Great Falls Listed In Top 4 Cities In MT To Move To

Rick Tryon on November 3, 2022

This week I read an article titled “WHY IN THE FUNK DOES GREAT FALLS GET DISSED SO MUCH” posted on KMON’s website and written by Tammie Toren, a KMON DJ.

While I agree with Tammie that my hometown Great Falls is an awesome and wonderful place to live I have to scratch my head a little at a couple of the observations she makes in the article.

The very first sentence in the piece is, “Apparently, I’m in the minority of people who love living in Great Falls.” No, Tammie is not in the minority. The majority of us Great Fallsians love living here because we recognize how special this place is.

No Back Turning Here

Another comment that Tammie makes in her article is, “Even in a Great Falls that has turned it’s back on the middle and lower class.” Sorry Tammie, but nothing could be further from the truth.

There are dozens of non-profit and volunteer organizations with hundreds of dedicated local folks working 24/7/365 helping the “middle and lower class” in Great Falls.

The City allocates hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in CDBG and other federal funding to help create more opportunities for lower income families and individuals in this community.

Great Falls is filled with good and decent folks who donate their time and resources to helping others. We’re not turning our backs on anyone here.

Does Great Falls ‘Let’ The Right One In?

A third head-scratching comment in the article is, “Even in a Great Falls that won’t let a chain ANYTHING in town, so the middle and lower class are forced to shop elsewhere because $150 for a pair of sweats or $200 for dinner for 2 are out of reach.”

That represents a common misconception that someone, somewhere in town is in charge of deciding which businesses can or cannot locate in Great Falls.

While City zoning codes and development policies can have a minor impact on where national chain stores decide to locate, that decision is almost completely determined by market and demographic factors, not by some entity in the City deciding to ‘let’ a business open.

Is Great Falls perfect? Certainly not. Is there a need to change and make improvements here? Absolutely.

We can love our town and seek to make it better at the same time.

Ready Or Not, Great Falls Is Going To See Growth And Change

In another recent article, by Joe Robison on moveBuddha.com, Great Falls is listed as number 4 of the top 5 cities to move to in Montana.

Like it or not Great Falls is on the verge of being “discovered”.

Like it or not change is coming sooner rather than later and what we can control right now are two things:

  • Preparing our public safety and physical infrastructure for the growth and change that’s heading our way.
  • Managing the rate and type of change that is inevitable here.

It’s going to be kind of uncomfortable for those of us who are used to the “old Great Falls”.

But it’s also going to be an exciting and challenging decade of transformation.

Ready or not, here it comes.

Trick Or Treat: 15 Fentanyl Deaths In Great Falls In 2022

Rick Tryon on October 27, 2022

Heads up, Great Falls, Halloween is this coming Monday.

‘Candy’ that looks like Skittles or Sweet Tarts could actually contain fentanyl.

If you think this poison, or other harmful stuff, could never get into YOUR kids’ trick or treat candy you’re whistling past the graveyard.

At our 10/18/22 regular meeting the Great Falls City Commission received a report from the local High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas task force that we have had 15 fatal fentanyl overdoses so far this year in Great Falls/Cascade County.

Be Smart. Be Safe.

  • Make sure a responsible adult accompanies your children when they go trick or treating.
  • Check and double check ALL treats before consuming.
  • Throw out any treats not in original, sealed packaging.

Halloween is supposed to be fun-scary, not real-scary. But we live in a world and a time when real evil exists – like people who make and export candy colored fentanyl into our neighborhoods.

So please, please be extra careful this Halloween.

GF Dems Krotkov, Bessette, Smith Hoping Voters Have Short Memories

Philip M. Faccenda on October 25, 2022

If you want to know what politicians really think then you have to be reminded of what they say when they think voters aren’t listening or watching very closely.

E-City Beat has been keeping track of what the most ‘progressive’ local Democrats running for state legislature were Tweeting when they thought voters weren’t paying attention.

And it’s quite different from the image they’re trying to put forward now that it’s election season.

So here’s a brief rundown of what Jasmine Krotkov, Barbara Bessette, and Melissa Smith actually believe – which is not the feel-good, ‘moderate’ happy talk they’re trying to palm off on Great Falls/Cascade County voters now.

Jasmine Krotkov, Candidate for HD25

Looks like we know where Krotkov stands on teaching critical race theory in our public schools.

