MATR Newsletter - Fri Dec 12, 2008 |
"I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them." -- E. V. Lucas
Montana World Trade Center
PrintingForLess
- MWTC December 10 Newsletter
Sign up for the March Trade Mission to Zagreb, Croatia; Milan, Italy; and Athens, Greece
Boomtown Institute
- Printing Matters Newsletter December 2008 from Printing For Less
Along with continuing our Economic Stimulus Contest, this month's newsletter presents a holiday card countdown, ten free online design tools, and insight into what you think is important in a printer.
Montana Community Finance Corporation
- Will our Kids be Ready?
“They might drop out when they are 17, but they give up in the third grade.”
Come Home Montana
- Montana Community Finance Corporation - Fall 2008 Newsletter - "Helping Business Take the Next Step"
Our newsletter this month has a different flavor than what you have been used to seeing. Rather than being educational in nature, I thought I would share with you a variety of recent noteworthy news articles.
Come Home Nebraska
- Glendive couple works to restore a Glendive landmark
“I’m from anywhere in Montana.”
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- For want of a data center: Nebraska's small towns seek millions of investment dollars, high-paying jobs it brings.
The decisions also have a number of Nebraska communities rethinking their own economic development strategies. As many as 10 Nebraska cities are jockeying for position in the competitive horse race to land a data center.
Leadership Montana
- Entrepreneurship (Or Lack Thereof) In Millennials
Do members of this generation have the inner fight to make it on their own?
- France to Startups: Entrepreneur Is a French Word
France offers startups some of the best tax incentives for research and development in the world, while new tax breaks for angel investors have diverted €1 billion (US$1.3 billion) in taxes to fund startups, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Wednesday.
Montana Business
- Can There be an Emotionally Intelligent Society?
Thirty to forty percent of schools there have curricula in social/emotional learning, and more are being phased in.
- Professional Leader Mentoring: The Right Development Resource for our Times
Are our organizations' executives doing the best they can to develop the next generation of leaders? The answer may be more surprising than you think.
Montana Economic Development
- Semitool shuts down for 3 weeks
Semitool, the third-largest employer in Flathead County, is a leading manufacturer of wafer processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. Its global headquarters are in Kalispell.
- 2009 Montana Economic Outlook Seminar, 01/27- 3/11, Many Communities Throughout Montana
Bureau economists will provide current information on the recession, national economic crisis, and what it means for Montana’s economic outlook.
- Cultured Log Systems is now EverLog Systems!
The Best Way to Build A Log Home
- Former owner buys back Big Sky Carvers in Manhattan, Montana
As part of the buy-back, Big Sky Carvers has re-established its headquarters in Manhattan, Montana and is embarking on a complete restructuring of the company
- Great for Christmas Presents for Those Who Love the Feel and Fragrance of Montana - Handmade in Montana, All-Natural Soaps by The Farmer's Wife
Wouldn't Aunt Edna in Topeka like a little Bear Breath Soap?
- Job seekers face tough road in Montana
By the time the application period for an $8-an-hour job at Super 1 Foods closed recently, the manager had counted close to 200 applications.
Regional Economic Development
- Big Sky EDA December E-Brief
Billings is HOT!
- 34th annual Montana Economic Outlook Seminar. scheduled for in Sidney and many other Montana communities
“It’s shaping up to be an economic storm that won’t skip over Montana,” BBER director Patrick Barkey said. “It will be a challenging year for businesses, households and governments alike.”
- Montana Department of Commerce, Block Grant Program Awards $10,000 in Funding to the City of Hamilton
“These funds will play an important role in helping Hamilton officials plan for the future,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “As our communities grow, so does the need for sustainable public infrastructure.”
Careers
- Fastest-Growing Mid-Sized Counties Found In Iowa, South Dakota
The fastest-growing mid-sized county is in South Dakota. Not exactly what we've come to expect!
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Explaining Your Layoff to a Job Recruiter
If you're among the more than one million workers who've been laid off this year, finding a new job will require a strategy that differs from a typical search.
