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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Dec 23, 2014 |
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"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." Agnes M. Pharo
All the best to your and yours, "The Gift" was created by a Missoula, Montana artist who did it for its pure joy and wishes to remain anonymous. http://www.matr.net/gift/
2014 Montana Politics & 2015 Legislature
Montana Technology Innovation Partnership
- Montana State University research, long a boon to Bozeman high-tech, sharpening emphasis on economic development
MSU is also hoping for a shot in the arm from state government, which hasn't allocated ongoing funds for university research. The university system has lobbied the state to do so, and Gov. Steve Bullock responded last month with a $15 million research initiative in his proposed budget.
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Lunch & Learn: How To Fund Your Startup With An SBIR From The DoD, 01/07, Bozeman
In this session, you'll learn how you can qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars of early-stage R&D seed funding that does not have to be matched or repaid.
iConnect Montana
- The Poverello Center - Many thanks to Dan Semmens, Public Finance Partner at Dorsey & Whitney in Missoula for volunteering 200 hours of his time helping the new Pov get financed.
Dan explains that "there are a lot of bells and whistles to this type of financing and a lot of work ahead us, but it is pretty darn exciting (and a relief) that it came to fruition." We are proud of Dan's pro bono contributions to this amazing project.
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- 2014 State of the Data Center
The data center is full of nonstop action.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Montana Office of Tourism, Department of Commerce | Official Tourism Industry News
Four Excellent Customer Service Experience Stories & Year-Round Montana Superhost Training
- Governor's Conference On Tourism & Recreation, March 22-24 In Helena, Opens Registration Jan. 5
Here's a quick look at what's being planned for this Montana tourism partnership gathering:
- CBS Nature: Montana's Glacier National Park
This week's moment in nature leaves us in Montana's Glacier National Park. Let it snow ... let it snow . . . let it snow.
Inteneo Systems
- Malmstrom AFB remains economic anchor for Great Falls -- and Montana
"The way to grow a community is the same way you build a business," said Brett Doney, president of the Great Falls Development Authority. "You protect your existing customers first, and the military is our biggest customer."
- Back to growing: Industrial growth boosts Great Falls economy
"It's going to continue at least for the next couple of years, and we're determined to make it continue far beyond that. The nice thing is we're seeing growth and investment in a number of different industry sectors." Brett Doney, president of the Great Falls Development Authority
Come Home Montana
- Why Loneliness Should Matter to Governments
Loneliness is an unrecognized management challenge.
Leadership Montana
- Montana Career Opportunity - Business Development Specialist - Lake County Community Development Corporation
This position works extensively with LCCDC clients before and after loans are made; directing clients to additional resources within the organization and/or community; and following up with clients to track their progress and growth.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Director, University of Montana Entertainment Management Program
The Entertainment Management Program was founded in the year 2000 and receives strong support from within the university and industry professionals. In fact, many of the courses are supported and taught by industry insiders.
Montana Business
- 5 Steps for Preparing the Next Generation to Steer the Ship
The state has great leaders. Some are already leading, some are trying to lead and some just don't know it yet. What can be done to support them?
TEDx Events in Montana
- Survey - Is it time for Missoula to offer a minimum revenue guarantee to ensure cheaper, direct flights in and out of Missoula?
Please help us gather information about the possibility of an annual air service minimum revenue guarantee model to secure direct flights to and from key national destinations year round.
- You'll never believe what Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and Montana Governor Steve Bullock have in common
Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox are news junkies. Do they subscribe to MATR.net?
- “It’s Time” - It's Montana's time for tourism
Out-of-state visitors to Big Sky country came close to spending $4 billion here in 2014, according to the University of Montana's Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research.
- Stronger than before: WGM booms as Missoula returns to pre-recession economy
If things are going good at WGM Group -- and they are -- it's a safe bet that things are looking good for the Missoula economy as a whole.
- Tale of Two Economies - Kalispell sees faster growth than rest of northwestern Montana
There are two economic forecasts for the northwest corner of Montana -- one for Flathead County, which remains one of the state's fastest growing, and one for everywhere else.
- Ravalli County: Small manufacturing where timber used to be
Ravalli County's unemployment rate keeps dropping and there are far more job openings now than last year. Still, some employers are challenged to find the people with the right skills to fill the jobs they have.
- 'Better late than never': Missoula shows signs of recovery after recession
"Missoula is on track to have a better year in 2015."
- Poised for growth: Helena's economy remains slow, but leaders optimistic
"We anticipate we're going to see quite a bit more of that activity in the coming year,"
Careers
- The Year in Ideas - TED Talks in 2014
What were the most powerful ideas in 2014?
- TED Talk - Dave Troy: Social maps that reveal a city's intersections -- and separations
What does your community look like?
Next Generation Broadband in Missoula
- Exercise makes brain more resilient to stress
The research also shows that the brain can be extremely adaptive and tailor its own processes to an organism's lifestyle or surroundings
- 25 minutes of meditating eases stress - Exercise makes brain more resilient to stress
Creswell and colleagues are now testing the possibility that mindfulness can become more automatic and easy to use with long-term mindfulness meditation training, which may result in reduced cortisol reactivity.
- Women flocking to statistics, the newly hot, high-tech field of data science
This is where the jobs are.
- You must play as if your life depended on it because it does
A 70+ year old man teaches the method of lifetime fitness through toys and play and games that can be played alone or with others of any age throughout our lives.
Rural Communities
- Dozens of Municipalities Join Connecticut's Brigade Against Big Broadband
A total of 46 municipalities -- representing more than half the state's population -- have joined the consortium to create a statewide gigabit network funded through public-private partnerships.
