Good morning, and welcome back! It’s JoVonne here with a fresh edition of Helena This Week.
It’s been quite a busy few weeks here in the Queen City. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday festivities earlier this month. I spent mine in Butte. If you didn’t know, the 3rd of July is when Butte has its big fireworks display; it’s pretty spectacular.
But, enough about Butte — let’s take a look at what Helena has been up to. Up first, a look at how deeply immersed Helena has become in immigration debates over the past year since a Helena man was arrested by ICE. We also share some of Mayor Emily Dean’s responses to the anniversary of that arrest, and how she’s thinking about her priorities for the city.
In other news, Helena is experiencing a chlamydia outbreak among teens, the city raised parking rates by 50 cents, and we found out what all the roadwork on Montana Avenue next to the Capitol is about.
But first, a weather preview ☀️
We are starting off hot this week with a Monday high of 97 degrees — make sure to grab your sunscreen and drink lots of water when spending time outside. Temperatures will slightly drop as the week progresses, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moldan, with a possibility of showers and thunderstorms as early as Tuesday.
A year of immigration debates, conflict and advocacy
July 1 marked one year since the arrest of Helena resident and Mexican national Christopher Martinez Marvan — an incident that sparked local outrage, community action and a city resolution that aimed to put distance between local police and federal immigration enforcement.
Martinez Marvan’s detention and eventual deportation also kick-started a defining part of my beat. Over the past 365 days, I’ve followed along as Helena’s leaders and citizens have navigated debate, disagreement and occasional alignment in the aftermath of Martinez Marvan’s arrest. The local news morphed into a high-profile showdown with state officials after the city commission passed its resolution, which directed local police to “avoid” working with federal immigration agents and insured the city didn’t enter into a 287(g) agreement, and then walked it back two months later under threats of legal action from Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
As the one-year anniversary approached, I began interviewing local players who played key roles in Helena’s immigration debates over the last year. Some, including Montana For Palestine member Lily Clarke and City Commissioner Melinda Reed, said they were proud of how Helenans came together to organize for the resolution but were frustrated by the city’s decision to rescind it. Others, like Helena Police Chief Brett Petty, said the events over the past year led to internal training and community discussions that helped shore up the department’s protocols.
One of the people I most wanted to speak to was Mayor Emily Dean, whose first months in her new role were often marked by fractious debates about the resolution. But Dean declined my request for an interview, instead sending an emailed response in late June. As part of her longer statement, Dean acknowledged that immigration has taken up a lot of oxygen in the last year.
“I’ve spoken extensively and publicly about the events of the past year, including the city’s values, HPD’s policies, and the difficult decisions we navigated amid state theatrics and national turbulence,” Dean said in the June 24 email to MTFP.
Ultimately, Dean said, Helena’s current policies of leaving immigration enforcement to federal entities already address what the resolution was intended to do. Dean pointed out that the commission took time to listen to extensive public testimony.
“It’s worth noting that Helena was the only Montana city that held dozens of hours of diverse public comment on this issue, and we took that seriously,” Dean wrote. “Our policies clearly reflect that civil immigration enforcement is not the job of local law enforcement. It never was, and that hasn’t changed.”
Dean went on to say that, in her view, there is far more to Helena — and her mayoral agenda — than that issue alone.
In her email, she said she wished to focus more on other city priorities and projects, including the adoption of a final budget later this summer, securing millions in grant dollars for infrastructure improvements and working toward passing a public safety levy that could provide funding to hire more police and firefighters.
“What I’d also welcome is a conversation about the fuller picture of what Helena has accomplished this past year, because there’s a great deal to highlight,” Dean said. “Going forward, my energy is squarely focused on executing the priorities that keep this city moving and improving our quality of life.”
About a week after Dean’s email, as the anniversary of Martinez Marvan’s arrest came and went, Helenans concerned about immigration were stirred by news out of Bozeman, where federal immigration agents arrested dozens of people, according to local nonprofits. At least some of those detained passed through Helena, where civil rights attorneys said they were temporarily held at a federal facility near the regional airport.
The conversation at last week’s Monday city commission meeting, before Dean and other elected officials, again turned to immigration. Among other points, Dean reiterated that the city had no jurisdiction over the federal facility used to hold detainees. She did not comment on calls to re-adopt the resolution.
For more details of what happened at the meeting, read my full report here.
Queen City Views 📸
Here is a pic I snapped at last Wednesday’s Alive at Five show. Now, time for a confession: it was actually my first time attending the iconic weekly Helena summer event (shhh, I know you might be judging me). But I had a grand time! The music from Florabella the Band was a vibe, and I had a chance to meet up with my buddies. It was a treat to see how these free concerts are a blessing for those needing a mid-week breather.
By the way — if you have a Helena photo you’d like to share from the week, send it to me at [email protected].
