MATR Newsletter - Fri Sep 30, 2011 |
"I want to have my SUNFLOWER EDGE to become the driving force helping people move from the " Taker " state into the "Maker" state." Rob Ryan http://matr.net/articl ... .html
"12th Annual Humanities Montana Festival Of The Book, 10/5-7, Missoula, Montana" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Missoula Schools Excellence
Montana Department of Commerce
- Missoula students hear about importance of graduation - Graduation Matters
Nearly 1,000 high school freshmen took a seat in an uncommon venue Tuesday morning to hear what will become a common message for their next four years: Graduation matters.
Northwestern Energy
- Shining Light On Social Media - Illuminating The Impact On Business, 10/18, Missoula
How do companies successfully work with this technology while both promoting and protecting their organization?
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- NorthWestern Energy to Install New Flywheel Energy Storage System
As load on the grid fluctuates, it then re-applies that power back onto the system -- essentially recycling energy that would otherwise be lost.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Pre-K Now Issues a Call to Action
"Our nation is at a crossroads. Public education that begins with 5-year-olds is a relic. Decades of costly reform efforts targeted at older children have not delivered the results we need," the report states. "Pre-K-12 is a vision that can help us realize ambitious goals for our children's success and our nation's global leadership. The time for fundamental transformation is now."
- "Education Nation" - The Secret to Finland's Success
The answer is highly trained teachers, short school-days, lots of playtime, not too much homework, long holidays, no testing, no competition between schools, and trusting in teachers and schools. This may sound like a joke, but it's not.
- Why Early Learning Matters - The First Five Years Fund
Our mission is to create a smarter, stronger, healthier, and more productive America through early childhood education.
- A Call for Opening Up Web Access at Schools
The Internet, Michael said, has "made cooperation and collaboration inside and outside of class much better and faster," adding, "It's really has become an integral part of education."
- Montana Youth Transitions
To improve transition services and increase the number of youth with disabilities who achieve their desired post-school outcomes.
- UM grads teach math to high school students - The Missoula Math Circle Project
The free sessions are funded by a grant through the Mathematical Association of America.
Visit Montana
- Allegiant Airline will add Great Falls, Montana flights next year
He said Allegiant airline officials told him they plan to add 40 more flights to Great Falls between February and April of next year -- an increase of about 6,000 airline seats over the same time frame in 2011.
Come Home Montana
- Looking for Montana Vacation Fun?
Explore Montana vacation destinations & plan your Montana vacation fun today! Experience Montana adventure at its finest - camping, rafting, fishing, hiking, skiing and more!
Montana Business
- Montana Career Opportunity - Accounting & Cost Analyst - Blackfoot Telecommunications
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group, a diversified telecommunications company, is seeking a highly organized and experienced accounting professional who will be responsible for cost analysis, plant and labor analysis, general regulatory reporting, and various general accounting duties.
Montana Economic Development
- Bozeman, Montana's Wavelength Electronics Releases New USBKIT Interface For Precision Laser Diode and Temperature Control.
It allows out-of-the-box control of complex systems, real-time laser status graphing and data logging with bus-powered USB.
- Bozeman-area firm, Sustainable Oils on forefront of biofuels for use by the U.S. military
During a press conference Thursday at the Sustainable Oils facility near Four Corners, Matt Leow, Montana field representative for Pew Charitable Trusts, outlined the role the company plays in the development of camelina-based jet fuel for military use.
Funding and Building your Business
- A Big Bet on a Small Town - Eureka, Montana
"Eureka is going to change dramatically in the next 10 to 20 years. I saw it in Fernie. I saw in Banff. You've seen it in Whitefish. Absolutely, I think it will happen here." Developer Dave Rogers
- Request for Proposals (RFP) "Healthy, Educated Workforce for Montana"
The Foundation for a Healthy Montana (The Foundation), a charitable enRequest for Proposals (RFP)tity of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT), is working toward finalizing its "Healthy, Educated Workforce for Montana" Initiative (The Initiative).
- Sen. Baucus' Montana Economic Engine Initiative Rolls On With Hi-Line Tractor Repair Company
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus continued his "Montana Jobs Economic Engine" initiative this week by highlighting Big Equipment Company http://www.bigequipment.com/default.htm in Havre which has grown its workforce by almost 40 percent since 2009.
Montana Education Excellence
- 1001 Serial Articles for Entrepreneurs & Startups
I've taken a nostalgic look back over the ground covered and lessons learned in the past almost three years. Here are ten key messages that I would like to leave you with:
- Better Ideas Through Failure
Amid worries that we are becoming less innovative, some companies are rewarding employees for their mistakes or questionable risks. The tactic is rooted in research showing that innovations are often accompanied by a high rate of failure.
