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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Apr 15, 2011 |
"If (the Legislature) chooses to decrease our support for public education, you do so as a reflection of your values, not for lack of available resources. We have the money in the bank." Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer http://matr.net/articl ... .html
Missoula, Our future is in your hands. Please support the upcoming funding measures: "Missoula, Please Support Friends of Public Education with Your Donations " http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Globalization Partners International
Missoula Schools Excellence
- How to comply with new Chinese "Wealthy Lifestyle" advertising guidelines
In March, outdoor and broadcast advertisements that promote products as luxurious or "high-end" in the Beijing region were banned by a new policy that experts say is designed to protect social harmony.
Northwestern Energy
- Missoula, Please Support Friends of Public Education with Your Donations
We are asking businesses, organizations and individuals to support the public awareness efforts of the upcoming MCPS levies by contributing $250-$500 to the Make Our Future Bright campaign so we can get good information into the hands of voters.
- Public plays vital role in Missoula County Public Schools success
Registered voters in the MCPS District will receive election ballots regarding four levies which will provide us the opportunity to continue our efforts and success:
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- NorthWestern Energy Signs Asset Purchase Agreement with Compass Wind
NorthWestern had previously announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding to purchase a 24-megawatt wind farm in central Montana from Compass. NorthWestern has increased the size of the Spion Kop Wind Project to 40-megawatts.
- NorthWestern Energy Warns of Scam
Anyone who receives these checks should not deposit them.
Workforce Development
- The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools
Every school day, more than seven thousand students become dropouts.
- iPads take place next to crayons in kindergarten
Kindergarten classes are supplementing crayons, finger paints and flashcards with iPads, a development that excites supporters but that detractors worry is wasted on pupils too young to appreciate the expense.
- "Competency-based Curriculums" Necessary to Build a 21st Century Manufacturing Workforce, According to New Report
The recommendations include the adoption of competency-based curriculums and increasing industry's role in developing and refining learning standards and assessments.
- Students Who Don't Read Well by Third Grade Face Longer Odds of Finishing High School on Time
Children who did not read well in third grade were four times more likely not to complete their traditional high school years with a diploma.
- TED Video: Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education
In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.
Highway 12 Ventures
- Rebirth of the American Farmer
Washington state has instituted a one-year pilot project in two counties (Skagit and San Juan) to allow small farms to take on up to three interns each
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group
- Why Should I Apply To BoomStartup?
If you've started a new venture or are considering doing so in the Intermountain West, don't miss this opportunity to significantly jumpstart your business by applying to BoomStartup (act quickly though, they are only accepting applications through April 18, 2011).
Modwest
- Blackfoot's Rewards are their Members Rewards
Joan Mandeville, CEO of Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative, announced today that over 19,500 checks will be mailed on April 15, 2011 to 22 communities with an overall distribution of $1,048,000 in capital credit returns. “Blackfoot seeks to provide members with the highest quality service at the most affordable rates.
TechRanch
- Modwest Newsletter April 2011
Here's how you upgrade to PHP 5.3:
Come Home Montana
- Personal Safety In The Workplace, 4/26, Bozeman, Montana
Whether you're at the office, on the road or at home, you should be aware of potential threats and your personal safety and know how to protect yourself in any environment.
Come Home Washington
- Discover Anaconda, Montana's Brand
It's time for everyone to Discover Anaconda.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Zynga (Farmville) founder talks about Seattle hiring spree, Amazon, Facebook
We've been interested in Seattle for a long time. It's surprising when you think that we're in 13 locations it's taken us this long to come to Seattle.
Leadership Montana
- Do tax rates effect startups and job growth?
The good news is that no one in the startup world listens to politicians.
- Entrepreneurship in the New Rural America
Thanks to technology, Smith was able to continue her entrepreneurial quests far away from the nation's bustling urban centers.
Montana Business
- The best leaders are good followers
It's got to be a team environment.
Montana Economic Development
- Should a 'green' state ship coal to China?
Gov. Schweitzer doesn't usually attend local government meetings 400 miles outside Montana's borders. Then again, county commissions in other states don't usually make decisions that strike to the heart of Montana's economic future.
- Missoula's Alter Enterprise Develops Automated Cage That Makes Bear Trapping Efforts Easier
"We asked them 'If you had a wish list of what a trap could do to make it safer for the bears, safer for humans, what would it look like?'" says Alter.
Regional Economic Development
- Senator Baucus Announces Major Win for Montana Jobs, New Investment Center
This week, the USCIS approved the application for Montana's first and only Employment Based Regional Center. The new Northern Rockies Regional Center.
- New Study Confirms Unique Features of Montana Wind in Providing Solutions for Pacific Northwest Power Market
Therefore Montana wind should play a crucial role in facilitating increasing levels of renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest.
Careers
- Call for Abstracts - Creating Vibrant Rural Economies through Place-Based Rural Development
The WRDC is interested in sharing with its stakeholders the research and community and economic development activities that are underway in the region to address these issues and how these changes are bringing economic opportunities and/or challenges to the West's rural communities.
- Imagining an alternative to State-eat-State
The tendency of states to try to outbid their neighbors -- with business incentives or lowered tax rates -- has serious consequences.
- Small businesses look across borders to add markets
The Department of Commerce, along with the Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank, are making a big push to help small and midsized firms dramatically increase exports.
Economic Gardening
- Turning the habit of self-criticism upside down -- How to fail
It's not an easy habit, but it works.
- A 12-Step Guide to Fostering Your Creativity
One skill that every designer must learn -- and quickly -- is how to be creative on-demand.
