This week’s wrap up of local news from the last week.

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Calumet, BNSF proposing train track expansion; city concerned about public access to wastewater plant, West Bank Park: Calumet Montana Refining and BNSF Railway are proposing to expand the railroad from one to three tracks near West Bank Park and are requesting changed access to the 4th Street Northwest crossing. City officials are concerned about public and emergency access to the wastewater treatment plant and West Bank Park.

GFFR chief: Lack of fire training facility risks readiness, safety, increased insurance rates: Great Falls Fire Rescue is proposing using $2.5 million in non-voted debt to demolish the existing training tower that is unusable and building a new facility. Without the training tower, GFFR said firefighter training is limited, risking their safety, their ability to respond to all potential emergencies and insurance rates are likely to increase as a result.

Portion of River’s Edge Trail to close for bank stabilization project: The River’s Edge Trail will be closed along the north side of the Missouri River from 4th Street Northeast to the 10th Street bridge from Jan. 27 through March 7 for a bank stabilization project. City Commissioners awarded a $365,105 construction contract to Olympus in September for the second phase of the Missouri River north bank stabilization project.

City hosting growth policy workshops this week, online survey open: The city is in the process of updating its growth policy and the online survey is open and the city is hosting in-person workshops this week. The growth policy is a document, required by state law, that is used by local governments to guide decisions about growth, development, policy and capital improvements. State law requires that local governments review the growth policy every five years and make adjustments if needed. The city last did a major growth policy update in 2013. City Commissioners hired Orion Planning and Design in May 2024 with a $371,184 contract to assist with the growth policy process.

Community group beginning fundraising for GFPS baseball: The Great Falls Public Schools board voted unanimously during their Jan. 27 meeting to authorize the community-led fundraising effort to field high school baseball teams in 2026. The group has specific funding thresholds and deadlines to meet to field a team for the spring of 2026 and if they don’t meet those milestones, baseball will get pushed another fiscal year.