Employees who lost jobs for refusing vaccine mandates, take note.

Trickle down economics is a ‘killer’? Pure garbage from Krotkov!

Barbara Bessette, Candidate HD24

Is Bessette running to represent all of us – or just ‘the resistance’?

Oh, it ‘sounds like’ our Lt. Governor is a racist, huh? What a dangerous and bigoted presumption by Bessette, a candidate for state legislature.

Unacceptable, nasty, and hateful Tweet from Bessette.

Melissa Smith, Candidate HD23

Nice reminder of Smith’s priorities for our community.

Do we really want someone like Melissa Smith in public office deciding who should and ‘should not have money’?

Wait, ‘we could just stop burning fossil fuels’? You mean like in my car that takes me to work in the morning and in my home this winter?

There’s more, lots more, but I think you get the basic idea here.

Krotkov, Bessette, and Smith are nowhere near ‘moderate’. They are far left ideologues with an agenda that they intend to push if elected.

Don’t let them succeed in pulling the wool over your eyes.

Judicial Standards Complaints Filed Against MT Supreme Court Candidate Ingrid Gustafson

ECB Staff on October 18, 2022

Several Montana news outlets are reporting that two Judicial Standards Commission complaints have been filed against Montana Supreme Court Justice Ingrid Gustafson who is seeking re-election.

Her challenger is James Brown.

The complaints, filed by GOP political consultant Jake Eaton, state in part:

“Justice Gustafson had received and was actively promoting the endorsement from lawyers and parties to a case while their case was in front of her. She did not disclose the conflict to anyone and ultimately ruled in their favor…But it gets even worse…just weeks before issuing her ruling in the case, she held a high-dollar fundraiser in the private home of one of the attorneys on the case.”

You can read the entire content of both complaints by clicking the links below:

JSC-1
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Voters can evaluate the information and sources and make up their own minds.

Great Falls Democrat Official: “F*** Columbus”

Philip M. Faccenda on October 12, 2022

Today, October 12, is the actual Columbus Day anniversary even though the federal holiday was Monday.

Below is a re-post of an article I wrote last year for Columbus Day.

First, though, I want to comment on a recent post from the ‘Jasmine Taylor For Montana’ Facebook page.

Taylor is an official with the Cascade County Democratic Central Committee, a precinct captain and former failed Democrat candidate for state legislature and Great Falls city commission.

She is also a divisive, racist, extremist who is largely responsible for turning the local Democrat party into the laughingstock it has become. Why local Democrats would allow a loser like Taylor to represent their ideas and values is a baffling question indeed.

What is the purpose of a public Facebook post like this from a Democrat official (“…for Montana”, really?) other than to demonstrate to a tiny minority of kooky extremists how ‘woke’ she is?

One might as well insert “Great Falls voters” in place of “Christopher Columbus” on the picture below because that seems to be Taylor’s attitude towards this community.

Taylor and others like her think they’re edgy and oh so hip by posting garbage like this, but really they’re just dumb and totally out of touch with this community.

Here’s the article from last year.

“Like many Italian Americans I recognize Columbus Day as a way to take pride in my Italian heritage.

Unfortunately, once again this year there are those would like to take Montana in the direction of other states like Hawaii, Oregon and South Dakota, in the elimination of Columbus Day.

Those voices, including the usual state legislators and apparently everyone who works for the Great Falls Tribune, seem willfully ignorant of a couple of important facts.

First, Columbus never set one foot in what we now call America.

Secondly, history is replete with examples of indigenous peoples in America conquering and taking neighboring tribes as slaves, stealing their land, brutalizing and raping women, engaging in human sacrifice and torture as well as committing atrocities including acts of cannibalism.

All of this before any Europeans even knew the New World existed. So, as Zachary Mettler points out is his excellent article, “The Left Hates Christopher Columbus. Here are Five Reasons Why We Should Still Celebrate Columbus Day”, if Columbus is off limits to celebrate, so are indigenous peoples.

No racial or ethnic group is pure and innocent when it comes to treating fellow human beings badly. Those who constantly single out white Europeans as monsters while ignoring the atrocities committed by other groups and individuals do so mostly for selfish political reasons.

Their hypocrisy is clear to anyone interested in the facts.

