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 6/15/2026 Center hosted grand reopening last weekend When it looked like the Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center was down and out, community stakeholders revived the organization with a renewed mission. After months of rebuilding, the center hosted a grand opening event over the weekend in concert with Pride celebrations. The center has also reopened at a new location on 13th Street and Ninth Avenue South. “It feels more welcome,” said Tallia Sova, the center’s youth and volunteer coordinator.  “It truly feels safe and like you’re coming home to a place that is yours.” Sova and board president Kelly Quick spoke to Montana Free Press last week, prior to the celebration events. They were going through media interviews and working on other outreach to share two main messages: the center is not closed, and it welcomes everyone. Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center has been through some tumult. Last winter, the board announced the center’s closing at its previous downtown location. A social media post from the organization referenced internal “attacks” and anxiety among its members. But within a day, the center made another announcement. It planned to re-open. “The previous board of directors, for reasons we don’t know and we’re not going to speculate, thought that closing the center was the best direction,” Quick told MTFP. “While they had been working up to it, it hadn’t really been publicized until they made the decision.” Quick had been a former center board member. She said that when she learned of the impending closure, she reached out to ask what she could do to keep it open. Quick said the board asked her to take over, and she agreed. She said the board entirely turned over with all new members. In recent months, Quick said members started working toward a longer-term vision. Tallia Sova, left, and Kelly Quick pose outside the new Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center building. CREDIT: Matt Hudson/ MTFP “It was just to stabilize operations,” she said. “But our long-term goals are to be part of the nonprofit community in town. Be part of the Chamber of Commerce, those kinds of things so we are seen ultimately like any other community group in town. Because we are part of the Great Falls community.” A large part of that vision is the new building, which was secured with a long-term lease, Quick said. Over the past few months, Center members have launched a public outreach campaign to raise the organization’s profile. Quick said the response has been unexpectedly enthusiastic. “Our first public outing was Give Great Falls,” Quick said. “And there was a nonprofit fair, and we had the table there. And the number of people who said, ‘We’re so glad you’re here,’ was very encouraging.” The broader goals are to create a public show of support for queer community members and work directly with those who seek kinship within that community. Through that mission, Sova said the center hopes to foster goodwill across the spectrum of sexualities and identities. “Visibility is a big one,” Sova said. “Part of it is that comfort of knowing there are folks out there that you can lean into if you need. I think another part of it is that we are able to have information for resources that others might need. And it’s hard to go through those things alone when you don’t know what those first steps might be.” Janicki project will ‘ramp up’ over time, officials note Coming off a visit to Janicki’s Washington headquarters last week, Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs sounded impressed. “Janicki is a tremendous organization, and it kind of blows your socks off when you see what they do and how they do it,” he said during a commission meeting June 12. Briggs and Great Falls Development Authority Executive Vice President Jolene Schalper spoke during the meeting and emphasized that Janicki will “ramp up” operations over about a decade. They sought to address apparent concerns about an influx of a thousand or more people all at once. “The first step is going to be just a couple hundred employees,” Schalper said, adding, “As they get more work and grow, the community will grow with them.” City, county and school district officials joined the Janicki tour last week. Reflecting on the visit, Briggs and Schalper described Janicki as a values-driven operation that chose Great Falls based on a perception of sharing those values. Schalper said that Janicki is moving to a “big city” in Great Falls, relative to its headquarters of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, which has about 12,000 people. “Through that process, they felt like we were the least big city out of the big cities,” Schalper said. “We have core values that match theirs.” GFDA expects to have an informational website up and running shortly that will provide updates on the project and offer a forum for community comments, Schalper said. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for July 10. 5 Things to Know in Great Falls The Great Falls Municipal Band will kick off its summer concert series at the Gibson Park Bandshell Wednesday. The performance will include Dusty Molyneaux conducting and is free to attend. The municipal band was established in 1894. Wednesday’s performance starts at 7 p.m. The 38th-annual Lewis and Clark Festival begins June 19 with events throughout the weekend. The festival will include pop-up displays, theater presentations, a barbecue and more. It all takes place at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, and more information can be found here. The Montana Department of Transportation has plans to repair five area bridges and is asking for public comment. The proposed work sites include three Otter Creek bridges along U.S. Highway 89 south of Belt, the Gordon Interchange on I-15 near Vaughn and Separation West Hill on Sun River Road going over I-15. Construction is tentatively planned for 2028. More information about the projects and how the public can comment are here. Rumors about Cascade County cutting library funding are exaggerated, according to local reports, though there could be changes to the assistance in the future. KRTV and The Electric reported that county officials recently met to discuss funding assistance to area libraries, but no action has been taken. Doctors inside Benefis Health System felt the hospital downplayed concerns they raised about a new heart procedure, according to a report from MTFP reporters Matt Hudson and Mara Silvers. This investigative story was published last week and examines the challenges that rural hospitals face when growing their specialty care portfolios. Check out three main takeaways here, or read the full story here. Public Notice The Great Falls City Commission has a full agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, including three public hearings.  One hearing will solicit comments on a request from Clearwater Federal Credit Union to use $206,000 in tax increment financing district funds to reconstruct surrounding sidewalks, driveways and alleys around the property. The request also calls for the installation of “historic streetlights” along First Avenue North. The $9.4 million project is nearing completion at 101 First Ave. N. The other two public hearings concern the city’s growth policy and public participation plan. The growth policy, which has been under development for roughly two years, includes future land-use maps and is intended to guide the growth of Great Falls with an emphasis on improving amenities within current city limits. Its target scope runs through 2045. Tuesday’s hearing will allow the public to comment on the policy document, and the commission will vote on its adoption. A draft of the full growth policy is here. MTFP coverage of the policy can be found here and here. Finally, the commission will take a first of two potential votes on a planned housing project for the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. The tribe has proposed a development that includes apartment buildings, duplexes and single-family homes on 18.4 acres off of Stuckey Road. If approved, the property would be annexed into Great Falls and extend some roads from the adjacent Valley View neighborhood. Past coverage of the project, called the Good Medicine housing development, can be found here. The city commission meets at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Civic Center. The meeting agenda is here. The post Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center reopens during Pride appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less