|
|
|
| MATR Newsletter - Tue Dec 9, 2014 |
This MATR newsletter sponsored by: 
Add an event... Upcoming Events
New Events
MATR supporter: To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page |
"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go fishing" -Henry David Thoreau
Governor Bullock Announces Economic Development Grant s for Seven Innovative Business Projects in Montana http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- Everyone is Invited: Hellgate Venture Network Holiday Party, 12/11, Missoula, Montana http://www.matr.net/ev ... =5276
2014 Montana Politics & 2015 Legislature
Early Edge Montana
- Bill introduced to increase Montana's legal dropout age
The bill, if passed, would change Montana's compulsory attendance law to state that parents must keep their kids in school until they are 18, or if it's earlier, graduate high school or an equivalent program like a GED.
- Find a Montana Legislator
Not sure who represents you in the Montana Legislature? Need to know how to contact your legislator? Here are some ways to find a Montana legislator:
- GOP leaders ban blue jeans, short skirts and cleavage in Montana House
"We've got 30 plus new legislators who don't know where the bathrooms are much less how to dress." Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
- Getting Early Learning Accountability Right
How can K-12 education improve if policymakers don't know how well children are doing in early learning settings?
Montana Data Focused Business Cluster
- Kalispell Chamber Of Commerce Legislative Issues Discussion Luncheon, 12/10, Kalispell, MT
Major employers discuss legislative issues affecting key Flathead industry sectors at upcoming Chamber luncheon
PrintingForLess
- Sony Hid Passwords in a Folder Called 'Password'
"Because who needs encryption or security or common sense or even the vaguest attempt at grade-school level online safety."
- Entrepreneurs Needed To Deliver Big Data Solutions
By any definition, the opportunities from Big Data have the potential to create a next wave of successful technology companies that could change the way we all live and work.
- Cyberattack could cost Sony Pictures tens of millions of dollars
Sony Pictures' costs include rebuilding its computer network, paying a cyberforensics firm to investigate the breach and footing the bill for potential legal matters that stem from the attack.
- IBM Awards the University of Montana a Power Systems Server for Real-Time Data Analysis
Over the past two years, UM has pushed to enter the growing field of big data and cyber security as part of its Data Science Initiative - a track to train students to become data scientists, data architects and analysts.
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- 5 questions every content creator needs to answer
Why should you create custom content?
TechLink
- Bison Quest - Glamping With Bison at a Gorgeous Montana Ranch Run by Scientists
What's been amazing with Bison Quest is we have been able to touch more people this way than we could as biologists."
Inteneo Systems
- Lunch & Learn: How To Fund Your Startup With A NASA Or DoED SBIR, 12/17, Bozeman
Bring your lunch and learn how you can tap into the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to fund your research or technology-based startup.
Come Home Montana
- Harvard Business Review: Finance cannot act as a strategic partner when it is isolated from the rest of the enterprise.
"Compared with where we were 30 years ago, current systems are manna from heaven," says Robert Kugel, CFO and head of business research at Ventana Research, a benchmark research and advisory services firm. "But for where we're headed, today's solutions will be increasingly inadequate." It isn't just the systems themselves that are the problem, he says. Companies don't pay enough attention to how they handle data. Consequently, extracting, processing, and deliv-ering information from them is often spreadsheet-based, making it manually intensive and time-consuming.
Montana Business
- Montana Internship Opportunities - Business Development Internship - Montana Newspaper Association
This opportunity will provide the student-intern a vibrant and real life marketing and public relations experience in the dynamic news publishing industry in Montana.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Contract .Net Developer, Software Tester, SQL Server Developer and more... - Arrow Solutions Group
At ASG, we are passionate about fostering successful relationships with our customers and candidates--relationships where quality, honesty and respect matter.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Search Marketing Manager - Adventure Life
The Search Marketing Manager is responsible for coordinating and implementing SEO, SEM and SMO strategies for Adventure Life.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Customer Service Representative-Missoula - Stockman Bank
Stockman Bank is a Montana born company, built on western values, focused on creating long-standing relationships through integrity, expertise and results now coming to Missoula.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Computer Systems Analyst III, Administration & Finance and many more... - University of Montana
The senior systems analyst will be a senior programming and systems analyst support person and will primarily develop web-based front-end systems to interface with Banner (SCT) systems.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Technical Co-Founder - Ranchlogs
We are looking for a motivated individual with high level software development skills to take some risk and join our technology startup company and help revolutionize the beef industry on a global scale.
