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10/20/2025
Candidates speak on key issues at forum
Candidates for local office spoke at a forum Oct. 14 and took questions about two pointed issues: a pending data center and Calumet’s tax protests.
Great Falls Rising hosted the forum, which took place at the Great Falls Senior Center. All four city commission candidates participated, as well as one mayoral candidate. Incumbent Mayor Cory Reeves was absent but submitted written answers in advance, and those were read at the event.
One of the questions put to candidates was about the proposed data center development. Announced in June, the data center developer is TAC Data Centers, a subsidiary of a private equity firm based in Georgia. The project is estimated to consume up to 600 megawatts of power, which could require additional power generation, transmission infrastructure or both.
Mayoral candidate Jasmine Taylor pointed out that the proposed site, north of Malmstrom Air Force Base, isn’t within the city limits. Unless it’s annexed, the city commission may not have official input. However, she said she was opposed to the data center, citing environmental concerns related to power generation and the temporary construction workforce occupying limited rental homes.
“I’m sure it will come at tremendous expense to the community of Great Falls,” Taylor said.
Her opponent, Reeves, stated in written remarks that he believed the data center proposal presented a revenue opportunity. Depending on whether the site is annexed into the city, the proposed two-million-square-foot campus would be a major property taxpayer with as many as 200 permanent jobs.
Reeves acknowledged the intensive electricity and water use that can come from data centers, but he said environmental assessments conducted during the planning stages could help illuminate the impacts.
City commissioner candidate Pete Anderson said he agreed with some of Taylor’s points. He stopped short of taking a stance on the data center proposal but said he preferred Great Falls seek growth through local stakeholders rather than outside corporations.
“We need to start growing, small, from the inside out,” he said. “And that’s how we’ll block all of these big sharks from coming in.”
Commissioner candidate Matt Pipinich also said he didn’t support the data center project. He cited how the energy-intensive facilities put stress on the electrical grid and said the city should seek commercial opportunities that are more aligned with the community’s values and resources.
Casey Schreiner, also a commissioner candidate, said he was torn on the data center topic. The flourishing industry is powering a “new industrial revolution” in consumer technology, he said, and he wondered if Great Falls should stand to benefit from that boom.
However, he said he’s ultimately undecided and noted that a critical concern, such as excess water consumption, could sway him against the proposal. He said it shouldn’t come at a high cost to Great Falls residents.
Joe McKenney, the incumbent commissioner candidate, said there are more questions than answers in the data center proposal right now. But he saw a potential “shot in the arm” for local officials’ goals of building the tax base and gaining momentum to attract more residents and industries.
“It’s way too early to draw conclusions, but I’m thrilled,” he said. “I’m thrilled that it’s being explored.”
Candidates were also asked about Calumet Montana Refining’s property tax protests. The company is currently involved in its second multi-year tax protest, the first of which began in 2017. During a tax protest, the company pays its property taxes, but the money is held in escrow until the appeal is resolved. That means that local schools, the city and the county don’t receive that tax revenue except through a special request.
In July, Great Falls Public Schools passed a resolution to access $675,000 in protested tax revenue in order to balance its budget. The district requested $1.2 million last year for the same purpose. If an eventual settlement reduces Calumet’s tax burden, the school district will ultimately have to repay its share of the difference.
Anderson said that he had just recently learned about the refinery’s protests and said that he felt the company has “had it easy,” adding that city officials have been too deferential to large companies in town. He said that he hoped the company would engage more proactively in the community.
Schreiner said that this issue is more appropriately aimed at the state lawmakers who set tax law and the Montana Department of Revenue, which conducts the property valuations on which property taxes are based. He felt that the blame on the local company, in particular the employees, is misplaced.
“It’s a systems problem,” Schreiner said. “I’m really nervous when we start targeting local businesses that employ people. And I feel like that’s how we’ve gotten to this divisive area, because the employees there have done no wrong.”
McKenney, who has dealt with budget challenges influenced in part by Calumet’s protest, acknowledged that the situation can cause disruptions. Ultimately, he stated that the refinery is following the protest process available to any taxpayer and noted that Calumet remains the city’s largest taxpayer.
Pipinich said that a large corporation like Calumet can afford to pay its property tax bill and make other community contributions in order to be a “healthy employer” in the city. Given the environmental impacts of the refinery in addition to those on the budget, he said the city can do more to be proactive.
“I’m here to say that yes, the city can’t do much other than help put pressure on the state to make changes,” Pipinich said. “But we need to move forward to protect ourselves from things they’re doing.”
In his written statements, Reeves stated that the protests have been frustrating from the city management’s perspective. But he said the legal process should be respected, and it should be up to state-level legislators to craft a more predictable process.
Taylor rejected the premise that Calumet has been unfairly attacked for these issues when it’s the local labor force and other resources that make the facility run.
