Sign up for the free Great Falls This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Great Falls city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events.
7/21/2025
Stormwater plan considers future development
Great Falls’ east end needs stormwater infrastructure, often in the form of ponds, for an area that could see large new developments in the coming years.
That’s according to the city’s draft stormwater master plan, which is currently available for public review and comment. The document is an update to the current plan, which dates back to 1989.
The draft document examined the infrastructure needs and land characteristics of 24 regions throughout the city and prioritized upgrade suggestions based on potential flood risks and stormwater management. The draft plan also provided cost estimates for each proposed project, though as a long-term plan, those costs are subject to change over time.
The so-called Giant Springs basin has many of the highest-priority needs identified in the plan. This area encompasses the area roughly east of 38th Street, north of 10th Avenue South and south of the Missouri River. Three of the top 10 priority needs for the city (including the No. 1 priority) involve retention ponds for this region.
Stormwater retention ponds collect stormwater, especially during heavy rainfall, to alleviate the immediate rush of water into underground pipes and avoid flooding. The plan calls for new ponds near Seventh Avenue North and Riverwood Court and at 10th Avenue South and 57th Street.
The draft plan’s top priority involves a retention pond on the west end of Second Avenue North, which could be addressed with the city’s recent purchase of the property at 5200 2nd Ave. N. that includes a large pond on the lot. City documents for the property purchase indicate that this pond could help collect stormwater from the entire east end, including future needs from large developments like Meadowview Village and The Falls.
New developments are also required to build stormwater control infrastructure. The draft master plan notes that water from Great Falls’ southeast corner used to flow into Gibson Flats, which has a history of collecting damaging stormwater. When the area was developed to include the eastside Wal-Mart, storm drain improvements routed water northward and helped alleviate drainage to Gibson Flats, according to the document.
Years ago, a Gibson Flats landowner claimed that stormwater runoff from the city damaged his land, and he sued the city for $3 million. A jury awarded a smaller sum of $105,000 in 2023.
The draft master plan notes that some measures have been taken to reduce the impact to Gibson Flats. Still, new developments like The Falls will need to consider these areas when planning stormwater infrastructure. The draft master plan also calls for improvements to the Smith Coulee retention ponds, which are southeast of 43rd Street and alleviate stormwater runoff to Gibson Flats.
Finally, stormwater infrastructure improvements are underway this summer as part of a multi-phase project aimed at the southside of downtown and the nearby neighborhoods. Crews are installing larger storm drain pipes along Third Avenue South and along First Avenue South to alleviate significant flooding that happened in 2016, 2019 and 2020, according to emails from engineering officials. Construction is expected to last through the fall.
More information about the draft stormwater master plan can be found here.
City to consider fireworks ban after fatal fire
Faced with numerous complaints and the recent fatal house fire linked to fireworks, the Great Falls City Commission will consider banning most fireworks. The move would follow similar bans enacted in Helena, Missoula and Bozeman, among other cities.
Commissioner Rick Tryon said this has been a recurring issue that often gets pushed aside as other city priorities emerge.
“I think the responsible thing to do as a city commission is to address the concerns of the people that we’ve ignored in the past,” he said.
Commenters at the July 15 meeting talked about the difficulty of managing scared dogs during long hours of fireworks, as well as the impact on veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. The commission also heard from fireworks business owners who underscored the fun and tradition of fireworks displays.
It’s unclear what the ordinance would cover, and city staff are working on a draft to put before the commission. An ordinance could still allow smaller fireworks, like sparklers or snap pops. Other cities allow for permitted professional displays while banning personal, consumer-grade fireworks. Tryon called for a $500 fine as a penalty that increases on subsequent offenses.
Mayor Cory Reeves said that he couldn’t support a fireworks ordinance if the fire and police departments aren’t able to enforce it. Great Falls Police Chief Jeff Newton told commissioners during the meeting that current staffing levels aren’t often suitable to pursue lower-level fireworks offenders. Some fireworks calls might be followed, but a higher priority call is likely to divert officers.
