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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Jan 20, 2015 |
Thanks from MATR - 17 Years Promoting Montana http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
MSU Leadership Institute to Host World-Renowned Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson at MSU on March 4 http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
2014 Montana Politics & 2015 Legislature
Montana Data Focused Business Cluster
- Bill aims to ban cellphone use while driving in Montana
Montana's proposed legislation bans using a handheld electronic device while driving on a highway, including while being stopped temporarily at a stop sign or light.
- Net Metering - Republican, Democratic Montana legislators team up on solar power
Several of the Legislature's more conservative Republicans and a Democrat are sponsoring bills to broaden the market for renewable power systems, by expanding what's known as "net metering."
- Gov. Bullock introduces proposal for Medicaid expansion in Montana
Republicans rejected the expansion in the 2013 saying they feared the state eventually would have to pony up the costs. They have unveiled their own plan called the Montana Healthy Family Plan, which would expand Medicaid to some but not all 70,000 who would qualify under Bullock's measure.
- The accuracy of Montana's welfare system computer programs came under the microscope Monday at the Legislature
"I did a lot of testing before it went live," she said. "We knew it was not ready. ... They knew before we ever started that it was really still a mess."
Montana Department of Commerce
- Admit it or not, private sector needs cyber help from the feds
Forgive the analogy but corporate hacking is like mental illness -- people know it exists in most every family, but no one wants to admit it, never mind try to collectively forge a solution to treat or prevent it. Shame and stigma trump strategy and proactive collaboration.
Northwestern Energy
- Chinese investors meet with Montana business owners
Gov. Steve Bullock and the Montana Department of Commerce hosted the delegation of more than 20 Chinese investors Friday. Some of the participating Montana businesses included Absaroka Energy, Green Venture Enterprises, Headframe Spirits and Wide Open West Adventures.
Arrow Solutions Group
- NorthWestern Energy celebrates new Missoula center
The hope is that NorthWestern Energy customers can get a more personal service experience if they're able to come in and have some one-on-one time.
TechLink
- Montana Career Opportunities - Contract Reports Developer, Lead .Net Engineer, SQL Server DBA, Business Analyst/PM Support, VB.NET Developer and more - Arrow Solutions Group
As the top technical talent resource for the Northern Rockies and Northern Plains, we understand who will work best for you, both for the short term and the long term.
Inteneo Systems
- Montana-based TechLink Facilitates Over Half of All New License Agreements Between the Department of Defense and Industry
TechLink assists the US Department of Defense in licensing its inventions to industry, enabling companies to create new products and services using these inventions. There is no charge to either DoD labs or companies for these services.
Come Home Montana
- Banking Start-Ups Adopt New Tools for Lending - Data is key
They all envision consumer finance fueled by abundant information and clever software — the tools of data science, or big data — as opposed to the traditional math of creditworthiness, which relies mainly on a person’s credit history.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Montana Career Opportunities - Account Manager, Application Administrator, Software Tester and more... - Edulog
Education Logistics, Inc. is the original school bus routing software company and has been providing Routing and Planning software solutions to districts across North America since 1977.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Relationship Manager - Northwest Farm Credit Services - Bozeman, MT
We serve our customers through 45 branch offices located throughout the Northwest and our corporate headquarters office in Spokane, Washington.
- Search begins for new Bozeman police chief
City Manager Chris Kukulski said the city paid $20,000 to hire Illinois-based GovHR USA to recruit candidates to replace Chief Ron Price, who recently retired.
Glacier National Park
- China to create $6.5 billion venture capital fund to support start-ups
It did not give a timetable, but past experience has shown that such a fund could be established within a few weeks after an announcement.
- Montana Business Financing Needs Survey
We'd appreciate your input so we can bring better and more flexible capital to small and large business across Montana.
Montana Business
- Many Glacier winter keepers share park's snowy ferocity on the Internet
I had no idea so many people would find http://www.mghwinterkeeper.com/, just by word of mouth.
Montana Economic Development
- More Jobs, Tourism for Polson with Development of New Hotel and Restaurant
The hotel will be a Red Lion Inn & Suites with an attached MacKenzie River Pub and Grill. The project was made possible with New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) financing and is the second NMTC project in Polson in two years.
