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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Jan 16, 2015 |
“We must raise both the ceiling and the floor.” ― Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
Gender equality: 79 years, 11 months, 3 weeks, 4 days - Why wait 80 more years to reach gender parity? http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
2014 Montana Politics & 2015 Legislature
Early Edge Montana
- Medicaid Expansion - A Good Deal for Montanans
Since January 1, 2014, Montana has forfeited more than $516 million taxpayer dollars by not expanding Medicaid.
- MISSOULIAN EDITORIAL: Universal pre-K offers path to better grades
A stronger start with preschool will have a ripple effect throughout the educational lifetimes of Montana's children. Montana's legislators can help them get that strong start - and better grades for Montana in future reports - by approving Early Edge.
- Montana's commitment to education: dumb and dumber
That's a report card we should all be ashamed of.
- "Tales From the Dome"
This is the true story of the Montana State Legislature... strangers elected to serve the people... their stories shared in this blog.... find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...Tales From the Dome.
Northwestern Energy
- Gazette opinion: Montana leaves kids behind by skipping preschool
The strong partisan opposition to Bullock's proposal seemed to be as much about adults who don't know much about preschool as criticism of the plan itself.
Sustainable Business Council
- NorthWestern Energy Donates $300,000 to Five Montana Recipients
"They are intended to complement our ongoing Community Works efforts, which include local contributions, scholarships, economic development support, and - especially - volunteerism."
- NorthWestern Energy Donates $125,000 to MSUN Auto/Diesel Center
The donations, totaling $300,000, are part of the company's Community Works program, which supports the communities where their customers and employees live and work.
- NorthWestern Energy Announces 2015 Funding for Fisheries, Wildlife and Habitat Enhancement Projects on the Madison and Missouri Rivers
"NorthWestern's private funding provides a big advantage because it often serves as seed money to secure matching funds from other already appropriated state and federal grant programs."
Women - Fast Forward
- Announcing SBC Social Sustainability Event Series, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19
In January and February, the Sustainable Business Council (SBC) is presenting three "Social Sustainability" events highlighting ways to improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, and increase satisfaction at local workplaces.
- Sustainable Business Council - "Inclusive Work Environments.", 2/5, Missoula
This panel will include a first-person account of workplace inclusion for sexual minorities, a discussion of racial profiling in local customer environments, and dozens of ideas from the Director of the University Center about making a public or workplace environment welcoming to people of all backgrounds, including age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, class, and other identities.
- Sustainable Business Council - "Environmental Health At Work.", 2/19, Missoula
This panel will include the story of a welding shop that found a better solution to treat toxic fumes, a hospital that built a therapeutic landscape to reduce stress for patients and staff, and an energy efficiency company that has addressed "sick building syndrome" in dozens of local facilities by improving indoor air quality.
- Social Sustainability Seres: Transit-friendly Workplaces, 01/22, Missoula
The series will kick off on January 22 with "Transit-Friendly Workplaces," celebrating Mountain Line's new free fares and expanded services.
- How Chipotle Got Religion on Sustainable Pork
Carnitas is temporarily off the menu at about one-third of Chipotle Mexican Grill's restaurants, a decision made on Wednesday after the company discovered that an unnamed supplier had violated its animal welfare policies.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Gender equality: 79 years, 11 months, 3 weeks, 4 days - Why wait 80 more years to reach gender parity?
Through Women. Fast forward we will use our collective knowledge, experiences and convening power to push ourselves further and to do our part to accelerate the global gender parity clock.... It's time.
Inteneo Systems
- Great Falls Development Authority Top 18 for 1/14/15
Lots more great news this week to start the year off that we'll include in the next Top 10. Help us spread the word by forwarding this to your friends and colleagues. We're always happy to add interested people to our Top 10 distribution list. Just contact any of our team members with names and email addresses.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Yellowfin Business Intelligence Provides Solutions for Financial Services Customers
Yellowfin has empowered financial services clients to: Increase workforce productivity, reduce expenditure and improve operational efficiencies, and seize market opportunities to drive new business.
