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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Jan 31, 2017 |
“One of the biggest flaws in the common conception of the future is that the future is something that happens to us, not something we create.” Michael Anissimov
New Missoula business accelerator to offer $2.4M in investment funding http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Flathead Valley Community College
Gov. Steve Bullock
- Registration for Flathead Valley Community College's Annual Senior Institute Opens February 1
The program promotes lifelong learning and allows seniors to learn new information, develop and enhance skills, connect with other seniors and stay active during the winter months.
- Flathead Valley Community College is now accepting nominations for its eighth annual Distinguished Alumni Award.
The award honors a graduate of FVCC for his or her career achievements and/or contributions and service to the community.
- Flathead Valley Community College marking 50 years
As part of its 50th anniversary, the college has planned a year filled with events, as well as a commemorative publication.
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
- Gov. Bullock announces multi-million dollar investment for affordable housing in Montana
The federal housing tax credits are expected to create 534 new jobs in Billings, Great Falls, Polson, Browning, Culbertson and Wolf Point.
Montana Politics & Legislature
- Renowned Leadership Flathead Program in Kalispell Now Accepting Participant Applications
Leadership Flathead is intricately designed to develop tangible leadership skills, increase awareness of significant local issues, and build a tightly knit network of community leaders all while strengthening the ability of current and emerging leaders to spearhead positive change in the Flathead Valley.
- Kalispell Chamber Supports HB 232, Flathead Valley Community College and Workforce Needs
The Chamber's representatives in Helena stood as a proponent for the Chamber, clarifying the ability of community colleges, including Flathead Valley Community College, to offer dual credit curriculum.
Big Sky Code Academy
- Governor Steve Bullock Statement on Jobs in Montana Act - urges legislature to send infrastructure bill to his desk for signature
Earlier this month, Governor Bullock called on legislators to work across the aisle to pass an infrastructure bill, putting Montana jobs ahead of Montana politics.
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- America Campaign and Big Sky Code Academy Announce New Montana Teachers Teaching Tech Program Director
Big Sky Code Academy hires Lander Bachert as its Montana Teaching Teachers Tech Program Director.
Great Falls Development Authority
- Dorsey & Whitney Immigration Travel Alert January 207
As expected, on January 27, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled "Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals".
Missoula Schools Excellence
- Great Falls Development Authority seeks levy for economic development
GFDA President Brett Doney told the Tribune on Friday the timing is great because Montanans already are expected to have a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who could be confirmed as U.S. Interior Department secretary as early as Tuesday.
Energy and Climate Change
- Sentinel High will be first in Montana to offer AP Capstone Diploma
"When you have a program like Advanced Placement with subject-specific courses, there's a need to create a mechanism to tie it all together and explicitly train students in ways of thinking, communicating and collaborating in an interdisciplinary way," said principal Ted Fuller.
Come Home Montana
- Hydrogen Squeezed Into a Metal, Possibly Solid, Harvard Physicists Say
Possibly able to conduct electricity without resistance
- A smart home is where the bot is
Within a decade, our living spaces will be enhanced by a host of new devices and technologies, performing a range of household functions and redefining what it means to feel at home.
- Making a better battery
Now it's time to install batteries into the biggest machine of all: The United States' electrical grid -- that huge, aging, complex network of power plants and wires that bring power to our homes and buildings.
- Tesla Gives the California Power Grid a Battery Boost
The project, which officially came online Monday but began operating at the end of last year, is an important and surprising demonstration of how utilities can use enormous collections of batteries in place of conventional power plants.
- Affordable water may soon dry up, especially if you live here
While water unaffordability is common overseas, Mack said, most assume Americans have the resources and the willingness to do whatever it takes to pay for water.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana Career Opportunities - Virtual CIO, Support Triage, Design Engineer, Web Professional - First Call Computer Solutions
Most companies post jobs. Hoping to attract employees. We post opportunities. Hoping to attract business partners.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Marketing and Communication Coordinator / Executive Assistant, Help Desk Technician - University of Montana Foundation
Missoula is one of the West's most sophisticated and beautiful small cities.
- Montana Career Opportunities - Branch Manager, Financial Service Representative - Missoula Federal Credit Union
Working at the credit union is fulfilling and fun.