Public Notice 🧐
More talk about Helena’s parks & rec…
🗓️ Saturday, July 18
⏰ From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
📍 Helena Farmers’ Market
ℹ️ Plenty of you took the survey shared in last week’s newsletter about the city’s parks and recreation master plan. City staff working on the plan will be at the market this weekend to answer questions about project priorities.
🔗 Visit the Be Heard Helena website for additional details about the master plan.
New parking rates are here
🗓️ Effective as of Wednesday, July 1.
📍 Downtown area
ℹ️ Heads up Helenans: the city has increased hourly parking fees from $1 to $1.50. The first 20 minutes will be free and after that, patrons will be charged 50 cents for every 20 minutes of the first hour. The city’s maximum daily parking fee is $12. Questions? Email the city at [email protected].
🔗Visit the city’s parking website for additional information and a map of parking locations.
Change of venue for city listening sessions
🗓️ Friday, July 17
⏰ 3 p.m.
📍 Helena College lecture hall
ℹ️ This community session will focus on the topic of public safety and will feature local firefighters and police officers.
🔁 City listening sessions occur monthly. Visit the Be Heard Helena website here to find the full schedule.
Glad You Asked, Helena 🙋
We received a number of your questions about Helena in our last issue (if you want to submit one, just fill out this form). A few of you asked what was going on with the new median dividers popping up on Montana Avenue next to the Capitol building.
I spoke with Montana Department of Transportation project delivery engineer Rich Hibl last week, whose district includes Helena. He gave me the rundown on the construction project and what’s coming next.
Because of past pedestrian-involved accidents on Montana Avenue, the state agency decided to install several rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the intersections of Ninth, Eighth, Fifth, and Breckenridge avenues. The department lists Montana Avenue as an “urban route” within Helena and is able to pay for major infrastructure projects, Hibl said
Hibl said that concrete medians will be installed in the middle of Montana Avenue, which will serve multiple purposes.
“It gives us a place to put these [flashing] signs, and it also serves as a pedestrian refuge, kind of, in the middle of the street,” Hibl told me.
Over the past decade, Hibl said the area has seen about eight traffic incidents involving pedestrians while crossing the road. Some, including those last year, happen during the legislative session, when lobbyists and lawmakers are crossing four lanes of traffic on Montana Avenue to get to the Capitol building in the early hours of the morning.
The total bid cost for the project is $842,469, Hibl said, and the contract was awarded to Helena-based company Montana Materials and Construction. Hibl said that the department anticipates wrapping up the road work by the end of August.
He also added that the state continuously takes public comments on its projects and encourages the community to submit questions or comments online.
And, really, send me your questions about Helena. I’ll do my best to report out the answers in the next newsletter.
About Town 👀
Last week, Lewis and Clark Public Health announced a recent surge in chlamydia cases that may be related to “adolescent social networks.”
According to investigations conducted by the county public health department, 53 cases were reported this year so far. Compared to this time last year, those figures show a 71% increase.
“Based on the data, this meets the epidemiological definition of an outbreak, as there appear to be more cases than expected for the time and location,” the press release stated.
Nearly half of the recent cases were reported by teenagers aged 15 to 19. The county health department said that, of those cases, 58% were occurring among females.
The county also said that the outbreak could be linked to teens using social media apps. In response to questions on Facebook, the health department said that young users often experience manipulation and pressure about risky sexual activities on those platforms, and encouraged parents to talk to their children about their social media.
“We know that being a teenager is hard. We know that being the parent of a teenager is even harder,” LCPH officer Drenda Niemann said in the press release. “But we are encouraging parents to talk to their teens – about social media use, about sex, about sexually transmitted infections, and about contraception. Even when it is difficult, keep the lines of communication open and remain actively involved in your child’s well-being.”
Helena Happenings🚶
Arts & Culture: The nice weather we’re experiencing makes for the perfect atmosphere for an evening outside. Right on queue, the annual Symphony Under the Stars is back Saturday, July 18, featuring the Helena Symphony and a setlist of 60s and 70s R&B artists. The show is free and starts at 8:30 p.m. on the Carroll College campus — don’t forget to stake down your blankets with cans of food to donate to the Helena Food Share.
Outdoor Events: Looking for a place to cheer on some impressive athletes? Check out the Montana Women’s Triathlon, July 19. Competitors will swim in the city pool at Memorial Park, bike from Centennial Park to Tenmile Creek Park, and finish with a run at Memorial Park. Visit the event’s website to learn more and figure out where you can spectate.
Books & Writing: Turns out, there is a Jane Austen Games & Social Club here in Helena. It’s okay if you’ve never heard of it until now because its inaugural gathering is Saturday, July 18. Meeting from noon to 3 p.m. at Cafe Zydeco, the club is meant to offer a space for like-minded Jane Austen enthusiasts and will offer Regency-inspired games.
