Great Falls Community Guide 2015 100 1st Ave. N. Great Falls, MT 59401 406.761.4434 greatfallschamber.org MT-0000345651 Table of Contents Welcome Chamber guide highlights how About the Chamber.......................... 1,3 City overview....................................... 2 Online resources .................................. 4 special Great Falls community is Great Falls history................................. 5 Trolley................................................... 6 Living here Great Falls is very special it as much as I do. Residency requirements....................... 7 place to live, work, play The Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has been New resident essentials ....................... 8 and raise a family. I am very the leading business organization in Great Falls since Weather............................................... 9 proud to call Great Falls my 1886. Many things have changed since then except our Montana basics.................................. 10 home. basic purpose, which is to promote, protect and serve This publication will guide Commerce the business community. We do that through our many you through our wonderful Shopping.......................................11-12 committees, with volunteers who believe in the good community whether you are Dining out.....................................13-14 things we accomplish and have been doing for more visiting, relocating or recently Hotels................................................. 15 than 128 years. have moved here. As you I invite you to check out greatfallschamber.org Economy go through the Chamber’s to learn more about the Chamber, our committees, Military............................................... 16 Community Guide and then Steve Grooms Employment ...................................... 17 start exploring, you will begin Chamber Board Chair benefits and services we offer, and to learn evene mor County demographics ....................... 18 to discover just how special about Great Falls under Experience Great Falls. You Agriculture......................................... 19 Great Falls really is. also will find that our website is an amazing resource Business resources.........................20-21 I believe you will find this guide very helpful when for businesses, economic development, contacting your elected representatives and more. You also can follow us Government navigating Great Falls and learning about our services, amenities, culture, recreational opportunities and much on Facebook and connect via Tw itter. Contacts ........................................22-23 more. As you learn more about our community, I think, If you would like more information, please feel free to Health care you too, will find out why Great Falls is special and love contact us at 761-4434. Hospitals, clinics ...........................25-27 Senior care.......................................... 28 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: McLaughlin Research Center............. 29 Steve Grooms, Chair Community 1st Liberty Federal Credit Union [email protected] Groups, organizations...................30-31 Map...............................................32-33 Erling Juel, 1st Vice Chair TD&H Engineering Churches........................................34-35 [email protected] Kids groups ........................................ 37 Media................................................. 38 Pat Kons, 2nd Vice Chair Pacific Steel & Recycling Recreation [email protected] City parks......................................39-40 Ross Norman, Treasurer State, national parks.....................41-42 Anderson ZurMuehlen Area recreation..............................43-46 [email protected] Spectator sports, leagues .............47-48 Sue Warren, Past Chair Rec centers, athletic clubs.................. 49 Benefis Health System [email protected] Culture Dennis Peterson Cultural events..............................50-52 Easter Seals Goodwill Nightlife........................................53-54 [email protected] Museums.......................................55-57 Sheila Rice Education NeighborWorks [email protected] Public, private schools, higher education...........................58-60 Steve Malicott, President/CEO Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Transportation [email protected] Airport, buses, etc ............................. 61 Major events Calendar .......................................62-64 CHAMBER STAFF: Percy Steve Malicott President/CEO [email protected] Tom Alfrey Copyright © 2015 by Great Falls Tribune. Published by the Great Falls Vice President Tribune, Great Falls, MT. greatfallstribune.com. All rights reserved. No [email protected] part may be reproduced, stored or transitted in any form or by any Roxy Perez means without written prior permission of the publisher. Office Manager Lead editor: Amie Thompson [email protected] Copy editor: Amber L. Beckner Joann Gogo Cover & section designer: Scott Sanford Membership Director COVER PHOTO: “Sacajawea Arduous Journey”, the bronze statue by late [email protected] artist Carol Grende at the Missouri River Federal Courthouse. TOP: Red Lodge cowboy Dan Yates wrestles his steer in 11.8 seconds during the Big Sky PrO Rodeo TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO Barb Carbis Roundup at Montana ExpoPark. TRIBUNE PHOTO\LARRY BECKNER Information Coordinator BOTTOM: Claude Hawks looks at a 1946 Chevy pickup with his grandkids Madeline and Emerson Hamma at the Custom Car Show in the Trades and Industries Building. TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS [email protected] greatfallschamber.org1 Welcome Great Falls, located in central Montana with a population nof nearly 60,000, is home to hundreds of businesses, numerous medical facilities and museums and two universities. TRIBUNE PHOTO\LARRY BECKNER which will double production capacity to 20,000 the opening of the Hotel Arvon, Central Avenue Construction, barrels per day. Calumet refines heavy Canadian sidewalk improvements, Bennett Motors new crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel. facilities and construction on the Rocky Mountain “There are really some exciting things happening Building this year. The Front Brewing Co. opened its new businesses here,” Doney said at the GFDA annual meeting in new brewery downtown in 2014 and it and Mighty July 2014. Mo Brewing Co. both started canning beer from Keynote speaker Bill Johnstone described his their downtown breweries. The Darkhorse Banquet spur growth experience as co-chairmen of Main Street Montana Hall and Wine Snug also opened downtown. Project, a public-private partnership set on Montana Farmers Union purchased the downtown implementing a business plan for the state. Times Square building and filled it with tenants in “We have made great progress in the face of real 2014. in all sectors challenges,” said Johnstone, chairman and CEO of “Downtown Great Falls is in an ascendency,” said Great Falls financial services firm D.A. Davidson Sheila Rice, executive director of NeighborWorks, Cos. Hard work, investment and creative entrepreneurs NorthWestern Energy completed its purchase which will build a 12-plex apartment building at are moving Great Falls forward, according to Brett of Great Falls area hydropower facilitie from PPL 1201 1st Ave. S. “We’re moving forward. Things ear Doney, president of the Great Falls Development Corporation in 2014. happening.” Authority. Pacific Steel & Recycling and Montana Specialty In 2014, the U.S. Air Force announced it would “We’ve set employment records every month (in Mills will break ground on new facilities this year in keep all of Malmstrom Air Force Base’s missile silos 2014),” he said, continuing “Our unemployment the Great Falls AgriTech Park. in “warm” status and add 216 personnel to the base. rate is 3.5 percent, well below the national average.” Great Falls Clinic started construction on a $31 The Montana Air National Guard launched its new Doney predicts that Great Falls will see continued million 19-bed hospital while Easter Seals-Goodwill C-130 mission and broke ground on its $20 million growth in the advanced manufacturing and service completed renovation of its new Central Avenue hangar project. industries in 2015. facility. Blue Cross Blue Shield opened a 150-person World-class companies have made major long- The University of Great Falls will construct new medical claims processing center in 2014. Employees term investments in Great Falls. Companies such student housing this year to accommodate its take calls and answer questions from doctors, as ADF Group, Calumet Montana Refining and expanding student population while Great Falls hospitals and staff in five states about patient Loenbro are expanding thanks to strong support College Montana State University is seeing more eligibility and benefits veco rage. Centene, one of from city, county and state officials. ADF opened enrollees in its welding program, the first in the the nation’s leading Medicaid claims processing a 100,000-square-foot Great Falls steel fabrication United States. companies, added a second shift at its Great Falls plant in 2014 and constructed a 42,000-square-foot The Great Falls tourism industry will benefit from claims center last year. paint and coatings facility. B/E Aerospace purchased construction of the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Pacific Steel & Recycling and Montana Specialty EMTEQ and is expanding its manufacturing plant, Center and the Home 2 hotel. The Great Falls Mills purchased the first 77 acres in the new