Here are a few topics that caught my attention:

• Great Falls Shooting
• Public Education Campaign
• MSU Bobcats

GREAT FALLS SHOOTING:

In case you missed it, there was a shooting in Great Falls on Tuesday. A Great Falls police officer was shot, and a suspect was also shot.

The Great Falls Police Department held a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

In the news conference, the Chief of Police said the officer sustained serious injuries but not life-threatening. The officer was shot in the body armor and the right arm.

I wish and pray for the officer to have a full recovery.

The suspect was shot in the head and his injuries are critical according to the Chief of Police.

Once again I think the Great Falls Police Department dropped the ball regarding the news conference. The reporters who were invited to cover the event also dropped the ball.

At one point, I noticed that around 700 people were watching the news conference on Facebook – and many, like me, were concerned about the police officer who was shot.

They would not release the officer’s name, and I have no problem with that.

There were seven officials at the press conference. Out of the 8-minute news conference, a lot of it was devoted to introducing those seven officials and reading a statement.

The Chief of Police read a statement and with the introductions, that part took a little over four minutes. Then they took questions from the press that the audience could not hear very well. The Chief of Police should have repeated the questions.

Some of the questions could be heard.

There was a question about what started the confrontation, and the Chief of Police said an officer attempted a routine traffic stop. There was no follow-up question as to what the reason was for the “routine” traffic stop – light out, speeding, running a red light, etc.

One of the questions seemed like a “softball” type from someone and it dealt with the upcoming public safety levy. The Chief said they are “short-staffed.” The person followed it up with something like, “Can you use more resources?” The Chief said, “Absolutely.”

Maybe a city commissioner was asking the question?

Who doesn’t need more resources?

I know it is a difficult time when an officer is shot and there are more questions than answers. The Great Falls Police Department should have issued a statement and skipped the press conference until the investigation is complete.

You can view the news conference HERE.

PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN:

After the Great Falls City Commission voted unanimously to raise our taxes by placing the “Public Safety Levy” on the November ballot, they also voted 3-2 to spend $150,000 for a public education campaign. (Source)

So, they are spending our taxpayer money to get us to vote for a public safety levy that will take more of our taxpayer money.

This is crazy and bullshit. It’s probably illegal. It also proves that when rubber meets the road, the city of Great Falls can find dollars to spend on things they think are essential.

I hope when the first dollar is spent on this silly “Public Education Campaign,” someone files a lawsuit against the city. I hope when the judge hears the case, the judge throws out the results of the levy if it has passed.

MSU BOBCATS:

I watched the Montana State University Bobcats men’s basketball team stamp their ticket to the NCAA tournament last night with an 85-78 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

The Bobcats are 25-9.

The game started at 9:30 pm Montana time and ended just before midnight. The game was televised on ESPN2.

Congratulations to the Bobcats!

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