MATR Newsletter - Fri Aug 1, 2014 |
"I've got to admit it's getting better. It's a little better all the time." Paul McCartney - Missoula welcomes Sir Paul McCartney on Aug. 5. (I've got two floor tickets row 12 at cost if anyone is interested. Russ 406-531-8119)
Regional Report: The West A state-by-state look at what Western states have to offer businesses. http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
ikuw Solutions
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
- ikuw Solutions Training Solutions for You
Located in the spectacular Rocky Mountains, we deliver instructor-led trainings from our solution centers in Missoula and Helena, Montana. We also deliver online, instructor led trainings that allow you to train from the comfort and convenience of your home, office or anywhere that has a high speed internet connection.
Inteneo Systems
- Mid-year survey from Kalispell Chamber of Commerce indicates strong growth trend for the remainder of 2014
"...the Kalispell Chamber is tracking 553,000 square feet of commercial construction projects in process in 2014 that have a combined value of $168 million."
- Mountain Madness Airshow announces 2014 performer lineup - August 30-31
In addition to the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the airshow will host nationally acclaimed performers executing aerobatic routines in custom-built aircraft.
Come Home Montana
- Using Predictive Analytics, Adaptive Learning to Transform Higher Education
"You're kind of breaking down the borders, so to speak, of class time, seat time, lecture time, lab time and blurring that all together so that regardless of which of those types of time is used to acquire the knowledge, you're measuring to what extent knowledge has been acquired,"
- A Focus on Specific Dropouts Can Help Colleges Raise Completion Rates
"There are four million people who made at least two years of progress in two- or four-year colleges," she added. "This is a huge potential for us."
- How Truckers Are Using Big Data to Overhaul Pricing
Shippers will always have pricing power, but I think the balance is in the carrier's court for the first time in a long time.
Montana Business
- Montana Career Opportunities - Director of Development and Research Analyst - University of Montana Foundation
What would you say to hiking trails right outside your office door? To mountains, rivers and no morning commute? To helping students pursue their academic dreams? To being a member of a dynamic team?
- Montana Career Opportunities - Energy Monitoring Managers - New Horizon Technologies Energy Services LLC
The proliferation of the Energy Service Industry has prompted NHT to anticipate the need for additional employees in performance of contract work in the energy monitoring field.
Montana Economic Development
- 150 businesses partner with conservancy for Glacier Park fundraiser
The Glacier National Park Conservancy is the official philanthropic and outreach partner of GNP and invests in various endeavors that benefit the park and the people who live nearby.
- Ebola vaccine might be home-grown in Montana
Dr. Heinz Feldmann, a laboratory chief at RML, has been researching the virus throughout his career, and believes a breakthrough could be near.
- Montana tourism revenue hits record high in 2013
Spectacular mountain panoramas, vacant rolling plains, unspoiled open spaces, endless blue sky, a sense of unrefined freedom long lost in other places -- it's not a mystery what compels out-of-staters to visit Montana.
Careers
- Delta Sky Magazine Features Montana! Montana tourism revenue hits record high in 2013
Take a minute to see why Montana is a great place visit, work and live!
- Bicycle tourism has big impact on Montana's economy
"It's absolutely a potential economic development," Norma Nickerson, director and principal investigator at ITRR, said of bicycle tourism.
- August 2014 MEDA Online News.
SAVE THE DATE! "MEDA Fall Conference 2014: Harvesting Partnerships across Montana" will be held October 27th and 28th, in Helena, at the Great Northern Hotel Helena.
Next Generation Broadband in Missoula
- Even tiny doses of running can extend lifespan
Even very brief running--just 5 to 10 minutes a day--can help people live longer, according to new research.
- I Parlayed My Internship Into a Job. Here's How I Did It
This time last year, I was sitting in the same cubicle and at the same company as I am today, but as a college intern. Turning that summer position into a full-time job wasn't easy, though. Here are some tips that may help get you from intern to in-demand employee:
Government
- States Intruding On Local Broadband Decisions Stifles Innovation. And That's Not Right!
If you want better broadband, vote for legislators who will support communities' option to have public broadband.