“Calumet’s not doing us a favor by existing here, guys,” Taylor said. “They’re not going to up and move their oil refinery because we annoy them by asking to pay their property taxes in a timely manner.”
While tax laws are set at the state level, Taylor suggested the city explore potential remedies. One she suggested was urging state lawmakers to allow Calumet to pay for an independent appraisal on the refinery, which requires special expertise to evaluate. That could get ahead of potential protests, which stem from the revenue department’s valuations of the plant.
The full forum can be watched here.
Great Falls airport not playing video blaming Dems for federal shutdown
National media reported last week that major airports across the country have declined a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to play a video that blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
The request went out to smaller airports as well, including those in Montana. The Great Falls International Airport Authority received the emailed request Oct. 14 from Kurt Carlson, a DHS assistant federal security director.
According to the email, obtained by Montana Free Press, Carlson wrote, “I have been directed to request that you voluntarily post this video at your location, if can do so. We fully understand we do not own your systems and are not tell [sic] you what to you must do [sic].”
The 30-second video features Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said that the agency is working to reduce disruptions to flights during the shutdown. Twice in the video, the Republican cabinet member blames the other party for the situation.
“However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay,” Noem said in the video.
NPR reported that the video raises ethical and legal issues, particularly the Hatch Act, which prevents executive branch employees from engaging in political messaging with government resources. There were similar concerns earlier in the shutdown as government websites for agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed pop-up messages blaming “the radical left” for the shutdown.
Great Falls Airport Authority Director John Faulkner told the DHS official via email that its screens are tied to the flight information display systems, and they may not have the capability to play the video. In a follow-up email with MTFP, Faulkner reiterated that the technology capabilities may prevent them from playing it. He added that the airport sometimes receives voluntary requests related to the work of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA.
“Given their broad footprint, it isn’t uncommon for TSA to send out blanket guidance for their faculties at airports and occasionally these requests aren’t applicable or possible at individual airport locations,” Faulkner said.
In response to inquiries from MTFP, airport directors in Helena and Missoula also said that the video wouldn’t be played because it violates requirements for messaging to remain nonpartisan.
Gun store owner reaches deal in tax fraud case
Great Falls gun store owner Tommy Michael VanHoose is set to plead guilty to one count of submitting a false tax return after an IRS investigation found that he under-reported more than $1 million in income and skimmed sales at his business, Highwood Creek Outfitters.
The plea agreement, signed by VanHoose Oct. 4, says that he will agree to pay $250,000 in restitution.
VanHoose originally faced five counts of submitting false tax returns, which corresponded to five tax years that IRS investigators said were fraudulently reported. The plea agreement covers the 2018 tax returns only, and the counts related to 2019 through 2022 will be dismissed.
VanHoose’s case caught political attention after the IRS raided his Great Falls business in 2023 and collected transaction reports. That included former Congressman Matt Rosendale, who said there was no circumstance in which the IRS would need those transaction records. In fact, the IRS used the records to show VanHoose sold merchandise for more money than what he reported to the IRS.
In 2024, VanHoose told MTFP that he was politically targeted and that nothing in the federal indictment was true. A hearing to enter a guilty plea is scheduled for Oct. 23.
5 Things to Know in Great Falls
Great Falls College MSU will receive a $1.4 million donation from the Berkshire Hathaway Energy Foundation to establish a grid operator training program. Trainees will work toward certification through the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to manage and monitor the nation’s electric grid, according to a press release. It’s a one-of-a-kind program for the college. The donation will fund the construction of a training center to house the program, which is expected to begin enrolling by fall 2026. Berkshire Hathaway Energy is constructing a battery storage facility near Cut Bank, runs wind farms in the state and has plans for a 100-megawatt solar project.
The Bootlegger Ball, a jazz-themed speakeasy event, is Oct. 25 at The History Museum and Research Center’s Ozark Club room. It will feature live jazz from the John Gemberling Jazz Combo, cocktails and dinner. The event begins at 6 p.m., and tickets can be purchased through The History Museum.
Great Falls Park and Recreation is tapping into community creativity for a 2026 Ice Breaker Road Race logo design contest. Creators must include certain elements, including “some image of a penguin,” to qualify. Submit a vector-formatted design by Oct. 25, after which public voting will begin. More information about submissions can be found here.
The Great Falls Area Community Foundation announced $7,452 in grant awards to 14 nonprofit recipients. The awards will go toward specific projects, and recipients include the Belt Theater Company, Grace Haven, Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, Spark! Children’s Museum and others. “This year’s grant recipients showcase the wide variety of organizations that make Great Falls and the surrounding area a stronger, more vibrant community,” board member Larry Phillips said in a press release.
The Night Without a Bed event about homelessness will take place Nov. 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the University of Providence. The student-led event brings together service organizations and presenters who serve unhoused people and educate the public on related issues. The event will take place in the campus student center building.
