Montana rural-urban exchange program helps students bridge gap between communities

Students in Montana are seeing how the other half lives, as part of One Montana, "a statewide program focused on building and sustaining connections between rural and urban Montanans," Traci Rosenbaum reports for the Great Falls Tribune. Program manager Bobbi Geise told Rosenbaum, "There is this disconnect. This lack of understanding, even lack of awareness that when you live in an urban or rural community, you’re intricately dependent on the other’s community. We offer a variety of services and programs that all work towards the mission of bridging urban and rural communities across the state, and this program that I offer is through an entrepreneurship program.” (Rosenbaum photo: Students visited Montana Milling)

Urban students toured Montana Milling, "where they learned what it takes to get commodities such as wheat, barley and corn from the farm to the consumer," Rosenbaum writes. Rural students then visited businesses in downtown Great Falls. The program currently "serves 10 urban, rural and reservation schools and has a goal of adding six more next year." After completing the exchange students are assigned to create a business. A past venture led to an in-school printing business. (Read more)