Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney – Main Street Montana: Rural Partners Tour – The eight Native American reservations across Montana.

In the fall of 2018, I held roundtable meetings with community leaders and stakeholders in Troy, Choteau, Glendive, Lincoln, Harlowton, and Glasgow as part of our Main Street Montana – Rural Partners tour. Over this past week, I held discussions on the Flathead, Blackfeet, Fort Peck, and Crow Reservations.

This second phase of the Main Street Montana Project is focusing on expanding economic opportunities and good paying jobs in rural Montana and throughout the eight Native American reservations across Montana.

Governor Bullock launched the Main Street Montana Project back in 2013 to engage public and private sectors in an unprecedented partnership to develop a business plan for Montana by Montanans.

The Main Street Montana business plan provided a path for Montana’s current economic growth, as our state is seeing the highest middle-class income growth in the nation. Our new project, Main Street Montana – Rural Partners, continued the success of the original Main Street Montana Project while emphasizing the needs of Montana’s rural and tribal communities to ensure economic growth continues across Montana.

Over the next two months, I am continuing roundtable meetings and engaging with tribal leaders on the Native American reservations in Montana. We will look at what the community priorities are, the challenges and roadblocks they are experiencing to be successful, and see what we can do to help address them.

Montana is home to many tremendous economic resources, but it is imperative that we guarantee that economic growth happens throughout all of Montana. Tribal and rural communities are vital contributors to the Montana’s economy and way of life. By working together, every community across Montana can experience economic growth and opportunity.

If you have any questions or would like to get involved in the Main Street Montana – Rural Partners project, please contact Elisa Fiaschetti at [email protected] or 406-444-5472, or check out our website: HERE.

I look forward to continuing to hear from rural and tribal leaders on how we can identify innovative ways to grow the economy and highlight the strengths of each community in Montana.

Sincerely,

MIKE COONEY
Lieutenant Governor