What are the challenges that face Montana’s rural communities struggling to survive and thrive? And, more importantly, are there solutions that can be found by looking at a variety of those communities? Those were the questions facing a group of Montana journalists who met in Missoula October 5 and 6. Roughly two dozen journalists from Missoula, Great Falls, Libby, Seeley Swan, Ronan, Anaconda, Bozeman, Choteau, Cut Bank, Montana PBS and Boulder gathered for an initial meeting on a project to focus on economic issues in Mon- tana’s rural communities.
As part of “Solutions Journalism Network,” the group will be looking into the categories that figure into community economic sustainability. Admittedly, it is a very big assignment, and pinning down the issues may lead to more questions than answers. But the goal of the group is to investigate what has and has not worked in communities across Montana and beyond and share their findings.
Discussing their experiences with economic survival in their own small rural communities, the journalists found many areas of common concern. Lack of affordable housing was a major topic expressed by many of the journalists.
