Flight into Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia's capitol
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The Manawatu
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New Zealand!
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"Sister City relationships provide real opportunities for cultural and
educational exchanges, economic partnerships, and humanitarian
assistance," says Linda McCarthy, Executive Director of the Missoula
Downtown Association.
For 30 years Missoula has maintained a sister-state relationship with
the city of Palmerston, New Zealand. "It's not very common to have the
chance to live on the other side of the world for a short period of time,
but that opportunity presented itself to our family in 2012, and we
took it," says McCarthy. Her husband accepted a teaching appointment at Massey University on Palmerston North, and she received
an eight-month sabbatical from her position. "Palmerston North
considers itself a community focused on sustainability. Missoula
and Palmerston are a great match."
"Palmerston North is surrounded by lush green mountains.
It has an amazing river that runs through town and a beautiful city-center square in the heart of their downtown. Massey
University — much like The University of Montana — is a
major economic driver for the community, and the people are
extremely friendly. However, one major difference between
the two cities is that you can get to the beach from Palmy in
just 30 minutes."
Bozeman has a strong relationship with its sister city of
Muren, Mongolia. "The relationship was initiated in 2006
by Kent Madin of Boojum Expeditions in Bozeman," says
MSU professor Cliff Montagne. "Murun is the capital of Hovsgol Province (Aimag), with Lake Hovsgol National Park and surrounding wild lands known
as the Switzerland of Mongolia. Murun is located in the semi-arid valleys and mountains of
northcentral Mongolia, about 200 miles southwest of Lake Baikal in Russia. The Delger Murun River flows nearby."
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