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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Nov 4, 2014 |
"Every time someone or some issue on a ballot passes with anything less than 90% of eligible voters voting, something inside of me dies. Our founding fathers chose democracy because they believed it was best for us, that it would serve us because citizens would cherish their participation in their own governance. When big money pushes its way onto the electoral stage to influence elections, or, worse, to discourage people from voting, we fail to meet the level of worthiness as the world's oldest constitutional representative democracy. I don't truly care who or what you vote for so long as you vote. If you don't care enough to vote, you hurt our democracy. If you haven't voted, please do. And share this if you agree with me." Geoff Badenoch
2014 Montana Politics & 2015 Legislature
Early Edge Montana
- John Oliver is right. State-level elections are what matters on Tuesday
State legislators pass a lot of bills, and some of that efficiency is thanks to a group called ALEC that writes legislation for them. It's as shady as it sounds!
- How Political Donors Are Changing Statehouse News Reporting
What's the proper way to treat new media reporters who have a clear political ideology? What if they are also employees of lobbying organizations funded by some of the biggest political donors in the country?
- It's Not too Late - VOTE!
If you haven't voted yet, please do so. Keep the idea alive.
Northwestern Energy
- Beyond the Word Gap: A collection of multimedia resources and tools that help support the development of language and learning in early relationships.
These resources will help parents, professionals, and policymakers understand the importance of supporting early language and literacy and how best to do so.
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- NorthWestern Energy Announces Proposed Offering of Common Stock
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with the net proceeds of an anticipated long-term debt offering, and borrowing under our short term credit facility, as the financing for the pending acquisition of eleven hydro plants in Montana.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Montana Office of Tourism: Travel and Marketing Trends for Montana - November 2014
Mobile devices continue to grow in size and processing power in order to better serve the user demands. As mobile becomes more central to our daily lives, it's important for marketers to consider how they can use mobile to get in front of more millennials and other travel groups.
Inteneo Systems
- Great Falls Development Authority Top 25 11/2/14
A long Top 10 this week with lots of exciting work happening to keep moving Great Falls forward! Keep it up TEAM GREAT FALLS and Untame your entrepreneurial spirit!
Come Home Montana
- How Graphs Make Us Believe Almost Anything
This is good news for marketers. But, with great power comes great responsibility. Use it wisely.
- How Analytics Is Shaping HR's Role In Business
Analytics in HR is a story of the human element; it is not just the individual but also a study in how to create buy- in with management, use the proper business language to establish metrics that are easy to understand, and finding the right professionals in a talent pool that's never deep enough.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunity - Business Coordinator - Northwestern Energy
Provide operational accounting activities and financial analysis for departments within the Operations division.
- Lewis and Clark Casting Calls Stir Hollywood Buzz in Montana
Polson and Browning are a long way from the glitter and buzz of Hollywood, but a series of castings calls this month for an HBO miniseries are certainly causing a stir in Northwest Montana.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Curriculum Development Project Manager, System Support Specialist, Business Analyst, Technical Content Creation and more - PrintingForLess
At PFL, we want our employees to make a good living and make living good.
Montana Business
- More Successful New Entrepreneurs Are Baby Boomers
One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964.
- Encore Entrepreneurs: How Five Late Bloomers Turned Big Ideas into Sweet Success
More and more Americans over 50 are tapping their wisdom, experience--and savings accounts--to start successful ventures. Meet five of these late-blooming, "encore entrepreneurs" who took a leap of faith and hit it big.
Montana Economic Development
- I'd Follow Her Anywhere:: Missoula's Elke Govertsen of Mamalode
Missoula, Montana's Elke Goversten of Mamalode http://mamalode.com/ tells us how she started her magazine with $400 she really didn't have and how the WHY is more important than the what.
TEDx Events in Montana
- Sale of Mercantile expected to energize downtown Missoula
"We have a vibrant downtown and it has remained full of cultural activity, even during this time when the Mercantile has been vacant. It's a testament to Missoula's resiliency."
