Big Lots

Big Lots had said in June that it would close 35-40 stores nationwide to address financial strain.

The discount retailer filed paperwork on Aug. 2 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission amending their asset-asset based lending credit agreement, “in connection with its previously disclosed intention to aggressively address underperforming stores” to increase the number of permitted store closings from 150 to 315.

The Great Falls location has been added to that list of closing stores on the Big Lots website and local customers received an email Aug. 2 that the local store would be closing “soon.”

No information has been released on the timeline for the store closing.

Helena was previously on the list.

As of Aug. 2, the Billings store will remain open.

NorthWestern Energy acquisition

NorthWestern Energy said July 30 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Energy West Montana from Hope Utilities for $39 million.

The proposed transaction will be reviewed and is subject to approval by the Montana Public Service Commission, according to NWE.

Energy West began as the Great Falls Gas Co. in 1909 and operates currently in Great Falls, Cut Bank, Cascade and West Yellowstone.

Business Bites: Firehouse Steamers for sale; community kitchen opening; Joann Fabric under construction; Scheels still not moving; Old Chicago opening later this year; Stuff the Bus and more

 “This is an opportunity for growth in our natural gas business in Montana by purchasing existing infrastructure built for Montanans and operated by a dedicated Montana team,” NorthWestern Energy President and CEO Brian Bird, said in a release. “We are excited about the opportunity to serve Energy West’s 33,000 customers across Great Falls, Cut Bank, Cascade and West Yellowstone. By integrating Energy West’s Montana operations, we believe customers, employees and communities will be well served as a part of our commitment to Montana and to delivering safe and reliable energy.”

NWE said it expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2025, at which time Energy West Montana’s employees will become NWE employees.

Business Bites: News and Brews; Thursday night markets at new city pool; kite festival; The Music Man; Cushing Terrell acquires engineering firm; veteran commendations; games at the library; Paris Gibson Square gift; swim lesson registration; junior rangers

“Energy West customers will remain Energy West customers until the sale closes and will transition to customers of NorthWestern Energy upon closing, with current Energy West rates remaining in effect after the transaction is complete,” according to NWE.

Albertsons-Kroger merger

Last week, a Denver District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction, that all sides agreed to, preventing the merger from closing until after five days after an antitrust lawsuit from the Colorado attorney general has been resolved, according to the Denver Post.

A two-week trial in the Colorado case is scheduled to begin on Sept. 30.

The Federal Trade Commission and other states have also filed legal challenges to the merger.

Business Bites: JBs closed; Craft Beer Week; Lewis and Clark Festival; Chase Your Dreams closing; Big Sky Big Dreams for sale; Prairie Mountain River Adventures; Pizza Ranch, Joann updates; Juneteenth; Giant Springs activities; Arts on Fire; Big Dipper, arcade open; Yarn and Honey moving

Luz’s Mexican Food

Luz’s Mexican Food has purchased the building at 1300 9th St. S.

They’ll be using the kitchen space for their wholesale business of food offerings found in grocery and convenience stores and coffee shops.

They’re hoping to open a takeout drive through for tacos but won’t have on-site dining due to space constraints.

Business Bites: Farmers’ Market opening; First Friday Art Walk; library events; Back 2 School Blast; Summer Trails Day; Daydream Boutique, Yarn and Honey moving; TroyStrong blood drive and more

The Common Space

The Common Space, the space in the Commons on Central behind Annie’s Taphouse, has a new owner and is now Whispering Petals. Becky, the new owner, will continue hosting events while bringing fresh ideas to the space.

All booked events are still on the calendar and parties will be contacted.

Nova Clean

MacKellin Dean has launched Nova Clean, a carpet cleaning service, in Great Falls and the surrounding areas.

His services also include upholstery cleaning and deep cleaning solutions for rugs.

The Great Falls native has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Montana and is currently accepting bookings.

Pizza Hut

A 39-location Pizza Hut portfolio in seven states is for sale. The portfolio includes two Great Falls locations.

The sale does not mean the locations are closing as they both still have 15-year leases.

Eagles Manor

Eagles Manor and Golden Eagle Plaza, with a combines 190 units, is up for auction in September.

The properties on 9th Street South include assisted-living, independent-living and is an age-restricted community.

