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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Apr 18, 2014 |
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, British writer
Hellgate Venture Network With John Connors Of Ignition Partners, 4/22, Missoula, Montana http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html --- Missoula Job Service Career Fair, 4/24, Missoula, Montana http://www.matr.net/ev ... =4948
Northwestern Energy
Visit Montana - Montana Dept. of Tourism
- NorthWestern Says Changes Would Nix $900M Deal to Buy 11 Dams
Gary Buchanan, a Billings investment adviser and former director of the state Commerce Department, said Montana can never regain what it lost when the dams were sold. But he said a sale to NorthWestern would ensure that they were not bought by a hedge fund or other investor with no obligation to consumers and that could ship the electricity generated out of state.
Inteneo Systems
- Montana from Above - Great if you plan to visit or if you want to learn about Montana.
Montana - it's always a great time to see and experience its beauty.
Come Home Montana
- Govt CAOs Push Performance Improvement through Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)
Key performance indicators are guideposts to success. In effect, they represent a scorecard of key areas of activity. If you're not keeping score then you're just practicing.
- Integrating Knowledge and Numbers
Almost all key domains of business-including customer insights, understanding the broader business and economic climate, and various approaches to performance improvement--involve both qualitative and quantitative content. The best decisions and the best organizations will make effective use of both.
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Student Internship Opportunity at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument located in Crow Agency, Montana is looking for a 6 month intern with great GIS skills.
- We have the following jobs available at Arrow Solutions Group.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Computer Software Engineer - Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' Technology Services Bureau is looking for an energetic and enthusiastic problem-solver who enjoys working in a fast-paced technical environment.
Montana Economic Development
- UM Entrepreneurship Club Develops "Bear Den" this coming fall, which is a living environment for entrepreneurs.
This living environment is very similar to mansions in San Francisco where entrepreneurs live together and work on their businesses.
Careers
- Lincoln County looks to diversify its economy while its residents struggled for work.
"A lot of people probably think I'm crazy for staying this long, but it's home. Even my wife asks 'Why are we doing this?' Because it's home," he said. "I've been a lot of places and I haven't found a better place to live yet."
- Governor Bullock Announces $45,000,000 Aid Package for Eastern Montana
"The Bakken development is bringing jobs and economic opportunities, but it's also posing challenges to local communities that we could not have imagined even a decade ago."
- Bullock's Bakken aid proposal needs approval from Legislature
"We run it through a quick-start program that requires legislative approval," Bullock said. "But, the expectation is the day this bill was signed, the applications would be up and we would have money out by early summer of 2015 after the session."
Government
- What companies want from college grads
So what's the recipe for job success?
Idaho Business
- Chief Exec Vincent's speech: Butte-Silver Bow County on 'right track'
"We are the 'can do city' and I challenged this community to the belief that we can do better," said Vincent
- Montana Tax News You Can Use An e-newsletter for tax preparers and those interested in the state's tax system
Interest and late payment penalty accrue from April 15 until the tax is paid, regardless of when the return is filed and whether the individual qualified for a filing extension.
- What Government Can Do to Attract Top IT Talent
To attract the talent it needs, government must take advantage of enhanced partnerships with academia to become more sophisticated and make the changes that would create an environment that is more welcoming to the tech-savvy.
- Bozeman commissioners talk top priorities
"Just because it's not in the top 5, 6 or 7, it doesn't mean we aren't working on it," City Attorney Greg Sullivan said.
Other Economies
- Idaho guest ranches reinvent themselves after recession
"When I first started out, people came to stay the night," he says. "So when the economy went bad, I thought, 'I gotta start doing something different.'"
- Labor workshops focus on benefits and pitfalls of social media
...tips for job seekers to find work through social media outlets as well as tips for how to build a social network profiles that will appeal prospective employers instead of chasing them away.
- Idaho's Magic Valley: Miracle or Magic Trick?
“Our whole focus is to be America’s most diverse food basket,” said Rogers, president of SIEDO, which has played a big part in luring companies to open up plants and offices in the region.
Regional Economic Development
- Tennessee Promises Free Community/Technical College Education
First unveiled in his February State of the State address, "Tennessee Promise" guarantees every graduating high school student may enjoy tuition-free attendance at any institution within the state's system of community colleges and colleges of applied technology.
University Business Plan Competitions
- The practice of economic development is changing!
Observation suggests clearly job retention and expansion within firms already doing business in a community offers a better ROI opportunity than job attraction.
- Welcome to the newly redesigned U.S. Economic Development Cluster Mapping Website.
Here policy makers, economic development professionals, and researchers will find powerful data and tools to understand clusters, improve institutions, and locate appropriate partners across the country.
Workforce Development
- Montana University John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition, 5/15, Missoula, Montana
Get an inside look at the 24th annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition at the University of Montana. Students from all of Montana's higher education institutions are invited to compete for a $10,000 grand prize.
- Kentucky college entrepreneurs win $100,000 in Idea State U business plan competition
"Every single student that I engaged was passionate about his or her ideas. Each one of the business plans and concepts can work -- and many of them will -- which will produce meaningful products, jobs and money."
21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Putting Community Colleges to Work
The White House on Wednesday rolled out two job-training grant programs that focus on the community college sector. Both push for closer ties between colleges and employers.