- MEDA November news and Conference Summary Photos and Files
Be sure to save the date of January 14th for MEDA and partners to hold Rotunda Day.
- New Website! - Welcome to the Montana Governor's Office of Economic Development
Whether you are interested in locating your business here, starting a new one, or expanding an existing business, we are ready and able to assist you. Let one of our team members answer any questions you have, and direct you to the best resources available to help your venture succeed.
- New Website! - Welcome to the Montana Economic Developers Association
The Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA) is an association of economic development professionals. We are professional "lead" economic developers, business specialist, government employers, and staff members of affiliated non-profit organizations which promote and foster economic development activities in Montana.
- Agri-business Agrasyst looking to plant roots in Butte industrial park
Interest from Agrasyst "definitely plays to our strengths," said Kristen Rosa, administrator for the industrial park. "We're looking to attract businesses of any and all sizes."
Careers
- Today's classic TED Talk Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world
If we depend on complex algorithms to manage our daily decisions -- when do we start to lose control?
- Today's TED Talk Alessandra Orofino: It's our city. Let's fix it
"It is up to us to decide whether we want schools or parking lots, recycling projects or construction sites, cars or buses, loneliness or solidarity."
Government
- TV Producers Turn to Montana for Casting, Locations
Great Falls casting director Rene Haynes is holding casting calls in Missoula, Polson and Browning next month
- 10 skills that can launch a fulfilling manufacturing career
"Manufacturing is so much more appealing than it was 10 or 20 years ago," Nyren said. "Perceptions of manufacturing are changing. It can be a wonderful career."
Idaho Business
- Will Government Entice Millennials With Unlimited Vacation Days?
A host of private-sector companies are offering unlimited vacation time to employees, but public-sector CIOs aren't sure the practice is feasible for technologists in government.
Incubators and R&D
- Aerospace firm Advanced Thermoplastics Composites Manufacturing breaks ground in Post Falls, Idaho
"A company like ATC will be a great addition to the community and will help expand the aerospace industry in North Idaho."
Other Economies
- Hydrogen-detecting innovation earns national honors
The primary application is for use in the oil and gas production, chemical production and power generation industries. Together, these lines of work produce and consume a reported 57 million tons of hydrogen gas annually.
Regional Business
- Virginia taps natural resources to drive tourism
"The foliage, the flowers, the way the hills roll, the way the farms are manicured, it's just an incredible, beautiful place."
Regional Economic Development
- Sunbelt, West Coast Lead Unemployment
The nation's rural and urban unemployment rates dropped from September 2013 to September 2014. But the Great Plains and Upper Midwest are faring better than most.
- Is a news site a news site if it's published by Verizon?
SugarString is aimed at serving Verizon's interests with a light touch, including simply through the editorial judgment of which stories appear on the site, and which don't.
- A New Effort to Ease the Doctor Shortage
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact would essentially create express lanes for highly qualified doctors who would normally have to endure long waits navigating different processes with individual state medical boards.
Workforce Development
- New Rule Could Require Governments to Report Tax Incentives as Lost Income
It's the biggest effort yet to make government tax subsidies more transparent.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- 3 Ways to Close the Skills Gap with Today's Workforce
With the need for workers so great, and the benefits of working in manufacturing so apparent, what are the steps we can take to bulk up the skilled workforce in our industry?
Education
- Putting Art in STEM so it become STEAM
"Five hundred years ago, you couldn't really tell the difference between artists and engineers."
Montana Education Excellence
- What College Can Teach the Aspiring Entrepreneur
Here's the entrepreneur's guide to getting the most out of college.
- Putting web analytics data to use in higher education
The goal was to collect and distribute useful benchmarking data on 12 website metrics selected for their relevance for colleges websites.
Community
- Montana Colleges and Universities to Waive or Defer College Application Fees
"We know that Montana has some of the brightest students in the country, and we want to get these bright students enrolled in post-secondary programs. Ensuring today's students are trained for the jobs of tomorrow supports a strong economic future for our entire state."