So I would ask the local Great Falls finger pointers and virtue signalers, like those at the Great Falls Tribune who make money on the Lewis and Clark advertising brand, how they feel about the fact that Clark himself held slaves and the Corps of Discovery helped open up the West to American expansion and the “exploitation” of indigenous peoples?

Where are the calls to eliminate the statues of Lewis and Clark in and around Great Falls?

Where are the demands to get rid of any mention of Lewis and Clark in our local celebrations or in the naming of local restaurants and other businesses and tourist sites?

Please, be consistent or be quiet.

Philip Faccenda – Proud First Generation Italian American“

POSTSCRIPT

Christopher Columbus wrote in his Lettera Rarissima, “Let those who are fond of blaming and finding fault, while they sit safely at home, ask, ‘Why did you not do thus and so?” “I wish they were on this voyage; I well believe that another voyage of a different kind awaits them, or our faith is naught.”

To quote a piece by John Hirschauer, Contrary to the simplistic picture painted by academics, the indigenous cultures Columbus encountered were as assorted as those of any other peoples in history. While it might be true that some such cultures fit the nomadic, tranquil image pushed by the revisionists, not even close to all of them did. Which leads to an inevitable follow-up to those who would eliminate Columbus Day in favor of “Indigenous People’s Day. Which “indigenous people” do you have in mind? Is it the Kalinago people, who ate roasted human flesh, with a particular affinity for the remains of babies and fetuses? Is it the Aztecs, who killed an estimated 84,000 people in four days in their consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan?

As historian Samuel Eliot Morison, in his book The Great Explorers noted, Columbus “had his flaws and his defects, but they were largely the defects of the qualities that made him great – his indomitable will, his superb faith in God and in his own mission. That will and faith make him a man worthy of this, the day on which we honor him.

Weed Shops In Great Falls On The Ballot November 8

Rick Tryon on October 10, 2022

I noticed this post (screenshot below) on the Great Falls Tribune Facebook page this morning and had to scratch my noggin a bit.

The Facebook blurb above the picture doesn’t jibe with the headline below the picture.

The caption below the picture is accurate, the sentence above the picture is an uninformed opinion presented as a “news” item.

Saying that the “Great Falls City Commission is asking voters to prohibit all types of marijuana businesses from operating in Great Falls city limits” is either an intentional misreporting of fact meant to mislead readers, or it’s a failure to understand the simple basics of how and why issues are placed on a local ballot.

The Great Falls City Commission is NOT asking local voters to do anything other than vote on the issue of whether or not they want weed shops and other types of marijuana businesses inside city limits.

The placement of the ballot question is in accordance with Montana Code Annotated, specifically authorized under HB 701

The Commission is NOT advocating one way or the other or “asking voters to prohibit” weed businesses here. Period.

A vote “For” is a vote for prohibiting weed shops etc. in Great Falls city limits.

A vote “Against” is a vote against prohibiting weed shops etc. in Great Falls city limits.

As a side note, this upcoming ballot question is NOT a “local legalization” or “local repeal legalization” vote as some have suggested.

That issue was decided and settled in 2020 when MT voters voted in favor of I-190, legalizing adult use recreational weed statewide.

Great Falls Republican Fred Anderson Answers Abortion & Other Questions

ECB Staff on October 7, 2022

Last month E-City Beat emailed all Great Falls state legislative candidates requesting responses to three questions.

We received responses from three candidates – Tony Rosales (Libertarian HD22), Ed Buttrey (Republican HD21), and Fred Anderson (HD20).

Today we are publishing Fred Anderson’s responses. You can also read his candidate profile here.

Question One – Which position on abortion most closely describes the kind of legislation you would support in the Montana state legislature? Please choose only one option and feel free to briefly explain or expand on your views.

  1. Abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy, including up until birth, with no exceptions.
  2. Life begins at conception and abortion should not be legal at any time for any reason.
  3. Abortion should be illegal after 12-14 weeks into a pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or life threatening risk to the mother.

Anderson:
I suspect that there will be more legislative options on the abortion issue than the three that you have presented for consideration. Choices two and three that have been presented for response are very finite with no room for consideration of extenuating circumstances.  Given those parameters and my belief that all life is precious, I select option two. 

Question Two – Describe what you will do if elected to address the lack of affordable housing in Montana. What specific legislation would you put forward or support to tackle this issue?