Ivy files lawsuit seeking to stop closure by federal, state agencies

Joanns

Interior work was halted as Rhino Investments, the owner of the Joanns, Harbor Freight and former Fit Republic spaces, hadn’t repaired the broken sprinkler system.

Fire Marshal Mike McIntosh told The Electric he was allowing exterior work for the Joanns space to continue.

He said Lakeview Construction, the general contractor, and Joanns are bypassing Rhino and trying to get the sprinkler system repaired in all three spaces so that interior work could continue.

Business Bites: downtown Hardee’s sold; Mrs. Wrights Pastys closing; Honey Hippo has new owners; Hi-Line Climbing offering free climbing; Miss Linda’s, Montana Youth Symphony have upcoming events; Cascade 66 Race; Special Olympics Montana numbers; Korean War online exhibit; Safety Town; and more

Decorating House

The Decorating House is expanding and moving to a larger building.

Their current building at 3434 10th Ave. S. is listed for $1.2 million with Montana Realty.

Business Bites: Costello now sole Fire Pizza owner; new batting cage; Cassiopeia events; Leadership Great Falls fundraising for Eagle Mount; blood drive; First Friday Art Walk; art fundraiser; and more

Montana Credit Union branch open

Montana Credit Union has opened its fourth branch in Great Falls, at 2828 10th Ave. S., formerly home to Anderson Family Pharmacy.

The new branch features a full service lobby with a member service representative, loan officer, and personal video tellers during the week. The drive through offers Monday through Saturday service for teller transactions.

All Montana Credit Union branches are open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The drive throughs at each branch are open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the drive throughs at the branches at 540 Smelter Ave. N.E.l 15 14th St. S.; and 2828 10th Ave. S. are open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

First Friday Art Walk

The First Friday Art Walk returns Aug. 2nd from 6-9 p.m.

See the list below, but it may be subject to last-minute changes, call Steve Carlyle Smith and 406-788-0128 with questions:

• Wrangler Gallery, 312 Central Ave., 406-799-5885
• Hotel Arvon, 118 1st Ave. S., 406-952-1101
• Four West Art League in the Columbus Building, 1600 2nd Ave. N., fourth floor, 406-231-8898
• S. Carlyle Smith, 1314 6th Ave. N., park on 13th St. N. near the C.M. Russell Museum, 406-788-0128
• Luna Coffee Bar, 9 5th St. N., 406-604-0101
• Montana Mosaic, 800 10th Ave. S. Suite 2, 406-761-3226
• Julia Becker: Root Orbit Studio in the Columbus Building, 1600 2nd Ave. N. fifth floor west wing, 406-750-0752
• Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, 1400 1st Ave. N., 406-727-8255, open from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.-ish
• Cassiopeia Books with C.M. DOOM, Dave Raba, and Ron Paulick presenting, 606 Central Ave.
• Natalie Woodson: Skulls and Souls, 1308 3rd Ave. S. Unit 1, 434-203-1893
• Susan Supola, 2805 3rd Ave. N., 406-403-2176

Soil Crawl

The Golden Triangle Resource Council and River City Harvest are hosting a Garden Tour, Talk and Soil Crawl at the River City Harvest Community Gardens on Aug. 3.

“Soil crawls are public events where we gather to explore the soil health on ranches, farms, and gardens to learn what we could do to improve its resiliency, productivity, and microbial activity,” according to the organizers.

The event is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at River City Harvest Community Gardens, 1500 32nd St. S. and includes a lunch highlighting local breads, meats and produce.

The organizers suggest a $10 donation to help cover event costs.

The event includes:

• Montana soil expert, Patti Armbrister, speaking about regenerative gardening and farming, combating pests, and how to get the most nutrition from field crops to garden fruits and vegetables.
• information on the Montana Food Hub, a Great Falls food cooperative, connecting Montana growers and producers with local businesses and consumers.
• touring River City Harvest’s community gardens, and talk with expert gardeners about growing your own food, even if you rent an apartment.

Register here.

Questions? Contact Emily at 406-248-1154 or emily@northernplains.org.

Malmstrom contracts

The 341st Contracting Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base recently awarded several contracts.