- Video: Bridger Bowl history
Bridger Bowl turns 60, but local vibe that started the area still runs strong
- Stockman Bank Missoula Grand Opening - Jan. 26-30
Stockman Bank is a complete financial center providing personal, business, agricultural and real estate banking services across Montana, northern Wyoming and western North Dakota.
MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative
- Organizers plan Tour of Montana bicycle event in Missoula - July 16-19
Missoula will welcome professional cyclists this summer for the first-ever Tour of Montana.
TEDx Events in Montana
- MSU Leadership Institute to Host World-Renowned Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson at MSU on March 4
"We seek to bring high-profile, world-renowned experts to Montana State University and Dr. Tyson's thought-provoking lectures sell out to audiences throughout the country," said Carmen McSpadden, director of the MSU Leadership Institute.
Careers
- classic TED Talk Kimberley Motley: How I defend the rule of law
A jawdropping talk that will leave you inspired.
Come Home Oregon
- 35 costly job search mistakes you might still be making
While you've probably heard these things before, we could all use a reminder from time to time--because, well, we keep hearing about (and seeing) them.
- It Pays to Ask Smart Questions at a Job Interview
Hiring Managers Want Job Seekers to Ask, Not Just Answer, Questions
- More and more jobs can be done from home
"Over the last two or three years, people have started to realize there are professional-level jobs that can be done while working from home."
- A College Degree Alone Won't Save You From Being Replaced by a Machine
Going to college pays off in many ways--but going to graduate school pays off even more.
Government
- Oregon Career Opportunity - Technical Project Manager - Arrow Solutions Group
Arrow Solutions Group is seeking a Technical Project Manager to work in The Dalles, OR.
Idaho Business
- How police spent billions seized from Americans without evidence that a crime occurred
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday effectively ended the Equitable Sharing process in which local and state police seized billions in cash, cars and other property under federal law without evidence that a crime occurred.
Other Economies
- Idaho taxes fall most heavily on the poor
"It will definitely make Idaho's tax system more regressive. ... The overwhelming majority of those benefits are going to flow to wealthy households,"
- Replacing Idaho's Aging Tech an Expensive Proposition
The state's 30-year-old computer system deals with a number of issues, including an inability to support basic business functions such as invoicing and accounts receivable, according to a study.
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Michigan Economic Development Ideas Include Innovation Districts
Word may be getting out, but Michigan hasn't been doing a good job of promoting its assets.
Education
- Classic TED Talk Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers
From rockets to stock markets, many of humanity's most thrilling creations are powered by math. So why do kids lose interest in it?
- How 4 Mexican Immigrant Kids and Their Cheap Robot Beat MIT
A Clean Sweep for 'Illiterate People From the Desert'
- Test Finds College Graduates Lack Skills for White-Collar Jobs
On average, students make strides in their ability to reason, but because so many start at such a deficit, many still graduate without the ability to read a scatterplot, construct a cohesive argument or identify a logical fallacy.
- Helping the Poor in Education: The Power of a Simple Nudge
Researchers have been quietly finding small, effective ways to improve education. They have identified behavioral "nudges" that prod students and their families to take small steps that can make big differences in learning. These measures are cheap, so schools or nonprofits could use them immediately.
- Genesys Works - The Nonprofit That's Giving Underprivileged Kids Jobs in Tech Companies
The hope is that exposure to both computers and corporate culture--with adult mentors providing guidance--will put these students on the path to a technology-related college career.
- Education Superhighway - Gigabyte for Every Classroom
"I believe that by the end of this decade, every school in America will have Wi-Fi in every classroom and gigabyte broadband."
- University of Colorado, Boulder, Program Bridging the Digital Divide
The university's Computers to Youth program provides surplus computers to underrepresented high school students.
Montana Education Excellence
- North Dakota study finds 1/3 of men (Juniors in College) responding said they would force a woman to have sex
In a study, about a third of the men responding said if there weren't any consequences, they would rape a woman as long as the act wasn't defined as "rape."
- Nevada Governor Proposes New Business Fee to Generate $882 Million for Education
He set the stage for a session that will harbor intense debates about Nevada's outdated revenue structure and bottom-tier education system.
