People
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced that the Director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, C.J. Niles, will be stepping down effective December 31. Mary Lawyer, the department's chief of staff, will serve as interim director.
Telecommunications Needs of Greater Minnesota Companies Examined
Manufacturing jobs in rural Minnesota numbered almost 120,000 in 2000, a 25 percent increase since 1990, according to a recent study by the Center for Rural Policy and Development and Minnesota Technology Inc., two agencies dedicated to helping industry in Greater Minnesota.
MTI Seeks Tech Transfer Specialist
Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), the state's leading tech-based economic development corporation, currently is searching for a dynamic individual with top-notch skills to help bring federal technology transfer activities to Minnesota companies.
Job Opportunity in Tech-based Economic Development
Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI), the leading technology-based economic development organization in the state of Minnesota, is seeking a Deputy Director to serve as the right hand to the CEO. This critical position will be responsible for the following:
S&T Career Opportunities
Minnesota Technology, Inc. seeks candidates to fill the position of Technology Transfer Specialist. The incumbent will help bring Federal Technology Transfer activities to Minnesota companies by developing partnerships with federal labs, identifying opportunities for tech transfer activities in Minnesota companies, and assisting companies with the development of proposals, agreements and licenses.
$15 Million Research Fund Proposed in Minnesota
Legislation to be reconciled by a conference committee of the Minnesota State Legislature next week includes language creating a $15 million fund to support industry-university research collaborations. The North Star Research Coalition, a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, would be established by the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to administer the one-time appropriation.
Collaborative Planning Focuses Regional Development Efforts
Economic development leaders within the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor have joined other areas of the U.S. in marketing the area as one unified region. Elected representatives from 10 cities and two counties located in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor recently signed a joint proclamation as a statement of support for the Corridor’s targeted industry cluster development regional efforts.
Can the Innovation Process Survive A Competitive Market?
In Perfectly Competitive Innovation, a March 2002 research department staff report for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine address whether current copyright, licensing and patent laws which grant monopolist rights to inventors beneficial or harmful to the innovation process. The authors suggest the latter in certain markets.
Directory of State-Assisted Venture Capital Programs Available
The Rural Policy Research Institute, a consortium of Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nebraska, has published a Directory of State Assisted Venture Capital Programs on-line.
McKnight Foundation Offers Funding for Neuroscience Research
The McKnight Foundation has committed $44.5 million over ten years to support scientific research in neuroscience/memory and brain disorders.
MTI Says Tech an Anchor for Minnesota's Economy
Minnesota's technology sector remains a diverse, well developed and stable anchor to the state's economy, according to a new report released by Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), Minnesota's tech-based economic development organization.
People & Organizations
Medical Alley and MNBIO, two organizations that merged in 2005 to promote medical sciences in Minnesota, have changed their name LifeScience Alley.
People
Matt Kramer stepped down from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to become vice president of sales and marketing with a Plymouth health care provider. Kramer served three years with DEED.
Iowa Governor Proposes Several S&T Initiatives
Governor Tom Vilsack has unveiled a plan to enhance Iowa’s science and technology base. In his 2001 budget proposal, the governor has proposed $10 million in state funds to create Centers of Excellence in the life sciences, information solutions, and advanced manufacturing areas.
Iowa Students Head to West Lake Okoboji for Summer Entrepreneurship Studies
Summer classes, camps and special programs to stimulate and sustain K-12 students' interests in science and math will be found all across the country during the next few months. A less frequently occurring phenomenon will be taking place in the Great Lakes Region of Iowa, helping a select group of college students to combine entrepreneurship, rural economic development, and recreation.
People
The NASVF Net News reports Alexa Heffernan has been named Executive Director of the Iowa Business Council. Myrt Levin retired in December.
Group Recommends Measure to Improve Minnesota Economy
Following on the Summit on Minnesota’s Economy, a 21-member group appointed by the president of the University of Minnesota has unveiled its recommendations to strengthen the state’s economy. The recommendations in Report to the People of Minnesota: Building a Knowledge Economy for Minnesota’s 21st Century are divided among five strategies:
Recommendations in the new report are divided among five strategies:
New Efforts in Minnesota, New Orleans to Get Kids Interested in Math and Science
American K-12 students are becoming less and less interested in math, science and technology fields. Recent studies reveal that students are increasingly dropping science and math classes and pursuing careers in the arts and social services. Since national and regional competitiveness in high-tech fields depends on a skilled labor market, fueled by college graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, many areas are attempting to generate more interest in these subjects.
People
Mary Lawyer is leaving the Iowa Department of Economic Development to be the president and CEO of Des Moines' Downtown Community Alliance, effective Sept. 14.
Advocacy Group En'Visions' New Economy for Duluth, Minn.
A group of community leaders bent on revitalizing the Duluth, Minn., economy and ensuring economic opportunities for the city recently moved one step closer toward accomplishing its goals.
The Bridge Syndicate, a non-profit with more than 300 members, recently made public its plan for economic growth, issuing A Positive Vision for Duluth's Economy.
Conference Sponsor Profile: Minnesota Technology, Inc.
Since its founding in 1991, the nonprofit Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI) has been Minnesota lead technology-based economic development organization. Its mission, to help existing small and medium-sized companies apply, develop and commercialize technology, is achieved through three objectives:
$40 Million Biotech Commercialization Fund Seeded in Minnesota
One of the few new spending bills to make it through the 2001 session of the Minnesota Legislature provides $10 million in seed money for technology commercialization through a new Biomedical Innovation and Commercialization Initiative (BICI – pronounced beach-ee). The BICI appropriation is contingent upon state economic development officials securing a three-to-one private sector match.
MTI Launches $3 Million Cluster Initiative
Over the next three years, Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) will invest $3 million to support the development of existing and emerging technology-focused industry clusters. The new program is designed to increase collaboration between groups of tech business and the state’s nonprofit research, federal lab, and academic research communities.
Minneapolis Collaboration Offers Approach to Addressing Digital Divide & Expanding IT Workforce
An initiative to provide computer training to local teenagers to help jumpstart their information technology careers was launched earlier this month in Minneapolis. The Community IT Learning Center is the result of a partnership involving a North Minneapolis-based youth development organization, two local technology training companies, and Microsoft.
States Increasing STEM Focus: Examples from Minnesota, Missouri
If the most important jobs of the future will be connected to science and engineering disciplines, then, the current thinking goes, the U.S. needs to have more scientists and engineers in its future workforce. To achieve this, more emphasis needs to be placed on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula, beginning with math and science education in the K-12 experience.