- MSU wins award for use of innovative active-learning classrooms
Montana State University has won an innovation in teaching technology award from the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium for its use of technology-enhanced active learning, or TEAL, classrooms.
- University of Montana ecology, best in the business
The University of Montana has the most influential ecologists of any university in the U.S and Canada, according to a recent study.
Funding and Building your Business
- Downtown Dwellers: Millennial Living
According to Nielsen.com, only 66 percent of Millennials under age 25 owned a car in 2011, compared to 73 in 2007. As a result, many prefer to live in an urban center, walking to work and entertainment. Vehicles are reserved for weekend use, and residents live, work and socialize within their immediate neighborhood, similar to life nearly a century ago.
- Roadside Wanderings: Resilient northeastern Montana
And, in the way of those who stay and still seek to scratch out a living here, he says, "Maybe next year."
Energy and Climate Change
- Train Your Staff To Track Down Network-based Attacks!, 11/18-21, Missoula, Montana
Created and taught by the authors of Network Forensics: Tracking Hackers Through Cyberspace (Prentice Hall, 2012), this fast-paced class includes packet analysis, statistical flow record analysis, wireless forensics, intrusion detection and analysis, network tunneling, malware network behavior--all packed into a dense 4 days, with hands-on technical labs throughout the class.
- Legal issues to understand if your employees work in multiple states
Same-sex marriage is just one challenge for multi-state organizations. Here are two additional issues for nationwide employers:
- Montana State University business students to offer consulting for area businesses and non-profit organizations
During the four-month courses, students will help manage special consulting projects requested by area businesses and non-profit organizations.
- Bootstrapping Organic Growth Makes Startup Sense
Despite all the focus you hear on external investors, over 90% of startups today are self-funded.
Connectivity & Communications
- Effects of climate change 'irreversible,' U.N. panel warns in report
The Earth is locked on an "irreversible" course of climatic disruption from the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the impacts will only worsen unless nations agree to dramatic cuts in pollution, an international panel of climate scientists warned Sunday.
- The Climate-Change Solution No One Will Talk About
The equation seems fairly simple: The more the world's population rises, the greater the strain on dwindling resources and the greater the impact on the environment.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Why the U.S. Has Fallen Behind in Internet Speed and Affordability
Downloading a high-definition movie takes about seven seconds in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Zurich, Bucharest and Paris, and people pay as little as $30 a month for that connection. In Los Angeles, New York and Washington, downloading the same movie takes 1.4 minutes for people with the fastest Internet available, and they pay $300 a month for the privilege.
- Digital divide exacerbates US inequality
A Financial Times analysis of official data that shows how the "digital divide" is exacerbating inequality in the world's biggest economy.
- Editorial - Verizon Wireless crosses the privacy line on Web browsing
Verizon should find a more respectful way to generate advertising dollars. -
- The basic truth about internet access that cable & phone companies don't want you to know
So even though we have the technical ability to deliver cheap, super-fast internet and we have the financial ability to finance the construction, we don't actually have the network. In fact, we're so in hock to the interests of the broadband incumbents that we don't even use all the fiber networks we've already built.
- Broadband Expands Into Rural America, But How Many Will Adopt?
Even as broadband infrastructure has spread across much of rural America in the past few years, often funded by the federal stimulus program of 2009, potential customers have been slow to adopt the technology.
Transportation
- Stanford system combines software with human intelligence to improve translation
Using software to suggest word choices makes professional translators more productive in the $34-billion-a-year market for foreign language translation.
- How Grand Rapids Became a Transit Success - "a learning laboratory for leaders around the country."
As much larger cities on the progressive coasts struggle to prioritize multi-modal transportation against car-loving codes, infrastructure and voting populations, what is the Midwest city's secret? What, exactly, is it doing right?
- Tesla Motors opens Supercharger station in Missoula
"She seemed very excited, and we're super excited," assistant general manager Whitney Kembel said. "It's a real cool thing to have this close to us and get to interact with all the Tesla owners."
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