2/3/2025
“Great Falls This Week” is reported and written by Matt Hudson. Send your news and tips to [email protected].
Clinic ownership would nearly triple tribal workforce
The sign out front says “Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic,” but it’s the federal Indian Health Service that calls the shots at the Great Falls facility.
That isn’t to say that the clinic was unwelcome. The opening of the health center in 2022 was a big step for the burgeoning Little Shell Tribe, whose members previously had to travel hundreds of miles to be served by another tribal health clinic. The facility is culturally reflective of the Little Shell, and a portrait of Ayabe-Way-We-Tung, a former chief of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, looms above the main lobby.
Now, the tribe is embarking on an effort to take control of its clinic, forgoing much of the federal bureaucracy.
“I’m a true believer that all tribes should move to self-governance,” tribal Chairman Gerald Gray told Montana Free Press. “That means running stuff yourself instead of having the federal government always doing that for you. It doesn’t mean they aren’t going to be there along the way. They’re always involved.”
The transition is long and bureaucratic, but Gray believes the tribe is poised to take ownership of the facility and improve hiring and health care practices. The clinic, which has about 40 employees, doesn’t currently have a staff doctor, Gray said. Doctors from the Crow and Blackfeet tribes have come to lend temporary help.
Gray said the clinic has asked IHS to temporarily freeze hiring until the Little Shell can take over. He said the IHS hiring process, a mechanism of the federal government, is also a long and difficult process. Under Little Shell ownership, Gray said the tribe will be able to streamline hiring and offer more attractive compensation packages.
“Once we assume the clinic, it doesn’t become a government system,” Gray said. “It’s really awkward. Some will want to move on, to stay with another IHS facility.”
Others will either be rehired as tribal employees or work through a sort of hybrid program that allows federal government employees to work for local governments or tribal governments, Gray said.
Once completed, the clinic acquisition will be a massive human resources endeavor for the tribe, nearly tripling the number of its employees.
The IHS media office did not respond to requests for comment. An auto-reply email said the agency has paused communications, which is part of a Trump administration directive across federal health agencies. The IHS tribal self-governance contact also declined to answer questions.
Two Montana tribes have gone through the IHS self-governance process: the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation and the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
Gray said the clinic will model its care structure from Nuka, a holistic health care philosophy championed by Indigenous groups in Alaska. The Nuka model incorporates mental, spiritual, emotional and physical wellness and takes an integrative approach to health care visits and guidance.
The Little Shell will negotiate the transition with IHS over the coming months. Gray hopes to reopen under tribal ownership in July.
Legislative Update
Great Falls This Week isn’t usually the place to read about the Montana Legislature (check out Capitolized for that), but one bill caught my attention.
State Sen. Jeremy Trebas (R-Great Falls) sponsored a bill that would prevent county-level governments from removing election administration duties from the county clerk and recorder. That exact scenario played out a year ago in Cascade County, and Trebas told MTFP that his bill resulted from those events.
“Even though it stems from one issue, I think it’s good policy across Montana,” he said on Thursday.
The bill, SB 128, stipulates that counties may not remove election duties from a clerk and recorder during their term in office. Counties could, however, make the change for a future term of office, and clerks and recorders can voluntarily give up those duties, according to the bill draft.
If passed, the law wouldn’t be retroactive and wouldn’t change the current election administration in Cascade County, which is overseen by appointed department leader Terry Thompson. The law would apply to counties that haven’t designated an elections administrator separate from the elected clerk and recorder office.
In most Montana counties, election administration still falls under the clerk and recorder, an elected position. The only counties with appointed election administrators separate from the clerk and recorder office are Cascade, Yellowstone, Missoula, Lincoln, Lake, Glacier and Big Horn counties.
Trebas’ bill passed out of a local government committee and has yet to reach a full Senate vote.
Photo Op
On Jan. 27, two C-130 Hercules planes made circles around Great Falls as part of a training exercise for the Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing. The massive, 132-foot wingspan aircraft made several touch-and-go landings at Great Falls International Airport.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
The Gist
Reporters across the country, including those at Montana Free Press, were reaching out to a wide array of federal grant recipients on Jan. 28 amid news of a federal spending freeze. In Great Falls, I reached out to school district officials, city and county representatives, health care organizations and others to see if any early disruptions had materialized. Localizing a national story is a foundational local journalism strategy. While there was plenty of concern to go around, there weren’t many acute funding shortages, though the fate of some funding streams remains unknown.
But there was one local impact at Calumet, which was expecting the first disbursement of a massive loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. A tranche of $782 million was approved for funding that very day, according to Calumet’s investor update. The money will fund an expansion of the Montana Renewables biofuel plant, but that distribution was still on hold as of Friday, Jan. 31.
Speaking with MTFP, Montana Renewables CEO Bruce Fleming was confident that this amounted to a review by a new presidential administration to align spending with its goals. He and other industry stakeholders indicated President Donald Trump’s support for biofuel production, even as he may look to curtail other clean energy initiatives.
One detail that didn’t make it into the story: An Energy Department announcement of the loan commitment to Calumet appears to have been scrubbed from the agency website (archived here). It’s not clear if this means anything, but the administration has a habit of deleting website resources for issues or projects it disagrees with.
The Energy Department’s main landing page for the Montana Renewables project remains live on the website.
5 Things to Know in Great Falls
NeighborWorks Great Falls announced that it is on track to be designated as a “community reinvestment organization” for six central Montana counties in addition to Cascade. This allows participation in a state program to make loans to help people at up to 140% of the area median income finance a portion of a home. NeighborWorks was previously approved by Cascade County commissioners to administer the program, and this new announcement adds Chouteau, Teton, Toole, Pondera, Blaine and Glacier counties. As part of the program, NeighborWorks must find matching funds to the state money. In a press release, Great Falls Development Alliance CEO Brett Doney said the organization plans to put up its loan capital to assist in the match and hopes to attract developers.
The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office has found a community partner to set up a crisis receiving center aimed at serving people facing mental health crises. Plans are underway to retrofit the upper level of the Indian Family Health Clinic for secured and unsecured space for mental health care. It’s meant as a jail diversion effort for people with low-level criminal offenses but acute mental health issues. Sheriff Jesse Slaughter has previously said the department faced challenges in a jail setting providing mental health care. In a recent presentation to county commissioners, Undersheriff Scott Van Dyken said Great Falls is the only large city in the state without such a facility. Indian Family Health Clinic has 14 rooms and is currently going through asbestos removal, Van Dyken said. A $1.5 million state mental health grant will fund the startup costs.
Great Falls City Commission will consider final approval to kick off a study on the land use interactions between Malmstrom Air Force Base and the city. The firm Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services is the leading candidate to carry out an infrastructure resilience and compatible land use study. A $360,000 federal grant and a $40,000 local match by the city will fund the work. On Tuesday, commissioners will vote for or against a professional services agreement with the engineering firm to carry out the study.
Great Falls Public Schools expect to use its ability to raise levies through school board votes. State law allows limited increases with limits on the amount of increases. Revenue projections for the next budget cycle show increases in five school funds and a decrease in one fund for facility upgrades. In total, the levy increase is estimated to add $23.72 to the annual tax bill on a $300,000 home. Tax valuations and legislative action could change the final figure by the time the budget is set later this year.
Great Falls City Commission will discuss its broad 2025 goals during a work session on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The goals include an assessment of deficit funds that get aid from the general fund, passage of the growth policy in development, community education and public safety funding. Specific to public safety, the goals include decisions on how to use 3.5 mills of funding that were pulled from the Great Falls Public Library and the early stages to develop a renewed push to put another public safety levy in front of voters.