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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Mar 9, 2012 |
"Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally-financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don’t gut these investments in our budget. Don’t let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries." President Obama - State of the Union Address 1/24/12
VCs/Private Equity Investors In Missoula - FREE EVENT, 3/27, Missoula, Montana http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- UM, City And County Present At State Of The Community Event, 3/15, Missoula, Montana http://matr.net/articl ... .html --- "Factors Affecting Student Success In STEM Fields", 3/22, Montana State University http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Montana Department of Commerce
Northwestern Energy
- Montana SBDC Network Highlights March 2012
The Montana SBDC is now on Facebook! We will be posting links to helpful business articles, economic news in Montana, and open the flow of conversation between businesses, SBDC clients, and other economic development organizations.
- Montana Department of Commerce Announces Economic Development Grant Awards
"Both Primary Sector Workforce Training Grants and Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund Grants are proven business expansion tools," said Dore Schwinden, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. "They help grow businesses and create jobs."
Visit Montana
- VCs/Private Equity Investors In Missoula - FREE EVENT, 3/27, Missoula, Montana
Please join NorthWestern Energy and TechRanch on Tuesday, March 27 for an afternoon with venture capitalists and private equity investors who are actively seeking investments in the clean tech and energy sectors.
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group
- 2012 Montana Tourism Conference, 4/11-13, Great Falls, Montana
Whether you are an "early bird," on time, or late, we look forward to seeing you in Great Falls for the 2012 MT Tourism Conference.
Great Falls Development Authority
- The Future of Modwest: Joining the Blackfoot Family
The name will stay the same, the customer service team will remain (and grow), and Modwest will begin to benefit from a larger technical team and more robust infrastructure.
TicketRiver.com
- The Great Falls Development Authority gives $38,000 to Food Bank cleanup
The Great Falls Development Authority Board of Directors approved a $38,312 grant Wednesday to help the Great Falls Community Food Bank clean asbestos from its building.
2012 Montana Politics and Legislature
- Video: Introduction To TicketRiver.com
Ticket River https://ticketriver.com/ is a full service online ticketing solution designed to make online ticketing easy.
Come Home Montana
- University of Montana seeks $47M to build new COT on golf course
"We need it, so we wanted to put it on the table." President Royce Engstrom
- Senator Baucus Secures Overwhelming Bipartisan Support for Rural Schools and Jobs
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus secured an 82-16 Senate passage today of his plan to renew the commitment to rural forest communities through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs that brought nearly $50 million to Montana counties last year.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunity - Marketing Sales Manager - Destination Missoula
This sales position is responsible for lead sales and marketing of TBID hotels to achieve specific room night sales production goals as assigned and reviewed annually.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Web / Graphic Designer - Montana State University - Great Falls
The Designer will play an integral role in the success of communication, community awareness and marketing efforts of the College, providing innovation for effective and creative design to be used in a variety of venues.
- Let's delve into attitudes about Montana
Did "A River Runs Through It" somehow fail to convey everything there is to know about Montana?
Montana Business
- How Entrepreneurship Can Fix Young America
It's high time we funneled our collective energy toward rebuilding an entrepreneurial America.
Montana Economic Development
- Missoula's Convertible Greenhouse Company and Opportunity Resources Team Up
Partners revolutionize greenhouse design and production.
- Rocky Mountain Log Homes looks overseas to increase business
"Our buildings are uniquely Western. I think they like things Western."
- Montana VA acute mental health facility faces chronic lack of docs
The VA Montana Health Care System has been unable to recruit three full-time psychiatrists to staff the eight-bed wing around the clock.
- Montana video game developer readies for big "burst" - Add-A-Tudez Entertainment Company
Add-A-Tudez is moving forward with its plan to take its mobile application game "Burst!" and turning it into a full fledged video game.
- Big contributor: Study shows Forest Service's economic impact on Bitterroot, Missoula economies
The Bitterroot Forest contributes $23.5 million and 651 full- and part-time jobs to Ravalli and Missoula counties' economies annually.
MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative
- Montana Governor Schweitzer closes Taiwan office as he woos China
Critics argue it will cost far more in lost business than the amount of money it would save.
