“Oh no! Another new casino in Great Falls!”. Sorry, but that complaint is kind of misleading, because gaming licenses are tied to liquor/alcohol licenses which are controlled by the state and apportioned to communities according to population. Think Whack-a-Mole. One has to close before another pops up. We haven’t had any “new” additional casinos here for a long time. I’ve said this before, but because of the misperception about how our local economy works I’ll say it again: The City Commission has no legal authority to prevent any business, including a casino, from opening as long as that bus ..read more

Today E-City Beat sent an email to the three GFPS School Board candidates requesting a candidate profile and their reasons for seeking the position of School Board Trustee. We will publish their responses without edits or editorial comment towards the end of April. The three candidates vying for one open seat are Rodney Meyers, Marlee Sunchild, and Tony Rosales. The election will be Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Stay tuned for E-City Beat’s continuing coverage of all local elections, issues, and candidates ..read more

It’s time to update our Growth Policy, Great Falls. It may come as a surprise to some folks but there are a significant number of Great Fallsians who don’t want our city to grow at all, they’re happy with things exactly as they are here in the Electric City. I get it. Take a look at Bozeman and you see why people here in Great Falls are skeptical about the concept of ‘growth’. Using the ‘Goldilocks And The Three Bears’ story as an analogy, well, that Bozeman porridge is too hot. But here’s the deal – Great Falls is going to grow whether we like it or not. The question is this: What kind of gr ..read more

Our regular feature highlighting a few of the latest and most interesting local and national news items from various sources. Three Great Falls Libertarian state House candidates, Rosales, Leatherbarrow, Sui, disqualified from ballot, from MTPR: https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-03-21/12-candidates-disqualified-from-montanas-primary-election-ballot Woman dies from injuries after being hit by car in Great Falls, from ABC/FOX NonStop Local: https://www.montanarightnow.com/great-falls/pedestrian-dies-after-hit-by-car-on-10th-ave-s-in-great-falls/article_4279db12-e558-11ee-91fb-6b4cdcd25 ..read more

Editors note: the following is a press release sent to E-City Beat from the Cascade County Libertarian Party. Stay tuned to E-City Beat as we begin our coverage of local candidates on the 2024 primary and general election ballots. Four Libertarians File for Office to Represent >50% of Cascade County in State Legislature GREAT FALLS, MT, March 12, 2024 – Four Libertarian candidates have filed for office to represent half of the House Districts in Cascade County: Annie Leatherbarrow (HD 24), Kevin Leatherbarrow (HD 23), Lui Salina (HD 25), and Josh Rosales (HD 21). Although there are many who ..read more

Here’s a excerpt from the article written by Daily Montanan reporter Nicole Girten and posted last week. “Plaintiffs in a case against the Cascade County Elections Office over its handling of a May 2023 election alleged the office knowingly went against state statute – and fault included ousted Clerk and Recorder Rina Moore’s former staff. According to a court filing submitted Wednesday, Lynn DeRoche, who worked alongside Moore for 16 years and for current Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant for about a month last year, gave Merchant faulty advice around procedures for sending out ballots in an ..read more

Editors note, the following is an opinion piece by Jeni Dodd. Jasmine Taylor of the blog WTF 406 apparently has issues with the facts. Taylor opined that E-City Beat✓’s recent article, “Library Director And Library Board Chair Spouses/Partners Donated $130,000 To Levy Campaign Committee“, was an attack on philanthropy and that it showed ire against the donors to ‘Yes for Libraries’. The E-City Beat✓ article correctly identified the two folks who together donated the bulk of ‘Yes for Libraries’ PAC funding and their relationships to the library director and library board chair. Hard to argue wi ..read more

Our regular feature highlighting a few of the latest and most interesting local and national news items from various sources. CCSO Deputy wounded, man killed in shoot out west of Great Falls, from KRTV: https://www.krtv.com/neighborhood-news/great-falls-cascade-county/man-dead-after-shooting-a-cascade-county-sheriffs-deputy Gianforte 52%, Busse 30%, from KULR8: Recent Montana poll shows Gianforte leads Busse in race for Governor | Hometown Election HQ | kulr8.com Great Falls men charged with rape and drugs, from ABC/FOX NonStop Local: https://www.montanarightnow.com/great-falls/two-men-ac ..read more

“Oh no! Another new casino in Great Falls!”. Sorry, but that complaint is kind of misleading, because gaming licenses are tied to liquor/alcohol licenses which are controlled by the state and apportioned to communities according to population. Think Whack-a-Mole. One has to close before another pops up. We haven’t had any “new” additional casinos here for a long time. I’ve said this before, but because of the misperception about how our local economy works I’ll say it again: The City Commission has no legal authority to prevent any business, including a casino, from opening as long as that bus ..read more

Editors note: The following press release was received by E-City Beat Monday morning. We are publishing it without edits or editorial comment. The press release doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of E-City Beat or any of our contributors and it is not a campaign endorsement for Tony Rosales. Emphasizing Constructive Change While Acknowledging Good Faith Efforts of All Parties GREAT FALLS, MT, April 8, 2024 – In recent weeks, Tony Rosales has engaged in critical discussions regarding an identified conflict of interest (link), speaking with both school administrators and members of the invo ..read more