Photo by Amber Phipps Gov. Patrick Morrisey talks about rural improvement and accessible health care for rural communities at the Roane County Courthouse.

SPENCER — Gov. Patrick Morrisey visited the Roane and Ritchie County courthouses to speak one-on-one with the community about topics that impact statewide rural communities this week.

Morrisey’s first stop was at the Roane County Courthouse in Spencer where county commissioners, members of city council, executive directors and residents gathered to discuss the future of rural communities like Spencer.

Morrisey said he wanted to hear from the community about what they needed in order to bring economic development back to rural areas.

“It’s a thrilling time in West Virginia,” he said. “We’re trying to do things that use what we have.”

There were a variety of topics covered from health care to broadband to bringing small-town logging companies back into business and how economic development would lead to population growth over time.

“The Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill, whatever you think about it, I will say this is the first time they’ve invested significant amounts of money in rural health,” Morrisey said.

He said the state has submitted a grant application to access some of the $50 billion that’s available. He said access to health care due to transportation