They include:

• a task order for the replacement of entryway doors on building 500 to James Talcott Construction for $74,300. The period of performance for this award is 30 calendar days after issuance of the notice to proceed.
• a task order for the repair of natural gas lines to James Talcott Construction for $1,227,650. The period of performance for this award is 165 calendar days after issuance of the notice to proceed.
• a contract for the installation of utilities at the 819th Red Horse Squadron cantonment facility to Geranios Enterprises for $573,233. The period of performance for this award is 180 calendar days after issuance of the notice to proceed.
• a contract to relocate the parent-child area in the fitness center to James Talcott Construction for $253,500. The period of performance for this award is 210 calendar days.

• a task order for the tactical operations center to James Talcott Construction for $271,700. The period of performance for this award is 270 calendar days after issuance of the notice to proceed.

The History Museum

The History Museum is debuting the film The Spirit of the People: Black Eagle and the Anaconda Company on Aug. 10.

The film by Erin Schermele Films features the complete history of the Anaconda Copper Mining Smelter and
Refinery in Black Eagle from its earliest beginnings to until its closing in the 1980s.

The film highlights a three-part oral history interview with Dick Sloan, the last operations director for the Smelter. Sloan discusses photos from an old Smelter scrapbook – plus more from his personal collection that illustrate the historic Black Eagle smelting and refining operations and the faces of Black Eagle workers. Sloan is now employed by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and is working with the Black Eagle Civic Club’s technical advisory group, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlantic Richfield Company and others to determine what ARCO needs to do to clean up the Black Eagle residential yards and eventually the smelter site itself.

The residential cleanup has begun in Black Eagle.

Superfund cleanup work starts in Black Eagle this month

In his role at DEQ, “Sloan has often been heard to say, ‘I know where all the bones are buried.’ Of course, what he means is that he knows where slag was buried on site. He can suggest where soils testing and evaluation should be done to develop ways to prevent the remaining arsenic, cadmium, lead, and other metals from leaching into the
Missouri River,” according to the museum.

The History Museum will be open to the public noon to 5 p.m. on the Second Saturday with free admission.

The film premiere and short talk begin at 1 p.m. with Sloan and representatives from Big Sky Country National Heritage Area, which funded the project.

For more information, call Carol Bronson, Big Sky Country National Heritage Area at 406-452-5921 or Kristi Scott, museum director at 406-452-3462.

University of Providence

The University of Providence has hired Caroline Goulet as the new provost and vice president of academic affairs and A. J. Hoy as the new vice president of mission integration.

As provost, Goulet will serve as an advocate for both schools within UP, including the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the School of Health Professions. She’ll work on the university’s programs, educational policy, academic planning and resources, and more.

Goulet comes to Great Falls from San Antonio, Texas, where she served as the associate provost for health professions and professor at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Hoy will build structures and policies within the university for a mission-oriented culture, while holding the values carried by the Sisters of Providence, the founders of UP, according to the university.

Hoy comes to Great Falls from Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as the associate director of Newman Catholic Campus Ministry, and as the Catholic campus minister at the College of Wooster in Ohio.

The university will also be renaming and dedicating the renovated Providence Hall to Mother Joseph Hall at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 8.

The name change honors Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Sister of Providence.

“The Sisters of Providence are a community of Catholic women called to bring hope and healing to those in need. In 1856, Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, then referred to as Sister Joseph, called upon her gifts, skills and deep faith as she led a group of four Sisters of Providence from Montreal to the Washington territory. Their directive and desire were to care for the poor and sick, to educate children, and to bring the light of Christ into the lives of all they met,” according to the university.

Beginning this fall, UP is offering three college courses for free to area high school students participating in one of the university’s dual enrollment programs, Argo Connect and Dual Credit.

Argo Connect provides current high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn college credits by taking up to six courses per semester at UP or online.

In the Dual Credit program, current high school students enroll in specific high school courses that can be applied as UP credit. Students enrolled in this program take and complete approved courses for credit at their high school.

Participating high schools include Great Falls High School, Charles M. Russell High School and Great Falls Central Catholic High School.

Both Argo Connect and Dual Credit allow students to use the Three-for-Free advantage, making their first three courses free. All remaining courses are offered at $55 per credit hour.

Got a business bite? Send it to jenn@theelectricgf.com with ‘business bite’ in the subject line and the details in text form.