Carter County Museum invites community members to reimagine Ekalaka's future

Ekalaka is one of eleven communities across Montana chosen to participate in Reimagining Rural. The three-part program was created for small, rural Montana towns to bring fresh, new ideas about rural community vitality to the local people that make things happen.

The event's first night is planned for January 29th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Carter County Museum. The program kicks off with Tara Mastel, Program Leader for Community Vitality at Montana State University Extension who will share positive data and trends impacting rural communities and Theresa Doumitt who will share how Roundup achieved their community-wide revitalization effort over the past few years. Mastel will share the "Rural Brain Gain" research and other information that sheds light on changes rural communities have experienced recently. Following the talks, people gathered locally will have the chance to discuss the ideas shared with the help of a local, trained facilitator.

The second night of Reimagining Rural is planned for February 12th and will feature another community story from around Montana plus national speakers Becky McCray and Deb Brown who will talk about their "Idea Friendly Method" to make getting things done in small towns quicker and more fun.

The final night of Reimagining Rural is set for February 26th and will feature Rebecca Undem who is a passionate "dreamer" trying new things in rural, small-town North Dakota.  She is a professional speaker and hosts a podcast called "Growing Small Towns."   

Communities gather in-person in each participating town to hear the speakers which are broadcast via Zoom to all communities across the state. Reimagining Rural is made possible through support from MSU Extension, Montana Community Foundation, and 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.

The sessions are set for January 29th, February 12th and February 26th. Each session will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Carter County Museum. For more information contact Sabre Moore at [email protected]