This summer marked the eight anniversary of The Electric and sixth anniversary of Great Falls Greats.
We’ll be announcing this year’s Great Falls Greats winners at The Electric’s anniversary party at Kellergeist Aug. 23!
It feels like not all that long ago that I was wallowing a bit after being laid off by the Tribune and figuring out what to do with my life.
I’m sure I’ve told this story before, but during that time, I was working part time at Old Navy, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (which remains one of the best jobs I’ve ever had) and a dog kennel, where I got my sweet black lab Millie as the universe moves in mysterious ways.
The experience certainly gave me some perspective on realities others in this community face, but it was also a strange time that motivated me to do what I’d wanted to do for awhile, create my own news company.
And thus, The Electric was born.
The last eight years have had plenty of ups and down, with frustration, being overwhelmed and often teetering on the brink of burnout, but they’ve also been full of successes, serendipitous connections, wonderful people and joy.
These years included trying times through the pandemic and election chaos, but they also included Dogsgiving, Great Falls Greats, Feasting in the Falls, 12 Days of Great Falls Cheer, a Clear Your Stash Challenge and to celebrate this year’s anniversary, we’re introducing Ask A Local, guides to Great Falls and the surrounding area, written by locals.
As tired and frustrated as I get sometimes sitting through meetings realizing many people speaking haven’t read The Electric’s coverage or answering the same questions on repeat (God bless those of you who answer social media questions about Winco and what’s being built at the old Ryan’s Cash and Carry on my behalf), I still have a deep commitment to local journalism.
Local journalism helps keep local government accountable and inform the public so they can better have their voices heard. It helps tell you where your tax dollars are going, what decisions officials are making that will impact your daily life and the issues that are shaping your community, for better or worse.
Is it perfect? Of course not, but there are dedicated local journalists here in Great Falls doing that work.
The Electric has become something I honestly wasn’t sure would last in those early days to a community asset that I am incredibly proud of, typos and all.
We’ve broken a lot of stories and continue to do so.
More are coming as I’m working through a little bout of writer’s block or exhaustion or whatever you want to call it, as this, Aug. 22, is my birthday and my 227th consecutive day of publishing.
In the spring it was a bit of a “can I make it to 100 days” challenge during a busy season, and as the mark sailed on by, it became a how long can I keep this up challenge with myself. At this point, my goal is to make it to a full year of daily publishing, but we shall see if I can pull it off.
Sitting in a public meeting the other day, it occured to me that the beats I’m covering and roles I’m fulfilling as The Electric, used to take about six people. It’s a sad trend in journalism that there are fewer reporters nationwide, especially in small communities, where their often most needed.
But in these eight years, The Electric has tiptoed into an internship program with Great Falls Public Schools in 2024 and one of those students, Laurel Hunt, returning this summer. The hope is to continue growing that program to help grow the next generation of dedicated local journalist and help The Electric cover more ground.
We’ve also had great support through a partnership with Matt Ehnes bringing his talented photography to sports and community events with more to come.
Jason Kunz and Keed’n Connell at Speaking Socially are a huge help with graphics, tech support, ideas and generally putting up with me daily.
All of The Electric’s advertisers and monthly subscribers really make this small but mighty operation work and their continued support means the world to me. All of our advertisers are local and we do our best to keep our dollars local, putting that support back into our community.
To our readers, you are the heart and soul of The Electric. I created The Electric to serve our community and it means everything to me that it’s become a trusted local resource. Thanks to all of your for helping me create something my high school journalism self dreamed of.
