprise isn’t really about eureka moments. It’s mainly about people putting things together that were never put together before,” Evans said.
Montana Business
- A classroom as big as the world
Recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which works almost entirely in underfunded schools, has made a push for more global curricula. "It's an important equity issue," Levine says. "In terms of the global economy, these are going to be essential skills.... When we begin to introduce these courses and opportunities in urban areas, there's tremendous demand for it."
- Report ranks Montana high in rural education
The Rural School and Community Trust, a West Virginia nonprofit group that studies rural issues, called Montana a "golden egg" in rural education. Its 80 percent rural graduation rate is one of the highest in the country, and students generally benefit from the state's small classrooms and low student-teacher ratios, the report states.
- Bozeman High makes Newsweek list of top schools
"The kids have done a great job, as well as the staff -- I can't take any credit," Saunders said. "But they're good."
Montana Economic Development
- Booming Mountain Mudd expands to new facilities
"We're kind of amazed at what the company has become,"
- Havre sports bra maker to be featured on 'Oprah' - Enell Sports Bra
The creator of the Enell Sports Bra http://www.enell.com also knew Oprah's blessing would be priceless.
- Best of Feature Analyst® Award to Native Communities Development Corp.
- Technology puts Great Falls business operation on cutting edge - Water Jet Extreme Technologies
"There is virtually nothing the machine can't cut except tempered glass," Kramarich said.
- Sustainable Systems founder, Paul Miller riding biodiesel wave
For one thing, Miller has developed and refined methods of making biodiesel and other products from other, cheaper sources. He has also developed bio-hydraulic fluid and has made headway toward other lubricants and fluids useful in domestic and industrial settings.
- 13 Montanans have personal info stolen from Merlin Information Services of Kalispell
The company has notified the people affected, offered any assistance needed to resolve any problems that might arise and took out $50,000 identity theft insurance policies for each person.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Elbow room.....Population numbers roll off census charts in downward spirals through most of Eastern Montana history.
"The population is aging, the kids aren't staying and the farms are getting bigger. I don't see a change in that trend," said Sheridan County Agent Terry Angvick. "Where that's going to stop, I don't know.''
- Philanthropist lobs complaint about Montana attitudes
`Wealthy outside landowner and locals clash over stream access.'"
GIS Technology
- Venture capital is flowing to Utah firms ~ 174% jump in funding is sign of an upward trend
Brad Bertoch, president and chief executive officer of the Wayne Brown Institute, a Salt Lake-based nonprofit that helps businesses find funding, recently said that the MountainWest survey "is much more local, so they get a much better pulse on the deals that happen."
- Venture Capital: 'Venture buyouts' becoming popular
Ignition Partners, a Bellevue venture capital firm led by former Microsoft and McCaw Cellular executives, recently said that it is exploring small buyout opportunities. To help in that arena, the firm added former Microsoft Chief Financial Officer John Connors to its team last month.
Montana Biotech
- Start-up on track to fill gaps in GPS
``There are immense black holes in the GPS system, and we can fill the gap,''
- Can Your Mother Understand This? Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer and GIS in the Public Sector
But the real power of GIS is in its ability to reduce tables of numbers and multiple complexities to a simple concept that can be grasped and understood easily.
Funding and Building your Business
- New group promotes biotech in Montana - The Montana Bioscience Alliance
There is the potential for the biotech industry to create hundreds of new jobs, all high-paying, so that does have an economic impact, O'Donnell said.
Regional Business
- Blog, blog, blog, blog Businesses dig into the latest in useful tools
For companies, blogs are an opportunity to tell clients and potential clients about the industry, products and services. Also, it doesn't matter how large or small your business is.
- What Westerners Don't Know About Keiretsu
Neither Toyota nor Honda depends on a single source for anything.
- To Really Know a Market, Dig Beyond the Obvious
"When people talk about creating or building a business and what they need, they say money or sales," Mr. Gerber says. "They never say more information, but that's what it really takes."
- A Step-By-Step Guide To Getting a Patent
Here's a step-by-step guide to filing a patent, and what you can expect to pay at every stage along the way.
- Avoiding the Pitfalls Common to Startups
What is the biggest mistake people make when starting a small business?
Regional Economic Development
- Idaho named most affordable state in West for business
- BioPay makes Utah debut - High-tech payment system uses fingerprint ID
"Some people get scared with the fingerprint part of it - they think it's an invasion of privacy," said Michelle Johnson, a cashier at Combos in Provo. "But once they use it, they wonder why other places don't have it."
Other Economies
- S. Dakota Is Bullish on Idea Of Carving Luxury Beef Niche ~ Officials Hope to Improve Declining Rural Economy
After a consumer takes home the beef, he or she can use the Internet to find a photograph of the South Dakota family ranch where it came from. And if a rancher or a butcher cheats in caring for cows under the new rules, the state is ready and willing to charge him with a felony and send him to prison for two years.
- The Power of Networking: New Evidence from Britain
They find that networking supports innovation in all organizational forms — from small start-ups to large corporations.
- Funding Resources for Workforce Development Initiatives
The brief provides a catalog of funding options for multi-organizational workforce development initiatives.
- Tax system in Utah may be overhauled
One of the goals of the task force is to help "stabilize" the state's tax revenue. In other words, not have taxes go way up in good economic times, go way down in bad.
- Our View: There's no single solution for rural Idaho
Rural Idaho is diversifying. The state's new Profile of Rural Idaho makes this emerging trend clear.
