Big Sky Blog

Walter Breuning, who lives in Great Falls, Montana, inherited the title of “World’s Oldest Living Man” in June 2009.

Walter celebrated his 113th birthday in September 2009.

Up here in Great Falls, the cost of parking downtown might be going up from 25-cents to 50-cents per hour. I’ve got no problem with it, but there are plenty of folks who are steamed about it. Someone mentioned to me that there are no parking meters in downtown Missoula and Bozeman, which got me wondering: how do other communities in Montana deal with downtown parking – or do they at all? Is Great Falls the only “metered” downtown community? Drop a comment and let me know if you have to drop some silver for the privilege of parking in your downtown.

It’s time to crank up the Montana pride and cast a vote for Caitlin, a student at Great Falls High School who is one of five finalists in a big national contest:

Hey! My name is Caitlin, I’m from Great Falls and I am a finalist in a national contest to win a trip to New York through Sally Hansen and Cosmogirl magazine. I was wondering if you might be able to make a post about it to see if the faithful readers might be interested in helping me out with some votes? The website is Have U Seen Sally?; in the lower left-hand corner there is a sticky note that says “check out the sally contest finalists” click that and it leads to the pictures and stories of the five finalists!

OK, gang, you know what to do: head on over to the site and vote for Caitlin! If she wins, maybe she’ll bring back a NYC souvenir for all of us!

The 2008 Montana H.O.G. Rally will be held in and around Great Falls on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week (June 26-28). H.O.G. stands for “Harley Owners Group,” by the way. This year, the H.O.G. is going for a pirate theme:

Arrrr matey – Hoist anchor and set sail to join us in Great Falls, Montana on June 26-28, 2008, for a few days of swashbuckling merriment. This will be the time to show off your gleaming galleons as the “Chromed Armada” passes through the heart of the city.
We’ll party at pirate’s cove and venture out to the “Barbary Coast” for evenings filled with grub, grog, lively chanteys, and the fellowship of your comrades.
Test your wit in the pirate’s quest or decode the clues for a chance at the treasure chest. We might even make you walk the plank.
Sift through the shifting sands to find buried gems or eat like a king at the Captain’s Feast.
You won’t want to miss this – Montana’s gathering of buccaneers, cutthroats, & wenches.

Events scheduled for the 3-day party include Poker Runs, Treasure Hunts, Parade of the Chromed Armada, and more. Even if you’re not a registered participant, it should be fun to see the HOGs out & about Great Falls!

Got an e-mail from Cynthia, a soon-to-be-nurse who wants to relocate to Montana and is looking for information:

Hey there from Delaware!!! I am planning a move to Montana next spring/summer after I complete my Nursing degree!!! So I will be coming with skills!!! (Second Career) I would like to get some feedback regarding your opinions about the hospitals/med centers. I am thinking of Kalispell, Great Falls, Missoula. Any feedback would really be appreciated! I have read your comments about all the “out of stater’s” and really do understand! That is what has happened here and not for the better!! I don’t want to move to Montana to change it or increase anyone’s expenses, I NEED elbow room!!! We are packed in here like sardines!!!! Any feed back on the hospitals would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

Of course, I’m biased towards Great Falls, which serves as the medical hub for a huge swatch of north and central Montana (and southern Alberta!). We have the largest single hospital in Montana, Benefis, and also the Great Falls Clinic, in addition to many smaller ambulatory care, residential, and specialized facilities. And Benefis is expanding, so will likely need more nurses soon. You can also check out the listing of MT Health Jobs – pretty good search function. So…anyone else want to offer advice on the medical community in the other towns? ALSO: check out the other Moving To Montana threads (more, more)!

First up is a site called the Daily Yonder; it focuses on rural America, and this week turned its attention to the Presidential campaign stops in Great Falls.

Audrey Sholtey, the 2008 Miss Rodeo Montana, has a blog! Related Montana beauty pageant entries: Miss Montana 2007; Miss Teen USA; Miss Montana 2006; and Miss Montana 2005.

Sad: Ed Kemmick, one of the forces at The Billings Gazette and one of the first journalists in Montana to grok the world of blogging, is hanging up (at least for a while) his most awesome “City Lights” blog. We’ll miss ya, Ed – but you know the door is always open for a return!

And before you complain about higher gas prices, take a look at the Gas Temperature Map. Here in Montana, we’re not doing too bad compared to most of the rest of the country.

In keeping with today’s theme of Moon Over Montana, here is my entry, taken (IIRC) in February of 2003 in the very early morning…

Here’s a peak at the proposed banner that we will be using here at BigSkyBlog…eventually, I hope to have a few rotating banners to highlight different aspects of our wonderful state, but this one is our starter. And we owe the lovely design to our very own Jen!