Montana Economic Development
- UM student Walker Milhoan's high-tech startup Ranchlogs could save ranchers time, money - Seeking Technical Co-Founder
Ranchlogs can help ranchers lower costs, increase stock weight and drive up the return on cattle by growing more efficient cows.
- The Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology is accepting proposals for funding.
Proposals are due March 2, 2015.
- National firm Marsh USA buys Kalispell based Torrent Technologies
"The company will stay Kalispell-based," Travis Pine said during a phone interview. "[Marsh] understands the value that a community-based company has to offer, and they're not looking to change that."
Careers
- Governor Bullock Announces Economic Development Grant s for Seven Innovative Business Projects in Montana
"Montana's economy depends on entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks in order to create job opportunities for themselves and other Montanans," said Governor Bullock. "Through these grants, we're able to help Montana business owners and communities strategically plan for future business success and cont inued economic growth."
Next Generation Broadband in Missoula
- Why Women in Banking Don't Get to Make Decisions Even When They're Managers
"When we see women clustered in support functions like marketing and HR, they're not getting board-ready, and that's critical."
City Club Missoula
- Computing by Candlelight - Is your community ready to live in the digital age?
Broadband - but more importantly the applications broadband allows - are now a quality-of-life issue.
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- Missoula City Club weighs in on Community's proposed sale
A sizable crowd of Missoula's leaders, including doctors, nurses and other professionals, came to City Club to hear Community Medical Center's leaders talk about the pending sale.
Government
- Frontier Angel Fund 2 Celebrates Milestone - Montana based Startups are on the Rise
Internationally known Angel investor and part-time Montana resident Bill Payne http://www.billpayne.com points out that "90% of the seed and startup capital for entrepreneurs in the U.S. (after friends and family money has been exhausted) comes from angel investors, who are willing to invest time and money in new company formation and growth.
Incubators and R&D
- All It Took Was A Laptop And Markers To Silence The Crowd...
A Harvard professor took the stage and wowed the crowd with some colorful markers and big ideas.
- Western Governors announce two resolutions, roll out RAPID toolkit at Winter Meeting
The online toolkit integrates information related to potential transmission routes and key permitting and siting requirements of federal and state agencies into one convenient website.
Regional Business
- MSU receives $10.7 million to address health disparities in rural Montana
"Rural communities in general experience inequities in health care. There just aren't as many providers or services available, and it can be difficult to access those that are there. However, there are many strengths and protective factors in rural communities (people pulling together and helping each other out) that can do a lot to promote health and well-being."
Regional Economic Development
- Robots Could Make Most Lawyers Obsolete
Experts point to possible 'structural collapse' at law firms
- Half of Doctors Listed as Serving Medicaid Patients Are Unavailable, Investigation Finds
"It suggests that the actual size of provider networks may be considerably smaller than what is presented by Medicaid managed-care plans."
- How Will Google, Apple Shake Up Car Insurance Industry?
Usage-based insurance programs, also called telematics, are a small but growing segment of the auto insurance business.
Utah Business
- Austin's (and your community's) future economic success depends on more industry collaboration, expert says
"We cannot squander this opportunity."
Workforce Development
- Businesses, educators to host education workforce alliance summit
"We're hoping to bring major schools and major businesses together to determine what we need to teach the children in order to be effective workers."
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Ratio of Workers to Retirees Will Plummet Worldwide
The ratio of workers to retirees will drop precipitously in numerous countries worldwide this century, potentially sending nations into a financial tailspin.
- Millennials aren't job hopping as much as previous generations. Here's why that's bad.
It is clear that staying put has a cost, mostly because of the kinds of jobs millennials are likely to land these days: lower-paying positions that often don't require a college degree.
Montana Education Excellence
- Made with Code inspires girls to pursue their dreams with code.
Code can be the most creative tool in your toolbox. Suspend your disbelief and let's get cracking.
- In search of a bridge between STEM education and employment
Last year, the percentage of job openings requiring STEM skills and a bachelor's degree was 10 percent higher than the population's share with those qualifications. That gap was 17 percent for all bachelor's degrees, according to the report.
- From dropping out to doctorate - Upward Bound program a success
"You never know what a person's potential is if they aren't given a chance. I wouldn't have had the successes that I have today without one."
