Riverton’s Main Street has many historic buildings and thriving businesses. Recently, the Riverton Downtowners, a group of business owners and volunteers, have been organizing to continue beautification efforts by seeking grants and guidance from the State of Wyoming.

The Wyoming Business Council Main Street program has approved Riverton as the newest Wyoming “Aspiring Main Street Community.” Through the work of the Riverton Downtowners, this designation will help to improve Riverton’s Main Street program.

The Riverton Downtowners group works to help beautify Riverton’s Main Street by collaborating with the City of Riverton on various projects. This has included planting flowers and trees, purchasing Christmas decorations, and embedding a unique river design on the sidewalks. As an “Aspiring Community”, they will take more steps, with the support of the Wyoming Business Council, to help improve the welfare and economic development of Main Street’s business community.

“We are so excited to welcome Riverton as our newest Main Street community,” said Wyoming Main Street Manager Kayla Kler. “The Downtowners have demonstrated community engagement and volunteerism with the existing events happening downtown, and now they will move into more complex areas, like encouraging economic growth through physical enhancements and beautification. The Main Street network and program should open up new partnerships, ideas, and resources to start tackling more complex projects.”

Riverton will receive three years of resources from the Wyoming Business Council for training, organizational best practices, and networking. After that, Riverton can apply to move into the Affiliate or Certified level, which provides access to more exclusive financial and technical opportunities. This helps attract more people and businesses to the area and provides citizens with a higher quality of life.