Welcome! I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day! Here are the topics for today’s column:

• Great Falls Fireworks
• Worst States for Drunk Driving
• Big Beautiful Bill is Law
• Ozzy Osbourne’s Last Stand
• One More Thing

GREAT FALLS FIREWORKS:

It was a typical Fourth of July in my neighborhood. People were shooting fireworks (in the rain), and they did not stop at midnight. I heard them throughout the early morning hours. Then on the evening of July 5, it continued. 

You can find the rules for fireworks in Great Falls HERE. 

Last year, I wrote that the biggest problem I have with fireworks in Great Falls is that people do not obey the rules. They start shooting them days before they are allowed and continue shooting them long after the designated hours are over.

With our police and fire personnel being stretched, I would vote to stop all personal fireworks from being discharged within the city.  

Last year, City Commissioner Rick Tryon posted on his Facebook page:

The annual “fireworks in GF city limits” debate is now in full swing.

What do you think about putting it on a City ballot and letting the people decide?

Nothing was done.

This year, Tryon is back with this comment:

In response to a whole lot of strongly worded public concern and comment today and over the last few years, and by way of a heads up, at our July 15 GF city commission meeting I’ll be seeking commission consensus on a request for a draft resolution/code change banning fireworks inside City limits starting in 2026. (Source)

Is Commissioner Tryon teasing us again? 

I believe the Great Falls City Commission should place the fireworks ban on the November ballot and let the voters decide. 

The city would probably save a lot of money if it did not have to respond to all these calls every Fourth of July. Last year (2024), there were 33 calls for service (Source). I will be on the watch for 2025’s numbers. 

The State of Montana should also take a hard look at banning fireworks. KRTV has a report from northern Montana about fires from fireworks HERE. KRTV reports that fire danger escalated quickly across Blaine County on the Fourth of July, with 21 fires reported in a single night — believed to be caused by fireworks.

It’s time to let the voters in Great Falls decide if fireworks used by private citizens should be allowed.

WORST STATES FOR DRUNK DRIVING:

Forbes is reporting that although drinking and driving is easily preventable, roughly 37 people in America die each day in drunk-driving car crashes. That’s one alcohol-impaired driving fatality every 39 minutes.  

Forbes also reports that Montana tops the list of worst states for drunk driving, while New Jersey has the lowest rate of drunk driving.

We should all take a moment and tell our elected officials how lazy they are for doing very little to combat drunk driving in Montana. Heck, we even have current elected officials getting DUIs, and they don’t even think about resigning. 

Forbes provided the following stats about Montana’s drunk driving:

• Montana ranks as the worst state for drunk driving, with 8.57 drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes for every 100,000 licensed drivers, and 7.14 people killed in crashes involving a drunk driver for every 100,000 state residents. Both rates are the highest in the nation.
• More than two-fifths (43.51%) of traffic deaths in Montana are caused by drunk drivers, the highest in the nation.
• Underage drinkers are also at high risk in Montana. The state has the worst rate of drunk drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes (1.17 per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Big Sky Country has the 11th highest number of DUI arrests per 100,000 licensed drivers (450.50).

Check out the complete report from Forbes HERE. You should send a link to your elected officials, too.

BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL IS LAW:

In case you missed it, President Donald Trump signed the “Big Beautiful Bill” into law on July 4. Montana’s Senior U.S. Senator Steve Daines attended the festivities at the White House with his wife. I don’t know if the other members of the Montana delegation attended.

So now we’ll start finding out what is in the law. Of course, the Republicans will say it’s the greatest thing since ice cream, and the Democrats will say it will kill people. 

I was interested in the part about taxing Social Security retirement. From what I have gathered from multiple sources is that there will be a tax deduction of $6,000 to seniors making up to $75,000 individually, or $150,000 on a joint return. The interesting thing is I have heard it will expire in two years.

Why couldn’t they just end all taxes on Social Security retirement and be done with it?  

It was also reported that before the megabill’s passing, 64 percent of seniors receiving Social Security income paid no tax on their Social Security due to exemptions and deductions, according to an estimate by Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers. Under Trump’s megabill, 88 percent won’t be paying.

So now we wait and see. 

OZZY OSBOURNE’S LAST STAND: 

The rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath held their last concert this past weekend in Birmingham, England. Reports say 45,000 attended in person and another 5.8 million watched online. 

NBC News reports:

Ozzy Osbourne rises from beneath the stage on a leather throne adorned with a bat and two diamond-eyed skulls. It’s part rock ’n’ roll theater, part medical necessity. At 76, the “Prince of Darkness” has Parkinson’s disease, his spine is held together with screws and plates, and his ailing voice sometimes struggles for pitch. 

Sadly, we are reminded in times like this that we are all growing old, and it sucks. Thank you, Ozzy, and bless you for all you have done for heavy metal. 

Check out the full report from NBC News HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

At my last colonoscopy, I had the doctor write a note to my wife stating that my head was NOT up there…

## HAVE A GREAT WEEK ##