- University of Montana begins national search for president, provost
The University of Montana promotes a positive and productive work environment and offers many programs and policies to support work-life balance for its employees.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Building Missoula's (and other Montana communities') entrepreneurial ecosystem
What might be done to create more opportunities for people in Missoula (and elsewhere in Montana)?
Montana Business
- New Missoula business accelerator to offer $2.4M in investment funding
Devin Holmes, founder of Montana Innovation Co., said 20 percent of the capital needed to fill the fund has already been committed, and he's working on securing the rest from investors across the country.
Montana Economic Development
- First Call is the leader in Managed IT, Cloud Computing and IT Project Services for Montana Businesses
Our company's culture is built on the foundation of creating wins for our customers, employees and owners.
- Economist: Low wages, costly housing limit Missoula's economy
"In Missoula, it's even worse. Our median earning here are only 63 percent of the U.S median."
- MSE cuts workforce in half, leaves complex in south Butte empty
For now, MERDI President Jim Kambich and longtime board member Don Peoples Sr. said MSE is leaving the facility south of Bert Mooney Airport to avoid further holding costs and moving to offices Uptown.
- Missoula job market needs detailed
The director of the bureau told MTN about the tension between companies who might take a risk by expanding into more rural job markets, and Montana's young, educated workforce that is leaving.
- CEO: Merger will boost First Interstate Bank's small-business lending
After First Interstate Bank completes its acquisition of Cascade Bank, small businesses will have better access to government-backed loans, CEO Kevin Riley said Friday.
- Nominations for the Montana Business Hall of Fame -- deadline Feb. 13
The Montana Business Hall of Fame recognizes business leaders who have been successful in private enterprise in Montana.
- These 9 Extremely Tiny Restaurants In Montana Are Actually Amazing
When you walk into a restaurant with 50 tables that are all occupied, it's safe to say it probably has a great reputation. But what about those small spots that can only seat a dozen tables (or fewer) at a time? Truth be told, they're probably just as great. These 9 places prove you should never judge a restaurant by its size.
Careers
- Anaconda economic development advocates bet on downtown revitalization as winning strategy
Like many small communities in southwest Montana, Anaconda has struggled to revive its economy since the decline of the mining industry in the 1980s.
- Montana Innovation Co, a new Montana-based start up accelerator to offer $2.4M in investment funding
Montana Innovation Co, Montana's newest start up accelerator and $2.4M seed fund, announces the start of operations.
Montana Data Focused Business Cluster
- Good News Liberal-Arts Majors: Your Peers Probably Won't Outearn You Forever
"College shouldn't prepare you for your first job, but for the rest of your life," says John Kroger, president of Reed College in Oregon, the liberal-arts school that famously served as a starting point for Steve Jobs.
- See yourself clearly,' leadership coach advises Missoula businesswomen
Invoking the legacy of a pioneering NASA mathematician, a leadership development coach implored several hundred Missoula businesswomen Saturday to "showcase" their value.
- Wanted: Factory Workers, Degree Required
"People on the plant floor need to be much more skilled than they were in the past. There are no jobs for high school graduates at Siemens today."
Rural Communities
- The Best Data Scientists Get Out and Talk to People
Great data scientists know the only way to acquire this smorgasbord of information is to go get it.
Canada Business & Economic Development
- Urban, rural American get into a knife fight
Smarter people than me have made the observation that the divide we are witnessing in America today is less liberal versus conservative than it is urban versus rural.
Government
- Canada Beckons International Students With a Path to Citizenship
It is an answer to Canada's aging population and slowing birthrate, and an effort to shore up the nation's tax base.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Montana Senator Steve Daines co-sponsors bill to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood - it "traffics human baby parts."
Montana's Republican U.S. senator, Steve Daines, announced Monday he's co-sponsoring bills that would eliminate federal health funding for Planned Parenthood, calling it an organization that "traffics human baby parts."
- Don't Like the Ballot Measure Voters Approved? Just Ignore It, Some Lawmakers Say. South Dakota an example
Critics say it's "lawlessness" that represents the new political climate. South Dakota GOP legislators are poised to repeal a ballot measure that passed just this past November.
Regional Economic Development
- North Dakota Legislators Want Congress to Modify Indian Reservation System: Turn Over Power to States - think they "know best"
Seen by some American Indians as a prelude to termination and a threat to tribal sovereignty, if approved states would have control of American Indian tribes and their tribal lands.
