*bang*

I’m sure many of you have heard fireworks going off all over town the last several days; sure, it can be fun to watch, but it sure is damn noisy. I confronted a teenager the other night at 10:30 pm and asked him to stop, explaining that people had to get up to go to work early in the morning. His response: “It’s legal two weeks before and two weeks after the 4th of July - state law!” I begged to differ, and asked him if he would prefer to have the police explain the laws to him. He snorted, but as I dialed the police on my cell phone, he promptly stopped lighting the fireworks. So, since you asked, here is the rule:

Though you can BUY fireworks now, a city ordinance makes it illegal to set them off in the city until Thursday. Fireworks may be used from June 30th to July 4th at midnight.

June 30, 2005 | Filed Under events, politics | Leave a Comment 

Howdy, Neighbor!

Surprise, surprise…I didn’t realize until a few minutes that The Raving Norseman (aka AJ Tooley) is a Great Falls blogger! I’m not sure why, but I had thought that he was a Bozeman or Billings blogger. Bonus points: he has a “whimsy” category…cool. Into the GreaterFalls list of blogs with you, AJ!

June 29, 2005 | Filed Under blogging | Leave a Comment 

Be Aware

Richard Shular The Great Falls Tribune reports that a Tier III sex offender has moved to Great Falls:

Richard Shular, 23…convicted of raping 2 teenage girls in 1997… finished his 5-year sentence in August 2003… is a tier III sex offender, considered high risk for reoffending… now living at 15 15th Street N. ..white male, 6-feet tall with blonde hair and blue eyes…175 pounds…medium complexion…tattoos on both arms and calves, a dragon on his back and various designs on his chest and stomach.

The Sexual & Violent Assault Registry still lists him as being in the Gallatin County Detention Center, but that (hopefully) will be updated soon.

June 29, 2005 | Filed Under news, politics | Leave a Comment 

Open For Business

Atlanta Locksmith

Finally! The northeast section of River Drive, also known as the Northeast Bypass, is scheduled to open at noon on Thursday, June 30, after nearly a year of detours, gravel, and dust for Great Falls drivers. This will make it much easier to get to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, as well as local businesses that have been dramatically affected by the road closure, such as Best Resting Motel, Big Sky Animal Clinic, and others. It will make the drive to work much smoother for lots of Malmstrom airmen, too.

June 28, 2005 | Filed Under news, civics | Leave a Comment 

Trib Feature on Blogging

Just finished up an interview with Rich Ecke, a features writer for the Great Falls Tribune. Basic stuff: how did I get into blogging, why do I enjoy it, etc. Also discussed what makes Montana bloggers so special, how many Montana bloggers are there, and such. I mentioned Miss Bonkrood, who was the very first Montana blogger that I read, back in 2002 before I moved here, and Rich mentioned AJ Tooley, who was also interviewed for the story. He also asked about Craig, and I explained that Craig was essentially The BlogFather for many Montana bloggers, and one of the first (THE first?) name-brand MT bloggers. Good discussion with Rich — nice guy - maybe we’ll get him on board as a blogger! I’ll post a link when the story runs in a few days or weeks.

June 27, 2005 | Filed Under news, media | 2 Comments 

Sip-n-Dip

Somebody has some fond memories (and pictures!) of their visit to the Sip-n-Dip! The Sip-n-Dip Lounge is located in the O’Haire Motor Inn in downtown Great Falls, and back in 2003 it was ranked by GQ magazine as the “#1 Bar In the World Worth Flying To.” The primary attraction, other than the kitschy ultra-tiki-theme, is the mermaid swimming in the tank; in fact, when the most famous mermaid of modern times, Darryl Hannah, visited Great Falls, she donned a mermaid suit and jumped in, too.

According to Rhett Gadke: “The Sip n’ Dip is a force of nature. Piano Pat singing Neal Diamond, stiff cocktails, unbelievable ambience (they have bloody mermaids.) This place has more character than a hundred contrived big-city bars. You do yourself and those you love an injustice by visiting Great Falls and not partaking of its glory.” Quite an endorsement! Definitely on the “must see” list of places in Great Falls.

June 26, 2005 | Filed Under around town, restaurants | 7 Comments 

Stormy Weather

Wow — quite a thunderstorm yesterday! Driving home from work, I crossed three sets of railroad tracks, and the lights were flashing at all three, but there were no trains. And the lights at the intersection of Central Avenue and 3rd Street Northwest were not working — created a bit of confusion. Even had some hail — I pulled over along River Drive, as did several other drivers, until the hail and heavy rain let up.

June 23, 2005 | Filed Under outdoors | Leave a Comment 

Java Up!

It’s finally official: Great Falls is getting it’s very first free-standing Starbucks! Great Falls will join Billings, Helena, and Missoula as a Starbucks town. I’m sure you’ve all noticed the building going up in the parking lot of Holiday Village Mall. I’ve heard that the intersection there, 10th Avenue South & 9th Street, is the busiest one in town, so I suppose it makes sense to plant Starbucks right there. I have no doubt that the store will be successful. I wonder if they’ll have any grand-opening celebrations and prizes and such?

June 22, 2005 | Filed Under restaurants, business |  

Pfeiffer. Fred Pfeiffer.

For local TV news, I usually turn to KRTV, channel 11, as do most folks in Great Falls. The set re-design, the improved graphics, and the website that debuted over a year ago went a long way to making KRTV more watchable.
One thing that has not changed, however, is the delivery of Fred Pfeiffer, chief meteorologist for KRTV. He seems like a nice guy, and he clearly loves Montana and his job. But every single time that I have watched his forecast - every time, bar none - he has delivered the forecast in exactly the same manner. He reads the highs/lows/precip for the same cities in the same order ALL THE TIME. Why doesn’t he do it in reverse order for a change? Or alphabetically? Or throw in some places other than Saco, Malta, Glasgow, Big Sandy, and Belt? A minor quibble, perhaps, but changing the line-up would be cool.
In other Fred news, he’s got his own website, and did you know that he appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” back in 2001? The category: Top Ten Things You Don’t Want To Hear From Your Weather Forecaster. Fred was #6 with this gem: “Rain, sun, snow, sleet — what’s the difference? We’re all gonna die someday!”

June 20, 2005 | Filed Under media | 2 Comments 

What’s Up?

Bob Dylan is coming to Great Falls in July. His popularity continues to baffles me. Every song of his that I’ve heard sounds something like this: “Huh-hee-blah-blah-doo-dee-da.” Still, I’m glad that he included Great Falls on his concert tour.
Regarding BRAC: Montana officials journeyed to Oregon to make the case for keeping the F-16s in Great Falls. Based on past BRACs, I’d put the odds of success at roughly 5%, but I understand our elected officials have no choice but to make the effort to save jobs.
On a more whimsical note, the seventh annual “Dachshund Days” was held this weekend, with proceeds benefitting the American Red Cross. What is the appeal of weiner-dogs?

The allure of the breed, said attendee Michael Wilson, is that they are intelligent, travel-ready and dedicated. Plus, they’re adorable. But despite their small stature, Wilson said, they are vicious and protective: His dachshund often chases deer out of his yard. “And they don’t take up as much room on the bed,” Wilson said.

And on the roadways, the section of River Drive between 57th Street and the L&C Interpretive Center STILL isn’t complete. I thought that it would be done in time for the Explore The Big Sky kickoff, but now I’m just hoping that it will be done by the time EBS is over.

June 19, 2005 | Filed Under news | Leave a Comment 

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