“It comes down to resource management, allocation of resources and sending out resources to where the priorities are,” Newton said.
Though the fireworks discussion has happened before, calls to ban fireworks intensified this year after a woman died in a house fire on the west side of town on July 2. Great Falls Fire Rescue determined that the fire started in the yard and spread to the house. The cause was “likely” fireworks, according to a department statement.
A woman died in the fire, as did her dog and cat.
One commenter at the July 15 meeting, a fireworks seller, attempted to distance her product from the woman’s death. She said that fireworks didn’t kill the woman, whom she described as a hoarder.
The comments prompted Commissioner Susan Wolff to respond.
“She had a right to live. She had a right to have a safe home. Was she a hoarder? That has nothing to do with the fact that a fire was started in her area that went into her home,” Wolff said. “She had a right to live.”
A fireworks ordinance will require two hearings before the city commission.
By the numbers
The number of passengers flying through Great Falls International Airport during the 2025 fiscal year. The figure is a record, beating the previous number set in 2015.
Here’s more background from a Great Falls Airport Authority press release:
“Passenger growth in Great Falls was largely driven by a shift to larger aircraft by commercial airlines. Since the pandemic, U.S. airlines have phased out most of their 50-seat regional jets, requiring smaller markets like Great Falls to adapt to significantly more seat capacity.
“While Delta Air Lines recently announced the suspension of its Minneapolis service effective September 8, United Airlines has expanded capacity by extending its seasonal mainline Airbus service into November and is considering leaving mainline service through the holidays. This results in a net increase of roughly 10% more seat capacity this fall compared to fall 2019.”
5 things to know in Great Falls
Three Catholic schools in Great Falls have joined to form a unified system under the name St. Patrick’s Academy. The schools formerly known as Holy Spirit Catholic School, Our Lady of Lourdes and Great Falls Central Catholic high school will make up the system serving grades pre-k through 12. The St. Patrick’s Academy model will debut this fall with a four-day academic week and a fifth day of “hands-on enrichment and academic experiences,” according to system principal Kody Diekhans. The church will work toward a more cohesive curriculum over a longer term. School-level leadership will remain in place through this transition. Roughly 460 students are enrolled at the three schools.
Great Falls city commissioners gave initial approval to a proposed development for 67 single-family lots aimed at a “wide range of lot and home sizes.” Developer KIB Homes has requested a planned unit development to accommodate the various lot configurations. The property is in south Great Falls at 20th Avenue South and Seventh Street, behind Peak Health and Wellness and near the multi-sports softball field complex. A second reading and public hearing will take place Aug. 19.
The City-County Health Department website has a list of sites and dates for potential measles exposures following reports of a single case in the county. It’s the first case in the county amid 26 reported cases statewide. The department says that anyone who exhibits symptoms of measles should not walk into a medical facility unannounced and that vaccination is the best defense against an infection.
The city will prioritize public services and housing with federal aid programs, according to a strategic plan approved by the city commission July 15. The plan involves Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment Partnership, which are two local aid programs run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and intended to help low-income residents and those with additional service needs. The city expects to receive just over $1 million in aid for the coming fiscal year. The top priority in the strategic plan is the funding of public services that assist seniors, unhoused people, children and people with substance use or mental health issues. Subsequent priorities seek to fund affordable housing construction, residential rehab projects and fair housing initiatives. The 2025-2029 plan can be viewed here.
River’s Edge Trail users may soon get an uninterrupted riverside pathway from First Avenue North to Broadwater Bay. A state-led project aims to connect those portions of the trail, which currently require users to cross the busy River Road twice to go the full length. The connector project would build a new trail that keeps users along the riverside. Originally estimated to cost $1.9 million in 2019, the new estimate has topped $5.2 million, and funds will largely come from a federal program.
