New ways to get things done in small towns topic of second Reimagining Rural session

The second session of Reimagining Rural will feature nationally known rural experts Becky McCray and Deb Brown, who encouraged community members to try new ideas as a way to deal with the changes we see in our small towns. Also featured in this session is a story of success from a small Montana town.

"We need to be more open to new ideas," McCray said. "Iowa State University studied 99 small towns over 20 years and found that the communities that survived the best were the ones that were open to new ideas. And it makes sense. If you are open to new ideas, you can deal with new challenges."

This session is the second in the three-part series, Reimagining Rural. Eleven communities across the state are participating in this year's Reimagining Rural event. The series is made possible by MSU Extension, Montana Community Foundation, and the Montana Department of Commerce. The event is hosted locally by Carter County Museum, Fallon/Carter 4H Extension, Carter County Chamber of Commerce, and the Carter County Community Foundation.

During the discussion portion of this session (7-8 p.m.) we will have hard copy and digital surveys available for the Carter County Growth Policy. A Growth Policy is a community's development plan. It evaluates existing community conditions and sets goals for housing, land use, economic development, local services, public facilities, natural resources, recreational access, and other unique characteristics and features of the community. It is important that residents feel heard during this process and active participation in the growth policy fits with the civic involvement goals of Reimagining Rural.

The remaining sessions are set for February 12th and February 26th. Each session will be held from 6-8 PM at Carter County Museum. We will have print copies of the Carter County Growth Policy to fill out at the museum beginning Thursday, Feb. 8, as well as at the remaining Reimagining Rural sessions. For more information contact Sabre Moore at [email protected].