Business leaders, city and county government officials, bankers, and the general public are invited to attend town hall meetings hosted by Lewis & Clark Regional Development Council (RDC). The meetings will feature a facilitated discussion focused on three areas:
1) Local economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic;
2) Assessing the local impact of EDA CARES Act funding; and
3) Scoping general community and economic development needs.
Lewis & Clark RDC is the federally designated Economic Development District (EDD) for Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Kidder, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sheridan, and Sioux counties. The RDC – which is part of the Mandan-based Lewis & Clark Development Group – will host six town hall meetings starting on October 20. Each meeting is expected to last for 60 to 90 minutes and will take place in the following communities…
Beulah – Wednesday, October 20 at 9:00 AM (CDT)
Beulah Civic Center, 120 7th Street NE
Wing – Wednesday, October 20 at 1:00 PM (CDT)
Wing Theater, 211 Main Street
Elgin – Thursday, October 21 at 1:00 PM (MDT)
Community Center, 305 Main Street North
Linton – Wednesday, October 27 at 10:00 AM (CDT)
Linton Community Center, 101 First Street NE
Steele – Wednesday, October 27 at 1:00 PM (CDT)
Steele Community Center, 103 West Broadway
Washburn – Thursday, November 4 at 7:00 PM (CDT)
Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, 2576 8th Street SW
Passed into law in March 2020, the federal EDA CARES Act provided the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 pandemic. Lewis & Clark RDC received $400,000 in federal CARES Act funds to coordinate and assist with economic and community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds complemented the RDC’s continuing community and economic development work throughout the region.
“These town hall meetings give business owners, bankers, local leaders, and residents an opportunity to tell us how their communities have been impacted by the pandemic. Just as importantly, participants can let us know of their community and economic development needs, which will provide us with critical direction going forward,” says Brent Ekstrom, Lewis & Clark RDC executive director.
“We invite everyone who is interested and has ideas to join us. We’ve selected communities throughout the region to ensure as wide of participation as possible. You simply need to be a resident in one of the ten counties we serve to take part in the town hall meetings. Everyone is welcome as we want to hear from as many people as possible,” adds Ekstrom.
RSVPs for the town hall meetings are not required, but are appreciated, and can be sent to info@lcdgroup.org.