Anderson:
There is no “silver bullet” that will solve the lack of affordable housing in Montana.  The inflation that all of us are experiencing, combined with supply issues and labor shortages, have compounded the issue.  I believe the legislature will need to work with MACO and cities to review and update zoning regulations. The upturn in the construction of apartment buildings, townhouses and condominiums is making a positive impact on the shortage issue.  As the interest rates continue to increase, home ownership will become more of a challenge, especially for first time buyers.

Question Three – Describe in what way and on which issues you would ‘reach across the aisle’ to implement solutions for your constituents.

Anderson:
I will reach across the aisle to implement solutions for my constituents through collaboration and advocacy.  It is crucial that every bill be carefully studied to determine its potential benefit to my constituents and our state as well as its fiscal impact.  I welcome and always consider input from my constituents on issues while taking a common sense approach to each bill.

Great Falls GOP Candidate Buttrey Answers Abortion & Other Questions

ECB Staff on October 6, 2022

Last month E-City Beat emailed all Great Falls state legislative candidates requesting responses to three questions.

We received responses from three candidates – Tony Rosales (Libertarian HD22), Ed Buttrey (Republican HD21), and Fred Anderson (HD20).

Today we are publishing Ed Buttrey’s responses. You can also read his candidate profile here.

Question One – Which position on abortion most closely describes the kind of legislation you would support in the Montana state legislature? Please choose only one option and feel free to briefly explain or expand on your views.

  1. Abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy, including up until birth, with no exceptions.
  2. Life begins at conception and abortion should not be legal at any time for any reason.
  3. Abortion should be illegal after 12-14 weeks into a pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or life threatening risk to the mother.

Buttrey:
If these were the only selections, I would likely support option 3.  I am a Pro-Life Republican, however I do believe that we need to consider real risks to the life and well-being of the mother.  If the life of the mother is truly at risk, if the mother has experienced the horrors of rape or incest, there needs to be consideration in the law.  Life of the baby is precious, but so is the life of the mother.  As a person that was fortunate to be adopted by a great family, I hope and support all that we can do to give every soul a chance at a life. 

Question Two – Describe what you will do if elected to address the lack of affordable housing in Montana. What specific legislation would you put forward or support to tackle this issue?

Buttrey:
Affordable housing is a key component for the State to have a good and reliable workforce.  There exists a lot of need for affordable housing, but as we can see in Great Falls, the private sector is stepping up to the task. It will take some time for these contractors to design, permit, build and complete these projects, but we are finally seeing some results (the Lofts at the Station, Discovery Meadows, Touro College Student Housing, Highland Development, Ponderosa Place, Arc Apartments, etc.). 

There are some Federal moneys that can be used by the State to assist developers, but these moneys are short term and will cease over time. I think the Legislature and State should look to incentivize private investment in workforce housing by providing tax benefits to those that invest.  These benefits will seek to increase private investment, which then reduces the amount of financing needed by the developers, incentivizes more project starts and should ultimately lower the cost of housing for those living in these developments.

Question Three – Describe in what way and on which issues you would ‘reach across the aisle’ to implement solutions for your constituents.

Buttrey:
The majority of items that we deal with in the Legislature are not politically divided. There are issues, however, that politically polarize the Legislature. Some of these items even divide the political parties themselves. I have always been a solutions-minded Legislator, and believe through hard work, diligence and an open mind, I can contribute to the well-being and success of our citizens. 

Listening to others, including those in other parties, often helps create a better solution. For solutions in healthcare, workforce, education, budget (HB2) and other key areas, I will always reach across any divide in an effort to find the best and most cost-effective solution for our citizens.

Great Falls Libertarian Candidate Rosales Answers Abortion & Other Questions

ECB Staff on October 5, 2022

Last month E-City Beat emailed all Great Falls state legislative candidates requesting responses to three questions.

We received responses from three candidates – Tony Rosales (Libertarian HD22), Ed Buttrey (Republican HD21), and Fred Anderson (HD20).

First up is Tony Rosales’ responses. You can also read his candidate profile here.

Question One – Which position on abortion most closely describes the kind of legislation you would support in the Montana state legislature? Please choose only one option and feel free to briefly explain or expand on your views.

  1. Abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy, including up until birth, with no exceptions.
  2. Life begins at conception and abortion should not be legal at any time for any reason.
  3. Abortion should be illegal after 12-14 weeks into a pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or life threatening risk to the mother.

