Independent news site dedicated to coverage of Great Falls and Cascade County, Montana, as well as Ma
Independent news site dedicated to coverage of Great Falls and Cascade County, Montana, as well as Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Montana National Guard.
07/26/2025
Bradley Crisman was sentenced Friday on felony counts of aggravated kidnapping and attempted aggravated sexual in*******se without consent from a June 2024 incident in which he and another Montana State Prison inmate pushed a corrections officer into a cell while she was doing door checks and attempting to r**e her.
Crisman was sentenced to 75 years in 2012 for assaulting a real estate agent during a 2011 Great Falls house showing. He was a 21-year-old airman assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base at the time.
Several county residents spoke during the July 24 Cascade County Commission meeting asking officials not to collaborate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs.
There was no contract with ICE specifically on the agenda, but the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office is negotiating a new contract with the U.S. Marshals Service and is also in discussions with ICE for a separate contract, but there’s no draft or movement on that at this point, according to county officials.
For those of you asking, a lot, Best Wok has reopened and the former Peres Food Basket is being remodeled into a residence. The summer sidewalk sale is underway and more.
City Commissioners have scheduled a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. July 29 to consider setting a public hearing on a resolution to send the question of fireworks to the ballot.
The move comes after a special July 22 work session and discussion during a regular July 15 work session following a fatal July 2 fire caused by fireworks.
*Photo taken during a July 4, 2018 ride along by the The Electric with the Great Falls MT Police Department.
07/23/2025
Neighborhood Council 4 will review a proposal for a 154-pad mobile home park at 4600 7th Ave. N. during their July 24 meeting.
The proposal for IX Blessings mobile home park includes annexing about 25 acres and assigning R-10 mobile home park zoning for the establishment of 154 manufactured home pads.
Last week, City Commissioners approved an updated agreement for the project to reroute the River's Edge Trail, a long planned project, as it nears design completion but costs have increased significantly.
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The Electric is an independent news website focused on Great Falls and Cascade County, as well as Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Montana National Guard. For now, this is largely a passion project spearheaded by Jenn Rowell, a former Tribune city/military reporter with more than a decade of journalism experience. Others involved will include former journalists in the Great Falls area and across Montana as well as other smart people with a knack for writing and informing the community.
Before the Tribune, Jenn covered the military and other beats for papers in Alabama and Virginia, and did communications work for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
You can find some of Jenn’s previous work here and here.
The kind of stories you can expect to find here: how local government works; things that seem boring, such as taxes, budgets, municipal code and ordinance updates, but actually impact your life; analysis of economic development, downtown revitalization, and the local business climate; food security, the local food network, agriculture and local impact to the bigger food picture in the U.S.; news from the Montana National Guard and Malmstrom Air Force Base, which will often include broader nuclear issues, military and national security stories.
The kind of stories you won’t likely find here: cat videos, lists of the best places to retire, celebrities who crashed their car in Montana, car accidents, petty crime or car chases (unless there’s a danger to the public over an extended period of time). You can find that kind of information elsewhere. But that’s not to say we won’t have a little fun with stories about enjoying the outdoors in the Great Falls region or the hunt for the best burgers in the area.
Questions or story ideas, get in touch at [email protected]. Want to send some documents, donations or other snail mail? Ship it to The Electric, Jenn Rowell, P.O. Box 2643, Great Falls, MT 59403.