- How the history of electricity explains municipal broadband
Should the FCC try to preempt state laws that block cities from building out publicly owned Internet infrastructure?
- Next-generation internet may be coming to Missoula, Montana
"How do we deliver 21st century curriculum to kids in our schools without 21st century infrastructure?" said Councilwoman Caitlin Copple, chair of the Missoula City Council's Economic Development Subcommittee.
- Los Angeles: The Beginning of Nationwide Wi-Fi?
In a response to a Los Angeles RFI for citywide broadband, Dutch start up Angie Communications said it would also build and operate a nationwide 4G network and a Wi-Fi network that reaches 90 percent of the population.
- Broadband supporters urge Missoula to move ahead with system
Advocates of installing a $10 million next-generation broadband system in Missoula say doing so will help local businesses compete with outside markets and give the city's burgeoning high-tech sector a chance to grow.
Idaho Business
- A Great Place to Put Community Health Clinics: Fire Stations
A new firehouse clinic in California shows how an abundant but under-used public resource--fire stations--can be made even more useful for a community.
- Audit: Gender Pay Gap Smaller in Montana State Government
The gender pay gap among Montana government employees is nearly 20 percent smaller than it is statewide, according to a state audit released Thursday.
- Procurement: Short-Term Approaches to a Long-Term Challenge
"Procurement processes are so convoluted and so difficult and so full of so many pitfalls that we miss a tremendous opportunity in terms of engaging meaningfully with vendors and each other."
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Kickstarter Campaign for fishing net that also weighs the fish. Lochsa: More than a fishing net by Chase Innovations
With just the push of a button you will know exactly how much your catch weighs. The best part is that your fish never leaves the net, benefiting sport and recreational anglers alike.
Regional Business
- The Airport That Feeds the Oil Boom
"It's hard to even call it an airport," said Kenneth Dransfield of White Springs, Fla. "And it's super expensive." He bought a ticket home to Florida seven months in advance and paid $1,200.
Workforce Development
- Regional Report: The West A state-by-state look at what Western states have to offer businesses.
Chief Executive's newest Regional Report offers an in-depth look at the pros and cons of doing business in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- A chance for a renewed relationship in Workforce Development
There are multiple reasons to head for your nearby workforce board office to talk about the opportunities for improving the position of your institution that will arise during the upcoming transition.
Education
- Finally, a Way to Teach Coding to the Touchscreen Generation
'This is a tool that they can use to get their voice out in the world, not just to consume what other people are doing.'
Missoula Schools Excellence
- The Future of Higher Education: Location, Location, Location
Even in today's virtual world of online course and teleconferences, a college's location might be more important than ever to its long-term prosperity as a residential campus.
Community
- Loyola senior Keegan Nicholson turns PC parts and pieces into valuable tools for students - "Laptops for Students"
It's not easy turning this old tech into a new treasure. But from the first time he gave a woman the unexpected gift of a revived laptop, Keegan was hooked.
Energy and Climate Change
- EIGHT new grant announcements
- Survey Says: What Makes a City Great? City of Missoula Listening Sessions - Your turn to be heard.
What do urbanites love most about their cities?
Making the Most of the American Prairie
- Tesla, Panasonic sign deal for battery Gigafactory
"Not only does the Gigafactory enable capacity needed for the Model 3, but it sets the path for a dramatic reduction in the cost of energy storage across a broad range of applications."
- "Benefits of graphene for use in solar cells"
Now a team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has developed a graphene substitute from plastic that offers the benefits of graphene for use in solar cells and semiconductor chips, but is easy to mass-produce.
- A New Adaptive Material Could Halve the Cost of Solar Power
Developed by start-up Glint Photonics, the new material has optical properties that can change to help it capture as much light as possible.
- Senator Denies Climate Change On Senate Floor And Gets A Science Lesson From His Colleague
"I appreciate very much having had the opportunity to hear those words, from what I can only describe as an alternate reality," Sen. Whitehouse began, before getting into detailed specifics rebutting each one of Sen. Inhofe's points.
