Where: Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana
Problem: The town of Lewistown lacks economic opportunities and affordable workforce housing.
Solution: RCAC provides leadership training and economic development expertise.
The town of Lewistown, like many western rural communities, lacks economic opportunities. Young people are leaving town, jobs are few and wages are low, and decent affordable housing is in short supply. Lewistown’s main street once hummed during its peak in the 1970s, when a missile base operated on the outskirts of town. Today Main Street is the scene of empty store fronts, restaurants and gas stations. The town’s economy is sluggish—locals have just one place to shop for groceries and many now stock up on groceries and other retail items out of town; Highway 87 bypasses Lewistown between Great Falls and Billings Montana so tourists are not drawn into the community; and while agriculture has been one of the town’s main economic drivers, many local farms and ranches have been sold to large corporations.
To improve the town’s gloomy economic forecast, RCAC staff is working with Snowy Mountain Development, a local economic development organization, to provide Building Rural Economies (BRE) training and assistance. Snowy Mountain Development worked with local leaders to recruit new and upcoming leaders to attend the training which built local participants’ leadership skills and offered new economic development strategies. RCAC will continue to provide technical assistance to support economic project implementation and ultimately, much needed job creation.
The Lewistown community will work hand-in-hand with the RCAC BRE team to provide technical assistance to at least five small businesses that will create or sustain jobs within the community.
“RCAC has created a wave of positive energy in Lewistown that has spread to every part of our town. With their guidance, our community has come together and learned how to rethink 21st century economics, which in turn is creating a stronger and more economically viable future for Central Montana. It is one of the best programs to ever be offered locally and we view it as a turning point for our rural community!” said Charlie and Jennifer Pfau, owners, Don’s Store.
