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. Sign up 4/20/2026 Renovations should be completed before season begins While the soon-to-be owner of Electric City Speedway, Jeramy Myer, is finalizing the paperwork on his purchase, crews are wrapping up improvements to the complex in Black Eagle. The upgrades include a renovated entrance, smoother walkways, repainted walls around the track, additional concessions and power-washed, freshly stained bleachers. Myer also installed, for the first time, eight toilets with running water.  The significant renovations to the speedway, which dates back to the 1950s, will be complete before the 2026 season begins on April 24, according to the track’s general manager, Debby Wiggers. The track hosts races every Saturday night, and some Fridays, through the summer until Sept. 5.  Between 1,300 and 1,500 people attend races on a good night, though it can accommodate a lot more, Wiggers.  Wiggers, a former racer who said she does everything around the speedway except announcing, marketed the renovated speedway as family entertainment.  Debby Wiggers, general manager of Electric City Speedway, looks out over the track April 16, 2026. Credit: Zeke Lloyd / MTFP Wiggers said the track, built in 1953, hosts guests who have attended races since childhood and fourth-generation racers. “We have staying power. I don’t think there’s another venue or location in Great Falls that can make that same claim, and we’re very proud of that,” Wiggers said. Wiggers, who developed her passion for racing as a child, highlighted that fans at the Electric City Speedway can visit with drivers after races.  “You could just watch and see this young boy or girl get to meet their favorite driver and do a picture with them. Oh my goodness, it’s worth everything to see that. The look on their face, the joy. It’s worth it,” Wiggers said. Races start at 7:30 p.m. and end around 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. Ticket costs vary by race, but are generally between $10 and $20. Verbatim “The biggest economic challenge for this region has not been high unemployment; it’s been low wages. So that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to close the gap between earnings and cost of living.”  — Brett Doney, president and CEO of the Great Falls Development Alliance The Great Falls Development Alliance, a local economic development non-profit, hosted energy and telecommunications executives at the Newberry last week. The event, dubbed “Unlocking Montana’s Business Potential,” focused on new energy infrastructure around Great Falls and across the state. Doney said the event aligned with GFDA’s long-term goals, which include creating more high-wage jobs in technology and manufacturing. “Both of those are highly dependent on reliable, affordable, sustainable energy,” Doney told MTFP.  Doney said a heavy manufacturer recently passed on Great Falls in a decision between two locations for a new plant because of the city’s limited access to natural gas. The development’s first phase alone would have come with several hundred jobs. “Second really sucks, just ask the Canadian hockey team,” Doney said. Snapshot Butler, a 3-year-old Newfoundland, attended a presentation about the life of Seaman, the Newfoundland that accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expeditions, at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center April 14, 2026. Credit: Zeke Lloyd / MTFP Playing the field against low wheat prices The Montana Farmers Union, an organization that supports statewide agriculture, recently cut the ribbon on a safflower processing plant between Great Falls and Vaughn. The business, Montana Safflower, is part of the organization’s effort to increase local agricultural processing and consumption.  Montana Safflower processes seeds into cooking oil for the retail market. Andrew Bishop, a minority owner in the business, pitched safflower to farmers at last week’s ribbon-cutting as a reliable alternative to wheat amid an uncertain global market.  “Safflower is an easy thing for them to do because this is a domestic market,” Bishop said. “We don’t have to deal with all the issues that come with trade.” Andrew Bishop, minority owner of Montana Safflower, explains safflower processing equipment at a facility outside of Great Falls April 13, 2026. Credit: Zeke Lloyd / MTFP  Eric Belasco, an agricultural economist at Montana State University, told Montana Free Press last week that global wheat prices are at a point “where you can maybe break even this year.”  Low wheat prices are the result of high supply in an uncertain global market, according to Belasco. Though U.S. wheat exports to Japan and South Korea remain unaffected by trade wars, India has sharply reduced its U.S. wheat imports.  The price of wheat has declined over the last four years, leading Montana farmers to plant less. This year will mark the first time in 24 years that farmers seed fewer than 5 million acres of wheat, according to the Northern Ag Network.  Earlier this week, at an event titled “Unlocking Montana’s Business Potential,” Great Falls Development Alliance Director Brett Doney highlighted the impact of farmers’ spending on the city’s economy.  “When our farmers and ranchers are doing well, we’re doing well,”Doney said. “When farmers and ranchers are not doing well, we feel it immediately.” 5 things to know in Great Falls Airman 1st Class Daris Benally, a 24-year-old from Rapid City, South Dakota, died after an off-base motorcycle accident at the intersection of Third Street NW and 16th Avenue NW April 9. The crash is being investigated by the Great Falls Police Department. In a statement, 341st Maintenance Group Commander Col. Luke Stover wrote that “beyond the uniform, Daris was a friend, a teammate, and a loved one.” Great Falls Public Works is hosting a collection for hazardous household items April 25 at 112 First St. S. Residents can bring antifreeze, gasoline, lighter fluid, paint thinner, road flares, shellac, fertilizer, pesticides, furniture polish, insect spray, cleaners, disinfectants, hair remover or nail polish. Latex-based paint or mercury products are prohibited. Homestead 1909, a restaurant with American cuisine that includes burgers and elevated bar food, will open April 22 at 112 Central Ave., inside Annie’s Tap House.  The Great Falls Theater Company is putting on “The Glass Menagerie,” a semi-autobiographical play written by Tennessee Williams, at the University of Providence April 23, 24 and 25. Showtimes are at 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee April 25. The 46th annual Ice Breaker Road Race will take place April 26. People can register online, at Scheels or onsite. Also, the city is looking for volunteers to help with the race April 25 and 26. Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected]. The post Improvements underway at Electric City Speedway appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less