Butte, Montana

an important industry. “We grew up with, and we still are very prideful of our mining industry,” says Gallagher. “At one time, we had probably 20,000 miners working underground. Today, our miners are mining more ore than they were back then – with the heavy equipment and technology, they’re able to process a lot more ore.” Billionaire Dennis Washington reopened the mine in 1985, and his company, Montana Resources, continues to mine copper and molybdenum in Butte, employing more than 350 people. The city offers an excellent education system at all levels. For example, Montana Technological University is known nationwide for its quality engineering programs, and more recently, its nursing program. Gallagher explains, “Their emphasis has always been in engineering; petroleum engineering, mining engineering, electrical engineering, and engineering sciences. Our university system is second to none. In the petroleum industry, it’s world renowned. About 25 years ago, they started a nursing program and since then have become the number one nursing program in the state of Montana.” He adds that a recent donation of $7 million was given to the nursing school, by a private donor. Workforce development is another priority for the city. According to Gallagher, “Butte was called the Gibraltar of Unionism here, locally. So, workforce development has always been around, but like all communities, right now we are struggling, as not as many people have gone into those trades. The local unions are training and actually paying people in their apprentice programs, whereas 20 years ago, they were hard to get into and you’d have to pay for that training yourself.” Skilled training and education are offered through The Sheet Metal Workers Training Center of Montana, and Highlands College of Montana Tech. The college is currently BUTTE , MONTANA developing programs, including a Commercial Drivers License program (CDL) to help manage a nationwide shortage of commercial drivers. “We are working locally through the government and at the university to develop the skilled programs to help workforce development,” says Gallagher. “We are seeing companies come to us based on the ability that they can find skilled workers in our local community.” In its mining heyday, Butte was one of the largest cities in the Western U.S. and there was a lot of wealth in the community. A great emphasis went into the architectural design of historic buildings that are still standing proud today. Others are ready for new life. Gallagher notes, “We have the ability for condominiums and housing stock to grow, by taking some of our