The Burton K. Wheeler Center
- General Clark speaks at Montana State University
Clark's appearance is sponsored by ASMSU, the MSU President's office and the MSU Leadership Institute.
The Missoula Economic Partnership
- The Wheeler Center Fall Conference "The Graying Of Montana", 9/10-11, Helena, Montana
Montana is rapidly getting older - and rural communities are getting smaller - so what will Montana's population look like in 2030, and how do we prepare for the impacts of significant demographic change?
Warren Miller Freedom Foundation
- Group looks to lure low-cost airline to Missoula with revenue guarantee
"There have been some major changes in the industry in the ways that communities go about attracting air service," Jensen said. "Really what has changed is that the airlines are now asking communities to help share in the risk.
Careers
- 8th-Grader Proves You're Never Too Young To Start A Company - MeritBooster
Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo already exist but MeritBooster is aimed specifically at 13-19-year-olds.
Business Plan Forums
- 'Big data' creating big career opportunities for IT pros
A new job title -- data scientist -- is all the rage.
- Find A Job Using The Same Skills That Build Great Tech Companies
Applying the skills disruptive innovators use to your job search can help you unearth more, and better, opportunities. Here's how:
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- Women Entrepreneur Contest 2012
The Astia Global Entrepreneur Program is designed for women-led, high-growth ventures to propel women's full participation as entrepreneurs and to fuel economic growth.
Government
- Vote: Do angel investors deserve tax credits to invest in small businesses?
What do you think?
Idaho Business
- Brian Schweitzer's Closing Act - In his final year, Montana's governor seeks to cement his legacy
"I've got plenty of time left and we're going to get plenty of things done." Gov. Brian Schweitzer
- TED and local government
I liked the presenter's observation on the younger generation's take on politics and government, and her call for people to fulfill their roles as CITIZENS.
- Montana's Cost-Saving Measure Receives National Recognition
"Health care costs continue to rise for everyone," said Governor Brian Schweitzer. "We can't continue to try to manage these costs in the same way we have been trying for years. The success of our new pharmacy management program, known to us as "URx", proves that challenging every expense works."
Incubators and R&D
- Entrepreneurs to vie in Schweitzer Mountain Chairlift Pitch contest to promote Sandpoint, Idaho
Known for its tourism and outdoor attractions, Sandpoint is using the contest as a way to build grass-roots interest in helping young businesses grow and add jobs.
Other Economies
- Stanford 2012 Lean LaunchPad Presentations - part 1 of 2
The class is intensely and deliberately experiential to develop the mindset, reflexes, agility and resilience an entrepreneur needs to search for certainty in a chaotic world.
Regional Economic Development
- Corporate tax credits cost state $3 billion in five years, legislative auditor says
The agencies responsible for administering tax credits and exemptions are not required to track the performance of the nearly $3 billion in business tax credits that were handed out during that period.
University of Montana & Montana State University Tech Transfer
- Obama Administration Announces $15 Million Multi-Agency Challenge To Foster Job Creation and Business Innovation in Rural Communities Nationwide
The national effort will support rural partnerships by identifying and leveraging local assets and strengthening linkages to industry clusters.
- In quest to create jobs, some states get creative
With little room for new spending or tax cuts, several states have turned to more imaginative, sometimes quirky, proposals to encourage job growth.
Utah Economic Development
- Research University Commercialization and Entrepreneurship: New Strategies for Success
More and more universities are determining they can no longer afford to wait, passively hoping vibrant innovation ecosystems organically emerge over the course of time. To grow, such ecosystems require resources and planning.
- How to turn your researchers into entrepreneurs
It is also important to recognise that the flow of knowledge is not a one way process. Maex warned that talk of technology transfer itself can be misleading. In her view, it is important to think of the two-way flow of knowledge between universities and businesses.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Why Utah's business community supports technology research funding
USTAR is a commercialization-focused research initiative that recruits world-class innovators to Utah.
Education
- International Baccalaureate Programme Coming to Hellgate High in Missoula, Montana
"These courses develop skills that translate well to the university setting - independent learning, research, time management skills. The benefit is that they take the students out of their comfort zone."
- Take the test: Will your home help baby learn?
"The first several years of life are a time of immense growth and learning and, for obvious reasons, the home is the primary agent for this development in the early years."
