Tomorrow's Town Today 

Airs May 5 at 10am

What happens to a town when its main source of jobs has dim prospects for the future? In TOMORROW’S TOWN TODAY, we explore the future of Colstrip, Montana, as its coal mine and coal-fired power plant face the prospect of shutting down.  The future of the 100-year-old town, built on coal, hangs in the balance as investors pull out and the nation moves away from coal as a power source.  It asks the question, “What’s to become of the town and its people, if the lynchpin of the local economy is shuttered?”  University of Montana students in the Journalism and Media Arts programs collaborated on this production that looks at what's next for Colstrip as parts of the power plant are shut down and stakeholders threaten to withdraw their support completely.  The story is told through the eyes of the town’s senior citizens, the mayor, business owners and high school seniors, each with a different vision for their, and the town’s, future.