Montana Education Excellence
- Open-source educational quizzes aim to teach without the teacher
Oppia is a new open-source platform from Google that lets anyone create interactive online learning activities that give feedback at every step.
- Parents Get Tips on How to Help Their Children Become "Future Ready"
Start Now: Students can't just dream about the future, they need a plan.
- A Special Focus on Planning for Healthy Schools
Obesity is a mayor epidemic among American children, and while recent nutrition campaigns may have had some impact stemming the tide of poor health in the country's youngest generation (See e.g., http://goo.gl/dxwVla), there is much concern that the automobile oriented suburban environments in which most children live are causing them to grow up less healthy than previous generations.
- Learning to Code: The New After-School Activity
The success stories of some app developers have encouraged students and professionals to learn coding, the language of the future.
Community
- Data, emotion are big factors in Helena school closure discussions
Data, data, data was the mantra for the first several meetings of the Helena school bond work group.
- Internship Challenge Connects UM Alumnus Ken Quinn with Current Students
Students could submit the framework, along with their resumes, to Quinn for the opportunity to participate in a summer internship with the POSSIBLE Worldwide strategy team in Seattle.
Funding and Building your Business
- The Next America - Two Dramas in Slow Motion
Our population is becoming majority non-white at the same time a record share is going gray.
Energy and Climate Change
- How to craft the world's greatest elevator pitch
That's it! That's all there is to it.
- Is An Ideal Entrepreneur Right Brain Or Left Brain?
Of course, the best solution would be a new wave of so-called whole-brain thinkers, but this term is usually reserved for Einstein and Picasso, and no entrepreneurs that I can name.
Government Technology
- Electric vehicles tapped for national parks
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Clean Cities program and the National Park Service (NPS) recently announced nine new projects to deploy green vehicles within nine of the 13 national parks.
- Scientist says climate change series presented at Missoula's International Wildlife Film Festival puts people in story
"The solution is not getting better and better data. It's showing the scientific process at work, and revealing their personalities."
- Stanford scientists model a win-win situation: growing crops on photovoltaic farms
A new model for solar farms that "co-locates" crops and solar panels could result in a harvest of valuable biofuel plants along with solar energy.
- Stanford scientists discover a novel way to make ethanol without corn or other plants
Stanford scientists have created a copper-based catalyst that produces large quantities of ethanol from carbon monoxide gas at room temperature.
- CalCharge Cluster initiative may give battery makers energy synergy
More than 80 energy storage companies already call the Bay Area home. CalCharge hopes to give these startups a direct connection to the expertise of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, both part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Can Government Play Moneyball? It's all about data.
"It seems like common sense to use evidence about what works to get better results."
- Boise promises streamlined downtown permit process
"The process was much easier and far less complicated than I imagined. I was expecting to run into snags and delays. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient and easy it was to obtain my permits. I was really impressed with the quick turnaround time and everyone involved was friendly and incredibly helpful -- definitely one of the better administrative experiences I've had in building my business."
- Fixing Seattle's new parking meters
We wanted to understand why Seattle is investing in a parking meter overhaul in the first place.
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Cultivating happiness often misunderstood, says Stanford researcher
The reason is that when you pursue concretely framed goals, your expectations of success are more likely to be met in reality. On the other hand, broad and abstract goals may bring about happiness' dark side - unrealistic expectations.
- Buffalo Bill museum acquires Lone Ranger's pistol
It's been a long time since John Hart galloped a horse into the sunset after the cry of "Hi-yo Silver! Away!," but the pistol he carried during his stint as the Lone Ranger on television recently cantered in to Cody, Wyo.
HACKING AND VIRUS ALERTS
- Smartphone 'kill switches' on the way
In an abrupt about-face, the wireless industry said Tuesday that smartphones will offer optional, reversible "kill switches" starting next year as a way to deter thieves.
- Kalispell Chamber to open 2014 Mountain Madness Airshow ticket sales on April 16
"Having the Thunderbirds back in town is exciting, especially with Kalispell's own Jason Curtis flying the opposing number six jet," said Chris Parson, Airshow Director and Vice President of the Kalispell Chamber.
- New scan technology may let you pay with your hand
Talk to the hand.
- College Kids Hack Siri to Unlock Teslas and Heat Up Your House
They call their hack GoogolPlex and after introducing their software a few months ago, they've rejiggered it and released it to the public as a platform where anyone can create custom commands.
Transportation
- Every password you should change because of Heartbleed (the ultimate list)
First, readers said, "This is fear mongering."
- Tennessee Passes Mind-Boggling Ban on Bus Rapid Transit
Now, drivers in Nashville can look forward to increased traffic and longer commutes. But at least those pesky buses won't be in the way.
- Congressional Inaction on Road Funding Hits the States
Around the country, state transportation leaders are marking their calendars for July, when federal money for highways and other transportation projects could dry up without congressional intervention.
- University of Montana Launches Transportation Study - Meetings on 4/22
"Our study is a step on the path to delivering the best transportation options of any small city in the United States." Mayor John Engen
- Rethinking the Value of Parking Lots
After decades of copying sprawling suburbs by accommodating the automobile, U.S. cities are starting to tear up their slabs of asphalt.
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