Funding and Building your Business
- Minnesota Weighs Angel Tax Credits for 'Green' Startup Incentive
"We will pass something," said Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, chairman of the House Committee on Biosciences and Emerging Technology. "If you have a good idea, there will be a venture capitalist who will support it."
Montana Education Excellence
- Casual angels pull back, but serious angels step up
The traditional model is not "broken" in general, and not by the current climate. What has changed, however, is that one particular area, that of Web-based businesses, has seen over the past few years a massive decrease in the amount of cash needed to start and grow a scalable business to a lucrative exit.
- Gartner Says HR Organizations Must Adopt and Exploit Social Networking
Gartner analysts said that by 2011, organizations that do not manage their employer brands effectively will fail to attract key talent.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Fear failure? Some tips to avoid it
I'm in my late 40s and can't afford to make a career mistake.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Facing the Future - Financing Productive Schools
A Helena judge decided Tuesday to reject arguments from school groups that claimed the state isn't adequately funding schools.
- Another chance for high school dropouts in Helena, Montana
Access to Success, a joint effort between the district and the University of Montana-Helena, will begin in January with 16 to 20 students at UM-Helena.
- Hands-on Experiential Education Courses Unique to the Montana State University College of Business
"By providing our students with a variety of experiential learning opportunities, we help them develop both the confidence and competence necessary to successfully manage and compete in the business world."
- Ingenuity on display at fall Engineering Design Fair at Montana State University
Their project was one of many student innovations displayed Thursday at MSU’s Engineering Design Fair in the Strand Union Building.
Regional Business
- MT DEQ, Greenway Project, B. A. & P. Railway to give Superfund train tour for Anaconda High School video project
The students will be shooting digital photographs and video, as well as scanning and restoring old photographs. "As an educator, what an awesome opportunity it is to present my students with an educational experience that uses the technology of today to reflect the history, restoration, and value of their community," says Liz Tuss, Anaconda High School Teacher.
Idaho Business
- 'Timberrrr' echoes less often in the West
Montana saw the largest percentage decrease at 13.8%.
- Bangalore backlash: Call centers return to U.S.
Catering to consumers put off by the accents of Bangalore, Manila and other call-center hubs around the globe, Dell will guarantee -- for a price -- that the person who picks up the phone on a support call will be, as company ads mention in bold text, "based in North America."
- How Wall Street is destroying the timber way of life - Montana DNRC director: State agencies moving on plans to aid wood products industry
The pressure for real estate and the short-term perspective of fancy Wall Street financial instruments have changed the old line companies utterly.
- The Recession Hits the Plains
The survey provides a snapshot of economic activity in the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- Starting up: New business gets going with help from a 'village'. Show 2 Go
Three years ago, we received a phone call from a man in California who was originally from Italy. He called our office because he had a proposition for us.
- Idaho creates list ahead of state stimulus package "Shovel Ready"
Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is among state leaders assembling lists of road, water and communication projects that may benefit from a proposed federal economic stimulus package that President-elect Barack Obama hopes will generate 2.5 million jobs nationwide by the end of 2010.
Oregon Business
- Help Wanted in North Dakota
Yet the state’s worrying about filling the some 13,000 unfilled jobs. And lawmakers there still haven’t been able to find a way to attract people to a state that has actually lost population in recent years.
- North Dakota Surplus Prompts Additional Spending for Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) Initiatives
Within the North Dakota University System, the governor recommends $2 million for a student loan forgiveness program. Eligible students can receive up to $10,000 over five years to pay off student loans if they remain in the state and work in a STEM-related occupation.
- North Dakota economic leaders, projects recognized - Innovator of the Year: Bruce Gjovig
Innovator of the Year: Bruce Gjovig, Grand Forks. Gjovig is the director and an entrepreneur coach at the University of North Dakota Center for Innovation.
