McGovern continued to lecture and make public appearances, sometimes appearing with Dole on college campuses. McGovern and Dole contributed essays to the 2005 volume "Ending Hunger Now: A Challenge to Persons of Faith". From around 2003 to 2005, McGovern owned a bookstore in his summer home of Stevensville in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, until deciding to sell it because of lack of sufficient market. In 2003 the McGoverns became part-time residents of Marco Island, Florida; by then, Eleanor was struggling with heart disease.