May 2003

CRI News is an online business resource from Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation. If you have ideas to be shared, please follow our instructions below.

Survey Results Are In!
Thank you to all of you who participated in the survey the CRI sent out in March.
Congratulations to Lisa Milne, the winner of the BSU briefcase. 

The CRI will be spending the summer months further exploring the ideas shared through the survey.  We will be contacting those of you who expressed interest in participating in focus groups to help us better meet the needs of your staff and your business.  Information gathered in focus groups will be combined with information from the survey to bring you new training opportunities beginning this fall at the CRI. 

Northern Tier partners with JJ Hill Reference Library

Did you know that the average person spends 1.5 hours a day searching for information on-line? How valuable would it be if you could have an on-line tool that provides access to the right information, right now? The Northern Tier High Technology Corridor now offers its members access to HillRef – the on-line business information center created by the JJ Hill Library. Now registered NTHT members can:

• Access The Best of the Business Web   selected by Master-degreed librarians as the most accurate and useful business sites.
• Search more than 1,000 trade journals for articles about your or your customers’ industries.
• Access articles published in local business newspapers and magazines from around Minnesota.
• Receive free answers to your business questions by James J. Hill Library Business Information Experts.

This service is ONLY AVAILABLE to registered  members of the Northern Tier.  Log on to the Northern Tier and click on Launch JJ Hill.  

Instant Messaging (chat) now available!   Increase your productivity by using the instant messaging utility on the Northern Tier. Now you can participate with an entire team online and in real-time. See "who is online" right from the home page.

Minnesota Entrepreneurs Inc (ME!) Partners with the Northern Tier :  Since 1981 Minnesota Entrepreneurs has been educating, inspiring and acting as a resource to entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. If you want to chat with " someone who has been there ", check out the Entrepreneur Discussion Forum or e-mail Mike Ellsworth for more information. 

This months Northern Tier Interview is with Julie Kirihara , owner of Eden Prairie based ATG Laboratories Inc. and president of MNBIO.  ATG Laboratories , founded in 1994, is a contract research and development laboratory that specializes in custom molecular biology services including gene cloning and site-directed mutagenesis, as well as production of recombinant proteins in bacterial and insect cells.

The Center for Research and Innovation to host Census Training

Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation invites you to learn how to access the Census data quickly, conveniently and without headaches.   Staff from Minnesota Planning will teach you how to find answers to your questions using a variety of tools.

• Discover how to find data you need amid the vast amount of census information by using American Factfinder.
• Learn to create maps to specifically meet your needs by using Datanet, a user-friendly web based tool created by Minnesota Planning.
• Access value-added reports highlighting important trends shaping state and local policy by utilizing the Minnesota Planning Web site.
• Learn about other tools available to access census data including Allocate Software.

Join the Center for Research and Innovation, HRDC, and Minnesota Planning to learn tips, tricks, shortcuts and philosophies of each of these data gathering tools.   Speed up your information search and find the most current data available to help you…

• Access the most up-to-date information for your classroom, organization or business
• Write a winning grant
• Be a more effective consultant
• And so much more

Join us June 10 from 9am-12 noon at the Center for Research and Innovation's computer lab located at 3801 Bemidji Avenue North, Suite 4.  The cost of the workshop is $30, which included the hands-on training and reference materials.  To register, contact the CRI at 218 755 4900, 888 738 3224 or email cri@bemidjistate.edu.  Registrations must be received by June 3 in order to participate in this training.  Register soon as space is limited.

The NW Regional Small Business Development Center Announces New Area Business

The Rainbow Gift and Book Shoppe at 408 Minnesota Ave, Bemidji is now under new ownership. Dennis and Jodi Parish purchased this downtown business that offers a variety of Christian literature, gifts, and music. The Small Business Development Center assisted the Parish's with business start-up advice, business planning, cash flows and loan packaging.

Join the Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium for upcoming presentations:
The next sessions are:

May 19, BWCA-Fire in the Wilderness, Aftermath of the Blow down Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak, Prescribed Fire and Fuel Specialist, Chippewa and Superior National Forests

June 30, Environmental Ethics Dr. Kit Christensen, Professor of Philosophy, Bemidji State University
July 21, Prescribed Burning Becky Marty, Resource Specialist, MN DNR, Parks Division, Itasca State Park
Click here to request more information...

The Center for Research and Innovation will be closed on Monday, May 26. 
We wish you all a safe and happy holiday week-end.

The Center for Research and Innovation along with the NW Minnesota Regional Small Business Development Center provide a full range of business and career services.  Click here for a complete listing of our offerings, including seminars on business planning, marketing and survey research, and workshops in computer software and web site design.

We want to make the CRI News useful for you and your business success. Let us know what you would like to see on these pages by contacting cri@bemidjistate.edu .

You are receiving CRI News from Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation.  If you wish to unsubscribe from our list, please click unsubscribe and send us an e-mail with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. You can also view this newsletter on our web site at www.cri-bsu.org .

Contact Bemidji State University’s Center for Research and Innovation
cri@bemidjistate.edu   / 218 755 4900  / 888 738 3224
www.cri-bsu.org