Scheduling for the next round of first-dose vaccinations opens March 4 at 9 a.m. The scheduling option will open at that time on the online portal here. Appointments will be available on the following dates: March 8 – 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 10 – 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 12 – 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March
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The Air Force has released the draft environmental assessment, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, to evaluate potential environmental effects associated with the implementation of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent test program. The GBSD program would modernize the aging U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman III system. The Air Force is planning to replace all 1970s Minuteman III ICBM weapons
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The case rate for the last week was 8 per 100,000 in Cascade County. The Cascade County City-County Health Department calculates the rate of average new daily cases each Wednesday for the previous week. Last week, the rate was 15 per 100,000 for Feb. 11-17, according to Trisha Gardner, county health officer. On Feb. 17, the Cascade County City-County Board
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The Downtown Development Partnership voted during their Feb. 24 meeting to recommend approval of a request for up to $125,000 in tax increment financing funds over five years for tree trimming and maintenance downtown. The request from the Great Falls Business Improvement District would allow the BID to better maintain trees and replace any that are deemed unhealthy. Under city
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The Great Falls Public Library board voted to postpone a decision on the request to rename the library for Alma Jacobs, who served as head librarian at the GFPL and the state librarian, both historic firsts for a Black woman during her time. The request was initiated by Ken Robison, a local historian, in December and led the board to
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Crime is a concern in most communities and in Great Falls, it’s again become a focal point of conversation for government officials. Most acknowledge that local crime rates are concerning, but many will say it’s a more nuanced conversation with more complicated solutions than simply adding more law enforcement officers. Mental health, poverty, substance abuse and trauma are factors, and
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Whittier Elementary will reopen for face-to-face learning at 8:10 a.m. Feb. 25. The school has been closed since Feb. 16 due to frozen pipes and boiler issues. “The plumbing issues have been addressed and there is adequate heat in the building,” Brian Patrick, Great Falls Public Schools’ director of business operations, said in a release. Whittier closed another week due
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The Great Falls Public Schools board voted unanimously during their Feb. 22 meeting to approve a collective bargaining agreement with the Great Falls Education Association. The current agreement expires in June and includes about 750 teachers, according to Kerry Dattilo, the GFPS human resources director. She said that the groups began negotiating in January and the union’s membership voted to
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The city planning board will consider a conditional use permit for a property at 214 7th Ave. S. to address a neighborhood complaint. Sheffels Farms, Inc. has owned the property since the 1950s and the property has typically been used in a fashion that would be considered industrial in nature, according to the city staff report. There’s been little use
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The new parking kiosks are coming to downtown Great Falls this spring. The City Commission voted in November to purchase 16 pay stations, two of which will go in the city’s parking garages, and the other 14 will line Central Avenue from Park Drive to 8th Street. There will be one station per block on each side of the street,
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