Oregon Economic Development
- Intel of Oregon to take lead with tiniest chip on market
Intel's latest chip technology was largely created at the company's Hillsboro research factory, known as D1D, where about 600 engineers worked to build the chip on a scale many times narrower than a human hair. Intel is Oregon's largest private employer, with about 15,000 workers in Washington County.
- Give kicker money to schools, Oregon business leaders suggest
Oregon's top business leaders are weighing in on one of the state's touchiest tax issues: recommending that the state divert at least some of the popular kicker tax rebates into a rainy day fund to help protect schools from budget cuts.
- Oregon industries reflect on tough economy, and look ahead
Oregon's traded-industry sectors -- natural resources, high-tech, manufacturing, creative services and green technologies -- act as key indicators for the state's economic performance. Here's a snapshot of how some are doing and their ideas for weathering the recession.
Utah Economic Development
- European solar company considers Gresham, Oregon plant
Dark economic clouds shadowing businesses worldwide aren't discouraging solar companies from considering manufacturing in Oregon.
Wyoming Business
- $32.7 million tax credit to entice Alliant Techsystems composites plant to Utah
The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Thursday approved a $32.7 million tax credit over 20 years to entice the company to select Utah.
Education
- Wyoming must look to youth as it looks to the future
"People will move to find fun these days."
- Gov. Freudenthal: Wyoming must move forward
"This is a different environment. We're going to have to set priorities."
Other Economies
- Value Creation from Opportunities
Embrace the opportunity to challenge assumptions and identify true cultural, social, or technological need.
- 'Children are fast learners'
This disturbing commercial is part of One Laptop Per Child's new ad campaign
Connectivity & Communications
- Ohio looks for ways to spur development in battered economy
Ohio is the first state where a national development finance group is bringing together public officials, port authorities, banks and law firms to find the best ways to spur development.
Energy
- Google brings Street View to Montana
Now, with the introduction of Street View for Montana you can also see 360-degree street level images of cities, towns and regions in our neck of the woods.
- Firms Push for a More Searchable Federal Web
"The vast majority of information is still not searchable or findable either because it's not published or it's on Web sites which the government has put up which no one can index," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said during a recent presentation at the New America Foundation.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Taking Pulp to the Pump
Gasifying black liquor from pulp mills will accelerate second-generation biofuels.
- California adopts the most sweeping curbs on greenhouse gas emissions in U.S.
The state air board orders a 15% cut in emissions over the next 12 years, bringing them down to 1990 levels.
- Northwest Building Efficiency Center
A team of energy experts in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington operate this program for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Gathering recalls the unveiling of innovations that led to the personal computer
Most amazing was that all these innovations were incorporated into one computer system that was shown off during a 90-minute demo given by one man.
Legislative Newsletters
- Recycling Through Underground Tubes
Envac waste recycling system sucks rubbish from homes to central collection point via underground tubes
- Not Your Typical Brick
Bricks are also being marshaled to fight global warming.
- First Self-Healing Coatings
A paint additive will protect cars, bridges, and ships from corrosion.
Government Technology
- Senator Max Baucus - "Join Me In Washington!"
Serving as Montana’s Senator has been and will continue to be the greatest honor of my life. I truly hope you can join me next month.
Non-Profit News
- Ready or Not? 2008 - Montana ranks last in disaster preparedness
Montana scored a five out of 10 possible points on indicators for health emergency preparedness capabilities according to the study released Tuesday by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Creative and Cultural Economy
- Billings Food Bank lands $1M gift from the Fortin Foundation - Montana Food Bank Network to Receive $250,000 Funding Boost
The announcement of the Florida-based foundation's gift came Thursday afternoon. Sheryle Shandy, the executive director of the Food Bank, said the money was donated to a capital campaign to fund a new $5 million warehouse and operations center.
- Another wave in the works in Missoula's Clark Fork River
Those involved in the project have dubbed the new wave “The Max” in memory of Max Lentz, a 17-year-old Missoula native who died kayaking the Gauley River in West Virginia in October 2007.
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