- Technology is ruining our memory. Here's why that doesn't matter.
Memorizing massive amounts of information is a thing of the past.
Funding and Building your Business
- Montana State University recognized as one of the country's 25 most popular universities
According to the publication, MSU has experienced 209 percent growth in applications since 2003.
- Highly successful Bridger "Performance-Based Learning" experiment spreads to Bozeman High's regular classes
"Performance-based instilled such a love of learning in me. It really brought me up in all areas of my life."
- Montana Tech's Informatics program evolving to keep pace with industry
Montana Tech’s degree is the first undergraduate program in Health Care Informatics in the United States and offers both Associate of Applied Science and Bachelor of Science levels.
Energy and Climate Change
- The Weirdest Proposal Yet for the 'Office of the Future'
The designers are especially interested in supported standing, which standing desks don't offer.
- 7 Elements Of Inspiration From The Steve Jobs Model
What would Steve Jobs do?
Connectivity & Communications
- Why Elon Musk's Batteries Scare the Hell Out of the Electric Company
The Tesla systems are arriving just as utilities begin to feel increasing pressure worldwide from the disruption posed by renewable energy.
- Water Woes Among Topics for 8 Governors in Vegas
Facing dwindling water supplies, Western states are struggling to capture every drop with dam and diversion projects that some think could erode regional cooperation crucial to managing the scarce resource.
- World Population Will Soar Higher Than Predicted
United Nations leaders have worried for decades about the pace of population growth.
- New energy codes will improve efficiency and lower bills
New energy codes for residential and commercial buildings could have a big impact on energy efficiency and power bills for Montanans, but enforcement of the new codes will vary across the state.
- Bozeman to participate in program forecasting climate change impact on water utilities
"It's really hard to know what the future holds," she said. "You hate to be trying to plan for a drought in the midst of a drought."
- Copenhagen Lighting the Way to Greener, More Efficient Cities
Aimed at saving money, cutting the use of fossil fuels and easing mobility, the installations are part of a growing wireless network of streetlamps and sensors that officials hope will help this city of roughly 1.2 million meet its ambitious goal of becoming the world's first carbon-neutral capital by 2025.
Government Technology
- What was the internet like 20 years ago? Watch this [VIDEO]
Apparently, in 1995, you could be considered an anti-social geek for being online.
- Google ditching CAPTCHA for 'I'm not a robot' checkbox
Google discovered that there are algorithms that can "decipher the hardest distorted text puzzles" with better than 99 percent accuracy.
- Can Broadband Reforms Reduce Rural Poverty?
A national commitment to ensure broadband access is available in low-income rural areas, with comparable quality and cost to what is found in the rest of the nation, has great potential to help lift families out of poverty.
Non-Profit News
- First Masters Program of its Kind to Teach Future Government Leaders to Master Policy and IT
As demand for data analysts in government grows, what may be the nation's first master's program that teaches not just public policy knowledge but technology skills too has launched.
- 5 Tech Issues Every Governor Needs to Know
A recent survey of state CIOs shows how governments can modernize and run efficiently.
- Virginia DOT Shows What Visual Data Can Do
An award-winning prototype from a team at the Virginia Department of Transportation shows how emerging tools are bringing data closer to the people who need it.
- New Website Tracks Economic, Quality-of-Life Issues in Southern Arizona - "Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona"
"It's very hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you are."
- 4 Tech Trends Changing How Cities Operate
A recent survey reveals how local governments are using technology (both new and old) to engage citizens and improve performance.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Why Collaboration is Important for Nonprofits: New Incubator Built
Are there valid reasons for nonprofit organizations to begin collaborating with one and other?
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Montana ART Film Competition
The winner is chosen by the audience and is awarded $5,000 for 1st place, $2,500 for 2nd place and $1,000 for 3rd place.
Transportation
- Sure, Artificial Intelligence May End Our World, But That Is Not the Main Problem
The robots will rise, we're told. The machines will assume control. For decades we have heard these warnings and fears about artificial intelligence taking over and ending humankind.
- 2D camera captures 100 billion frames per second
"For the first time, humans can see light pulses on the fly,"
- Detecting gases wirelessly and cheaply
New sensor can transmit information on hazardous chemicals or food spoilage to a smartphone.
- Amtrak Struggles Continue in Montana
Whitefish station sees a 27 percent drop in riders as delays persist
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page