HELENA — Thursday's town hall with Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, is an opportunity for Helena's business leaders to engage on local economic impacts and issues.
"I want to hear from the people on the ground, businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs, and see how things are going on in the Montana economy," said Kashkari.
Kashkari is the head of one of the twelve central banks that implement federal money policy.
(Watch to hear from the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis)
The event was part of a trip he was taking to find out more about the economic conditions in Montana.
He says every time he visits the state, he hears the same concerns, the need for child care and housing is making it tough for businesses to find workers.
Kashkari says, "The more Montanans can just take that on and say we need to build more housing and make sure childcare is available, that's going to help the Montana economy to grow, not just this year, not just next year, but for the next decade."
During the town hall, Kashkari took questions on the impacts that tariffs could have on Montana, and he said that data still remains unclear.
But he said that while there are a lot of outside factors affecting the economy, Montana has some strong points to build on.
"Natural beauty in Montana cannot be rivaled anywhere in the world, so that's a strength," Kashkari said. "I think the energy sector is poised and continues to grow, and I think the tech sector is poised and continuing to do so. I think Montana's future is very bright."
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for a district that includes Montana as well as parts of five other states.
He says it's important to make visits like this to get first-hand information that can add to national economic data.
