Hometown Helena this Thursday, December 1: "Newcomers Survey" with Ms. Tara Mastel & MSU Extension Services
Hometown Helena -- Thursday, December 1st, 7 a.m. @ The Montana Club & Live via ZOOM hosted by AZ Technology Services:
- "Newcomers Survey" with Ms. Tara Mastel & MSU Extension Services
- Watch today's Hometown Helena:
https://azworld.zoom.us/rec/share/ AbsWb9EzFDXVgBFBQqV79CAJDB9MVj e6pZr110z6yK61hsM1BprkpT0noe7v dfjg.j0NqotCGbC8QHzb6
Passcode: s5Dm$9qv
Message from our host Jim Smith:
Greetings Everyone,
How many times in the last several years have you heard one of your friends say: “Where are these new people coming from?” Or, “why are all these people moving to Montana?" Or, how many times have you said: “What are all these new residents doing to make a living here in Montana?” Well, plan to join us this Thursday morning to get the answers to some of these questions.
Ms. Tara Mastel and her colleagues at the MSU Extension Service have recently completed a ‘Newcomers Survey’ of people who have moved to Montana in the last five years. Ms. Mastel is a Community Program Leader based out of the MSU Extension Service Office in Red Lodge. Tom McGree, a member of our planning team heard Ms. Mastel discussing this survey recently and invited her to join Hometown Helena. Many Thanks Tom. The Montana Community Foundation assisted with the funding of this survey. Thanks Mary Rutherford!
I had a chance to go on to the MSU Extension service web site and review the 'Newcomers Survey' over the weekend. It’s a remarkable document. Very well done. Using Montana Department of Revenue data, approximately 9000 questionnaires were sent to people who had moved within the state of Montana, or to Montana from another state, in the last five years. Over 1700 were completed and returned, for about a 20% response rate, which is very good for this type of direct mail survey.
A few years ago Montanan’s population topped one million people. We got our second Congressional representative back this year after a 20 year hiatus. A home in Bozeman costs $400,000. Missoula is getting a Chick Fil ‘A. There’s hardly a vacant lot left in Helena. Small towns like Chester, Hardin, Darby and Troy are seeing an influx of new residents. Income tax revenue is up. Services and infrastructure are barely keeping up with demand. These are signs of the times. I heard a great speaker say once that “we must read, interpret and scrutinize the signs of the times.” The ‘Newcomers Survey’ presentation by Ms. Mastel this week will help us understand some of the the changes that are taking place here in Montana.
The MSU Extension Service is a remarkable agency. Maybe Ms. Mastel will share some information with us Thursday morning. We know the Extension Service sponsors the Montana AG Network show on PBS (one of the most interesting programs on TV these days, in may humble opinion), and is involved with the 4-H Clubs all around the state. They do much more, however. Here’s a little more information from the web site:
“There are 94 MSU Extension agents and 26 subject matter experts serving local needs in 56 counties and 7 reservations with one mission: to improve the lives of Montana citizens by providing unbiased, research-based education and information that integrates learning, discovery and engagement to strengthen the social, economic and environmental well-being of individuals, families and communities.”
Hope to see you this Thursday, either in person at the Montana or on the Zoom!
Jim Smith