Wyoming Business
- Midsize Cities Are Entrepreneurship's Real Test
Midsize cities and their associated regions are where most people live, work, and play, and will continue to do so into the future
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Wyoming minimum wage bill rolled back to federal minimum
A proposal to raise the minimum wage in Wyoming has been ratcheted back to match the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
- Wyoming Superintendents express concern about major education legislation
Superintendents across the state are trying to assess two major pieces of education legislation released last week that could significantly affect the future of school funding in Wyoming.
Education
- Try these 15 free educational apps for your kids
I filled an iPad with hundreds of learning apps for my students. Here are 15 of my favorites, plus some creative ideas for how to use them.
Montana Education Excellence
- Colleges Discover the Rural Student
"In terms of diversity, geography is just as important as racial and ethnic."
Community
- Robotics competition a path to engineering at MSU
Hundreds of FIRST alumni have ended up in MSU's engineering programs.
- 36 teams compete in a robotics competition at MSU
It was like a scene from Star Wars at Montana State University tonight, as the state robotics competition kicks off.
Funding and Building your Business
- Saving Bozeman: There's a generational divide on development in the heart of the city
Save Bozeman is bigger than a single project or the concerns of a single neighborhood.
Connectivity & Communications
- 7 Rules for Providing Exceptional Customer Service
Today's customers definition of service is the sum total of their "experience," covering all aspects of their relationship, including the shopping and buying process, as well as ongoing assistance.
- Thinking of starting your own business? Here's a little-known way of funding it
A Rollover as Business Startup, or ROBS, lets business owners use money from a retirement account without any early withdrawal penalties or taxes for their business.
- 7 Ways To Be Your Best In Business When Pressure Hits
Most successful business leaders have learned how to reframe pressure situations into opportunities.
- Make Operations Your Secret Weapon - Here's How
Exactitude breeds effectiveness
- Why Other People Wreck Brainstorms (And How To Stop Them)
Groups explore an ever narrower range of potential ideas than individuals who work alone.
- Trump targets tech's H-1B visa hiring tool
President Trump's relationship with Silicon Valley has always been volatile at best, but it seems things soon may get even more contentious.
Government Technology
- Gov. Haslam broadband plan offers $45M in grants, incentives
The goal of the state act is to get access to everyone
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- A new tool sheds light on how your state and local tax dollars are spent
Why do state and local governments collect taxes and allocate spending the way they do? A new interactive, online tool breaks down state spending.
- The Data That Turned the World Upside Down
The strength of their modeling was illustrated by how well it could predict a subject's answers.
- How Cities Can Help Local Institutions Monetize Their Data
Beyond its promise of transparency and accountability, open data has become a hallmark of good government because of its well documented return on investment for the public.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Five awesome Android tips and tricks
As with most of your gadgets, however, you're probably only scratching the surface of what your 'droid can do. And so we've compiled a list of five useful tips and tricks to help you get more out of your device.
Transportation
- These 2017 Trends Will Change Our World
"One of the biggest flaws in the common conception of the future is that the future is something that happens to us, not something we create." Michael Anissimov
- This Genetically Modified Salmonella Destroys Brain Cancer
Scientists are trying to use modified salmonella, a bacteria that typically causes food poisoning, to treat a deadly form of brain cancer.
- Brain hormone triggers fat burning regardless of food intake
The researchers believe their findings could have implications for future pharmaceutical development for humans.
- Breath test for stomach and esophageal cancers shows promise
The 2015 study achieved a 90 percent accuracy rate in correctly identifying the two cancers, and a recently completed, broader study has also proven successful.
- LSD's lid action found to be reason for long-lasting trips
Could proponents of microdosing, the Silicon Valley productivity trend that involves taking tiny hits of LSD, be on to something?
Events
- Breaking Down the Financial Impact of Self-Driving Cars
They would be mostly -- but not all -- good for state and local revenues.
- A commuter's dream: Entrepreneurs race to develop flying car
Even before George Jetson entranced kids with his cartoon flying car, people dreamed of soaring above traffic congestion. Inventors and entrepreneurs have long tried and failed to make the dream a reality, but that may be changing.
- An Autonomous Future is Dawning in Nevada
Nevada officials bought into Google's plan and launched into a leading role in the testing and development of autonomous vehicles.
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