Montana Economic Development
- How To Make Your Community A Startup Hub
"We can nurture it, guide it, support it. We can provide nutrients to the ecosystem to help it grow," he says. "But it's not about organizing or controlling it. It is by definition organic and self-organizing.
MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative
- Building a Stronger Relationship Betweem Canada and Montana
"We really just don't know one another. Americans think they know Canada, but they don't," he said. "It's easier to do business with each other if we know one another."
Careers
- MSU Leadership Institute - Inspiring MSU students to become leaders who serve as catalysts for positive change
During 2014, the MSU Leadership Institute designed, organized and implemented several amazing programs. Not only were these programs phenomenal successes, but they also provided valuable professional experiences for both MSU students and student staff.
Next Generation Broadband in Missoula
- How to Look Smarter
The Tactics People Use to Look Intelligent Often Backfire; Fancy Words Don't Work
- Employment is booming in the U.S. solar industry
"It's just really indicative of a very strong, increasingly mature, increasingly specialized and consolidated and global industry," said Andrea Luecke, executive director of the Solar Foundation.
- Wall Street Doesn't Want You Unless You're a Robot
Want to work on Wall Street? Suit up, turn your spell check on, and leave your risk-taking, self-starter attitude home.
- The Distribution of Doctors - Maybe there's not a doctor shortage, after all
The folks at Vox look at a new report by the Institute of Medicine that says there is "no credible evidence" of a doctor shortage in the U.S. But there is definitely a "distribution problem."
Government
- Obama to help cities build public Internet service
On Wednesday, Obama will unveil a series of measures aimed at making high-speed Web connections cheaper and more widely available to millions of Americans.
- Montana broadband ranked among worst in the U.S.
A "real time" chart ranks Montana as 43rd out of 51 states and districts.
- White House Backs Cities That Want to Build Their Own Super-Speed Internet
"The Obama Administration believes that consumers should have the option to provide themselves broadband services through local government and locally-owned utilities and that state and local policy should support a level playing field for these community-based solutions."
Idaho Business
- At what cost is Mountain Water no longer a good deal for Missoula?
Given the revenue advantages the city projects under municipal ownership of Mountain Water, at what point does the total cost of condemnation exceed the projected advantage to ratepayers over a 20-year bond? In other words, at what price does Mountain Water stop being a good deal?
Incubators and R&D
- Idaho wineries have $169M economic impact, says study
"It's evident how far our industry has progressed, and we're still growing and evolving."
- Broadband audit shows low usage in Idaho schools
A new audit shows that slightly more than half of schools surveyed aren't using the equipment purchased through Idaho's pricey broadband network and that nearly 6 percent of the videoconferencing equipment can't be located.
South Dakota Economic Development
- Before you join an accelerator, here's how to do due diligence
We think it's a useful list for any startup to work through before making the leap:
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- South Dakota Tops List of State Policy Environments for Entrepreneurs
The index continues to point to South Dakota as the most entrepreneurial-friendly state in the U.S., benefiting most from the lack of individual income tax, capital gains tax, corporate income tax and inheritance tax or "death tax.
Education
- STEM role models, sponsors needed for MSU conference
Volunteers who would like to share their expertise and enthusiasm on a STEM topic will develop a 40-minute workshop and hands-on activity. Training is offered for new presenters. The event is designed to expose young women to exciting STEM careers and encourage them to pursue STEM courses in high school and college.
- Cutting edge facility inspires girls to make confident choices in science and technology
Marymount International School London has become the first school in the UK to establish a fully equipped 'Fab Lab' (Fabrication Laboratory), a state-of-the-art workshop equipped with an array of flexible computer controlled tools which can make "almost anything."