- Effective Practices In Early Childhood Education Free Early Learning Webinar, 3/15
You won't want to miss these FREE educational webinars for administrators, devoted to best practices in early learning and packed with the forces you need to improve outcomes.
- Rethink Public Financing of Early Education and Care - "Toward Better Policy for Early Care and Education in the United States"
Streamlining funding to build a child-centered system of high-quality early learning.
- 15-Year Study Shows Positive Connection Between How Parents Play with Toddlers and Their Children's Academic Success
"Our study looked at the combined long-term impacts of both maternal and paternal interactions in those critical stages of early development, and discovered that children not only benefit from the interactions they have with their mothers, but also their fathers."
Missoula Schools Excellence
- Girls Confident in Science and Math
"Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail."
- Idaho public schools budget to fund laptop program - Mobile computers for every high school teacher and student.
Legislative budget writers have voted to increase state support for public schools by 4.6 percent in 2013, bumping up the minimum teacher salary by $500 a year and funding education reforms approved during last year's session, including a statewide laptop program.
- Stanford researchers bring life to high school history classes with a curriculum built around historical documents
Students who used the "Reading Like a Historian" curriculum outperformed their peers in traditional history classrooms, study finds.
Community
- Big Sky High School Hosts Science Circus, 3/16-17, Missoula, Montana
This is a unique educational opportunity for kids of all ages and families within the Missoula and surrounding communities.
- Nominating forms available for four Missoula County Public Schools board seats up for election May 8
MCPS trustees are volunteer, non-paid positions. Trustees are requested to attend 3-4 monthly meetings (on average) that focus on curricula, policy, budget, administrative issues and other topics. Meetings are held during the day and evening.
- Missoula school district's ag program delivers two embryo-transfer calves
There is still a bit of the old farm-boy and farm-girl ethic practiced at the Missoula County Public Schools' Agricultural Center.
Funding and Building your Business
- SIX new grant announcements
- UM, City And County Present At State Of The Community Event, 3/15, Missoula, Montana
"This is an important conversation about collaboration among the city, the county and the university, and it needs to be as accessible as possible for the citizens we serve."
Energy and Climate Change
- Website Launches to Crowdfund Scientific Research
If it can work with indie music, artists, and entrepreneurship, could it work with scientific research?
- Ex-Im Bank will open Seattle branch office
The new offices are intended to provide small local exporters with enhanced access to Ex-Im Bank loans and loan guarantees, which traditionally have benefited larger exporters such as Boeing.
- Still Haven't Created Your Own Business Apps? Here's 5 Reasons Why You Should
Whether you own a small retail chain or own a company that makes erasers, there's always a way to tighten your grip on your customers, and building an app for your business will make that happen.
- Is This the Best Startup Launch Video Ever?
Simple: create a funny YouTube video -- one with so much swagger, sight gags and bear costumes that it seems poised to go viral.
- How to get your employees to act like kindergartners
Think back to kindergarten classrooms -- they're open, playful and encouraging environments because children need to "take risks all the time in order to learn," said IDEO CEO Tim Brown.
- Eco-minded startups eligible for small business venture capital fund - SJF Ventures Fund
Startups with a social bent, particularly those that serve the underserved, have a potential new funding source.
Connectivity & Communications
- Battle brewing between solar industry and utilities over 'net metering'
A battle is brewing between the solar industry and utilities over "net metering," a popular policy that allows homeowners, school districts and businesses to offset the cost of their electric use with the rooftop solar power they generate and export to the grid.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Going off the (cable) grid
Here's how it's done.
- Still Relying Totally on the Landline in Rural Montana
Looking at a nationwide map depicting coverage areas, there are noticeable shades of gray in Montana where cell service is nowhere to be found.
- Microsoft's TechFest trots out 'what is now possible' for computers
From technology that allows people to use the palms of their hands as telephone touch screens to avatars that can look and sound like you while talking in languages you never knew, TechFest 2012 showcased some of leading advances in computer science that Microsoft researchers are working on.
- SXSWi welcomes innovators, inventors to Austin
"It is a pop-up city where ideas are revealed, shared and tested." Innovation. Invention. Ideas. They require imagination, research, money and the right mix of talented people.
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