McKinney, Executive Director of NADO. (Photo by MEDA)
In the change of beautiful fall foliage, REDC was remaining busy marketing, showcasing, and promoting Richland County in a variety of ways.
Area Richland County representatives met with the Rich Garman, ND Director of Economic Development & Finance as he shared the good news of several huge projects potentially building 30 miles from Sidney in ND. REDC learned the impact that these companies might have on our economy.
REDC made two presentations to manufacturing companies, looking at Richland County as a place to expand, in October. One to a refining alloy company, and another to an ammunition manufacturer. At this point in time, neither has formally indicated their intentions to locate in MT.
Scott Osterman, State Director, MT Department of Commerce, had a focused roundtable discussion with REDC and representatives from the tourism, housing, and business industries. The director shared his objectives to send funding opportunities specifically to Eastern MT counties.
The Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA) hosted their fall conference in Butte in mid-October. There were many informative presentations given to the membership of MEDA which included: updates from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), capital gap analysis and future demands, tax increment financing, housing strategies, and the future of broadband deployment, to name a few. In addition, REDC heard the current state of MEDA, and celebrated with the winners of MEDA awards.
Lastly, Leslie Messer met with the Richland County Commissioners and was given permission to write a grant to the Montana Coal Board and the Economic Development Administration to develop two planning documents: a Richland County Economic Diversification Strategy and a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Richland County. If successfully awarded, an RFQ will be sent to hire a consulting firm to prepare the strategies. These documents will then be used as a foundational platform for development in Richland County.
REDC continues to answer the knock of opportunity for all of Richland County, and we thank you for the continued support.
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