- The Real-Life Teachers of Spare Parts on What's Wrong With US Schools
They are the celebrated creators of a student robotics program at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, where roughly 80 percent of the student population lives below the poverty line. Many are undocumented and speak limited English. Despite the odds, the two teachers turned the robotics team into a powerhouse, winning state and national championships and garnering more than $1 million in scholarships for students.
MAPS : Media Arts in the Public Schools
- Tom Hanks on His Two Years at Chabot College - "I Owe It All to Community College"
"That place made me what I am today."
- Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty
"We've all known this was the trend, that we would get to a majority but it's here sooner rather than later."
Montana Education Excellence
- MAPS to produce videos encouraging tourism in Montana
We want to give young people real-world experience producing content that has a place to go, plus it is good for promotions to show authentic Montana," said Staggs. "We were thrilled when they applied and knew the production was in good hands - the product is beautiful."
Community
- Montana high school graduation rate hits 85 percent
The number from the 2013-2014 school year marks the fourth consecutive year in which the graduation rate has increased.
Funding and Building your Business
- The Farthest Place From a Starbucks in the US is Circle, Montana
The town is "more than 192 miles from the nearest green-aproned barista."
- A Small Town's Game-Changing Approach to Mapping
Modern Mapping Connects Historic Preservation and Planning
Energy and Climate Change
- Here's the Advice I Give All of Our First Time Founders
"Founders who achieve these goals always succeed."
- 9 Questions Every Mentor Should Ask Entrepreneurs (If They Don't, Ask Yourself)
How can you help prepare someone if you don't know exactly what they want to accomplish?
Government Technology
- Despite Hottest Year on Record, Congress' 170 Climate Deniers Aren't Breaking A Sweat
There are forty-two states with at least one representative who has publicly questioned or flat-out denied climate science. And unsurprisingly, most of these legislators have received significant funding from fossil fuel industries, in combined excess of $63 million.
- The rate of sea-level rise is 'far worse than previously thought,' one study says while another says it's less than thought
"The acceleration into the last two decades is far worse than previously thought. This new acceleration is about 25 percent higher than previous estimates."
- Ocean Life Faces Mass Extinction, Broad Study Says
But there is still time to avert catastrophe, Dr. McCauley and his colleagues also found. Compared with the continents, the oceans are mostly intact, still wild enough to bounce back to ecological health.
- California Takes Lead in Developing Energy Storage
California is demonstrating how batteries could be used to modernize the electric grid and help solar and wind power integrate into it.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Governments Finding Data Analysis Offers Biggest Opportunity for Improvement
With states and localities searching for ways to contain costs and improve the performance of these programs, using analytics to make better decisions offers a compelling proposition.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- "Lucy's Biggest Fish to Fry: A Husband's Journey through His Wife's Fight with Brain Cancer"
Lucy's Biggest Fish to Fry offers a moving tribute to a strong and courageous spirit, a loving marriage, and one family's determination to heal after an unfathomable loss.
Transportation
- Bold claim: 'an operating system for the entire healthcare industry'
One school of thought suggests that interoperability between electronic health records systems is not a technological problem, rather it's a business model and political matter.
- 5 new technologies that may change how you shop
Some of the technology on display seemed a long way from ready to appear at your local shopping center or supermarket. But other innovations are already in use at chain stores right now, and they could change the way you shop.
- Elon Musk Donates $10M to Keep AI From Turning Evil
Elon Musk is worried that artificial intelligence research could go wrong--very wrong.
- Object recognition software could create limitless, interactive encyclopedia of things
Sense is a cloud-based platform which will enable consumers to interact with its crowdsourced "encyclopedia of objects" in limitless ways.
- 7 Ways Self-Driving Cars Could Impact States and Localities - 5 confounding questions
Will consumers want to buy driverless cars?
- For $15 a Month, Verizon Will Make Your Crappy Car Internet-Savvy
The service also can contact roadside assistance or emergency services in the event of a breakdown or accident, and locate your car it it's been stolen (or you forgot where you parked it).
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