Funding and Building your Business
- Update on 2011 FRED Conference in May
This may be one of the last days to book cheap air travel into Fairfield, Iowa for the FRED Conference and Economic Gardening Boot Camp from May 4-7. Go to http://www.FredConference.com for more details.
- Enrollment in GrowFL Economic Gardening Program Passes 200 Company Mark
Collectively, the 200 companies that have received assistance from the program generated $860 million in revenue and employed 4,725 workers in 2010.
Incubators and R&D
- Why treating a job candidate poorly may come back to bite you
"What comes around goes around."
- A Scorecard for Companies With a Conscience
What's a triple-bottom-line business to do? In 2000 there was no recourse. Now there is: become a B Corp.
- Tips for Recruiting Your First Employee
There are many things to consider when transitioning your business from a one-man-band into a "real" company, and employees are at the top of the ladder.
- 3 things an angel wants to see
What's a good investment opportunity?
Montana Education Excellence
- Project Skyway - Minnesota's First Tech Accelerator Program
Here's what caught my eye, and what makes this program different.
- Kauffman Foundation Announces Challenge Grant to Expand PIPELINE Program for High-Growth Entrepreneurs
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced a challenge grant of up to $800,000 to initiate a regional expansion of PIPELINE, the nationally acclaimed entrepreneurial "immersion" program for innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs.
University TechTransfer
- 22nd Annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition on May 12.
The event showcases the entrepreneurial aspirations of students across Montana.
- MSU students tackle real-world research problems
"Before I started this, I never thought I would do something that could impact world health," said Anderson, an organismal biology major from Missoula.
Idaho Business
- Making university, government tech transfer more effective
Although written with a focus on universities, the principles and practices are applicable to federal laboratories as well.
Utah Business
- Working for themselves: Study finds more Idaho women running businesses
Women-owned businesses in Idaho have increased nearly 41 percent since 1997.
- A 'Gem' of an idea for Idaho's economy
In our state, it's only a matter of time before the next big employer rises in Idaho. I don't know who it will be or in what industry, but I'll put my money on one thing: It will be an Idaho start-up.
2011 Montana Legislature
- University of Utah's 'Pac-12 plan' seeks to boost academic standards, diversity
If officials at the University of Utah have their way, the student body will look very different in five years, more high-achieving and diverse.
Education
- Energy efficiency tax credit could go away in Montana
If Republican Senator Bob Lake (Hamilton) has his way Montanans will no longer be able to get a credit for making their homes more energy efficient.
- Economic development money works
It appears the Montana Legislature is poised to stifle economic development efforts here, at a time when several surrounding states are leaving some incentives in place and increasing others
Government
- The Decline of American Public Universities
Many indicators are revealing...
Other Economies
- Montana Youth Serve Their Communities with 'Global Youth Service Day' THIS WEEKEND- Friday, Saturday, Sunday- April 15, 16, 17
Nearly 1,000 youth across Montana will be volunteering this weekend for Global Youth Service Day (http://www.gysd.org), an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes youth across the country and the world who improve their communities each day of the year through service and service-learning.
Community
- Missouri launches five-year campaign to nurture economic development
"We do not see this as a legislative economic plan. We see this as a state economic development plan with the direct help of businesses and economic development professionals."
Connectivity & Communications
- Adding Warmth and Life to Sidewalks...in Holland
Thanks to the underground pipes, no matter how cold it gets, the sidewalks stay clear and dry, all because someone was thoughtful enough to use an industrial by-product that other towns blithely discarded.
- Wilma yanks space from Missoula's Clark Fork River Market Vendors
"I was shocked to hear we were hamstringing the market...My own internal polling of Wilma owners found no one single resident who agrees with Mr. Aresty's decision. In fact, I have found all Wilma owners, both on the commercial and residential sides, instead wish to share their parking space with the market. We see it as our honor and privilege." State representative and Poverello Center Director Ellie Hill
Energy and Climate Change
- A Dozen Digital Media Discoveries
There's no particular theme here, beyond the fact that I said to myself "Cool!" or "That's so perceptive!" to myself when I first stumbled across these items. Enjoy.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Governor wants to raise renewable target to 40% California mandates nation's most ambitious renewable-energy targets
"With the amount of renewable resources coming on-line, and prices dropping, I think 40 percent, at reasonable cost, is well within our grasp in the near future."
- "Mooching" - Top 5 Places to Harvest Energy from Action
The unscientific term is "mooching." Scientists and engineers want to capture movement from cars, speeding trains, liquid in pipes and even a human heartbeat to generate power.
- Dirty business: Fracking natural gas
Methane-rich natural gas extracted from Marcellus shale has 105 times more global warming impact, pound for pound, than carbon dioxide.
- The 10 Most Innovative Companies in Energy
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Yellowstone 'Supervolcano' May Be Larger Than Previously Thought
It shows the conductive part of the plume dipping more gently, at an angle of perhaps 40 degrees to the west, and extending perhaps 640 km (400 miles) from east to west.
Government Technology
- Five new technologies that will change the world (and win at Jeopardy!)
What's new, cool, and changing the world
- Microsoft throws out the old in pitch for website of the future
The sites the company showed Tuesday were an evolutionary leap forward from the lines of text and boxy templates of today's websites -- a next-generation Web.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Kentucky Recovers Millions of Dollars With Help From Tech Upgrades
Kentucky is one of only five states participating in the State Reciprocal Program, according to Mack Gillim, executive director of the Office of Processing and Enforcement at DOR. Gillim estimated that recovery efforts for 2012 could be as high as $8 million.
- TED Video: Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong
In a moving and madly viral video last year, composer Eric Whitacre led a virtual choir of singers from around the world.
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