Rosales:
“Abortion should be illegal after 12-14 weeks into a pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening risk to the mother.”

In today’s political climate Republicans and Democrats often take extreme positions on this issue, but in the district 22 race, as the Libertarian, I am the moderate practical choice. This is one of those issues I dislike compromising on because I have my own religious beliefs as a Catholic.

However, this is the exact situation for which I am a Libertarian. I do not think my personal views on abortion should be a factor in how the State addresses the issue. The role of the State is to promote wellbeing – not enforce it – and that primarily includes education. This issue is similar to consuming alcohol while pregnant, the State should warn of the implications, but there should be little enforcement, especially in early pregnancy.

Question Two – Describe what you will do if elected to address the lack of affordable housing in Montana. What specific legislation would you put forward or support to tackle this issue?

Rosales:
Housing is a great example of when governments over exercise power. Many with an economics interest cite supply and demand as the problem. However, often your politicians take supply as the sole issue – i.e. regulatory barriers prevent new development. Solution here include removing or shifting regulations to local governments instead of state and federal, as well as ensuring zoning and other regulations are intended to help the local community – not used as a political tool to ensure someone does or does not develop property.

With that said, many politicians miss the role of demand in the housing market. Demand has been far more impactful. As we have learned from the 2008 recession – and learning again 10+ years later – interest rates, inflation, and the overall financial market effect how much demand there is, or in other words, how many people are looking for property and with how much cash on hand. We cannot stop people from wanting to buy houses, but we can ensure demand is not artificially created. This can ONLY be accomplished by exercising “checks and balances” outlined in our constitution. MT State Legislatures should be holding the federal government accountable for out-of-control deficit spending, historically high national debt, and an unconstitutional federal reserve system.

Until we tackle the heart of the problem – the federal government’s fiscal and monetary policy – housing problems will continue to surface as they did in 2008 and more recently. Like many other industries, we must move away from government-induced “socialism for the rich” and establish truly free markets managed by local communities.

Question Three – Describe in what way and on which issues you would ‘reach across the aisle’ to implement solutions for your constituents.

Rosales:
Likely as the only Libertarian State Legislator, my only option is to work collaboratively with Republicans and Democrats. However, my constituency in district 22 and I get to prioritize the issues based on our community concerns, not a party platform. This means if HD 22 wants me to focus on healthcare over cannabis or ensure the MT constitution protects privacy then I will work with other legislators to do so, which will likely include Democrats. I will also work with other legislators, likely including Republicans, on issues related to responsible fiscal spending or holding the federal government accountable. I want to ensure I represent the views, concerns, and will of the people in HD 22, and not the political establishment.

“Hail Satan”?: Local Dem Bessette Still Out Of Touch With Great Falls Mainstream

Philip M. Faccenda on October 3, 2022

There was a comment from Great Falls GOP legislative candidate Steve Gist on the ECB Facebook page recently that went like this:

“Please be aware that Democratic candidates in Great Falls and around the state are going around claiming they are either Independents or Moderates.
My constituents are telling me this.
DO NOT Be FOOLED by these deceptive practices.”

Good advice. Don’t be fooled.

So starting today E-City Beat will be running a series of reminders of what local candidates were saying before campaign season started, when they thought no one was paying attention, demonstrating that the local Democrat machine is STILL dominated by the same far left ideas and candidates for state legislature that Cascade County/Great Falls voters rejected in 2020.

We’ll start with Barbara Bessette, who lost her run for re-election in 2020 to Steven Galloway in Great Falls HD24 where she is running again this cycle.

Here’s a charming Tweet from Bessette. Makes one wonder how she could possibly work with fellow legislators if elected, given her opinion of them here.

“F*** yes”, agrees Bessette, our U.S. Supreme Court “is an active shooter” and police make a habit of filling Black men with “60 holes”.

Apparently Bessette doesn’t think much of white men, so why is she asking for their votes?

Finally here’s Bessette wearing her “Hail Satan” shirt. She thinks it’s cute and funny and mocks anyone who considers it offensive.

I wonder if she would be so cavalier and snarky if someone posed publicly in a shirt with a mocking portrayal of indigenous peoples’ religious beliefs, or a cute cartoon ridiculing Islam.

Stay tuned. More to come.