Governor and First Lady Of Montana Gianforte Make A Stop In Glasgow

After participating in the 36th annual Governor’s Cup, with Governor Greg Gianforte fishing and First Lady Susan Gianforte assisting in a weigh boat, the Gianfortes traveled back to Helena for government business. A few days later they made their way back to the Hi-Line this past week with stops in Glasgow, Saco and Malta on July 18 as they continued their way to Blaine County as part of the Governor’s 56 County tour.

During their time in Glasgow, First Lady Gianforte met with members of the Glasgow City-County Library Board, Library Director Megan Haddix and a representative of the Valley County Friends of the Library to discuss Valley County’s involvement in the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. In June First Lady Gianforte announced the statewide launch of the Imagination Library of Montana, in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The non-profit program boosts early childhood literacy by providing free high-quality, age-appropriate books to Montana children.

“Literacy is critical for our kids and their development. When parents read to their kids or when a child reads, it engages them, it fires their imagination, and sparks their curiosity,” stated First Lady Gianforte in a release when announcing the program. “I’m proud of the partnership we’ve developed with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and local organizations throughout Montana. Working together, we’ll make sure all our youngest kids have access to reading resources so they can dream, grow and reach their full potential.”

Through this partnership, a free book will be provided each month to any Montana child, including those in Valley County, age zero to five years old, who register with the organization. A child may be registered at imaginationlibrary.com. This program is completely free to the parents and caregivers of these children. As of press time a total of 146 Valley County children have registered for this program.

While the First Lady was visiting at the library, Governor Gianforte stopped by the Glasgow Police Department to talk with officers and their work, specifically with the department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainers to effectively, safely respond to individuals experiencing a mental health, substance use or other crisis.

A CIT program is an innovative, community-based approach to improve the outcome of mental health crisis encounters. In over 2,700 communities nationwide, CIT programs create connections between law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency services and individuals with mental illness and their families. Through collaborative community partnerships and intensive training, CIT improves communication, identifies mental health resources for those in crisis and ensures officer and community safety.

After visiting Glasgow, Governor and First Lady Gianforte traveled to Saco where the Governor stopped by Pay-N-Save and then traveled to Malta to host a town hall.

“Getting out of the Helena bubble and sitting down with Montanans is the only way I know to do this job,” Governor Gianforte stated. “We’ll continue to invest in greater opportunity, promote strong families and protect our way of life to help communities along the Hi-Line and across our state proper.”