Idaho Business
- Searching for Middle Ground in the Urban-Rural Divide
What's needed is a new bargain in our states and regions.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Court fight puts Idaho's school broadband in jeopardy
The state's work connecting the high school may have been done illegally.
- Dan Price, the owner of a Boise-started company called Gravity Payments, has won a top award from Entrepreneur magazine.
"When he talks about the future, it's hard not to be inspired. He has some really big plans for this company."
- Hospital hopes medical tourists will come to Idaho
"So the resort picks them up at the airport, them and their spouse, takes them to the hotel, puts them in a nice room overlooking the lake," Rasmussen said. And while the spouse enjoys some spa time, the patient gets a new knee.
Other Economies
- Bakken job climate is getting tougher
People seeking work in North Dakota oil country are finding a different climate from two years ago.
Regional Economic Development
- 10 ways that the EU is ruining life in Britain
How dare they force companies to treat employees the same, regardless of gender, race, age, sexual orientation or disability!!!
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- SBA Launches 2015 Emerging Leaders Initiative:Entrepreneurship Training Initiative Sparks Increased Small Business
The Emerging Leaders Program has been a catalyst for expanding opportunities for underserved communities.
Education
- Pre-K and school choice could divide lawmakers in 2015
The key House Education Committee is stacked with lawmakers he said are "seriously biased and prejudiced ... against public education."
Montana Education Excellence
- Anti-intellectualism is taking over the US
There has been an unfortunate uptick in academic book bannings and firings, made worse by a nationwide disparagement of teachers, teachers' unions and scholarship itself.
Community
- Ten Years Later, World-Renowned Education Program International Baccalaureate Programme Thriving at Flathead High
"To me it's just exciting having the opportunity to honor some of the people who really took the risks early on as well as those who went way beyond just the IB and exceeded in ways that still set models for us all. Hopefully that's of inspiration to the kids."
- Homework without a home: 100-plus Helena students considered homeless
In recent years, Montana schools have become more aware of the struggles facing students who don't have a safe or consistent place to stay.
Funding and Building your Business
- Aging Tsunami: In Montana, Aging in Place Takes a Village - Montana is 20 years ahead of the nation.
"From the beginning of time, the pioneers helped each other. This is just a natural thing."
Energy and Climate Change
- Hulu Employees Voted On Nearly Every Part Of This Awesome Office -- Here Are The Highlights
Employees got to vote on nearly every aspect of the design, from the style of chair they would get to the types of cereal that would be available in the kitchen. It looks like they definitely had some fun along the way.
- How the CEOs of Airbnb & Pinterest taught Stanford students to build billion-dollar teams (in 7 quotes)
Every week, investor Sam Altman brings in new Silicon Valley celebrities to spill novel secrets. Recently, they held a special two-week series on how to build great culture.
- 10 Approaches to Handle the Burden of Leadership
As with other challenges, it takes effort and a special focus to lessen the burden and avoid the loneliness of being a founder or top executive. Here are some key approaches endorsed by successful entrepreneurs and leaders to stay healthy, and be a respected leader:
- 7 biggest business blunders ever committed
2. Excite passes on Google
Connectivity & Communications
- Your body is the next battery: New technologies harvest energy from movements, sound and more
"There needs to be a way to stop all of these millions of batteries from being created," he said. "We're choking on batteries already."
Government Technology
- USDA Seeks Applications for Grants to Help Finance Rural Broadband
"USDA's Community Connect Grant Program ensures that rural residents have the ability to run businesses, get the most from their education, and benefit from the infinite services that fast, reliable broadband provides."
- Decatur, Ala., May Offer Downtown Wi-Fi
"We've got a plan almost together to bring downtown into the Wi-Fi generation without having any real expense to the citizenry," Mayor Don Kyle said.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Open Data's Hidden Value for State and Local Government
It's time to shift the conversation about open data away from transparency to economic value.
- Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks unveils new mobile-friendly website
"We had a lot of people surveyed and we wanted something for the public to use that was intuitive and much easier to use."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- This Amazing Star Wars Christmas Light Show Will Make Feel Terrible About Your Holiday Decorations
Thanks for making our Christmas decorations look like s--t, guy.
- Why It's Impossible To Have A Christmas Party In 2014. This Is Gold.
The challenge of Christmas Parties
- Listen to the Real Stephen Colbert Explain How He Maintained His Flawless Character for 9 Years
How on Earth did Colbert stay in character for so long?
Transportation
- 'High-rise' chip could shrink supercomputers - Stanford University
Engineers have created a four-layer prototype high-rise chip.
- Marketplace helps patients find better healthcare abroad
Medigo is a Berlin-based company that helps users plan their medical tourism trips, with clinic reviews and information.
- Disposable drone turns into a pile of sugar when it's finished flying
Created by a team of students, graduates and scientists at Stanford, Brown and Spelman College, the drone was an entry into this year's International Genetically Engineered Machine competition.
- App lets diners rate their restaurant servers
An app called Grate is enabling diners to evaluate the serving quality of individual servers at the restaurants they visit.
- Startup: Musk's 'hyperloop' is feasible and should be nationwide
The system would be fast enough and cheap enough, with tickets costing $20 to $30, that users could live in one metropolitan area and work in another, even if it's hundreds of miles away.
- Tesla Motors to try out battery-swap station
"Tesla will evaluate relative demand from customers for paid pack swap versus free charging to assess whether it merits the engineering resources and investment necessary for that upgrade."
- Google's 'goofy' new self-driving car a sign of things to come
The milestone is the latest sign that driverless cars could soon be a fixture in Silicon Valley neighborhoods and other parts of the world.
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page