- SBA Solutions Newsletter - May 2005
- Jerome, Idaho processor expands ... City's economic development director says more growth is on the way
Eldred said he has received 23 requests for information from potential employers within the last year, and one in eight of those requests results in further interest in the city. Eldred and Jerome's recruiting team are working on a "large development" now, and two more projects are in progress.
- Boise-area Tech startup group invites new members tonight (Thursday) - Kickstand
Who: "If you are a technology entrepreneur, a high-tech start-up or an emerging technology business, Kickstand was created for you," the group says.
- New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) Program
Large numbers of these workers have been unable to find new jobs. Others have been forced to accept jobs with lower pay and fewer benefits. The Rural Center believes they deserve more and better options. One possibility lies in self-employment.
- Boise flexes muscle; N. Idaho won't forget
The sad fact is that even if there are no other reasonable solutions, Boise is burning an important bridge with North Idaho.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- Push to improve per capita income under way
"We will have a more prepared work force" with a rise in per capita income, he said, "and growth in jobs with targeted wage rates."
University Business Plan CompetitionsIncubators and R&D
- Medical device company wins MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition
The oldest and best known among university business plan competitions, the MIT $50K has launched more than 80 companies from teams that have competed.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Yellowstone rated high for eruption threat
Recurring earthquake swarms, swelling and falling ground, and changes in hydrothermal features are cited in the report as evidence of unrest at Yellowstone.
- Microbiologist credited with saving millions of lives got his start in Bozeman
"He has probably saved more lives than any individual in all time,"
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Students, businesses honored - Partners in Education -"partnerships between schools and businesses can help bridge the gap."
"These companies (who are involved with Partners in Education) get it. They are excellent role models for corporate citizenship."
Careers
- Missoula Cultural Council - Some news and upcoming events for the week of April 9, 2005
- Montana State of the Arts Newspaper May/June 2005
- Missoula CVB Calendar of Events
Non-Profit News
- Interviewers have seen it all when it comes to applicants
Interview blunders can torpedo a candidate’s chances of landing a job faster than lack of experience or a typo on a resume.
Energy
- Denver offers to help nonprofits find funding
"It's critical we work to collaborate in terms of providing services," said Mike Roque, director of the mayor's office of strategic partnerships.
- Bill Gates Sr. urges Idahoans to donate to local charities - Microsoft founder's father says small gifts add up
"No one can do it all," he said. "It doesn't take tremendous resources to make a difference."
- Seventeen Montana Organizations Receive $100,000 from PPL Montana’s Community Fund
“These are some of the 17 ideas that will help add to the quality of life because of the imagination and dedication of Montanans and the commitment and support of PPL Montana,” said Brad Spencer, vice president and chief operating officer of PPL Montana, at a news conference today announcing $100,000 in grants from the company’s Community Fund.
Connectivity & Communications
- Ethanol Industry Commends Montana's Enactment of E10 Legislation
"Their leadership, plus that of the Ethanol Producers and Consumers (EPAC), places Montana as a frontrunner in our nation's progress toward greater use of home-grown renewable fuels."
- Houses to Save the Earth - Steve Loken is turning one industry's waste into another's raw materials
"I'm interested in cutting down on waste altogether and making more intelligent use of our resources," he says. The key is turning one industry's waste into another's raw materials. "If we could master this," he says, "our environment and our society would be a lot better off."
- The Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative Newsletter May 2005
- NorthWestern Energy, Consumer Counsel call for re-regulation of PPL Montana
"PPL Montana has used its competitive advantage to steadily and consistently increase the price of power in Montana, to the detriment of the Montana homeowner and small business owner," Steven Weiler, an attorney for NorthWestern, wrote in documents filed last week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Transportation
- Internet Phone Company, Vonage, Raises $200 Million in Venture Capital
The investment comes as Internet telephony, a service that allows consumers and businesses to place calls using high-speed Internet connections, is just beginning to take hold. Vonage, the leader in the field, has 650,000 subscribers and adds 15,000 subscribers a week.
- 911 help may be on way for VoIP users
A big shortcoming of most Internet-based phone services — the lack of full-featured 911 service — is expected to be remedied this year
- Startup Opens Visual Search to the Web..... Grokker.com
- Qwest rolls out Internet phone service
VoIP revenues could cannibalize Qwest's traditional phone business, but analysts have said the Denver telco has no choice but to embrace the new technology.
- WiMax on the horizon - The wireless transmitter will leave current ones in the dust
On the cyber-horizon is a new technology that, simply put, will be Wi-Fi on steroids.
- Professorial trend spotter predicts end of written word
Crossman, unlike others, does not wring his hands over this. He sees it as a positive.
Leadership Montana
- Air service betweem Great Falls and Denver begins
"More and more Montana communities are economically expanding, and new opportunities can always arise through increased access," Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. Added Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.: "This route should bring new economic opportunities and ultimately jobs to the Electric City and surrounding area."
2005 Montana Legislature
- The Zen of Management Maintenance: Leadership Starts with Self-Discovery - "If you don't know how to lead yourself, someone else will."
"Unless one knows how to lead oneself, it would be presumptuous to lead others," Parikh said.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Lesson Learned During the 59th Montana Legislative Session - “The Business Voice DOES Make a Difference”
We witnessed something this session that none of us can afford to forget. When the business community works together -- legislators listen.
- Researchers make bendable concrete
The new concrete looks like regular concrete, but is 500 times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent lighter in weight.
- U.S. scientists create self-replicating robot
Scientists at the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York have created small robots that can build copies of themselves.
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