Connectivity & Communications
- American Prairie Celebrates! 22,000 Acres of Habitat Added - July 20114 Newsletter
We're delighted to announce the recent acquisition of approximately 22,000 acres of habitat, now known as Sun Prairie North.
Government Technology
- Verizon's slowing down data for some of its heaviest users. And the FCC is calling them out on it.
Last week, Verizon announced that wireless customers on the company's unlimited 4G LTE data plans would become subject to restrictions on that service beginning in October.
Non-Profit News
- Montana keeping property owners, taxpayers in the dark
Montana Revenue Department Director Mike Kadas - whom Missoulians will remember as a former Missoula mayor - recently urged a legislative committee to get on board with the idea of making real estate sale prices part of the public record; he plans to ask the 2015 Legislature to change the law to allow public disclosure of this information.
- Where HHS 2015 IT budget is headed: Data
The sprawling IT budget at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) makes it one of the most heavily funded civilian organizations in the federal government. And almost all of that money is being laser focused on data, and how to use it securely.
- Open Data: California's Water Records Should Be Made Public
As big believers in the benefits of open data, California's locked-up water records are an exciting prospect
- How Civic Engagement Platforms Can Bring Back the Expertise of Urban Planners
To build better communities, we need to use better tools to make it easy for all residents to add their voice to the process. Civic engagement platforms can help planners reach a wider audience and leverage their expertise to implement change.
- Listings app lets local governments trade equipment
MuniRent wants to encourage city councils to take advantage by pooling their resources and lending them to each other.
- Access to government data is not a privilege; it is a civil right. - The Quiet Revolution: Open Data Is Transforming Citizen-Government Interaction
Our democracy is not in its most perfect form, and we have a chance to make it better.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Montana-based American Prairie Reserve tops 300,000 acres
The end-game is the free-flow of wildlife -- including up to 10,000 bison -- across an area along the upper Missouri River roughly 60 miles south of the Canada border.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- California: A Novel
The post-apocalypse is beside the point. It hardly matters how we got here; all that matters is what we do next.
- Carlyle follows KKR, Blackstone with strong private equity profits for second quarter
Carlyle earned $6.5 billion from the sale of companies in the second quarter, while at the same time it poured $3.4 billion of cash into new investments.
Transportation
- Pocket-sized smartphone projector turns any surface into a touchscreen
When connected to an Android phone over wifi, the projector is able to display its contents on any suitable surface up to 80 inches in size.
- UC Irvine Researchers Receive Grant to Study 'Crowdprogramming'
Crowdsourcing - using the work contributions of many, geographically separated people to solve complex problems and big projects - has been used successfully in other realms, including cancer research, road repair and funding production of movies and video games. Crowdprogramming applies the same principle to computer coding.
- How 3-D Printing Will Change Our Lives
3D printing technology could change how we do everything from packing for trips to what's made in our kitchens.
- United pullout will leave Kansas capital with no flights
The Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority put up $1.95 million in revenue guarantees to help secure the route, but the low passenger numbers meant the authority had depleted that fund by the end of May
- EV calculator finds cheapest car for your commute
The results aren't always obvious.
- Electric-car partnership somehow overlooks Tesla
The Bay Area's own electric car maker isn't part of the coalition, even though its Model S sedan is one of the best selling plug-ins around.
- PPL Electric Utilities' Smart Meters Prove to be Not So Smart
Turns out PPL's smart meters aren't that smart after all, and customers may pay for it.
- Stanford researchers seek 'Holy Grail' in battery design - triple density and lower cost four-fold
"In practical terms, if we can triple the energy density and simultaneously decrease the cost four-fold, that would be very exciting," Chu said. "We would have a cell phone with triple the battery life and an electric vehicle with a 300-mile range that cost $25,000 - and with better performance than an internal combustion engine car getting 40 mpg."
- Formula 1 Racing Technology Is About to Make Buses Way More Efficient
Gyrodrive, known officially by the thoroughly boring name Mk4 eFES, is a kinetic energy recovery system. Such systems capture energy usually lost as heat during braking and use it to power an electric motor.
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