Funding and Building your Business
- The University of Montana Western is truly unique. - Experience One - One class at a time
Montana Western is the only public college in the country to offer Experience One, an innovative program in which students take one class at a time.
Energy and Climate Change
- Question checklist for reviewing your new marketing materials...
For that new video, or that new brochure, or anything you create that you're hoping will change minds (and spread):
- The Four Faces Of Marketing - The Missing Link between Marketing & Management
50% of business close their doors in three years, at least two thirds of businesses go bust in less than five years, and a staggering nine out of every ten new products launched, fail. Why Do Once-successful Organisations die?
- How To Send Your Best Employees To Your Competitors
Why don't you turn to them and ask them how they're doing?
- Personality Tests and the Rise of the Hiring Machines
By gauging if a prospect's personality fits a job description, online tests take some risk out of hiring.
- Why should startups join an accelerator programme
Accelerators help startup founders see the bigger picture and help them understand the complexity of doing a business
Connectivity & Communications
- Liquid crystals could cut cost for solar panels
"We have improved the performance of this type of solar cell from around 8 percent efficient to 9.3 percent, finally approaching the international benchmark of 10 percent," says David Jones of the University of Melbourne's School of Chemistry.
- 2014 was Earth's hottest year on record
This past December also had the third-highest average global land temperature - out of any December in the past 135 years - at 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit above average, according to the same agency.
Government Technology
- Elon Musk's Plan to Build a Space Internet
Because he doesn't have enough going on, Elon Musk--he of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, SolarCity, and the Hyperloop--is launching another project. Musk wants to build a second Internet in space and one day use it to connect people on Mars to the Web.
- Firefox Update Includes Built-In Video Calling
Firefox Hello is "the first global communications system built directly into a browser." It's one of three new features to come out as part of Firefox 35.
- Four ways Obama's cybersecurity push could help you
"If we're going to be connected, then we need to be protected."
- Sprint's Net Neutrality Reversal Shows How Bad Things Are for ISPs
"Continued exploitation of a double-ended market could result in the leader being able to undercut all followers, simply because the smaller carriers don't have enough customers to lever payments out of sources of content."
- U.S. Ag Chief Urges Rural Areas to Go High-Speed - Funding Available
High-speed Internet service can make a tremendous difference to businesses, teachers and doctors in rural areas, Vilsack said.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Top 10 Things That Will Make Your City Unrecognizable...And Better
Data Analytics: Advanced analytics will transform cities by helping city leaders derive insights from network data in real time to improve services and manage cities better.
- Snowplow Tracking Apps Keep Cities Accountable
"It puts a lot of pressure on everybody involved to be more responsible and to be more accountable," said Priscilla Dixon, a Chicago lawyer who has used the app and is a believer in engaging the city via social media.
- Open Data = Increased Government Revenue
A commitment to openness makes governments better producers of data, and better consumers of data.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Bitcoin is headed to the 'ash heap'
The digital currency - that was supposed to render the greenback obsolete - has lost two-thirds of its value in just six months. Ouch.
- Thanks from MATR - 17 Years Promoting Montana
It doesn't seem like it's been that long that MATR has been trying to promote Montana and its opportunities but 17 years has gone by quickly.
HACKING AND VIRUS ALERTS
- This Tattoo for Diabetics Might Mean the End of Finger Pricking
Flexible, easy to apply, and inconspicuous, the next-generation wearable is a promising step toward noninvasive monitoring of diabetes, a disease that affects 29.1 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control
- 'Soft' Artificial Intelligence Is Suddenly Everywhere
It's hard to tell where data science stops and AI starts.
- Apple's New Programming Language Is Growing Like Mad
Developers are still going nuts for Apple's new Swift programming language.
Transportation
- Verizon Under Fire Over Zombie Cookies
Jacob Hoffman-Andrews, a senior staff technologist at EFF, called it a "spectacular violation of Verizon users' privacy" that's made worse by Verizon's failure to enable users to opt-out. And he said it's already having far-reaching consequences.
- Tesla co-founder electrified about garbage trucks
"When you switch a garbage truck to electric power, you're saving about $60,000 in fuel and $30,000 in maintenance a year."
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