- Most Undervalued Startup Skill? Transparency
Entrepreneurship is a disease because you are not likely to make money -- you are likely to die broke. And you work insane hours -- longer than any other job -- and you do it over and over and over again. This is not sane.
- 10 Mistakes Growing Companies Routinely Make
2. Rely on informal agreements with partners.
- 10 Metrics Every Growing Business Must Keep An Eye On
3. Cost of customer acquisition.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Higher education fair held at Montana Tech
About 14 southwest Montana high schools bused their students to Butte on Monday so they could learn about higher education.
Idaho Business
- Aligning Community Colleges to Their Local Labor Markets
Community colleges already take steps to address the workforce needs of local employers, but their efforts often are hampered by a lack of detailed, up-to-date information about occupations and skills in demand.
- Invitation: UM Business School Employer & Student Networking Event, 11/4, Missoula
This event provides students with a unique opportunity to practice professional etiquette and networking, as well as providing business professionals a chance to meet potential future interns & employees (full & part-time). Employers continue to comment that our career development programs are their best recruiting tools.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Would-be owner not bullish on Tamarack - An Eagle investor says the troubled resort can't succeed without more jobs in Valley County.
Cascade, Donnelly and the county need other jobs and the region needs improved airport, rail and industrial facilities before the ski resort can flourish, says Matthew D. Hutcheson, chairman of GV Capital Holdings Inc.
Oregon Economic Development
- North Dakota gas flaring raises energy, pollution concerns
The paper calls the flaring, occurring in the Bakken oil field, "a step backward for a domestic energy industry."
- Double your salary in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota
Believe it or not, a place exists where companies are hiring like crazy, and you can make $15 an hour serving tacos, $25 an hour waiting tables and $80,000 a year driving trucks.
Utah Economic Development
- Student entrepreneurs sprouting up on Oregon campuses, eager to create their own job market
Enterprising college students aren't leaving their fates to a bruising job market that has stymied their earning power and pitted them against a larger and more experienced labor pool. Waves of them are striking out on their own, and colleges are taking note.
Wyoming Business
- Utah Governor and the University of Utah to Celebrate State's Entrepreneurial Spirit - 9/26-30
The University of Utah and Governor Gary Herbert have entered into a partnership to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship during the week of Sept. 26-30.
Other Economies
- Wyoming has healthiest state budget, report concludes
Unlike many analyses of state budgets, the study examines not only general-fund revenues and spending over a short time, but overall state collections and expenditures -- including pension liabilities -- over 10 years. It argues forcefully against evaluating states' fiscal health by examining only general funds.
Energy and Climate Change
- Amazon truce with California may reap benefits
Amazon.com says it will create 10,000 full-time jobs, 25,000 seasonal ones, and invest $500 million in "a variety of different kinds of facilities" in California over the next few years.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Wind energy summit underway in Big Sky, Montana
A recent study by Harvard suggests Montana is second only to Texas in Wind Energy potential.
- Google wants to buy solar panels for your house
The Mountain View Internet search giant is creating a fund with a San Francisco company called Clean Power Finance that local solar installers will be able to tap so they can offer financing plans to prospective buyers.
- Study: Yellowstone region records hottest decade ever, on pace for disastrous warming effects by the end of the century
We should not let our future unfold in this way. The threads are already being pulled from this glorious tapestry of the Yellowstone ecosystem." Stephen Saunders
- USDA announces $80M for research into biofuels
Payments are based on the amount of biofuels a recipient produces from renewable biomass, other than corn kernel starch. Eligible examples include biofuels derived from cellulose, crop residue, animal, food and yard waste material, biogas (landfill and sewage waste treatment gas), vegetable oil and animal fat.
- A leaf that could power the future - Silicon strip developed at MIT might be key to inexpensive fuel cells
The leaf, which Nocera has worked on for about three years, has the potential to solve one of the most pressing challenges facing solar power: how to store energy produced by the sun so it can be used on cloudy day.
- The Empowerhouse: An Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Built By College Students
Recent winner of the Solar Decathlon's affordability category, the Empowerhouse costs under $230,000 to construct and uses an estimated 90% less energy than the typical U.S. home.
- Winds of Change - As renewable resources become greater source of energy, Montana looks to capitalize
Worldwide energy needs will increase by 50 percent by 2035, according to the International Energy Outlook. But as a possible underlying answer to those great demands, one of the report's focal points is the importance of renewable resources, like wind.
Transportation
- 12th Annual Humanities Montana Festival Of The Book, 10/5-7, Missoula, Montana
This year, in addition to the festival's two days and nights of literary events, Humanities Montana is partnering with the Western Literature Association, which will present its annual conference in conjunction with the Festival, October 5-7.
- Bozeman, Montana's Gallatin Field receives $950K grant for New York-Bozeman direct flights
Direct-flight services will run during peak seasons of June through September and late December through March, said Scott Humphrey, airport deputy director.
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